The 7 Things Our Travel Pros Insist On Packing

Summary

Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways

Episode Summary: The 7 Things Our Travel Pros Insist On Packing

Date: July 29, 2026
Hosts: Sally French & Meghan Coyle

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Episode Overview

In this episode, NerdWallet's travel experts Sally French and Meghan Coyle go beyond generic packing lists to reveal the seven specific items they always bring on trips (with hands-on product demos for video viewers). Along the way, they break down their core packing philosophies, share their top strategies for avoiding overpacking (and packing regrets), and provide a fun, practical look at the travel essentials that make their journeys smoother, safer, and more enjoyable. From power adapters to laundry hacks, the hosts give listeners actionable, real-world advice—plus some hot takes and honest debate.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Packing Philosophies & Strategies (14:28–20:29)

• Pack Less, Not More:
  • Sally: "If you have empty space in your bag, that's good." (14:28)
  • Meghan: Always leave room for souvenirs. Do the “pack everything, then remove half” method, especially if you tend to overpack. (14:43)
• The $10/10-minute Rule:
  • Sally's rule: If you can find something in less than 10 minutes and for less than $10 at your destination, don't pack it. "This is my number one way to avoid overpacking." (15:20)
• Absolute Essentials Checklist:
  • Meghan: "What are the only things I need for this trip? Passport, cell phone, wallet." (16:30)
• Duplication & Ready-to-Go Bags:
  • Sally: Keep duplicates of key items (chargers, hairbrush, toiletries) always in your bag to minimize forgetting. (16:52)
  • Meghan: Same for travel-sized toiletries, contacts, and more—ready to leave at a moment’s notice. (17:26)
• Strategic Packing Placement:
  • Meghan: Keep things you need immediately or in emergencies in your backpack, not your checked bag. Always have an extra outfit in carry-on for lost luggage. (17:48)
• Avoiding Pickiness:
  • Sally: "If you're packing your own towel, that's wild." (18:31)
  • Meghan: "Sometimes it’s comforting to have your own skincare or sensitive products." (19:19)
• Pack Workout Gear:
  • Meghan: “If you don’t bring it, you won’t use it. If you bring it, you’re more likely to work out and avoid packing regrets.” (19:54)

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2. The 7 Essential Travel Items (20:29–41:54)

1. Multipurpose Backpack (20:29–22:51)

• Sally: Recommends the Peak Design 2-in-1 backpack (40L)—can split into a smaller daypack and main pack.
  • "I'm obsessed with the two in one concept... So I'm not repacking my daypack; it's all together." (22:16)
• Meghan: Small crossbody bag by Foldy, featuring anti-pickpocket clasp and slash-proof bottom. Fits water bottle, hotel keys, and essentials.
  • “It makes me feel really secure. You can yank on it and it’s not really going anywhere.” (23:30)

2. Packing Cubes (24:49–25:52)

• Sally: “You can fit so many clothes… and if you have to take out your bag, your clothes aren’t exploding everywhere.” (25:12)
• Meghan: “Swear by them to keep you organized and fit more in.”

3. Swimsuit (25:52–27:00)

• Meghan: Carries a “travel-only” swimsuit on every trip.
  • “Nothing disappoints me more than being near water and realizing you don’t have a swimsuit.” (25:58)
• Sally: Prefers not to pack one (would buy if needed), but Meghan disagrees—hard to find well-fitting suits on the road.

4. Universal Power Adapter & Charging Gear (27:31–29:46)

• Sally: “One adapter covers all your bases. No need for a Ziploc of random plugs.” (28:32)
• Meghan: Brings USB cords for flexible charging, and a power bank—“especially useful for flights, theme parks, or anywhere outlets are scarce.” (29:37)

5. Reusable Tote Bag / Grocery Bag (29:46–31:33)

• Sally: “A tote bag is my catch-all. I always come back from trips with more stuff than I left with.” (30:29)
• Meghan: “Also use for groceries, beach, or as an overflow carry on item if you need to check your suitcase.” (31:10)

6. Laundry Detergent Tablets & Ziploc Bags (31:33–34:20)

• Meghan: Packs waterless Blueland detergent tablets for trips longer than a week, enabling laundry at laundromats and reducing clothes packed.
  • “Laundromats abroad are actually great for people watching and local experiences.” (32:24)
• Sally: Swears by Ziploc bags (“catch-all for everything!”)—especially for food, wet swimsuits, or evidence of snack swiping. (34:01)

7. Personal Hydration & Snacks (35:03–38:56)

• Meghan: Instant coffee, chai/matcha latte packs, and electrolyte powders for harsh hotel coffee or dehydration. (35:33)
• Sally: Big Owala water bottle (“If you are not peeing a minimum two times on your flight… you’re not hydrated enough.”) (36:23)
• Protein bars as emergency food. Meghan likes Power Crunch; Sally prefers Built Bar or microwaved Quest Bars. (37:34)
• Megan’s Pro Tip: Bring ramen/cup noodles on budget airlines—use free hot water for a hot meal. “That’s a power move.” (38:18)
• Sally: Melatonin helps with jet lag and hotel sleeplessness. (39:16)

8. Analog Fun (Cards & Books) (39:56–41:54)

• Meghan: Always travels with a deck of cards (“can help you meet new people, avoid screen fatigue on long delays”) and a physical book for analog downtime in parks, cafes, or transit. (40:51)
• Sally: “If I bring a book, I’m for sure getting negative points. Not opening it.” (41:47)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Overpacking:
  • Sally: "My husband and I have a game where at the end of the trip, we look at what we've packed and what we haven't used, and you get in trouble… if you packed something that you didn't [use]." (16:07)
• On the $10/10-Minute Rule
  • Sally: “If you can find it in less than 10 minutes and it costs less than $10, do not pack it. You can also adjust this to your liking…” (15:20)
• On Hydration:
  • Sally: “If you are not peeing a minimum of two times on your flight… you’re not hydrated enough.” (36:23)
• On Hotel Shampoo:
  • Sally: “I’m sorry, if you’re packing your own shampoo, that’s wild.” (18:57)
  • Meghan: “Sometimes it’s very comforting to at least have your skincare.” (19:19)
• On Cards & Analog Entertainment:
  • Meghan: “I've had people come sit down on the train and ask what I'm playing, and then we play together. That’s been really fun.” (40:51)

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Packing Lists Quick Reference (The 7 Items)

Sally's essentials:

• Peak Design 2-in-1 Backpack (or similar large/small modular pack)
• Packing cubes
• Universal power adapter (multi-country)
• Cheap reusable grocery/tote bag
• Ziploc bags (various sizes)
• Owala (or spill-proof) water bottle
• Melatonin

Meghan's essentials:

• Crossbody anti-theft bag (Foldy)
• Packing cubes
• Swimsuit
• Power bank & USB cables
• Reusable tote bag (doubles as overflow carry-on)
• Laundry detergent tablets
• Drink packs (coffee, chai, electrolytes)
• Deck of cards & a book

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Packing Philosophy & $10/10-Minute Rule: 14:28–16:07
• Absolute Essentials Checklist: 16:30–16:43
• Ready-to-Go Packing & Duplication: 16:52–17:46
• Packing Placement Strategy: 17:48–18:31
• Pack Less vs. Home Comfort Debate: 18:31–19:54
• Should You Pack Workout Gear?: 19:54–20:24
• Sally’s Backpack Demo (Peak Design 2-in-1): 20:29–22:51
• Anti-theft Bag & Packing Cubes: 23:10–25:52
• Swimsuit Discussion: 25:52–27:31
• Electronics: Universal Adapter, Power Banks: 27:31–29:46
• Grocery Bag/Tote Bag Utility: 29:46–31:33
• Laundry Tablets & Ziploc Bags: 31:33–34:20
• Drinks, Water Bottles, Protein Bars: 35:03–38:56
• Cards, Books, & Screen-Free Fun: 39:56–41:54

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Episode Tone

Lighthearted, practical, and gently argumentative—true to “travel nerd” style. The hosts mix honest debate (what’s “wild” to pack or skip?) with hands-on advice and real-world stories, speaking directly to both the minimalist and the “comfort-first” traveler. Their banter adds fun and approachability.

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Final Takeaways

• Pack less than you think, but be strategic—essentials, not “just in case” items.
• Duplicate essentials to avoid last-minute stress; keep toiletries/chargers always in your bag.
• Packing cubes and tote bags are game-changers, especially for staying organized and managing overflow.
• Personal comfort items (like preferred coffee, snacks, or entertainment) can make travel more enjoyable—within reason.
• Prepare for laundry, hydration, and real downtime.
• Ultimately, adapt your packing to your travel style, but consider these 7 items as a strong starting point for stress-free, budget-savvy getaways.

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Want more details or to buy the hosts’ favorite gear? Check the episode description for links, and join the conversation by sharing your own essential travel items or hot takes on social media!

Transcript

[A]

You guys know I'm a backpack only traveler, but today you get to find out what backpack I'm actually using.

[B]

And don't worry, I don't have anything against roller bags like Sally does, but I have plenty of recommendations that you could put into a roller bag if you wanted to. Welcome to a special in studio edition of Smart Travel from NerdWallet. A deep dive into the tips, tools and tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Megan Coyle.

[A]

And I'm Sally French. And welcome to our real video set. You can watch us by going to Spotify to see the video form of us.

[B]

As you know, we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip. And that planning might mean packing.

[A]

That's exactly what I was thinking. This episode dials into seven items we would not travel without.

[B]

But first, our disclaimer and that's that we'll talk about a few credit card companies that are Nerd Wallet partners in this episode, but that doesn't influence how we discuss them. The benefits, terms and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can change. Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening for for the latest details, follow the links in the episode description.

[A]

Alrighty, we are going to pop out of the studio real fast to record some up to date news. We'll be right back.

[B]

Now we love saving time and money on travel and one of our favorite travel award search tools called Seats Aero just released a new Chrome browser extension. It lets you compare points pricing when you run a search on Google Flights. Or you could also do it on some of the other travel search tools like Chase Travel if you have a Chase Travel card.

[A]

This really does seem to be becoming the trend in points tools. The thing where there is now a browser extension tied to this. I am such a fan of Points Path which also does something similar with both of these tools. It makes it easier to figure out what the points cost is versus what the cash price is because you can just search for a flight on Google Flights and then without having to go check the individual airline's website to see how many points that flight would cost. Instead it's just displayed right there on the browser extension.

[B]

So how it works is you download this browser extension and then you open Google Flights like the website and and run your search and like you said, the number of points will show up right under the cash price in the search results.

[A]

Now I'm very familiar with points back because I use it, but I want to know with Seats Aero. Does it work for all types of cabins?

[B]

Yes. Once you select the exact flight, like the time and the airline and everything, it'll show you the points prices broken out by cabin and also by the different types of points you could use to book that exact flight.

[A]

Now, I guess the problem is, what if I don't actually have any miles with that airline? Let's say I'm booking an American Airlines flight, but I don't actually have any a advantage miles.

[B]

Well, the great thing is you can actually filter the results by airline, by credit card transfer partners, and even the max number of points you're willing to spend or maybe that you have in your accounts. So that way you don't even see the options that you won't be able to book because you don't have enough

[A]

points or miles out of that. I don't want to know. Now, one thing that people do want to know is we talk a lot about these points tools and they cost money. And people are like, please don't tell me something that costs money. I want to know if it's free.

[B]

There is a free version, but you'll only be able to see results for 60 days out. So if you're trying to book a flight for next year year, you wouldn't be able to see that yet. And also the free version shows you cached results, which means that that is not live availability. That means that maybe a day ago or six hours ago, they did see some availability for this flight on points, but maybe by the time you click through to the airline's website, it might be gone.

[A]

Ooh, interesting. And we do know that airfares can change over the day, even over the hour, perhaps so. So that is interesting to think about, but I guess I do appreciate that there's the freemium model. So you can pay nothing and get a little taster of it and then pay a little more and then get something better. So if you do pay a little more, it is 9,99 per month or you can just pay all in one go, in which case it is 99,99 cents for the year.

[B]

And we have a review all about Seeds Arrow on the Nerd Wallet website and we can talk about when it might make sense for you to pay for that pro subscription. So we'll link to that in the episode description. High level though, if you are booking a lot of award flights, if you've got some dream flight redemptions in mind, like first class on Japan Airlines or something like that, then I think the pro subscription could be worth it. For you. And there's also some new features for cardholders that do get special discounts with certain airlines, for example United and Delta. So again, if you're trying to see a complete picture of what your award flight options are and you do have a credit card with Delta or United, then again you might want to consider a pro subscription because then you can see that cardholder pricing in those search results.

[A]

And here at NerdWallet we do the work for you. We review all of these points tools, whether it's seeds, arrow points, path, there's a bunch of others. Check out nerdwallet.com because we have reviews of all of them.

[B]

All right now the next one is one of my favorites. Sally, you know I love an airport chai latte. It's just like so comforting.

[A]

Oh, I do.

[B]

Starting August 5, eligible linked members of Delta Sky Miles rewards program and Starbucks rewards program will earn 1 mile per dollar spent at participating Starbucks coffee houses.

[A]

This program has flip flopped in the way that you earn your points or your stars a few times. So right now I think it gets a little simpler. Delta and Starbucks launches program in 2022. I did sign up right away and then in 2024 they changed the rewards rate to be based on how much you reloaded your Starbucks gift cards for. So that sort of forced you to buy Starbucks gift cards. I don't love this because you know, I hate gift cards.

[B]

You know I actually didn't mind this because you also get more Starbucks stars. That's kind of their rewards currency if you pay with a gift card. So I was already using Starbucks gift cards but the weird thing was that you would get a certain number of Delta miles based on the amount that you reloaded and it wasn't one to one like it will be now starting August 5th. So this is a lot simpler to remember and just to know none of this is life changing numbers of stars or numbers of Delta sky miles.

[A]

Now it is pretty straightforward. Just earn one sky mile per dollar spent at Starbucks. So I appreciate that because I don't want to be screwing around with all the gift cards. Keep in mind we value a Delta sky mile at 1.2 cents each. That's Nerdwall its valuations. So you're going to have to be buying a lot of coffee to get anywhere near a free flight.

[B]

I do recommend that people do link their accounts if they have flown Delta within the last year because that is one of the requirements of being able to earn Delta sky miles with your Starbucks purchases. But if you do that and you go to Starbucks even occasionally. I think this is easy to do and it's free, so you might as well.

[A]

Speaking of this partnership, they did one more new thing and that is they shared a recipe for a Delta cookie drink that you can now order from the secret menu at Starbucks.

[B]

Sally, you know, my thought was,

[A]

yeah, I'm like, this is basically Biscoff in a Starbucks. Here's a recipe. Grande ice, brown sugar, oat milk shaken espresso. I don't love oat milk. Ask me later for my hot takes on oat milk. But then they line the cup with caramel sauce. One pop of chai. Meghan, you like chai?

[B]

I do like chai.

[A]

I know. Extra cinnamon powder. That's kind of cute. What do you think?

[B]

Okay. Actually this sounds kind of good. I think I would order it. I would never order a Biscoff cookie though.

[A]

Next up, Bill also released their rent day promo for August. They do this every month. It's always the first of the month. What they are not doing this month is a transfer bonus. Instead they are doing a status match. So for August 1, members can unlock a status match with all Accord when they transfer built points to all Accord reward points on that day.

[B]

So it'll take 5,000 built points if you're a silver or gold built member to get silver status with all accor. Then it would take 15,000 built points to transfer to some of the higher levels of status. A la Core is one of those lesser known hotel rewards programs. It does have over 7,000 properties, including some luxury brands people might be familiar with like Fairmont and Sofitel. But I'm not sure it's worth transferring Bill points for this one.

[A]

Yeah, because you don't just automatically get the status match, you also have to transfer the points, which means now your points as built, which were super valuable and flexible as Bill are now tied up in, let's say only booking a Fairmont. Now if you are honestly going to book a Fairmont with points anyway, then I say go ahead and do it because status does get you some nice benefits. So for example, gold status gets you add ons like a room upgrade and I'll totally take a room upgrade at the Fairmont Platinum. Status gets you other add ons like a suite upgrade and then you also get into lounge access. I've never been in a Fairmont lounge, but I hope they're not nice. I'm sure they are.

[B]

You'd probably need to be pretty invested in this program and already have a couple of stays in mind for the rest of the year and even into next year to take advantage of this elite status. So I think I'm gonna skip this month.

[A]

Me too. There is one thing this month I am not skipping, and that is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day. That is happening on Tuesday, August 4th. And anyone can take advantage of this because Doubletree by Hilton Properties across the US Are are offering free cookies. That's their chocolate chip cookie with the walnuts thrown in. Or there's also an allergy friendly version. If you're not a. Not a nut person. If you're not a nut, you can go in, just walk into the lobby and you get free cookies. Oh, my gosh.

[B]

Amazing. You don't even have to stay there. I love it.

[A]

Yeah, you. So usually you get a cookie at check in. Someone was like, don't you always get free cookies? But I'm like, no, no, no. This is. Anyone can just go walk into the lobby.

[B]

I'm always here for a free cookie, so I'll be doing that too. Wow. I have a lot of food to get in the next couple of weeks.

[A]

All right.

[B]

The next one is not so much news, but more of a psa because I know it's still July, but Labor Day is coming sooner than you think. Yes.

[A]

Book early. Do not sleep on Labor Day, especially if you want to book something like an Airbnb where there's only one available, or you're booking a flight route where there's only one flight that day. Do not delay. Jump on your bookings.

[B]

Speaking of that, we just got some interesting data from Turo, which is sort of like Airbnb for cars. And they told us that the number of dates reserved for Turo rentals across the US are already up 9% year over year for the August 23rd to September 12th period around labor Day. I know that's kind of a random amount of time, but keep in mind this holiday is still five weeks out, so I think that number could climb higher.

[A]

And I totally procrastinate on renting a car. So the fact that it's already up 9% is pretty interesting. It's also funny because I think something that we talk about a lot to each other and on the show is that we always hear people saying, oh, we're not traveling this year because it's too expensive. But then we see stats like this literally proving that travel is up.

[B]

We are seeing that with rental cars, and I expect we'll see with flights as well that there are some. Still quite a few people traveling. Like, if you Plan to fly for Labor Day. You need to strategize which days you're actually going to fly because that could help you save a lot of money.

[A]

NerdWallet uses TSA data to track which days of the week are busier versus less busy. airports. Labor Day falls on the same day of the week every year, so it's pretty easy to track. And long story short, everyone for Labor Day weekend flies out on Friday and they return home on Monday. So if you are traveling on the Friday before Labor Day or Monday, that is Labor Day itself. Good luck because that means airports are going to be the most crowded they've been of any period during that week.

[B]

Just come back during the actual Labor Day holiday weekend. Like I am flying back for my Labor Day travels on Sunday night and it's going to be great because then I have all of Monday to do my laundry.

[A]

The other thing that I would say people can do is just extend even longer. So rather than leave on Friday, why don't you leave a couple of days earlier, leave on Tuesday or Wednesday, you get a longer trip. Or rather than come back on Monday, extend, extend a little longer and come back maybe the Tuesday or Wednesday after Labor Day, I say just take a longer vacation.

[B]

We'll take any excuse for a longer vacation. Read the full story on the Nerd Wallet website. We'll link to it in the episode description.

[A]

Final thing, I want to reiterate one more piece of info we shared last week, but it is very important to us because we want to hear from you.

[B]

We are considering doing some type of meetup in real life. Maybe a live podcast taping, maybe just a meetup, but we need help figuring out exactly what it should be and where we should do it.

[A]

We'll do what and we'll go wherever you want to go. It depends on what you ask for. So you need to fill out our listener survey and actually tell us where you want us to go and what you want us to do.

[B]

There's also a spot in the survey to share your hot takeoffs with us. And Sally and I dream about doing an episode that's just full of listener hot takeoffs.

[A]

Yeah, I think it'd be quasi like roast. Like we would talk about your wildest, most controversial opinions and then we might tell you if we think they're good or not. Head over to the link in our episode description right now to fill out that survey and drop your hot takes.

[B]

I'm looking forward to reading those, but in the meantime we're gonna get to the episode I know a lot of you have been looking forward to. And that's a list of all the things we refuse to travel without. That's up next after this.

[A]

Today's episode is sponsored by Lisa. Look, you know I'm constantly crossing time zones for this show and people ask me all the time, Sally, how do you deal with the jet lag coming from all these trips? Well, I have a lot of travel tricks up my sleeve. I love me some hydration and I definitely recommend a workout or at least a walk before and after flights. But my most tried and true secret weapon is walking through my front door, dropping off my luggage and collapsing onto my Legend Chill hybrid mattress from Leesa. It is true. Good old fashioned sleep is the best way to recover from a trip. And a great mattress is the way to ensure you fall asleep and stay asleep. My Leesa mattress is a perfect mix of supportive without being stiff and soft without feeling like I'm in quicksand. It gives me that deep, high quality sleep that completely resets my internal clock and brings back my energy to its usual Sally levels. If you want to have energy like me, just take the Lisa Sleep quiz. It takes less than two minutes to find your perfect match. Plus they are meticulously designed and assembled right here in the USA and they back it up with 120 night sleep trial. Right now is the absolute perfect time to upgrade your bedroom. Go to leesa.com for 25% off select mattresses plus get an extra $50 off with promo code smarttravel, exclusive for Smart Travel listeners that is L-E-E-S-A.com promo code smarttravel for 25% off select mattresses plus an extra 50 off. And when you use our code, you are supporting our show. Go to Lisa.com promo code SmartTravel. Your back will thank you.

[B]

We are back in Scottsdale to talk about our favorite things that we love to pack or carry with us on our trips.

[A]

But before we actually show you the seven items, I want to talk just about our packing strategies. Generally, I always say pack as little as possible. The people who say, you have a bag so fill it up all the way. I say, oh no, no, no. If you have empty space in your bag, that's good.

[B]

You need to leave room for souvenirs. Honestly, I'm one to buy something when I'm out traveling, so I need to leave space for that kind of stuff. Also, I like to do the thing where you pack everything. You take half of it out because you realize like, oh, you know what? I brought five pairs of jeans and I don't need this many. I really only need to think about what is your access to maybe doing laundry. Can you rewear any of this? Can you mix and match a little bit better? I think doing that exercise of putting everything you want in first, making sure you have everything, and then taking out half the stuff you don't need is a great one. If you are an overpacker.

[A]

I always go with the ten, ten dollar rule as featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post. This is the. That I created, and I really live by it, is that if you can find an item that is a just in case item, I'm talking about those band aids, something that you're not for sure you're going to need. If you can find it in less than 10 minutes and it costs you less than $10, do not pack it. You can also adjust this to your liking. So if you are financially uncomfortable, maybe you up it beyond $10. Some of you might have a 10, $100 rule where you just say, I don't even know if I'm going to need a jacket, but I'll just buy one if I'm there if it really is cold. And that is my number one way to avoid overpacking and having all these items that you're likely not going to use. In fact, my husband and I have a game where at the end of the trip, we look at what we've packed and what we haven't used, and you get in trouble.

[B]

Oh, no.

[A]

If you packed something that you didn't

[B]

get five points if you didn't wear it.

[A]

Exactly.

[B]

Okay. I think about that rule a little bit differently in terms of, like, right before I leave my apartment, I go through a checklist in my head of what are the only things I need for this trip. What if I had to buy everything from scratch? What are the things I couldn't buy? Passport, passports, cell phone, wallet.

[A]

That's literally it.

[B]

And once I see all four of those things in their right place, I'm like, all right, I'm ready to close the door.

[A]

Amen. I love that. I'm so relaxed.

[B]

You got to compartmentalize it all.

[A]

You gotta pack just passport, just phone. You're good.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You could even buy a phone charger in most places.

[B]

Absolutely.

[A]

You don't even need to stress about the phone charger.

[B]

As long as you have the phone, you're probably good to access whatever.

[A]

You should still pack your phone charger. And that brings me to my next Tip is that I have been in situations, I have forgotten my phone charger and then I've had to go buy one and I really don't think it's the biggest deal in the world. However, there is a financial cost for not buying a million phone chargers. And I also don't want to waste my time at the Apple store buying a phone charger if I don't have to. So now what I do is I have my bag and I have duplicates of things like phone chargers. Hair brushes. I have a million hair brushes. I never unpack my bag. I just leave the phone charger that's spare or the hairbrush that's spare in the bag and then I never have to worry about forgetting it because it was always packed.

[B]

I love doing this for toiletries. Like, I don't want to have to figure out, like, do I need to put this into a tiny travel size little container? Like, I just have the duplicates in my bag at all times. I also have the hairbrush, I have contact lenses. I have everything in there. So I'm pretty much ready to leave for a trip at any moment. You want to go to Hawaii tomorrow? Let's go.

[A]

Like, amazing.

[B]

Another thing that I think about when I'm packing is like, like packing strategically. So it's not hard to get to the things you need first. So I always carry toiletries with me, like in my backpack because I might want to brush my teeth at the airport and I don't want to have to unzip my carry on suitcase to be able to find my toothbrush and toothpaste. I think that's one thing you should think about when you're packing for a trip is like, what are things that you're going to need immediately or what are emergency things you might need? I've lost checked bags on my trips before and the things that saved me were those things in the carry on that I was like, okay, I always have an extra set of clothes in my carry on just in case my checked bag gets lost. I have two outfits, the one I'm wearing and the one in my bag. Packing strategically where you are putting things in your bag is really important.

[A]

My final tip is you can't be picky. I think there's a lot of people who are like, I need to have my specific towel or my specific thing. I'm just going to be honest with you. If you want to be a good traveler, you need to accept that you're just going to have to use a hotel towel. And that is what it is. If you are packing your own towels. I'm sorry, that's wild. There are some medical reasons why you might need to be picky for certain items. Even shampoo. I'm sorry, if you're packing your own shampoo, that's wild.

[B]

What? No, I actually think that's the one that you should.

[A]

Whoa, whoa. I am using hotel shampoo. We stayed in the Hyatt place last night and I was like, whoa. Their shampoo is surprisingly nice.

[B]

Some hotels have great shampoo, but you don't know. And especially if you have really sensitive skin. Like, if there are any medical.

[A]

Yeah, I have, like, a friend who breaks out if she does any.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Flavored scented shampoos.

[B]

Sometimes it's, like, very comforting to at least have your, like, skincare products. Like, the worst thing is to be traveling. You're tired and you're jet lagged and you're stressed and your skin is breaking out and you're like, and I don't even have my normal skin.

[A]

Sally says, don't be a diva.

[B]

I say, deal. The comforts of home. If you want to say with Sally,

[A]

get outside of your comfort zone.

[B]

A travel size.

[A]

Sacrifice that keel shampoo that you have at home every day and just use the hotel shampoo.

[B]

It could be nicer.

[A]

That's my hot take.

[B]

Oh. I have a last piece of advice, which is if you are thinking, oh, my gosh, I have packed too much. I'm just not going to bring my workout gear. I would say just bring it.

[A]

Bring the workout gear.

[B]

Because if you don't bring it, you're not going to work. Work out. And so I think similar to you, I kind of do an evaluation at the end of my trip. Like, what did I not use? And I would hate to be like, oh, my gosh, I did not go running at all. I took my shoes all the way here. They took up half my suitcase, and I didn't run.

[A]

So it forces you to work out because you don't want to get the negative points.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Interesting.

[B]

So I really encourage everyone to just bring the workout gear or things. Like, if you're not sure if it's going to be cold, just bring the sweater.

[A]

Oh, no, I say don't bring the sweater.

[B]

I would bring.

[A]

Just buy a sweater when you get there.

[B]

No, I would bring the sweater. That one is too expensive for me

[A]

to buy a spotter when you get there. All right, we're gonna show you the seven items that we always travel with. Now, if you want to purchase these items, we're gonna put links in the episode description. I do want to disclose some of these links are affiliate links. That means that Nerd Wallet makes money. If you purchase these items, we get a small commission. Not for all of them. We are truly recommending items that we know and love. And some of these we don't get a commission if you purchase. So we just want to recommend the best picks. And I will start off with the backpack that I travel with as I am a backpack only traveler. So this is a backpack that I love recently I acquired. So I used to use a Cotopachi backpack. I believe that's how you say the brand name is Kodopachi. It's like P A X I. I don't know what that means but I have actually pivoted to a different brand and I still love Cotopachi but I'm trying. This one out is from peak design. And so as you see, it's a backpack. It's got all these different.

[B]

For people who are just listening, this backpack is the size of a carry on suitcase. It is quite large. Like it is not a small backpack.

[A]

So this is a bigger backpack. This is 40 liters which is quite large. This is close to carry on size and I have a large backpack. Because we are recording in studio, we have to pack a bunch of different clothes. We're in Scottsdale for a long time. We had to pack mics, tons of gear. But this backpack being 40 liters is able to fit all the gear. But here's what's interesting and the number one reason why I am a fan of this backpack is that the front of it literally zips off. So I'm zipping it off right now and this becomes a two in one backpack. Because we have been working from the office and I want to have a little backpack in the office but I don't want to bring this huge Honkin 40 liter thing. So this is wild is you zip it.

[B]

It looks almost bigger than Sally when she's wearing it. It's really funny.

[A]

But I am small. But this backpack in my right hand is the larger one and then on the left hand this is more of your day pack backpack. So if I were to go hiking or just even if I was going to a theme park or something and I want to carry all my stuff, I'm not packing the big thing. And then you don't even need to pack multiple backpacks because you've got the two in one. So I'm obsessed with the two in one concept.

[B]

I love this feature, especially because then you don't have to repack this this day pack. You just zip it onto your packed backpack when you're ready to go home.

[A]

So my first pouch right here. This is where my hotel room keys are. My wallet's in here, My phone's in here. So I'm not like, oh, my gosh, I left it in the hotel room in the other bag. It's just literally the same bag. Amazing, this peak design. Two in one backpack. I'm a fan.

[B]

I also brought a bag. Not the one I pack everything in. This is just a crossbody bag.

[A]

Megan's got a tiny crossbody bag. What brand is that?

[B]

This one is is foldy. And the reason I like this one is because it's pickpocket proof. Supposedly. Probably not everything because not totally pickpocket proof. So this crossbody bag looks pretty standard, but on the edge it has a little hook and you can actually hook this onto the zipper.

[A]

Oh. So that someone can't even unzip it.

[B]

They can't unzip it. And I've been pickpocketed before, and all they did was unzip my bag and take my phone out. Wow. So this makes me feel really secure. You can yank on it and it's not really going anywhere. The other thing that's great about this bag is apparently some pickpockets can slash the bottom of your bag and just like everything falls out. I don't understand how they just, like they're gonna catch everything and you're not going to notice. I don't know how pickpockets do it, but anyways, you want to look for a bag that's slash proof. So apparently if you were to take a knife to this, this is not like a one layer bag. It would take a lot to be able to slash all of the fabric here.

[A]

And it's interesting that you say that it's pickpocket proof because you told me you were bringing a crossbody bag. And I think generally most crossbody bags are pickpocket proof. Because it's fully around your body, someone can't just kind of p your shoulder the way a tote bag they could. So I thought you were just going to say any crossbody bag. No. But this foldy one in particular, the way it clasps in is an extra layer of protection. Is very compelling, shout out foldy.

[B]

It also has a ton of little pockets on the inside. I like Sally. Like, I put my hotel key in this inside pocket. And the best thing about this one is that it also fits a small water bottle. Maybe not enough water for Sally, but I put a small water bottle in here, and it works great for me.

[A]

You're not drinking enough water.

[B]

All right, get refills.

[A]

I'm going to move over to how I fit my clothes in a small backpack. And often I do travel with a smaller backpack than even my peak design one. As I mentioned, my CotoPachi is actually 30 liters, so a smaller trip, I might pack that. But how do I fit all my clothes in there? And I use packing cubes. So what's amazing about the packing cubes is there's so many clothes that are just packed in here, and it's just this little mesh bag, and you can just really stuff them in and they all fit. This is an Amazon Basics packing cube. You don't need to go fancy. And what I love about packing cubes is if you have to take out your bag, your clothes are not just exploding everywhere. They're kind of contained. So these are actually a bunch of dirty clothes. And I always have three packing cubes with me on pretty much any trip, I put my dirty clothes in one. I can also separate. If you're doing a trip where you're going from Sweden to Morocco on the same trip, which I have done, and you need to have cold weather clothes and hot weather clothes, you can do a packing cube, one for each, and keep those clothes separate, which I just think is a nice way to keep things organized.

[B]

Absolutely. I also have tons of packing cubes, and I swear by them, they keep you really organized. It helps fit more clothes in there. I'm gonna pull out the clothes I brought. So this is just a swimsuit. I pack this on every single trip. Actually, this is my duplicate swimsuit that I only bring on vacation. I am someone who loves the water, and nothing disappoints me more than being close to a body of water and having the opportunity to jump in and being like, oh, no, I don't have a swimsuit. What? If you didn't realize that your Airbnb actually has hot tub access in the club, you're like, oh, great, I've been skiing all day. I do want to use the hot tub, and I have my swimsuit with me. Another time it came in handy was I was actually running the San Francisco Half Marathon. And the day before, I mean, it was just a beautiful weekend in San Francisco, and my friends and I were like, what should we do? And they were like, you know, it'd be a great, great time to Go to Russian river and go tubing. But they were like, oh, but Megan probably doesn't have a swimsuit. She can't go. And I was like, are you kidding me? I have my swimsuit right here. Wow. So we went tubing the day before my half marathon, and it was incredible.

[A]

I would kind of disagree with the swimsuit that fits in the 10$10 rule. You could get a cheap swimsuit. I would just. I would just buy one upon arrival.

[B]

I would totally disagree with that. It is hard to find a swimsuit that fits right, that looks good, that makes you feel safe and protected. Even sun protection. Like, I sometimes bring my rash shirt with me so that I'm getting sunburned in the ocean.

[A]

Can you just wear a normal T shirt?

[B]

No, not a long. I'm not bringing along.

[A]

I'm not a d. If I need to get in the water. I told you, I always pack gym clothes because I'm working out on vacation. I'll just get in the water in my sports bra.

[B]

I love to have a swimsuit. Okay, I'm going to the. I'm going to the beach, everyone.

[A]

I am not packing a swimsuit. But what I am packing is, I will say caveat. This is only for international trips. But. But this is a power adapter for multiple countries. So what's awesome is my people on video can see this is that you can keep turning the dial and different type adapters come out. Because typically when I'm doing one international trip, I'm not just going to one country. I'm going to multiple countries in one go. And you might find that many countries have different power outlets. So I think a lot of people end up having like eight different power adapters and they have the Ziploc baggie of all eight adapters that this is just one adapter in one go. This is from Brookstone. Does Brookstone even exist anymore?

[B]

I think so. It does.

[A]

Okay. I don't know if you can buy this anymore, but you can buy something very similar to this. Wherever power adapters are sold, we'll link to it in a show notes. So this is efficient. It costs a little more money than just paying for just the euro power adapter, but it's worth it because one. One thing covers all your bases.

[B]

For my electronics, I picked a couple of things. One, if you don't have a universal adapter like Sally, I found that these USB cords to charge your phone are amazing because lots of airlines will have them, lots of hotels will have them, cruises will have them. So as long as you have a USB cord that can charge your phone, I feel like you don't have to worry about charging your phone. And also you don't have to take up a plug. Like I use that universal adapter for my laptop or for more complicated electronics, but for my phone I just use this. And I'm able to use a different kind of outlet and they go in the front pocket of my backpack because I use them as soon as I get on the airplane. My number two is to bring a power bank. Mine is World of Hyatt branded, but any kind of power bank will work. I really recommend one that already has the cord you need for your phone already in it. So this one has two types of phone plugins. And so this will help you if you're ever somewhere that just doesn't have an outlet. Like, you know, you've been to places.

[A]

Theme parks now require you to use phones to get your spot in line to mobile, order food, all that.

[B]

So if you're taking a lot of photos, which sometimes you not realize, like you're on your phone a lot to navigate when you're traveling. And so using a phone bank really, really helps.

[A]

I have been holding this orange grocery bag for the past few minutes and this is my next item that I would pack. This is just your regular grocery bag. This one's got Mickey Mouse on it because you know, I love a Mickey Mouse tote bag, but I believe I got this for free at some sort of convention or festival. And this is your catch all bag. Always bring a tote bag because you never know when you're going to rack up extra snacks. If your shoes are muddy and you want put them in there, you just have extra items. I feel like I always return from trips with more stuff than I left my house with. And so sometimes if you just have this bonus tote bag to be your catch all bag, this is the way to go. And you don't need to get fancy, you don't need to have any sort of advanced bag. Everyone on earth has a billion spare grocery bags, right?

[B]

Yeah, definitely.

[A]

So just pick one of those and then put it in your luggage. So that way you have this spare grocery bag and you might even go grocery shopping in your trip and eat it. This comes in handy all the time.

[B]

Time. Something that I use a bag like that for is not just like going to the beach obviously got myself.

[A]

This is a good beach bag.

[B]

It's good to go to the beach. It's good for those kind of like little errands or if you're out shopping. Sometimes I hate, like, getting all those paper bags when you're shopping. And just like, you don't, you're gonna throw them out anyway. So I'd rather just carry a reusable bag around.

[A]

Yeah, look, I love that you said beach, because I don't want to pack my nice peak design backpack to the beach where it's going to get all sandy. Honestly, if this tote bag gets sandy and I end up throwing it away, I wouldn't feel sad about it.

[B]

The other thing I do with those is if I accidentally bought too much and now my suitcase is too big and I do need to check that bag so I can have a separate carry on. Like, I need just another container of the things I brought or bought. I will just check my carry on suitcase and then I will use a tote bag filled with overflow things as kind of like my personal item when I agree on something.

[A]

Amen.

[B]

One thing I do to avoid having too many clothes in my luggage is I bring laundry detergent with me on almost every trip. That's about a week or longer. I can pack for a week, pretty easy. But if I'm going longer than that, for example, I'm going to Europe for two weeks. I would bring my own laundry detergent because you can always do laundry in other places. I think people forget. They think they need to bring every single piece of clothing that they own. Own. They absolutely don't need to. There are hotels that offer laundry services and it might cost you a lot of money. So the cheaper thing to do is just to go to the local laundromat, pay for a load there. It'll cost you, like, probably three euros or something like that to use the washer, and then maybe another €2 to dry it, and bam. Now you have clothes for another week and you're ready to go. So you're spending time and money to

[A]

go to the local laundromat.

[B]

Absolutely. It's honestly a fun place to do. Some local people watching you really get to meet some new people. I get to read my book. I get to hang out with my. My mom. That's like kind of a pastime for us when we're on vacation. The reason I recommend bringing these specific laundry detergent pods is because there's no water in them. You know, you've seen, like, the pods that are, like, wrapped in plastic and they have liquid in them. And like, I mean, that could explode in your suitcase. That's gross. And also they do sell them at the laundromats but sometimes it's more expensive or you have to buy like a much bigger package of them. I'm only doing like one or two loads of laundry, so I literally bring two of these. These, there's no liquid in them. These are blueland tablets, and they just dissolve in the washer. So they're basically like the powder, but they're just stuck together like tablets.

[A]

Megan, I'm gonna agree with you on not packing clothes for every day of your two week trip and just doing laundry. However, I'm not going to laundromat. I just put the clothes in the sink and then just use like hand soap and kind of just mash it in and just kind of crumple it up and mash.

[B]

That works great for you as a solo traveler, but, like, when you're traveling with my family, which has six people in it, it like we couldn't all wash our clothes in the sink, you know, especially for a week. So we're over there at the laundry.

[A]

Worth it to send one person to the laundry mat for six people's worth of clothes.

[B]

Yeah. Or two people. You get a coffee. It's actually really fun.

[A]

I'm not traveling with six people. Okay. It's interesting you put your stuff in a Ziploc bag, because that is. My next item is a Ziploc bag. This is your catch all bag for everything. If you are packing Megan's laundry detergent or any other items, you have some extra leftover food. You swipe some cookies from the Centurion Lounge. You want to put them in the Ziploc bag for later. I always find this to be useful. Megan's apparently going swimming on all of her trips. You now have a wet swimsuit. You can put the wet swimsuit in the Ziploc bag. I'm showing you here the gallon bag, which I think is good for a swimsuit situation. But I also break smaller sandwich type bags, so pretty much one of every size, and I always find that I use it.

[B]

We'll get into the rest of our items right after the break. Okay, now we're going through a couple more things in my crossbody bag. This is a bunch of drink packets I have. So I love to travel with the drinks that I love. Sally's not going to agree with this one, but my fiance is a little bit of a coffee snob, and the in room coffee is not necessarily something that he'll want to drink. If you need caffeine and you're someone that usually makes espresso at home or or something like that. The in room coffee can be quite tough. So we found a brand that he likes, and we just make this kind of in room coffee instead of the one that the hotel gives us.

[A]

What kind of coffee is he drinking?

[B]

This one's a blue bottle. Bottle is fancy, but there are a couple of different brands that we rotate through to bring with us to hotels.

[A]

So blue bottle has little instant coffee packets.

[B]

Yeah. And a lot of, like, your favorite brands make some type of packable instant mix.

[A]

Megan, I'm gonna give you a hot take. I love coffee. I love coffee so much that I am not a coffee snob. I will literally drink gas station coffee. And blue bottle, we know I will drink any coffee. I'm not. I'm not particular.

[B]

Yeah, I find this is really great. Like, I again, travel with my mom, and she's someone who really needs caffeine, and she started bringing these around because she just became super irritable if she didn't like the hotel coffee. She would just be, like, kind of tough to travel with with. So she learned this about herself, and I've now learned it about my fiance. And now I do it too. So I have chai latte packages because I don't drink coffee. I've got matcha in here. And then the last one I have very handy whenever you're going anywhere is a little electrolyte package. Pedialyte. Whatever you want. Even if you're not going somewhere that you're drinking a lot and you really need, like, hangover recovery. I find these to be useful because the airplane can be really dehydrating. Just traveling in general, you might feel, like, really out of energy. And the electrolytes in these kinds of drink packages can bring you back to life. Okay.

[A]

Speaking of hydration, I'm not using a fancy electrolyte pack. I am just drinking that good old H2O. Classic H2O. And I'm putting it in my oala water bottle. This is the only water bottle I've ever had that has not spilled. So I like that you don't have to screw off the top. It's just like a sippy cup style while. But then you can also screw off the top if you want. And I don't know what it's about. They have this second lift to unlock thing. So I think that's why it doesn't spill, is because there's a second level of locking. If you are not peeing a minimum of two times on your flight after takeoff and before you land and possibly more. Depending on the flight, you are not hydrated enough.

[B]

Get your bottle. This. I wish it was a little skinnier, though. It's a little fat.

[A]

I think they make different sizes.

[B]

It's a little fat.

[A]

This is the size that I have, but I would recommend any aala just it doesn't spill. I've had so many water bottles that do, but this one has never let me down.

[B]

Speaking of other airplane habits, I also bring food with me because you might be delayed and you might be sitting on the tarmac where you can't actually buy another snack at that point. So I always make sure to have, like, some pretty filling food with me. One is just a protein bar. These will keep you full.

[A]

What kind of protein bar are you eating?

[B]

Easy. This one is a Power Crunch bar. I'm not super picky about the protein bar brand.

[A]

I'm picky. I feel like the Power Crunch. I have tasted a bunch of protein bars. I feel like the Power Crunch is a little fake sugar energy.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

A lot of them are. But recently I've been turned on by the built bar. Have you had those?

[B]

I don't think so.

[A]

If you like three Musketeers, it's like this little puffy bar and it's got a lot of protein in it. So because I don't think the Power Crunch has enough protein, this was just

[B]

what we had laying around. I like I said I don't really care about the brand, but the most

[A]

protein, the Quest bars, I believe those have 20 grams of protein. And a lot of people say Quest bars taste bad. I got a hack for you. Microwave the Quest bar for six seconds.

[B]

How are you microwaving it on an airplane?

[A]

Oh, not an airplane, but like in a hotel or something.

[B]

Okay. Okay. My other tip is if you're flying a budget airline and you do not want to pay for their not great food, I would just bring your own cup of noodles. Because I flew a very budget Icelandic airline that is no longer in business, they would make you pay for your meals. But I was like, you know, I don't really want that food. So I just brought a cup of noodles and asked them to give me free hot water. And I had my own ramen on the flight, and it was amazing.

[A]

The budget airline didn't charge you for

[B]

the hot water water. Nope.

[A]

Because sometimes they do charge you for drinks.

[B]

They do, but not for the water.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

That is a good hack. I'm intrigued. If someone next to me was eating ramen on the plane, that would be a flex.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

That's a power move.

[B]

Oh, yeah. Like, just to be eating something that everyone else wants on a plane is a flex. So sometimes what I'll do is I'll actually go to my local bakery and, like, pick up a croissant or something. Something that looks just, like, super good, you know, it was not bought at the airport. And just beating it on the airplane. And it's the best. I really look forward to it. Yeah, I love it.

[A]

Amazing. In. All right. My last item is some melatonin. I do have it in my Ziploc bag. As I said, I'm a fan of the Ziploc bag. I'm also a fan of the melatonin. You just never know. I'm fine in New York all the time. And it's so hard to fall asleep because I'm coming from Pacific time from San Francisco, that the melatonin just helps me fall asleep at night. And then even, like, the hotel last night, my air conditioner was making weird sounds. So I always bring melatonin because I usually sleep pretty easily. But then sometimes you get a weird air conditioner. Yeah.

[B]

It could also help with jet lag. Like, if you're just a little bit off on the hours, it really helps to just pop one of those melatonin and get on the right schedule early in your trip.

[A]

And I don't get fancy again. This is the Amazon Basics brand. I'm a Amazon Basics kind of girl.

[B]

All right. My last tip. Sally would definitely not be packing these. Now, I would say some analog fun, because there is a point. I don't know if you've been here where, like, you've been delayed and delayed and delayed. You've been at the airport for 20 hours. You're like, get me out of here. There comes a point where I can't look at screens anymore. I'm like, I can't even look at my phone. I don't want to open a laptop. Laptop. I don't want to play video games. Everything's out of battery anyway. So I need something to do that is not on a screen. And so I bring some analog fun. That's what I'm gonna call these. Wow. So I always bring a pack of cards with me anywhere I go because they're so light, so easy. I think it just helps facilitate, you know, spending time with the people you're traveling with, and you don't have to be talking to them all the time. By day seven, I'm like, I've said everything I've ever wanted to say to you. We've caught up and then we've caught, caught, caught up.

[A]

I agree. I'm tired of you after seven days just going to leave and go on a walk. I don't want to spend more time with you playing cards.

[B]

Oh, no. I want to play cards with my family and friends. And this can be a great way to meet new people as well. Like, I've had people come sit down on the train and ask what I'm playing, and then we play together. So that's been really fun. Second, I bring a book. I know some people love their Kindles and no knocks on that. I also love that you're reading. I bring an analog book because, again, I can't look at the screen sometime. And then this is great because it really helps me feel like. Like I can take advantage of a place and really slow down without feeling like I'm wasting my time here by sitting in a park. Like, you know how you go to a new city and there's like a gorgeous park and you want to enjoy it, but you're like, oh my gosh, am I just. I'm just going to walk some laps around. Oh, I love to just sit there and read a book. I love to sit at a coffee shop and read a book. So I find this can be useful even if I don't read all of it. This is one that I give myself a little leeway with in terms of, like, if I didn't open my book that trip, that's okay. I'm worried if I bring a book,

[A]

I'm for sure getting negative points. I'm not opening it.

[B]

Oh, no. I open it at least once a trip usually. But if I don't, that's okay.

[A]

Thank you so much for joining. Our packing episode reminder. If you're interested in any of these products, we're going to link to them in the episode description. And we want to know from you, what items do you always travel with? Tell us what you thought about ours. Tell us your hot takes on protein bars. Tell us, are you bringing cards and books on trips or are you leaving that behind? I want to know it all. So if you want to interact with us, you can leave a comment. You can email us travel nerdwallet.com you can also interact with us on social. I am SA and I'm Miles with

[B]

Megan Co. Our podcast also has a social media account. It's Smart Travel Pod.

[A]

And a reminder, we are not financial or investment advisors. This episode was provided for general educational and entertainment purposes. It may not apply to your specific circumstances.

[B]

We hope you're inspired. Inspire? To keep your passport full and your wallet even. Fuller. See you next time.