We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
1. An in-flight foot hammock to make your economy seat feel a bit more like business class. It attaches directly to your tray table and offers a cozy resting spot for your feetsies, keeping them elevated and helping prevent swelling and soreness.
This works best if you're 5'4" or shorter.
Promising review: "This is an amazing product. It's so simple but works incredibly to prevent swelling and pressure on legs while flying. I just flew the first leg of an international flight and used it, and I am on a layover now and had to pause to write this review. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!! It easily attached to the tray table, and I adjusted to my desired height. It is like a hammock for your feet. You just prop them up inside the thing/swing/hammock — which is very cushiony — and your feet are hoisted up comfortably. I'm a big girl and weight is no issue. DEFINITELY MUST HAVE ON ALL MY FLIGHTS NOW. This thing is great!!" —Queen
Get it from Amazon for $21.99.
2. And speaking of swelling, a pair of of moisture-wicking compression socks if you're going on a long-haul flight or preparing for a long road trip. They apply pressure to your legs and feet to help with circulation issues and swollen legs/feet — two common symptoms of sitting for long periods of time.
Read more about compression socks and swelling or long flights at Cleveland Clinic.
Promising review: "Favorite compression socks for the price. I stand all day on hard floors and these help a lot with foot pain. I used to always have swollen ankles after long days but not when I wear these. I have five pairs now. For some reason the green ones seem longer and looser than the others so I don't know what that's about. I would recommend if purchasing multiple pairs to just stick to the same color, makes it easier when washing to pair them back up rather that trying to keep the same colors together." —Hayley Nyman
Get them from Amazon for $16.90+ (available in unisex sizes S–XXL and 13 colors).
Check out my colleague's Physix Gear compression socks review for more deets!
3. A portable door lock for added security or for doors that don't have locks. It jams the door so it's impossible for an intruder to force themselves in using the door handle.
Promising review: "When I traveled for the first time I tried to be overprepared just in case and I’m glad I picked this up. I had this on the door when I was in my hotel room and did what it needed. I was staying at a poor-quality hotel and one of the housekeepers tried forcing their way into the room while I was sleeping. They used the key for the room but the portable door lock kept them out (which they weren’t supposed to be going in room that early or when someone is sleeping). I would recommend making sure this works with your doorstep. I recommend this product!" —Hunter :)
Get it from Amazon for $11.99.
4. A sunscreen stick with SPF 30 because you should be reapplying sunscreen every two hours (esp. if you're swimming or sweating). The fastest way to ruin a vacation = sunburn.
Promising review: "This small-but-very-effective stick of sunscreen was perfect for traveling with us on vacation. I took it to the beach, stuck it in my bag when we went exploring, and carried it in my purse when we were in town. The smell is so good, it makes you want to take a bite out of it! I found it perfectly fine for my face, not greasy or irritating. I'll most likely buy a bigger size of lotion for my next trip as well." —Pixie Mom
Get it from Amazon for $11.99.
5. A set of earplugs that'll help you deal with two very stressful experiences that are oh so common (and so annoying!) when flying: harsh noises and your ears popping. Inside these funny-shaped blue earplugs is a small ceramic filter designed to slow the shift in air pressure so there's less stress on the eardrum. They'll also help drown out the sounds of loud talkers, babies crying, and your seat neighbor refusing to wear headphones while they watch a TV show on their phone.
Promising review: "Never fly without these! Before I found these, I endured excruciating pain in my ears upon descent and landing. Felt like a hot poker being driven into each ear. My ears would also be plugged up, and it would often take two to three days for them to resume their normal state of being. I insert them about an hour before landing, as the plane is making its slow descent. I'm comfortable, and the most discomfort I experience is a slight adjustment of pressure feeling in my sinus. NO PAIN. NO TEARS." —K. Tombrella
Get a pack with three pairs from Amazon for $18.49 (also available in packs of 5 or 10 pairs).
6. A pack of 50 on-the-go activities so the kids aren't on their phones the *entire* 10-hour car ride.
Promising review: "My boys love Pete the Cat and have really enjoyed playing these games on game night. So many games are included, with no little pieces to lose or big boards to take up space. We can choose whatever game looks fun, play as long as we like, and then easily switch to another one. Has been fun for my 3-, 6-, and 44-year olds!" —LD
Get it from Amazon for $8.44.
7. A digital luggage scale to save your wallet from any overweight baggage fees. You'll also be spared the embarrassment of having to repack your bag in the middle of the airport.
You can switch between pound and kilogram measurements.
Promising review: "Works great, a must-have when flying. Very accurate scale. Easy to read with the light on it. It's a must if you have a wife like mine who loves to shop for clothes and fill up her suitcase along with mine, or if you want to stay under that 40 pounds and avoid paying the extra for overweight baggage fees. Easy to use, very accurate, well made, and a nice design. Very pleased. Saved me money." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $8.99+ (available in four colors and in a pack of two).
8. A mini lightweight flat iron for sleek, straight styles — even on vacay.
9. A set of portable soap paper sheets because we've all had to use shady public restrooms and cringed when we press the soap dispenser only to find that it's empty. Not anymore!
Promising review: "I recently went camping on the beach. I forgot to bring soap but didn’t worry thinking the restrooms would have soap to wash our hands (no showers). However, there was no soap because they had porta potties. I had hand sanitizer, but after using the restroom I would prefer washing my hands with soap and water. Asking my friends if they remembered soap, no one did. But then I sat down and thought about it…. Voila!!! In my purse I had this nifty soap thingy that my mom gave me. Man was that a lifesaver! It laters up very nicely, and my hands were so clean! Yes!!! All my friends liked it, and they wanted to buy one for their purses as well. The dudes even thought it was handy! Thanks mom for gifting me this soap thingy it save the trip!!" —Conlet
Get a three-pack (150 sheets total) from Amazon for $6.99 (also available in packs with 50, 300, and 450 sheets, and several colors).
10. And a pack of laundry soap sheets that'll clean your socks, undies, T-shirts, bathing suits, you name it so you don't need to pack one pair for every single day of your trip.
Promising review: "This came SO in handy during my vacation to Europe! I was making lots of different stops to places with different types of weather. With these laundry soap sheets I was able to wash my clothes in the sink — letting me pack just the right amount of clothes for all the different places I went." —Katie Fujarski
Get 50 sheets from Amazon for $9.40.
11. Or some Tide sink packets so you can enjoy the same scent you use at home.
Each pack comes with three packets. And, because they *are* liquid, they'll easily slide into the side of your toiletries bag. I've packed these on international trips to much success!
Promising review: "Went to Hawaii for 10 days and knew we would need to clean a few items of clothing in the sink toward the end of our trip. These small packets are so easy to carry and really did the job! Thank you Tide!" —Firestone Ranch
Get three packs from Amazon for $4.20.
12. A contoured sleep mask to block out the sunlight — no, wait, that's just your seat neighbor's reading light. It molds to your face so the bright lights shining through your hotel window or coming from the iPad of the kid sitting next to you don't ruin your shut-eye.
Promising review: "Must-have for traveling and staggered bedtime! My partner has used a lot of other brands prior to finding this eye mask. He uses them to block out the TV light on nights I am up watching TV or when he takes naps in the daytime. It is the first eye mask that he's tried that blocks out light and is comfortable to wear. The material is very soft. It does come with a nylon travel case and earplugs. This is our second purchase in case one gets misplaced." —m.szegedy
Get it from Amazon for $21.99 (available in five colors).
13. A set of packing cubes if you're incapable of fitting all your stuff in a carryon. These cubes will help you pack efficiently so you can fit more stuff in less space.
Promising review: "I packed my clothes, shoes, and toiletry bag for a 10-day trip to Europe (full contents listed below). I packed them as I normally would first, and then packed them in the packing cubes. There was so much more room after packing in the cubes! Items I fit in the cubes and bag: two jackets, one jean vest, four pants/capris, two pairs of shorts, one romper, four dresses, one maxi skirt, seven tank tops, four shirts, three camisoles, three pajama sets, 15 undies, 6 pairs of socks, and 4 pairs of shoes Why are you still reading?? Go buy these cubes!" —Tiffany
Get a set of four from Amazon for $19.99 (available in 10 colors).
14. A dip clip from Shark Tank for holding your sauces so you can dunk your fries and nuggies in the car (just please no dipping and driving!).
Promising review: "I am guilty of eating nuggets in my car and the dipping sauce is often all over the place. Not anymore. This simple little cup keeps your sauce safe and keeps your car clean. Keep one in your car at all times." —Jessica Barrett
Get a two-pack from Amazon for $9.99+ (also available in packs of four, five, and six).
15. An airplane seat back organizer because air travel can actually be pleasant when all your in-flight essentials are within reach. Thanks to the four roomy pockets, this organizer can hold your snacks, drinks, electronics, books, toys, etc. so you may not need to squeeze past your seat neighbor 10 times in the same flight because you need to grab something else from your carry-on.
16. A universal phone mount that'll allow you to binge-watch every episode of The Good Place that you downloaded before your flight while freeing up your hands to do more important things — like scarf down the Biscoff cookies that make sitting in a cramped middle seat slightly less miserable.
Promising review: "Bought this handy little thing to use with on a family vacation since our flight didn't have in-flight entertainment screens. It clipped right onto the pull-out tray just like the product photo and kept my toddler entertained (thank god) for our short flight. Love the simplicity — it's light and compact (folds to the length my palm), has good rotation (head clicks into place) and is surprisingly versatile. I use it to browse articles in the morning (folded into a kickstand on the table), follow recipes in the kitchen (clamped to a cabinet door above my cutting board), and to watch stuff hands-free (clamped to a side table) when the kiddo/husband is hogging the TV. Buying another one for our next vacation since this one is staying at home!" —ThatCookieCutterLife
Get it from Amazon for $12.97 (available in three colors).
17. A waterproof trash can so the inevitable garbage you collect during long drives and road trips doesn't litter the floor.
It comes with 10 trash bags.
Promising review: "I have a SUV and it works great! I travel a lot and am always on the road. It is a good size. I have it attached to the center console and it sits in the back. It gives plenty of leg room for backseat passengers. I use the side pockets to hold my car needs: flashlights, books, etc. I use a regular plastic bag to line the can so I do not have to clean the cloth as much. I like this better than a regular small car trash can because it does not spill or tip over. The top keeps everything in and there is a small strip of Velcro on the bottom of the bag to keep it in place." —Debra Henegar
Get it from Amazon for $9.17+ (available in eight colors).
18. A cup holder adapter to make room for your oversized bottles and prevent them from rolling around your car floor and praying they don't spill.
Promising review: "I love these!!! NO MORE SPILLING MY BEVERAGE ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! My only negative, I wish I found these sooner." —K9 Malinois Momma
Get it from Amazon for $16.95.
19. A travel jewelry case if you want a slim and stylish way to keep your earrings, necklaces, and rings organized on vacay. You'll love this little guy so much you might end up leaving your trinkets inside and using this as your permanent jewelry organizer.
Promising review: "I am obsessed with this! I'm a minimalist when it comes to jewelry, but do have a few special pieces from my husband. This is perfect for our traveling lifestyle! It's absolutely gorgeous and the perfect size for me :)" —Troy and Sarah Egri
Get it from Amazon for $19.99+ (available in nine colors).
20. An anti-blister balm for slappin' on your ankles, toes, heels — anywhere you're worried about your shoes rubbing — before you trek for miles around a new city.
Promising review: "I love this item! I came back from 10 days walking around in Portugal, averaging about 22,000 steps a day. I bought new shoes (both sandals and tennis shoes) for this trip not even thinking of the potential of blisters that these new shoes could create. So I quickly bought blister bandages and packed them away. Well I stumbled across this miracle balm and said, 'Well why not! I got bandages if this does not work.' And let me tell you, the bandages haven't been touched. THIS BALM SAVED MY TRIP! I applied this all over my feet before heading out for the unlimited hills that I was going to walk around in Lisbon and NOT ONCE did I worry about blisters. I never needed to reapply but some might for extra precaution. I was with two other females who were on the struggle bus of shoes and blisters and I kept telling them to try this balm but they never did. Jokes on them because as they kept fixing and reapplying new bandaids on their blisters I was skipping down the street. I need to buy this in bulk because I'm never gonna leave home without this. I even applied the balm on, then put socks on for my sneakers." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $8.99.
21. A passport wallet, because the last thing you want to do is miss a flight home. This lil' guy keeps all your important travel docs and money safe and close by so you can breeze through security.
Promising review: "I love my travel wallet. It made it so easy to go through security at airports and kept my stuff together so easily. I didn't have to constantly check for multiple things because I was able to keep everything in one place and then slide it down into an inner pocket of my jacket. I got green to help me find it easily; the multitude of color options is definitely a plus. I will probably continue using it even when I am not traveling as it has a place for all of my most important stuff. I also really like that this wallet has a zipper pocket since I struggled to find that on some other brands." —Jessica
Get it from Amazon for $13.99 (available in 39 colors).
22. A travel cupholder that'll corral your bulky coffee and water bottle so your hands are free when you need to pull up your ticket for the gate agent.
Promising review: "This cup holder is perfect! It helps me a lot! Last time I took a plane with a suitcase and a cup of coffee, when it was my turn to check my passport and ticket, the coffee cup fell to the ground and coffee spilled. It was a nightmare! This time I bought this cup holder! I don't have to worry about where my cup and phone are! I can free my hands to do other things. I love it so much! Hope you love it too." —Philip
Get it from Amazon for $14.99 (available in 31 colors/styles).
23. A pocket-sized, refillable travel perfume atomizer so you can bring your signature scent with you. That bulky (albeit beautiful) glass bottle is def not TSA compliant and will take up valuable space in your toiletry bag.
BuzzFeed editor Elizabeth Lilly loves hers. In her own words: "I've been using for about a year. As the reviewer down below mentions, it's great to just throw in your purse on the reg for a fragrance re-up throughout the day. As you can see, it's about the size of my thumb and therefore takes up very little room. Plus! It's smaller than most rollerball travel fragrances you can pick up. This first one is working so well, that I just have the other three in storage. But if this one bites the dust this summer during travels, I'll be OK about digging into my stores to use one of the remaining three...especially at this price point."
Promising review: "I bought these due to traveling a lot for work and needing to cut down on the size of things in my carry-on bag for flying. I can bring four different perfumes now instead of one big one. They’re super easy to fill, haven’t leaked so far but I keep them in a sandwich baggie while traveling just in case. I would 100% buy them again." —Emily
Get a four-pack from Amazon for $7.55.
24. A LifeStraw to help give you peace of mind when you're camping. It's designed to eliminate 99% of waterborne bacteria and certain parasites, and it filters contaminants as small as 0.2 microns. Plus! Each LifeStraw will last long enough to effectively strain 1,000 gallons of water.
If you’re immunocompromised, be sure to read all the package instructions to make sure it’s safe for you.
Promising review: "This thing is no joke! I took it backpacking on Maine's Bigelow range. When I ran out of the water I brought, I was A-OK with this. Just bring a wide mouth bottle to fill with water you find. On top of one of the lower peaks, I drank from the most disgusting-looking crevice filled with brown scum. I thought, this is going to be safe, but taste horrid. WRONG. TASTED LIKE THE FRESHEST SPRING WATER. Better than any tap. I'm from Maine, and I've tasted plenty of water right from mountain springs, so take my word. One caution: it can be a little challenging to start. You have to prove it by soaking. If it still doesn't work, blow into it a bit." —Amazon Customer
Get it from Amazon for $16.89.
25. A pack of Tide stain-removing pens if you just know you're going to spill coffee on yourself. Spare yourself the trouble of finding a pharmacy nearby (and then paying three times the price you'd pay at home because you're in a touristy area!) and toss these in your carryon.
Promising review: "These were a lifesaver. I was walking to the bus and decided it was a great decision to drink coffee while walking. Like a scene from an infomercial, I spilled coffee all over my white shirt. Yes, the classic coffee on the white shirt. Luckily I had one of these in my bag (I put one in each of my most-used purses in anticipation of my clumsiness). I went into a store bathroom and quickly scrubbed the Tide To-Go on my shirt. All of the coffee blobs went away and once the awkward wet splotches dried up, my shirt was perfectly white again. You've got yourself a big fan, Tide." —NAD
Get a pack of three from Amazon for $7.74.
26. A pill organizer for helping you consistently take your meds — whether you're on vacation or just extremely forgetful.
Promising review: "I love this cute little folding pill box! Perfectly compact and discreet for travel! It stays closed nice and tight and doesn’t pop open by itself. I love that it’s folded closed so if it’s left on the countertop or if you have to go through your luggage in a public place, all your business isn’t out on display (we’ve all been there, am I right?!) I also like the different-sized compartments to fit all of my various vitamins, including my chewable gummy vitamins. It’s very sleek, stylish, and would make a great gift for someone who’s about to go on a trip! Great price too! Buy it!" —Lea
Get it from Amazon for $18.99+ (available in 2 sizes and 12 colors/combinations).
27. A versatile ballet flat because they make the always difficult task of selecting what shoes you're going to pack oh so easy. These check all the boxes: they won't take up a ton of space in your suitcase, they're appropriate for a variety of occasions (you might not need to pack other shoes!), they're really heckin' comfortable, and they're easy to slip on and off (no one wants to untie and wiggle out of chunky boots while a hundred people give you dirty looks because you're taking so long to get through security).
Promising review: "I normally cannot wear flats because they give me terrible blisters on the back of my feet. These didn't! Bought these in nude for a city vacation with a lot of walking, but where sandals aren't necessarily worn and these were perfect! They obviously don't have the support of sneakers, but I am so happy to finally have a cheap pair of flats that don't give me blisters. I did break them in with thin socks on around my house before wearing them out and when possible, I wear them with little sock liners. Also — I was able to fold these in half like Tieks and fit them in a semi-small purse to change into to dance at a wedding! Score!" —Kate
Get it from Amazon for $23.70 (available in women's sizes 5–15, including wide sizes, and 27 styles).
28. A collapsible travel makeup bag that'll contain your toiletries and keep them easily accessible. It has three built-in mesh pockets to keep products separate, and it's machine washable in case you didn't close your lotion properly and it spilled (been there!).
Promising review: "It's good for really any size product. I like the pockets on the inside; they keep things from falling. You can easily fit two travel size bottles in one of the small loop pockets. I was able to fit regular size hairspray, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, and two or three more things and it closes up fine. I like the little pouches that comes with it that you can put wet items in like toothbrush and toothpaste. If you travel a lot and have a lot of stuff go ahead and get two of these. You can fill them up reasonably and throw them in a duffle bag and go! I'll be ordering another one just for makeup." —heather creel
Get it from Amazon for $10.90+ (available in four colors).
29. A travel bra pouch so you can walk down the street without worrying that some light-fingered pickpocket is going to leave you stranded in another country without your passport, credit cards, or ID.
Promising review: "This was a LIFESAVER while traveling. I kept my cards and cash in it and had no stress about thieves lifting my essentials while traveling heavily pickpocketed cities. I loved it so much, I actually continued to use it when I got home instead of carrying a purse! The top flap did start to unravel after about six months — but this was also after six months of everyday use." —Krista Hinz
Get it from Amazon for $18.95 (available in pink and black).
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