8 Travel Items We Can't Live Without

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Traveling is so much fun, but it can also be stressful at times. And let’s face it – not all of us are the most organized or the best “planners”. After years of traveling to Switzerland (and a bunch of other places around the world), we have figured out what travel items are essential to add that extra comfort and ease to our travels. Here is a carefully curated list of our must-haves / the best travel gear that just might make your life a little bit easier!

About Us

We are Sandro & Juli! Sandro is a Swiss native and Juli was born and raised in California. We LOVE to travel – especially to Sandro’s home country. We are often asked by friends and acquaintances where to visit in Switzerland, so we decided to dedicate a place where our knowledge of all things Switzerland can live. We are always adding to our travels, so follow along as we share all our best tips, hidden gems, travel guides and everything in-between.

Happy travels!

1. Honeydew Sleep Company Scrumptious Travel Pillow

This one’s crucial. We value our sleep. Especially after long travel days or when we are exhausted after a day of excursions. We have the regular-size pillows by Honeydew and literally cannot sleep without them. This travel pillow is like we are taking our pillows with us everywhere we go. But it is smaller and rolls up into a handy tote bag that you can attach to your carry-on luggage if you so choose. It comes with it’s own pillowcase as well that is SO soft and cooling. (Also hygiene-wise it’s nice to have your own pillow to rest your face on rather than the hotel-provided ones.) It provides the perfect amount of support and you can even remove or add more of the fill according to your preference. It’s no wonder it won Good Housekeeping’s Family Travel Award 2023 for “Best Ergonomic Travel Pillow”!

Note: This is not one of those neck pillows you use on an airplane. This is an actual mini-pillow to replace your one at home.

Don’t sleep on this! (See what we did there?)

2. BAGSMART Compression Packing Cubes

We’ll be honest – we never really hopped on the packing cube train until somewhat recently. But once we did, WE NEVER WENT BACK. We now realize we were totally missing out.

In preparation for our honeymoon last year, we ordered a few different types of packing cubes off of Amazon. These are our favorites. They come with a variety of sizes (we got the set of 6) and a laundry bag (super helpful). They are lightweight, so you aren’t really adding any extra weight to your luggage, and you also have a choice of color! Another cool feature is that they come with little tags so you can label your cubes and stay super organized.

There are 2 main things we love about these packing cubes:

They are compression packing cubes. Meaning they have a double-zipper feature where you can save even more space by squashing your clothes down.

The quality is great. We have put these cubes through the ringer, stuffing as much as we can in them. Even when they are bursting at the seams, the zipper has not broken once! It’s amazing actually.

3. INSFIT Portable Travel Bottles

If you’re like Juli and like to bring all your own toiletry products (shampoo/conditioner, face wash, etc), than these are a must! They come with four 2 oz bottles (TSA carry on approved!) The bottles are silicone, making it easy to squeeze out all the product and also to wash the bottles. There’s also a nifty little carrying case and sticker labels so you know what is what!

4. NOMATIC Travel Pack

This is one of Sandro’s favorite purchases, basically EVER. It’s definitely more of an investment item as it’s pricey, but it’s hands down the best backpack for air travel (and just travel in general) we’ve ever purchased.

You can choose from 2 sizes (we have the larger one – 20L). It’s water resistant so it’s easy to clean. It expands to 30L to fit more of your stuff and there’s a panel on the back that slips easily on to your suitcase. Now you don’t have to break your back by wearing it the whole time you travel! Also, there are pockets for everything, including an RFID protected zipper pocket to hold your passport and magnetic water bottle pockets on the sides which collapse back to your bag when not in use. The list goes on, really, but this thing is built to last and therefore we feel that it was well worth the money.

5. EPICKA Universal Travel Adaptor

There are many options for travel adapters (and lots of similar products), but this all-in-one adapter has done the trick for us. There are 4 different plugs for 150+ countries and you can charge up to 6 devices at a time. It has regular USB 3.0 and USB-C ports and worked just about anywhere we’ve visited!

Note: It is not a voltage converter so you still need to be careful when using hair dryers, curling irons, etc.

6. Apple AirTags

If you don’t have AirTags, you need them. We were slightly traumatized after leaving a bag on a train. Luckily the bag was eventually found, but we immediately bought Apple AirTags to be able to track the location of our luggage at all times. While AirTags can be used for a lot of things, we put them in our suitcases and leave them there.

7. Anker PowerCore Portable Charger

Sandro keeps this one permanently in his Nomatic Travel Pack. It is an affordable and reliable power supply to charge your phones, iPads and whatever else, on the fly. You have a choice of 4 colors and it is lightweight and compact, so it fits easily in different pockets!

8. Healthy Human Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Bringing a water bottle while you travel is always a good idea. It saves you money – you don’t need to spend an arm and a leg on water at the airport or when you are out exploring. It is especially good to have in places like Switzerland if you are planning on doing a lot of outdoor activities – like hiking, or even just a lot of walking.

We love this water bottle because it isn’t too expensive and the quality is great. It comes in 4 sizes with your choice of color.

It is stainless steel and rust-proof, and it keeps your drink cold for a whole 24 hours (or hot for at least 12 hours). The opening is large enough to fit ice cubes and it has a three-finger carrying handle that is honestly super helpful.

We hope this helps all you fellow travelers out there! Regardless of where you go, you will more than likely need at least one of these items, so we are happy to share with you our tried-and-true favorites.

Happy travels!