Are you finally having that European tour you’ve been dreaming of? Are you trying to find the perfect balance between packing everything you need and traveling light?
You’ve come to the right place! Here are our best accessories for travel to Europe.
We’ve made this comprehensive guide on the best travel accessories for Europe to help you pack what you need without taking up too much space.
For convenience, we’ve divided this guide into four categories, namely safety items, comfort items, electronics, and miscellaneous items.
Let’s dive right into it!
Safety Items
Whether it gets lost or stolen, a missing item could ruin your day and take away from the entire traveling experience. That said, it’s important that you take all the necessary safety precautions so that you don’t lose any item.
We have three important items that you should pack for safety before heading to Europe.
- Luggage Locks
Having safety locks on your luggage will ensure that nothing gets snagged out of your suitcases without your knowledge.
Not all hotels will have safes in their rooms. For that reason, you should have locks on your belongings at all times.
You can get any sort of padlock that you find useful, but we recommend Puroma 2 Pack Combination Lock. It’s proven its reliability and safety with over 12,000 reviews on Amazon.
- Money Belt
Money belts can and should be worn under the shirt as they don’t do much if they’re seen by everyone.
They’re somewhat uncomfortable and could make you sweat on a hot day. However, they keep your valuables safe and away from people’s vision.
Money belts could also hold your passports, important papers, and anything you could comfortably fit inside. Some of them are even waterproof.
- Anti-Theft Bags
Most items won’t fit inside your money belt. That’s why you need an anti-theft backpack or an anti-theft shoulder bag.
These bags are anti-slash and they don’t contain any open pockets that someone could snatch anything out of.
The material they’re made of is often very sturdy that they won’t tear if someone tries to forcefully grab them.
If you try these anti-theft bags once, they may become your daily drivers, not just your travel bags.
Comfort Items
If you have a long tour ahead of you, you’re going to need a lot of energy. That means you should consume less energy as you walk and be able to sleep well at any time.
We have four items for you to make that happen.
- Eye Mask
Eye masks during traveling are more essential than you think. As a tourist, you’ll often be active and moving around; you never know when you would need a quick nap.
If you’re on a plane or anywhere where light is hindering your sleep, an eye mask could help you summon the night instantly.
You’ll be surprised how handy it is in blocking out all the light and how it could help you to sleep at any time of the day.
Try out the MZOO Sleep Eye Mask and tell us what you think.
- Ear Plugs
Even when it’s bedtime, you can’t guarantee that it will be quiet enough for you to sleep, especially if your hotel is in a lively area that never seems to calm down.
Earplugs ensure that you can sleep regardless of the amount of noise around you. Pair them with an eye mask for the perfect sleeping combo.
The trip is useless if you’re too tired to enjoy it. Invest in what makes your sleep better so you could have the energy to do whatever you want to do.
- Travel Pillow
If you don’t have enough energy while traveling, you won’t enjoy your travels. And if you don’t sleep whenever you need to, then you won’t have enough energy.
A reliable Travel Pillow will allow you to sleep on any chair should you ever need to. Make sure that the pillow suits your sleeping position and doesn’t strain your neck muscles.
You don’t want to sleep tired and wake up in pain.
- Comfortable Shoes
When you travel, you’ll be walking a lot more than you normally would. Especially if you like visiting monuments and sightseeing.
A pair of comfortable shoes will ease the strain on your legs and allow you to walk longer distances without needing too much rest.
You could pick up any pair of shoes that you find comfortable, but the Go Walk Sketchers will make you feel like you’re walking on clouds. They’re soft, durable, machine-washable, and will make these long walks a lot easier.
Electronics
It’s the era of technology and it’s hard to find someone walking around without a piece of tech on them.
Having a few electronics in your travels could help you reach out to your family at home, share your media with others, and keep up with work if you have to.
We’ve carefully selected seven essential electronics that should be included in every trip around Europe.
- Camera
A good trip isn’t just about the trip, but also about the memories you get to relive after years of the original experience. That’s why you should have a great camera if you want to save some memories.
You could rely on your phone’s camera if you like, or you could get a high-quality, space-saving camera like the Sony A6000. It’s a reliable camera at a good price.
- Portable Charger
We’re in the era of technology, and phones do a lot more than they ever did. But with great power comes great battery drain.
We’re all guilty of forgetting to charge our devices or simply failing to connect the charger properly.
Nobody wants their phones or tablets to run out of juice when the trip is still hours ahead. A high-capacity portable charger could make your life a lot easier.
The 2-Pack Miady isn’t the highest capacity charger out there, but both customers and Amazon think that it’s one of the best.
- Plug Adaptor
Nobody knows why people decided to have different power outlets in different countries. It’s frustrating when you have all the required equipment with nowhere to plug them.
This is when a Universal Plug Adaptor comes into play. Some people decided to put an end to the madness of outlet diversity and invented the handy travel adaptors.
Keep in mind that these devices only facilitate the insertion into the power outlets; they don’t convert the electrical voltage.
- Headphone Splitter
There’s only one iPad and two headphones, the plane is noisy, and the movie is very interesting but it doesn’t even have subtitles to help you. What do you do? Invest in a Headphone Splitter!
These handy cables allow two headphone jacks to fit into one electronic device. You won’t be investing that much either; just under $7. Additionally, you won’t need to have one earpiece in your ear and the other in your travel companion’s ear anymore. Although, in the right situation with the right person… It can be quite romantic.
- HDMI Cable
HDMI cables allow you to stream anything on the big screen. This is perfect if you prefer to watch your own Netflix shows or have your own movies.
An HDMI cable doesn’t take much space, yet it enhances your video-watching experience. Be sure to pack one up before you head out.
- Cord Organizer
The number of cords you need to untie from each other could be annoying. You put your wired earphones in your pocket for a few minutes and it comes out tied 20 times.
Imagine how bothersome it would be when multiple large cables are stuffed together inside your suitcase.
A cord organizer is great in solving this problem. If you take a few minutes to organize the cords inside it, you could spare yourself the hassle of untying the cords and the space they take.
- Portable WiFi
If your work seems to chase you during your travels, then you’d need a reliable internet connection.
With a Portable WiFi device, you won’t have to rely on hotel connections or public networks that could be dangerous.
Just make sure to have them fully charged before you leave the hotel. You don’t want the internet to die halfway through an important online meeting.
Miscellaneous Items
The following items aren’t mandatory for your trip. You could do just fine without all of them. However, if you choose to bring them along or at least some of them, your trip will be much more convenient.
- International SIM Card
This is BIG one! Being online, whether at home or on the road, somehow became a necessity rather than a luxury.
You could use your phone to plan your route, reach your loved ones, access social media, and check important emails.
Many hotels offer WiFi, but it’s preferred to stay connected wherever you go. This is why we strongly recommend having an International SIM Card during your travels.
- GuideBook
All sorts of information can be found online now. But if your phone dies or it doesn’t have internet, a physical guidebook is the next best thing.
We recommend the Lonely Planet Guidebook if you want to travel around Europe. It will give you information about all the places worth visiting.
- Compressible Bottles
You could always buy a bottle of water that you could either dispose of or refill. However, a water bottle that you could collapse and place in your pocket? Now that’s a handy idea.
Collapsible water bottles come in many shapes and designs, but we recommend Special Made collapsible bottles. They’re lightweight, waterproof, and very compact when folded.
- Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizers have always been important in keeping your hands germ-free, but with the current threat of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever to get rid of bacteria and lead a germ-free lifestyle.
Hand sanitizers could come in small containers that easily fit in your pocket. You should always carry one or two with you even if you’re not traveling.
Having fun while traveling is important, but not more important than staying clean and healthy.
- Laundry Detergent Sachets
Soap sheets and laundry Detergent Sachets are things that you shouldn’t skip over. They hardly take any space and they make your life a lot easier.
Most hotels offer laundry service, but it’s also a lot more expensive than it should be. If you keep some of these detergent sachets around, you can do your laundry anytime you feel like it.
- Packing Cubes
Packing cubes are one of these items that may seem unnecessary at first glance, but trust us when we say that once you start using them, they become a part of your packing.
Anyone can fit and organize their items inside their suitcases, but having category-based sorting is impossible without packing cubes.
For example, you could put your clothes and your travel partner’s clothes in separate cubes. Once you need to take them out, you can easily locate what’s yours without having to take everything out piece by piece.
Best Accessories for Travel to Europe
These were the essentials we believe every traveler around Mediterranean Europe should have that will make your trip less stressful.
Nothing on this list is absolutely necessary. Some items might be of great value to you, whereas others might not be all that important. This is simply a guide to give you a better view of what to pack. It could also give you some ideas about items that you might need without realizing it.
Take your time in browsing through these items. Our recommendations are based on people’s opinions and reviews, but you could always pick up what you think is better for you.
Enjoy your travels, and stay safe! Buon viaggio!