Trendy Travel Essentials That Are All The Rage For 2025

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It's no secret that whether you're on a road trip through America's most beautiful national parks or spending a week on a luxury cruise, having the right gear for your vacation can dramatically elevate your experience. While you probably don't want to end up overpacking, it's always good to get turned onto hot new items that can make life easier when you're away from home. Every little helps, right?

Between the travel vloggers of TikTok and YouTube and the good people of Reddit, who just love to share their best travel hacks, there's almost always some cool new accessory trending. To help you catch up with the best of them, we've combed the web and found the best of the best. Whether it's a comfort item to make the journey smoother or some handy little gadget that solves a problem you didn't realize you had, these spicy little travel accessories can be an absolute game-changer.

If you're traveling internationally, you're probably going to end up watching TV on your personal airplane seat screen at some point. While most airlines generally offer complimentary headphones or earbuds these days, it's no longer something you can take for granted. Especially given Delta's recent decision to roll back their earbud distribution for economy passengers as a measure to reduce both their costs and some of the waste the airline generates from passengers who treat the cheap earbuds as disposable.

Even when passengers receive earbuds for the flight, the quality tends to be pretty lackluster compared to what most folks are accustomed to. And if you're stuck in a cramped airline seat for eight hours or longer, graduating from those tinny, mass-produced dollar-store headphones to the tasty surround sound of your trusty AirPods can make all the difference. While some of the newer planes have Bluetooth built into their screens, most don't offer this yet, which is why many passengers say it's worthwhile to invest in a quality Bluetooth adapter like AirFly.

The AirFly Pro 2.0 is a viral product that lets passengers easily pair up to two sets of headphones to their monitor, which means you and your travel buddy can watch the same show. Many passengers call AirFly a "game-changer," with one Reddit user reporting, "I'm on my second AirFly Pro. And I'll buy a 3rd the next time I leave it on the plane." You can pick up an AirFly Pro 2.0 for $59.99 from Twelve South.

No matter where you're going when you're traveling, you're going to need a good toothbrush cover to throw in your carry-on bag. But who's to say that your travel toothbrush cover can't be adorable, even whimsical? At just $5.77 for two on TikTok Shop, it's almost a crime not to invest in this little Banana Toothbrush Holder.

TikTok users have been going absolutely wild over this adorable little banana-faced toothbrush buddy, and not just because it has a super cute little face that makes jet-lagged mornings that much more cheerful. Each big-eyed green and yellow or yellow and brown banana case snaps neatly over your toothbrush head to protect it while it's chilling in your luggage, and comes with a clip so you can easily pop it onto your toiletry bag. Inside each little banana is another, smaller, more adorable banana, the right size to hold a tiny amount of toothpaste — exactly the right amount that you won't need to use any tricks to get past the TSA's liquid rules. The interior banana is made of soft, squishy silicone, so it's easy to squeeze and clean out between uses, and it nestles right inside the big banana, next to your toothbrush head, for safekeeping. 

No matter where your travels take you, you don't want to get caught with a dead phone in 2025. Unfortunately, this can be easier said than done for most folks these days, as we tend to use our phones for everything when we're traveling, from snapping pics and using contactless payment to navigating the streets of an unfamiliar city, translating conversations, and checking in with loved ones. Obviously, phone banks are a must-have for ensuring you don't end up stuck somewhere with no means of uploading your meal pics to Instagram, let alone summoning an Uber when you need one. And if you haven't yet upgraded your travel phone bank to a fast-charging magnetic phone bank, let this be your sign to pick up a magnetic charging bank for just $16.99 to $19.99 from TikTok Shop.

Slapping four of these bad boys together in her TikTok video, @darthmal10 advised grabbing one for everyone in your family or travel party if you plan to travel this summer. "These charge your phone so quickly," she said. "Literally from dead to fully charged in like 10 minutes." These banks snap to your phone magnetically and come with a stand, so you're still able to use the device while it charges. They also come with a digital readout that shows how much juice they have left. And they come in a handful of pretty colors, including black, white, and super cute shades of pastel purple and blue.

Thanks to one super handy little modern innovation, it's never been easier to reunite with lost luggage. Not much bigger than a quarter, tracking devices like Apple's AirTags or their many Android counterparts can be placed inside your luggage and used to locate it if you should get separated at some point during your travels. These types of devices use Bluetooth and cloud network technology to connect with the corresponding phone apps, allowing you to find and track whatever you've attached the trackers to. They are becoming so common these days that many luggage manufacturers are actually designing bags and cases with pockets to slip them inside. 

Reports of travelers finding lost luggage on their own with the help of an AirTag are also becoming more common. Take CNN's report of one passenger who used one to track her daughter's lost lacrosse bag despite the airline's insistence that it was at another airport entirely. Quite a few other people have also reported successfully using their trackers after an airline or cruise line failed to track down their property. You'll need a device in the Apple ecosystem to connect with an AirTag, which many frequent travelers say is the best tracker out there. If you need a non-Apple alternative, a Tile tracker is often recommended as the best option. You can pick up AirTag trackers for $29 to $99 from Apple or Tile trackers for $27.99 and up from Life360.

At first glance, Loop earplugs can seem like an odd or even overhyped investment. After all, they're just earplugs, not earbuds with high-quality surround sound. For $24.95 to upwards of $50 for some models, it might be hard to justify shelling out that kind of cash for the fancy version of something you could just pick up for less than a fiver at your local dollar store. However, the brand's many fans say it's more than worth the price tag for folks who find themselves overwhelmed by sound in places like concerts, busy marketplaces, or airplane cabins.

Sleek, attractive, and available in a wide range of colors and styles, Loop earplugs are designed to comfortably minimize noise without muffling sounds the way traditional earplugs do. That's because they actually channel sound through a small opening, creating an acoustic resonance that's similar to an ear's natural acoustic functionality, with memory foam inserts perfectly fitted to your ears.

Writing on Reddit, one flight attendant reported using them every time they travel for leisure. Another passenger raved, "I just got the Switch and I'm astounded how I've gone so long without them. On quiet mode, they even lowered the sound of a baby scream crying down to barely a hum. I was so shocked." At just $24.95 and up, Loop earplugs could turn out to be one of your best travel investments. 

If you find takeoff and landing hard on your ears, one flight attendant recommends using earplugs. And many frequent travelers on Reddit say the disposable silicone EarPlanes earplugs are the best solution, available for $8.99 from the official EarPlanes website. While EarPlanes will filter out some sound, that's not their primary purpose. They're actually designed to help dissipate some of that ear pressure that makes taking off and landing so miserable for some air passengers. Each EarPlane features a ceramic filter that allows the pressure to enter your ear canal more slowly, which means less pain when you're ascending at hundreds of miles per hour. They're made from soft, easy-to-clean silicone that won't hurt most ears, and they come in both adult and children's sizes.

"Earplanes really do help," reported one Reddit user, explaining, "Ive had a few flights where it was absolute agony with my sinuses, but after trying Earplanes I haven't had any issues." They're also a perfect complement to your Loops or noise-canceling headphones. Many Earplanes users like to use them during takeoff and landing, switching them out for their favorite earbuds while flying at cruising altitude.

Anyone familiar with "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" knows a towel is the most essential travel item for any traveler — or, as the guide puts it, "the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have." And even if you're not thumbing it across the galaxy, a lightweight, versatile microfiber towel truly can be a necessary travel accessory. If you're planning to spend any amount of time at a pool or a beach, these towels offer a lot more bang for your buck than a traditional bulky beach towel. They're also good to have when you're traveling abroad, as not every country automatically provides a face towel in every hotel room like they do in the United States and many European countries.

On r/OneBag, a Reddit community devoted to traveling with all of one's belongings packed in just one piece of luggage, one poster wrote, "I always bring this tiny microfiber towel. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but I use it constantly." Other Redditors also chimed in their support for these handy towels, with many praising their compact size as perfect for tight luggage or when packing for a beach trip, especially given the microfiber's quick drying time. Another Reddit user emphasized the benefits of microfiber for contact lens wearers, noting that drying hands with microfiber makes it easier to avoid getting lint on their lenses. Voted Best Comfy Camping Towel from gear review site Treeline Review, REI's Multi Towel Lite comes in three different sizes, making it perfect for everything from hair drying to beach lounging. Grab REI's Multi Towel Lite for $19.95 to $39.95 from the REI website.

Few things can be more disorienting or even outright jarring than waking up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar, pitch black space. As one Reddit user put it, "[S]omething primarily for the bathroom where you just need enough light to not kill yourself and at the same time avoid blinding yourself or waking up your partner." It's a serious issue for many frequent travelers — so much so that the internet's travel forums are full of threads devoted to hashing out the best solution to this problem, with suggestions ranging from plug-in nightlights to cheap battery-powered LED tea lights.

One of the most popular solutions in 2025 seems to be investing in a flashlight that has a "moonlight" mode that provides a very low level of lumens, perfect for eyeballs transitioning from sleep without getting temporarily blinded. And one popular moonlight mode flashlight that pops up time and again on these message boards is the ReyLight Pineapple Mini, a sleek-looking compact flashlight known for its color accuracy that comes with a range of programmable modes. In fact, these little lights are so popular that they've amassed something of a cult following.

Available in a wide range of colors, styles, materials, and even price points, each little light comes with an optional pocket clip and its own little carrying case. "It is a wonderfully skinny light, super lightweight, very easy to carry," YouTuber Jim Skelton noted in his product review. And the Mini's moonlight mode offers exactly the right amount of dim lighting for those midnight bathroom runs. Pick up your ReyLight Pineapple Mini MK II flashlight in aluminum for $35 from ReyLight.

Whether you're hopping in the car for an all-American adventure to the country's most unique roadside attractions or traveling overseas to faraway lands, the last thing you need is to lose your wallet. Luggage location tags are great for keeping track of your suitcases, but don't forget to put one where you need it the most: Next to your passport or identification. Luckily, you can pick up a passport holder with a slot for your AirTag or Tile locator built right into the wallet these days.

Enter the Zephyr Aviator Pro II AirTag passport holder, available for $79.00 from Zephyr Aviation. Zephyr Aviation specializes in providing individually handcrafted, high-quality products for pilots, using soft, durable, premium leather sourced in Florence, Italy. The plastic used to protect your documents is scratch-resistant, so you don't have to worry about it getting worn out after a few years of travel. And unlike some of the AirTag wallets currently trending on TikTok, the AirTag slips into a small pocket rather than telegraphing its presence in a more prominent location.

This passport wallet is a favorite among commercial pilots, but many say it's perfect for daily use around town thanks to its slim, minimalist style. "The snug fit keeps my AirTag secure without adding bulk," wrote one reviewer on the Zephyr website. Another noted, "The quick-access passport slot makes grabbing and displaying your passport a breeze."

When you're packing for your big summer beach vacation, the suggestion that you might need to slip a spoon or a fork into your luggage might seem a little absurd. However, frequent travelers say it's one of the things they've learned never to travel without. Writing on the subreddit r/onebag, several regular travelers confessed their commitment to travel cutlery. "Travel fork/ Spoon/ knife," wrote one Reddit user. "Can't tell you how many times that's saved the day." Others reported traveling with titanium sporks and chopsticks as well. The need, another user explained, arises from how frequently takeout preparers forget to pack any plastic utensils in your to-go order. "Now, you're hunched over the desk trying to shuttle spaghetti to your mouth with a complimentary La Quinta pen," they wrote.

Camping utensils offer a perfect solution for this all-too-common travel pain point, especially when they come in a handy dandy carrying case that doesn't take up much room in your luggage. And they can be easily washed in your hotel sink using whatever shampoo or body wash you've got handy in a pinch. Visit Amazon to pick up the Devico travel utensils with case for only $8.99.

Most of us tend to take for granted that the air we're breathing is safe on any given day. That doesn't change when we're traveling, a time to let go of everyday stressors and get completely lost in the experience of relaxation and calm. But a rash of carbon monoxide deaths among Americans traveling abroad over the past few years should serve as a reminder that all of the safety measures that get taken for granted in the United States and most European countries aren't standard everywhere.

The silent killer took the lives of four Americans in early 2025 (as reported by CNN), including three women traveling in Belize and another in Costa Rica the following month, the teenage son of former New York Yankee Brett Gardner. All of them passed away while relaxing in their hotel or resort accommodations. But carbon monoxide poisoning deaths can also occur right here in the United States. While hotels and resorts tend to have carbon monoxide detectors, carbon monoxide deaths can and do occur in vacation rentals and RVs alike.

The good news is that portable carbon monoxide detectors are relatively affordable and don't take up much space in your luggage. As one Reddit user put it, "With more and more deaths happening in hotel rooms, I carry one in my luggage now every time I travel." A GZAIR Travel Carbon Monoxide Detector is a highly-rated model, available for $116 from Amazon.

If you've ever sat down in your airplane seat and immediately shoved your belongings in the little pocket in front of you right next to the Skymall, you should know you've been playing a dangerous game. As one flight attendant recently warned Islands, these airline seat pockets tend to be pretty disgusting. In a Reddit thread titled "What's the worst thing you've found in the seat pocket? I'll go first," passengers reported finding a litany of horrors in their seat pouches — things like fingernails and toenails, a used and uncapped hypodermic needle, chewed gum, used barf bags, and even multiple instances of poop-filled diapers.

The bottom line? People can be disgusting, and you don't want to know what's lurking in that seat pocket, no matter how much you need the storage for your six-hour flight. Thankfully, there's a compromise: Portable, washable airline pockets you can slide onto your tray table for storage and then slip right off again when it's time to go. In her Facebook reel review of Airplane Pockets (available for $29.99 from Amazon), Lazy Lauren World Tour noted how much easier they make packing up your belongings at the end of the runway. "If you're traveling with kids, you NEED to add this to your carry-on!" she reported.