12 Travel Essentials Must Haves – COVID-19 Edition

12 Travel Essentials Must Haves – COVID-19 Edition

Hey Travel lovers! Its my annual Travel Essentials review post! Its been a rough year indeed. I miss traveling so much but safety first. I have introduced a safer way to vacation so to speak in this post. I will feature more ideas slowly as I monitor the situation. But there are still people traveling and I want to keep my tradition going by showcasing 13 (bonus added) cool travel essentials I have discovered over the last year. Also this is also a COVID Edition where I am splitting the list with items you want to be sure you buy pack as traveling by plane is different and there are precautions that you may not have thought about.

1. KEEBOS CROSSBODY NECKLACE

When traveling I typically travel with an oversize bag to be sure to fit all my stuff that I will need whether away from the hotel or at the airport. My bag always feels like a bottomless pit where I can never find my phone if dropped in there. Keebos Crossbody Phone Necklace solves that problem. Having this necklace to hold my phone is a great way to always know where my phone is and easy access for quick photos. No more digging through the purse, but my phone fits securely in the case.

When hiking, walks in the park or even at the gym, Keebos is very helpful in those situations too. I hate carrying a purse while walking/hiking, this case not only holds your phone but there are slots to hold your cards and hotel key card. Choose from different colors and great for both men and women.

2. BY HUMANKIND MOUTHWASH

One thing about traveling is not carrying alot of liquid especially for airport travel. How about a mouthwash that you can carry with you that is not liquid? I love my Humankind Mouthwash because it does just that. Humankind is an earth friendly brand whose products is great for the body as well as our planet. The mouthwash is in a form of effervescent tablets that you drop in a small jar. Fill the jar to the water line, drop the tablet and instant mouthwash. What I love about this it is alcohol free which means no burn! This one is the peppermint flavor.

When traveling, I always want to bring mouthwash. But those little bitty travel size bottles do not last a 2 week vacation. On top of that, I do not like to carry around a lot of liquids due to weight and accidental leaks in my bag. This is a great option. It comes in different flavors and you can choose the color of the lid that holds the tablet too. Humankind Mouthwash is only $10 it comes with 60 tablets great for 30 days or so depend how you mouthwash each day.

3. PORTOVINO WINE PURSE

The Portovino Wine Purse I wished I discovered years ago when I traveled especially for my trip to Greece! So two things I love is wine and fashion and Portovino Wine Purse manage to combine these to things seamlessly – fashion with a splash. My beautiful gold tote can hold up to 2 bottles of wine in a secret compartment inside the bag!

Now enjoying a bottle of wine or any cold beverage in a park or on the beach is easy and discreetly with the insulated compartment and pouch. I put this bag to the test in Texas 100 degree heat. We had to run some errands downtown so that is about 20 min drive from our home. Then we were mainly outdoors. So from the time we left our house until we got back was about 5 hours or more. The wine remained cold.

We enjoyed nice crisp sparkling wine and left a little bit in there to test when we got home. The verdict? Still cold! One thing that helped it was I put two ice mats on each side of the wine holding pouch. When I got home, the mats were still very cold, melted but icy parts. Get your PortoVino Wine Purse in different colors or even with 2 spouts vs 1. This bag is definitely chic enough to use as an everyday bag as well and noone will ever know there is a spout because the opening also buttons in place too.

4. FOLDABLE TRAVEL HANGERS

One thing that has always bugged me about traveling and staying at a hotel is the lack of hangers. There are never enough hangers in a hotel room. On top of that, the hangers are not removable. They are faux hangers that is permanent stuck in the closet. If I am sharing a hotel room with some friends and want to change in the bathroom after my shower, I would need to bring my own hangers which takes up space.

I love my 12 piece travel hangers that folds to the size of your passport and super lightweight. This way you can hang your clothes anywhere in your hotel room or in your rental car. I got these hangers under $10 and they are currently $6 for a limited time! So it is definitely a steal!

5. LugGo TRAVEL POUCH ORGANIZER

I discovered LugGo Pouch from an Instagram ad and decided to buy it. When I travel, my carry on is always a duffle bag. I feel like I can put more things in it vs a small rolly bag. My duffle bag is my emergency bag where I fit my readily accessible items as well as 1 pair of sandals and “survival clothes” (clothes I can wear if my my checked baggage gets lost) all gets stuffed in there. My husband hates my duffle because it we are pushing it along, it falls over and never stays on, etc.

The LugGo Pouch solves that problem where it helps transporting multiple bags as well as store your personal documents that you have to show multiple times when you are at the airport such as passport, ID, wallet and plane ticket. The pouch makes it easily accessible and has a built in RFID protection from cyber thieves who can steal information from your cards and ID by simply walking by you. So no more stretching out the your bags shoulder handles to fit over your rolly luggage. This keeps everything in place and I tested it on cobble stone too! No issues!

6. HYDRTE SLIM WATER BOTTLE

One thing about Europe that I love is all the fresh drinking water in public places such as in Rome! The fountains that you see is fresh water you can drink. Having a water bottle can be very useful. Why not have a water bottle that looks chic too?!

Hydrte Bottle is a chic slim water bottle that holds 350ml of water which is just little bit under 12oz. Its nice flat design takes up lesser space in your bag. Round water bottles take up so much space and I hate carrying around a bottle of water but if it looked pretty resembling a chic perfume bottle then I would not mind it. Due to COVID-19. in some airports they have discontinued water fountains. So buying a bottle of water and putting it in this bottle is another solution too.

COVID-19 EDITION

7. TRAVEL PILLOW & TRAVEL BLANKET

Due to COVID-19, many airlines have discontinued the use of providing pillows and blankets on flights. So if you are cold natured like me, you will need to bring your own. But a normal blanket is not travel friendly. You should definitely get a travel blanket that keeps you warm and easy to carry around. This compact travel blanket will come in handy. Also I love my travel pillow by TRTL. We NEVER try without it after using it on our 2019 Europe trip. I never slept so good on the plane and in the airport without any neck pain. My husband who never can sleep on plane, has been sleeping on planes ever since we go this pillow. See my review here!

TRTL Travel Pillow

8. TRAVEL LAUNDRY DETERGENT

So after sleeping on your blanket or even wearing a mask, you should wash it. Many may use shampoo and hotel hand soap to wash it but with dealing with a virus, that may not be the best option. You should check the travel toiletry section of Walmart or Target and buy travel detergent to wash your items after going through the airport and being in a plane to prevent germ transfer. Pack a plastic shopping bag like target. Targets are pretty sturdy vs a grocery bag where the outside ink can rub off.

9. FACE SHIELD AND MASKS

Travel with a mask is mandatory! Planes will not allow you on the plane without one. But what you should do is travel with more than one mask – preferably minimum of 3, After flying, you want to take off that mask and throw it away if its a disposable or wash it if it is cloth. You have other masks to use while the other mask is drying or if you throw it away.

Then there is the face shield. There is research out there about face shield vs masks. From what I read, there are benefits/uses for both. I bought this cute fashionable face shield since I could not find medical. Face shield helps reduce the amount of times you touch your face to adjust a mask. However, alot of airlines won’t allow you to use it solely. Face shields comes in handy when eating. You can eat and drink while preventing to inhaling the germs while doing so.

So when on the plane when you are eating snacks, you can pull down your mask but still have some protection. I like this shield because it is adjustable of how low and high you want it. It snaps up so you can eat better.

10. ZIPLOC BAG & SHOWER CAP

Ziploc bags is a great way to put put your passport, IDs and credit cards inside of after being touched by other people such as going through airport security. Disinfecting before putting in bag where it will touch other things is a must but you don’t have time when going through security. Also when going through security, money, wallets, watches do not need to touch the bins either, so if you have a Ziploc bag or even a place in plastic bag instead this helps prevents germs from touching it. Also you can place your used cloth mask in a Ziploc for cleaning at the hotel.

Also buy shower caps which are beneficial to help your shoes and feet through airport travel. you do not want to track anything with you after leaving an airport or plane. My doctor thought this idea was genius at my last appointment when I wore them. on Amazon you can buy a 100 ct of shower caps for $7. Place them on your feet before entering the airport and have another pair with you when you have to take off your shoes for airport security. Throw away the one on your feet and then put on your shoes with the shower cap still on them. You do not throw away the shower cap until upon exiting the airport at its final destination.

11. DISINFECTING WIPES & SPRAY BOTTLE

Disinfecting wipes is a must and gold. It is really hard to find these wipes but I hope you can find some for your travels. These are needed to wipe down the seat you may sit in while waiting to board and of course your flight seat. I am sure the airport cleans the seats and tray table before each flight but it is not a time to have doubt. Getting priority boarding is something I am considering getting to have time to disinfect every inch that my skin will touch.

Now what about those cloth seats. That is what the spray bottle is for. Get a travel size spray bottle and fill it with rubbing alcohol and spray your seat before getting on board. Don’t over due it though to prevent coffee or eye burning. A couple of spray should do it. Also do the same on airport security bins. Before putting your stuff in the bin, wiping them down takes too long. Give it a good spray and then place your items in the bin. I have seen Sephora do this with there shopping bags and it is a great quick idea to disinfect.

12. SNACKS/EATING A FULL MEAL BEFORE FLYING

So there is a travel couple that I follow and they recently posted it this week and I read an article about this a couple of weeks go.  Eating at the airport will not be an option. Lots of those restaurants are no longer open leaving vending machines that costs a million dollars as your source of nourishment. Make sure you make time in your airport transit to eat something at home or pick up something and eat it before going through airport security.  Some airlines are not offering meal options on domestic flights less than 5 hours. The travel couple showed that their airline gave them all 3 of their meals in a huge plastic bag for the entire flight to Europe. Crazy! Also bringing your own snacks on planes is a cheaper option than spending vending machine money.

***13. BONUS***CAR CHARGER W/ NORMAL PLUG OUTPUT

So I added this one after I initially posted this post because I realized this will come in so handy now more than ever. Having a cellphone charger is so important. We all typically have one in out car but this PowerDrive 120V charger is special for 3 things. It charges much faster than the little ones you buy $5 at Walgreens. It can charge 2 devices at a time via usb. Most importantly it has a normal plug output to charge things such as your DSLR camera’s battery. 

I discovered this at a truck stop while on a road trip from Marfa, Texas to White Sands, New Mexico and I forgot to fully charge my camera’s battery. I was able to get a full charge while driving without having to stop at a restaurant. 

In light of Covid-19 alot of sit down dining options are unavailable which means you cannot charge inside of a restaurant or Starbucks. Definitely buy this charger. I never travel without it!

I do not recommend traveling wearing gloves. Gloves are best for medical professionals who disposes of them when treating different patients. If you were gloves and touch these as you travel through the airport and you are spreading germs everywhere and plus if you have a purse and/or documents you pass it on top your belongings. Better to have hand wipes, sanitizer and  disinfecting wipes vs wearing gloves.

I hope these travel essentials and tips helps you have safe yet fun travel experience! Stay tuned for more travel content!

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