Best Travel Accessories

A pocket-sized 10,000mAh battery pack — roughly two phone charges — with Anker's 18-month warranty.

The clearest example of earning its space: it is small enough that it lives in a bag all year rather than being packed for a trip, and the problem it solves — a dead phone away from home — is the one that ruins a day. Roughly two phone charges. It must go in hand luggage rather than a checked bag, which is an airline rule rather than a preference.

A set of zippered, mesh-topped fabric cubes that divide a suitcase into sections.

Cubes make unpacking a two-minute job and keep clean clothes separate from laundry, and they stay inside the suitcase between trips so they never need remembering. Mesh tops mean you can see what is in each without opening it. The cubes themselves take a little space, which is the honest cost, and budget-set zippers fail first.

One adapter covering most of the world's socket types, with several USB ports and a USB-C output.

It earns its space by replacing a handful of country-specific plugs with one object, and the USB ports mean a family charges from a single socket rather than competing for two. No research into plug types required. It is an adapter and not a voltage converter, so high-draw appliances still need thought, and it is bulky behind a hotel bed.

Reusable silicone earplugs with interchangeable tips, in a small carry case.

Tiny, so the space cost is nothing, and they do something no amount of planning does: make sleep possible on a plane, in a hostel or next to a snoring companion. The case is what makes them survive a bag rather than vanishing like foam plugs. Tip sizing takes trial and error, and they reduce noise rather than removing it.

A scarf-shaped travel pillow with an internal support that holds the head to one side instead of cradling the neck.

Justifies its space only for someone who flies long-haul or takes overnight trains — but for that person it is the difference between arriving rested and arriving wrecked. It holds the head to one side rather than cradling the neck, which is why it works where U-shaped pillows do not, and it packs far flatter than a foam ring.

A structured wash bag with internal pockets and a hook, so it hangs on a bathroom door or rail.

The hook is the entire point: hotel bathrooms have no counter space, and a bag that hangs keeps everything visible and off a wet surface. The wipe-clean lining means a leaking bottle ruins the bag rather than the clothes. Bulkier than a flat pouch, so it suits someone who travels for a week rather than a night.

A coin-sized tracker that reports its location through the Find My network of nearby Apple devices.

Zero space cost, because it goes inside the bag and stays there. The value shows up exactly once and decisively: when an airline mislays a bag and the traveler can see which airport it is in. A year-long replaceable battery, no subscription. It requires an iPhone or iPad, which is a hard condition, and a holder is bought separately.

A small, well-organized daypack that also clips onto larger Osprey packs, covered by Osprey's lifetime guarantee.

The day bag most travelers lack: small, organized, comfortable loaded, and sized to count as a personal item alongside a carry-on. It clips onto larger Osprey packs, and the lifetime guarantee means a failed zip is repaired rather than replaced. Not big enough as a sole travel bag, which is the point.

A leather folio holding a passport, boarding passes, cards, currency and a micro pen.

Space-efficient because it consolidates: passport, boarding passes, cards, currency and a pen in one leather folio instead of four pockets. It holds more than one passport, which is what makes it work for a couple or a family. Genuinely only worth it for someone who flies regularly — otherwise a passport sleeve is enough.