5 Travel Items That Are Actually Worth the Money

Including a spacious suitcase, my go-to personal item bag, and the best travel-sized sunscreen I've ever used

If you too live on the internet, you’ve probably seen the trend of people highlighting the five things they believe are genuinely worth the money—hotels, skincare products, kitchen tools, etc. (Admittedly, this newsletter is hitting your mailbox or Substack feed after the height of the trend. Partially because I’ve been thinking about the right products to include in my travel version, partially because I’ve been on daily deadlines for the past month.)

But as a firm believer that any travel experience is infinitely better with the right gear, I’m all for investing in items that make packing, air travel, and moving from destination to destination easier and more comfortable.

Here are five items I recommend time and time again to anyone who hasn’t yet found their perfect travel lineup.

A carry-on suitcase that actually fits a week’s worth of clothes

Whenever anyone asks me about carry-on suitcases, I always mention the Away Bigger Carry On. I frequently test different brands and carry-on styles, but I always come back to this Away version. If I’m thoughtful about what I pack, the suitcase will fit a week’s worth of clothes—and it nearly always passes the sit-on-top-and-zip test.

A go-to personal item bag

Going carry-on only got significantly easier for me when I started taking full advantage of my personal item bag. I rotate between the Tom Beckbe Carryall Tote and the MZ Wallace Deluxe Large Metro Tote—apologies if this is repetitive for long-time readers, but I haven’t yet found a bag I prefer over these two—and each one has enough space for my toiletries, laptop, various pouches (this is my favorite right now), and an extra pair of shoes. If you like to use a zipper-top bag, go for the MZ Wallace one.

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Sponsored: This is a slightly different category altogether, but I also fully believe Cakes are worth the investment. I bought my first pair—which are perfect for summer travel (I wear them with nearly all of my tank tops)—last summer, and they continue to hold up wear after wear. Plus, readers of my Substack can use code CAKES-JUSTPACKED for 31% off their purchase.

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The Turtl neck pillow

2026 is my year of incredibly long plane rides. First, it was India. Then Zimbabwe. Next, I have the Maldives, the Galápagos, and Botswana. 15-hour-plus travel is intimidating, but I go into each long travel day with a list of essentials—one of which is the Turtl neck pillow. I’m a heavy sleeper, and I tend to wake up with neck pain when flying. But not when I use this travel pillow. As the guy next to me flying back from Zimbabwe said, “I’ve never seen anyone sleep that well.”

Travel-sized Vacation sunscreen

I’m writing this from the pool at Montage Palmetto Bluff, skin fully covered in the Vacation sunscreen oil. I always travel with sunscreen, especially during the summer, so I’ve been on a mission to find my favorite TSA-approved sunscreen. This is it. I also bought the large oil spray can for no-plane-required trips, and these little bottles of regular sunscreen.

Bose cordless headphones

You won’t find me boarding a plane without my Bose cordless headphones. I bought them after losing two different sets of AirPods, and I haven’t looked back. I’m officially on year four of the same ones—and no complaints on my end.