Our Favorite Travel Essentials for 2025

Welcome to SELF Checkout, a series in which we share the wellness-boosting products currently in our carts. In each installment, you can expect to find our staffers’ essentials as well as genuinely useful splurges and group-chat-worthy finds.

We can’t promise your flight will be on time—nor can we guarantee you won’t hit traffic on your road trip. What we can say is the right travel essentials will help you forget about these (and so many other) headaches that arise when you’re trying to get away from it all (at least for a little bit).

When SELF staffers travel, our top priorities are comfort and ease—you won’t find any finicky baggage or stiff clothes here. Instead, we opt for luggage that won’t break our backs, comfy matching sets, and breezy sneakers. Oh, and we always pack a good phone charger.

If you’re preparing for a trip, you’ve come to the right place. Check out SELF editors’ hand-picked travel essentials below, then look forward to a (hopefully) relaxing journey.

To hold everything together

Dagne Dover

Dakota Neoprene Backpack

Calpak

Hue Front Pocket Carry-On

Is your old duffel looking a little worse for wear? Upgrade to some new bags that hold a sneaky amount of stuff and look great doing it. Jessica Cruel, SELF’s editor in chief, calls Dagne Dover’s best-selling Dakota backpack “the GOAT of travel,” and it’s easy to see why: It has 10(!) pockets to keep all your stuff organized, a trolley sleeve, and a bag for your shoes.

If you tend to overpack, try Calpack’s Hue Front Pocket Carry-On—it’s the one bag that Sarah Felbin, SELF’s senior commerce editor, trusts with all her must-haves (and nice-to-haves). “It fits a ton of stuff and has convenient pockets inside that help me keep my smaller essentials separate from my clothes and shoes,” she says. “Plus, it’s tough—I’ve lugged it around on multiple trips over the last year, and it’s barely scuffed at all.”

For longer vacations, few things will make you feel more pulled-together than matching luggage. Cruel loves her monochrome set from Béis. The brand has several luggage bundles you can choose from, but we like the two-piece Starter Set for its simplicity and sheer usefulness. The Carry-On Roller has a padded handle and durable hard shell, while the Weekender has a handy bottom compartment to keep clunkier items separate.

To make packing less painful

Aerotrunk

Compression Packing Cubes

Luxebell

Digital Luggage Scale

These accessories will help you make the most of your luggage. First, packing cubes are absolutely worth the investment—especially if you’re splurging on a set from Aerotrunk, according to Shanna Shipin, SELF’s shopping director. “They’re weighty and structured,” she says, with a compressive design that saves space.

No one wants to get stuck with an overweight carry-on. Save yourself some hassle at the gate and weigh your bags before you leave with Luxebell’s Digital Scale. Shipin swears by it for cross-country trips where she’d rather not check her suitcase.

And whether you’re traveling near or far, Angela Trakoshis, SELF’s shopping market editor, points out that it’s never a bad idea to throw an AirTag in your bag. (Then, attach one to your keys, slide one in your wallet, and maybe stick one to yourself, just to be safe).

To keep your devices alive

Kmsoioa

3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger

I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to deal with on a flight (besides a chatty seat neighbor) is a phone with a drained battery. Luckily, our tech-savvy staff have gadgets that’ll prevent just that (we can’t help you with the yappy stranger, though). Dana Leigh Smith, the vice president and content lead of Condé Nast Health, recommends Belkin’s super slim power bank. It’s MagSafe-compatible and it comes with a USB-C cable.

For major efficiency, Cruel likes to use a 3-in-1 charger, so she can juice up all her key devices at once. Her pick folds up when not in use and clocks in under $20. Consider us sold.

To get good rest

Alkamto

Memory Foam Pillow for Travel

Ostrichpillow

Go Neck Pillow

Sharper Image

Sleep Therapy White Noise Machine

You might miss your own bed, but you can still get stellar sleep when you’re on the road. Just pick up a travel pillow—Leigh Smith likes Alkamto’s totable memory foam pillow, while SELF contributor Kells McPhillips highly recommends Ostrichpillow’s Go Neck Pillow. She calls it her “travel secret weapon” for getting a few solid hours of sleep on a plane (without waking up to a stiff neck).

It may seem like an extravagance, but if you struggle to snooze away from home, consider packing a white noise machine—you never know how thin those hotel walls will be. Lexi Herrick, SELF’s senior director of audience, calls her portable model from Sharper Image “life-changing.” Sweet dreams.

To stay comfy

Spanx

AirEssentials Half Zip

Spanx

AirEssentials Wide Leg Pant

Auden

Marled Cozy Crew Socks (2-Pack)

You’ll never see me in an airport, train station, or rental car wearing denim. Instead, I like to take a page out of SELF commerce writer Jessica Kasparian’s book and stick with soft, stretchy pieces from head to toe. Her favorite set at the moment is from Spanx’s AirEssentials line. “It has the coverage I need to stay warm during a long train ride, but the fabric is breathable and cool to the touch, so I don’t overheat,” she says.

Finally, we can’t forget your feet. Paige Levinson, SELF’s special projects coordinator, always wears Auden’s butter-soft socks when she’s on the go (I’m personally a fan of compression socks, if you like a little squeeze). To top things off, On’s lightweight and breathable Cloud 6 Coast slip-on is a longtime staffer fave for travel. It won a SELF Sneaker Award back in 2023, and one editor says “they’re the perfect shoe to toss in your backpack or suitcase, to wear on hot days, and to kick on and off easily.”

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