1. A sturdy, lightweight pill organizer because it's got eight roomy compartments for all the medications you need to bring on your trip. 

www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com

I bought this pill organizer for a two-week trip, and it was great! The two large compartments were big enough to fit my larger pills; I used one to pack more Advil than two people would probably need for the entire trip (just in case!), and the other held all my daily pills (15+ in total). I also used one of the six remaining smaller compartments to hold tiny allergy pills. No issues taking it through security, and all my medicine arrived intact. I was worried that the flaps might open when I didn't want them to, but I was happy to find that the lids snapped shut very tightly. There was even a guitar pick–like tool that is included that you can use to pop open the lids — very helpful if you have long nails.

Promising review: "I never leave the house without this. I bought this for traveling and it works great. Fits everything I need. However, the little slots can be a bit hard to open; you just have to use your fingernail, though it comes with a pick like a guitar pick, I assume, to open each compartment, but I just use my finger. It could be sturdier. I have had a compartment pop open while the outside was closed, and some pills were loose inside, but it's not a constant problem. I'd recommend it!" —Val

Get it from Amazon for $5.97 (available in five colors).

2. A comfy, ergonomic Trtl neck pillow for cushioning your neck and keeping it upright, which is the best position to prevent neck pain. Maybe now you'll emerge from your overnight flight *actually* rested for once and ready for a long day of sightseeing.

Amazon, Amazon

It's lightweight, machine-washable, and comes with a sanitary carrying case that clips onto your luggage or backpack.

Promising review: "I’ve had a Trtl pillow for two years and I NEVER get on a plane without it. My very first holiday overseas was to Greece, and I took a blow-up neck pillow on a 12-hour flight over and back, not knowing how hard a long flight would be on me. I thought 'never again' and went on the hunt for something that could allow me to rest and be comfortable. I found it when I bought the Trtl pillow. It was so great, I purchased one for my son, who travels all over the world. I took the Trtl pillow with me on several trips in the US and loved it, but the real test came when I went to Thailand. It was 32 hours over and 32 hours back. I really don’t know how I could have made that long trip without the Trtl pillow; it saved me. I didn’t get a stiff neck, and I caught some z’s. Oh, and because these flights get so cold, I use the pillow to keep my face warm. I suggest buying the red one. My son and his girlfriend both lost theirs on one of their trips, and so when they bought new ones, they chose the red Trtl so it would be easier to see and remember when they were leaving the plane." —Joanie

Get it from Amazon for $64.99 (available in seven styles).

3. A portable white noise machine so the sounds of the big city, or, conversely, the eerie sound of silence, don't keep you up at night. You'll also appreciate it if the front desk assigned you a room by the ice machine, or if kids seem to run down the hall on your cruise at all hours.

Amazon, www.amazon.com

It features 11 sleep sounds and can also be paired with your phone and used as a Bluetooth speaker!

Promising review: "We sleep with the larger version of this every night. I was so happy to find this smaller version for travel. It fit perfectly in the travel case I bought for it and traveled well in the corner of my carry-on luggage, taking up minimal space. I charged it before leaving home and used it all night for three nights. It still had a charge when I got home. The wireless feature is great when you have a limited number of outlets in a hotel room. I’ll never travel again without it. The choice of sounds and the volume are easy to select. Bonus: It syncs easily with a smartphone to use it as a Bluetooth speaker if you prefer to fall asleep with music. I recommend this sound machine for home or for travel." —BMM

Get it from Amazon for $39.95 (currently available in black).

4. A digital luggage scale that'll save your wallet from any overweight baggage fees. You'll also be spared the embarrassment of having to repack your bag in the middle of the airport.

www.amazon.com

You can switch between pound and kilogram measurements. 

Promising reviews: "Love it. I never leave home without it when traveling. Can't trust the airlines' scale, so I use my own to verify before getting to the airport." —RL

"Works great, a must-have when flying. Very accurate scale. Easy to read with the light on it. It's a must if you have a wife like mine who loves to shop for clothes and fill up her suitcase along with mine, or if you want to stay under that 40 pounds and avoid paying the extra for overweight baggage fees. Easy to use, very accurate, well-made, and a nice design. Very pleased. Saved me money." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $9.39 (available in four colors).

5. An Apple AirTag to keep track of everyone's belongings right from your phone. Picture this: You're at the airport getting ready to board when your kid says, "I don't know where my backpack is!" Yep, the same backpack that's holding all the kid's tablets. *Whistles* That's gonna be expensive to replace! Wait a seconddddd...you can just pull up the FindMy app and locate the missing backpack!

www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com

These pretty much saved the day for BuzzFeed editor Elizabeth Lilly:

"Storytime: After traveling last summer carry-on only, and being a person who tries to carry on whenever possible, I finally bought a couple of Apple AirTags during Black Friday sales. And I am SO grateful I did. My normal carry-on bag was too big to fit the Lufthansa luggage requirements (and BOY, do they check that!), so I had to check my bags for a December 2022 trip to Vienna and back from Prague (with a layover in Frankfurt). My bag didn't make it onto the plane in Frankfurt, and once I landed in Newark, New Jersey, I pulled up the app on my phone and saw that, yes, my backpack AirTag was indeed with me, but my suitcase AirTag was still in Germany. (The screengrab is from an Amazon review, but you get the gist.) The AirTag also helped me track FedEx's delivery of the suitcase to my parents' house, where I was spending the holidays immediately after my Europe trip ended. I was even able to see it on a highway less than an hour's drive from my parents' house. TL;DR: I think AirTags are very much a worthwhile investment if you travel a few times a year. And I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Promising review: "I have never used these in over two million miles of traveling by plane. However, after a recent trip to Europe, I will never leave home with them again. They saved me when my bags were placed on a connecting flight. Upon arrival, my bags never showed. I went to the airline's lost baggage center. They could not tell me where my bags were. I had to show them that they were sitting in Terminal E in the Atlanta airport. They are now part of every piece of luggage we own." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $24 (also available in a four-pack for $74.99).

6. A drink holder if you're always running out of space on those tiny airplane tray tables and risking spilling your Coke all over your neighbor. This tray sits on the window ledge and offers cup holders as well as slots for a phone, glasses, headphones, and more.

Amazon

Heads up — you can only use this if you're sitting in a seat that has access to a full window!

Promising reviews: "Never leave home without it. This is such a fantastic idea. It comes in handy for long flights and is small enough to fit into my backpack with all my other stuff." —Stephanie

"I used this for the first time on a 737. It was fabulous! It didn't intrude into my sitting space nearly as much as I expected. Because the actual window is recessed from the side wall, this only sticks out from the side wall about an inch. If you're considering this, you likely fly enough to know that seats aren't always aligned with the windows. If your window happens to be right beside your seat or the seat in front of you, this won't be of much use. But because it doesn't jut out as much as I thought, you can use it in more situations than I expected. And when you can use it, it's great! I love not having to have my entire tray table down just to hold a 3-inch cup. My only suggestion would be to add a place to hold trash until the flight attendant picks it up. This is very small, very lightweight, and very useful. I'll be taking it on every flight from here on." —JBC

Get it from Amazon for $19.99.

7. A pack of Tide stain-removing pens because you will inevitably spill coffee on yourself — and trying to ask where the equivalent of a CVS or Walgreens is in another country (and maybe in another language!) so you can buy these...that sounds very not fun. 

www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com

Promising reviews: "I’ll never leave the house without a Tide Stick again. Ate buffalo wings in a white shirt (I do not recommend this), and the sauce splattered all over me. A woman in the bathroom saw me frantically blotting my clothing and offered her Tide Stick. It worked. Do note that I rushed home and properly washed the clothes ASAP, but it could’ve been worse. Since then, I bought this three-pack and have already used it to remove a makeup stain I got on my brand new sweatshirt. It completely removed the makeup stains." —Erika

"I love having these on business trips. Never leave home without them." —Jamie A

Get a pack of three from Amazon for $7.74.

8. A portable espresso maker for cafe-quality brews you enjoy from your Nespresso machine while you're traveling. It brews Nespresso pods, which will save you a pretty penny when you consider that a latte will cost you $4-$9 per day. And no one has to suffer through the sludge they serve in the hotel lobby.

Amazon

Promising reviews: "I never leave it when I go on a trip [so I can have] my Cuban coffee in the morning. 100% recommended." —Yuya

"The best thing for traveling ever!! I have to have espresso every morning, and most small hotels and gas stations don't have espresso coffee, so this is perfect! Easy to use. The cleaning takes 30 seconds; just rinse with water and let it dry." —Joanna Verdeja

Get it from Amazon for $54.90 (and here are some Nespresso pods to go with it).

9. Relatedly, a reusable collapsible water bottle so you're not spending $3.50 on a bottle of water at Disney. Instead, invest in these little roll-up bottles to keep the family hydrated and your wallet a bit happier. 

Amazon

Plus, it's BPA-free and dishwasher-safe.

Promising review: "Ineverleavehome without one of these. I've gone through several of these water bottles over the past couple of years. I've definitely put them through their paces, carrying them, throwing them full of water into the bottom of my backpack, rolling them up, and stuffing them in my pocket. Never once has a cap leaked. Only one of these bottles has ever broken on me: the plastic on the bottom sprang a small leak. That was after being dragged around the city on a daily basis and dragged around the country several times. The leak was just a very gradual dribble, and I had been expecting it for some time, since you can clearly see where the plastic has been worn. I currently own two 0.7 L bottles. One goes with me everywhere over the course of a day. The other stays in the fridge and chills. The mouth is just wide enough to accommodate not only ice cubes, but also Airborne tablets when I'm sick. It's so, so, so wonderfully convenient being able to just fold these up and stuff them in my pants pocket. They're also quite a conversation starter!" —Robert Thomas

Get it from Amazon for $10.89+ (available in three sizes, 13 colors, and multipacks).

10. A set of earplugs that'll help you deal with two very stressful experiences that are oh so common (and so annoying!) when flying: harsh noises and your ears popping. Inside these funny-shaped blue earplugs is a small ceramic filter designed to slow the shift in air pressure so there's less stress on the eardrum. They'll also help drown out the sounds of loud talkers, babies crying, and your seat neighbor refusing to wear headphones while they watch a TV show on their phone.

www.amazon.com, Amazon

Promising reviews: "I have been using these for years with all my flights after my ENT recommended them. I never have ear pain or congestion. Wouldn't leave on a flight without them." —Cheryl Wilkerson

"Never fly without these! Before I found these, I endured excruciating pain in my ears upon descent and landing. Felt like a hot poker being driven into each ear. My ears would also be plugged up, and it would often take two to three days for them to resume their normal state of being. I insert them about an hour before landing, as the plane is making its slow descent. I'm comfortable, and the most discomfort I experience is a slight adjustment of pressure feeling in my sinus. NO PAIN. NO TEARS." —K. Tombrella

Get a pair from Amazon for $7.69 (also available in packs of 3, 5, and 10).

11. A contoured sleep mask to block out the sunlight — no, wait, that's just your seat neighbor's reading light. It molds to your face so the bright lights shining through your hotel window or coming from the iPad of the kid sitting next to you don't ruin your shut-eye.

www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com

Promising review: "Used to sleep on airplanes, cars, buses, friend's couch, everywhere. It works! I like to travel often and often look to sleep during my commutes as well. Combined with something to dampen sound, I've been able to get much more restful sleep than if I don't use it. I STILL have my eye mask from when I got it four years ago... and I never leave home without it! This is probably one of the best investments I've put into myself." —The Imaginaut

Get it from Amazon for $21.99+ (available in six colors).

12. A sunscreen stick with SPF 30 if you're guilty of not reapplying sunscreen as often as you should... (Psst! The rule is every two hours  — esp. if you're swimming or sweating.) The fastest way to ruin a vacation = sunburn.

www.amazon.com

Promising review: "This is a summer and vacation must-have! This product smells incredible, and works extremely well. This was one of my first experiences with Sun Bum, and I became quickly obsessed. It's unusual to find sunscreen that doesn't smell like sunscreen, or just generically bad, so I was beyond surprised when I actually LOVED the smell. It instantly reminds you of the beach and makes you feel like you're in a tropical climate. This Face Stick is non-greasy and doesn't leave any sort of residue. I have problems sometimes burning my nose, and I have a difficult time reminding myself to reapply. This is the easiest tool, and something I will never again vacation without! It sits right in a bag and takes two seconds to rub on your nose. The SPF worked great, and I never burned! I recommend this to all of my friends and family. I've had a couple of people try to steal it from me because they are thrilled as well!" —Molly Siematkowski

Get it from Amazon for $11.88.

13. An anti-blister balm because your vacation itinerary calls for no less than 5 miles of walking per day, and you're not about to let some blisters slow you down. Slather this on your ankles, toes, heels — anywhere you're worried about your shoes rubbing — before you head out for the day's adventure.

Amazon

Promising review: "I love this item! I came back from 10 days walking around in Portugal, averaging about 22,000 steps a day. I bought new shoes (both sandals and tennis shoes) for this trip, not even thinking of the potential of blisters that these new shoes could create. So I quickly bought blister bandages and packed them away. Well, I stumbled across this miracle balm and said, 'Well, why not! I got bandages if this does not work.' And let me tell you, the bandages haven't been touched. THIS BALM SAVED MY TRIP! I applied this all over my feet before heading out for the unlimited hills that I was going to walk around in Lisbon, and NOT ONCE did I worry about blisters. I never needed to reapply, but some might for extra precaution. I was with two other females who were on the struggle bus of shoes and blisters, and I kept telling them to try this balm, but they never did. Joke's on them because as they kept fixing and reapplying new bandages on their blisters, I was skipping down the street. I need to buy this in bulk because I'm never gonna leave home without this." —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $9.

14. The newest Kindle Paperwhite for the bookworms who would gladly pack a whole suitcase full of books to read, but, well, yeah, you should probably use that space for clothes and toiletries. Don't worry — this Kindle has space for more books than you can read on your trip, plus it works seamlessly with the Libby app, so you can check out books from your library if you finish your beach reads faster than you expected. The glare-free screen, 12-week battery life, adjustable warm lighting, and waterproof design 

www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com

Promising review: "I never leave my house without this thing! Battery lasts for weeks…I only charge when it tells me to. Fits into my Lulu crossbody easily. I got the jade colored one, super cute. Storage is [impressive]…However, I only download the books I'm actually reading. Removed ads for $20, worth it in my opinion. YOU NEED THIS! Every bookish bae’s dream 💕💕💕" —Courtney T.

Get it from Amazon for $159.99 (available in three colors and with or without ads).

15. A packing cube so you don't have to spend 30 minutes completely unpacking when you get to the hotel. Simply add your clothes to the shelves, collapse the organizer, and pack it in your suitcase. When it's time to unpack, take the organizer and hang it in the closet. That's it! So easy!

www.amazon.com

Promising review: "If you're a person who hates to unpack your bag, this is for you. Especially if you like to see everything you brought at one time. Helps with choosing your outfit for the day without having to take every single thing out of your suitcase. And the fact that it compresses the items into one small bag to hang up is an added bonus. I have used this for (4) one-week trips and will never leave home without it." —Kenya

Get it from Amazon for $22.99+ (available in 2 sizes and 10 colors).

16. A reusable gel lint roller that you'll reach for when you pull out the little black dress you had planned to wear for the one fancy dinner you booked and realize it's somehow covered in pet hair, human hair, lint, and fuzz.

www.amazon.com, www.amazon.com

Remove and wash the interior ball when it no longer feels sticky.

Promising review: "Whoever invented this deserves a pat on the back. I travel a lot for work, and this is officially a permanent staple that never leaves my suitcase. It picks up hair and lint really well. It rolls nicely and is so easy to clean; all you have to do is rinse it with water, and it returns to being sticky in no time. The quality is very good, and it definitely is a good value for money when you think about how much time/money/ and space you save with just this one thing. I do wish it were a little bigger, and if they made a bigger size, I’d buy it tomorrow, but overall, I’m really, really happy with this!" —Courtnee

Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in four colors and in packs of two or four). 

17. A pack electrolyte drink mix to help you rehydrate faster after an intense workout, a long and sweaty day in the sun, or a grueling long-haul flight.

www.amazon.com

FYI, depending on your situation, water may be enough to rehydrate you! Read more about electrolyte-enhanced drinks and hydration at Cleveland Clinic.

Promising review: "I've made the mistake of spending too much time in the sun and ending up sick and headache-y from dehydration. I was introduced to this brand while in Hawaii, and it's become a staple — I always have packets of Liquid I.V. in my backpack. I especially love the pina colada and passionfruit varieties, while my other half likes the more subtle nature of strawberry and lemon lime. After my success of use in Hawaii, Liquid I.V. has helped me get through a lengthy canoe trip, a rigorous bikepacking trip in the desert, and whitewater rafting trips, in addition to helping me top up after long days of work or air travel. We have enjoyed all of the flavours we've purchased so far and appreciate that it mixes well and it's never gritty. We won't leave home without it!" —OWK

Get 16 packets for $23.45 (available in a variety of flavors).

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.