7 Best Travel Organizer for Any Trip (Near or Far)
Updated: Feb. 16, 2023Randomly shoving clothes, shoes, toiletries and loose items into a suitcase is no way to pack. Try a travel organizer for more efficient packing.
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Let’s face it: We’ve all packed in haste at least a few times in our lives and promptly regretted it. There’s nothing quite like showing up at your destination without an essential item.
A travel organizer—those little accessories that help us sort, plan and get the most out of precious luggage space—is a worthy investment for stress-free packing and efficient use of space, whether you travel once a week or once a year.
Like car organizers, they don’t just provide tidy packing or space organization—they take a lot of the worry out of travel, which is stressful enough without a disorganized suitcase.
We focused mainly on travel organizers that will help you optimize space in your carry-on suitcase, including options for toiletries, clothing, medicine and electronics. Once you’ve tried one or more of these and the organizing bug bites, check out these indispensable items for organizing your home.
Best Overall
Shacke Pak Packing Cubes for Travel Accessories
In a sea of options, we chose this highly-rated five-piece set from Shacke Pak as the best all-around set of travel organizers. Available in seven colors, these cubes make a great starter set and work well for carry-on or larger checked luggage. We like that they include a little of everything, including a shoe bag, a laundry bag and a toiletries bag.
Pros
- Value-priced
- Comes with five pieces
- Water-resistant fabric with mesh panels
Cons
- No separate carrier for organizing electronics
Best Budget
OlarHike Packing Cubes
Not convinced you’ll get much use out of packing cubes? Minimize risk and your investment with these low-priced travel organizers from OlarHike. This 6-piece set includes four sizes of packing cubes, plus a shoe bag and a place to stash your laundry. Additionally, we love the eight color options, which make color-coding your family’s belongings a breeze.
Pros
- Bargain-priced
- Water-resistant fabric
- Plastic window for easily eyeing contents
Cons
- No separate bag for toiletries
Best Travel Organizer for Toiletries
Vera Bradley Women’s Hanging Organizer
A hanging organizer, like this one from Vera Bradley, might be your best friend in a hotel bathroom—hang it on the mirror, towel rack or robe hook, and have easy access to all your toiletries. Hang the organizer while packing, too, so you can see what you’ve already stashed and make sure you don’t forget anything.
Pros
- Vinyl inner lining prevents leaking and stains
- Sturdy zippers
- Side pockets for brushes and other long items
Cons
- No zipper in the larger compartment
Best Travel Organizer for Electronics
Bagsmart Accessories Organizer
We love that half of this two-compartment electronics travel organizer has room for large items, like power adapters, battery packs, digital cameras and a mouse. The other side neatly stores power cords, USB cables, earbuds and other small items in Velcro holders or mesh pockets—no more untangling a jumble of wires or digging in the bottom of your laptop bag to find your headset.
Pros
- Padded construction protects your gear
- Holds a tablet up to 10.5 inches
- Water-resistant exterior
Cons
- Some users say Velcro doesn’t grip well enough
Best Travel Organizer for Jewelry
Mindspace Travel Jewelry Organizer Case
There are many options for jewelry travel organizers—including huge ones that require their armed guards. This medium-sized organizer strikes a good balance by offering enough space for a range of jewelry items without taking up half a suitcase. It’s available in pink or black.
Pros
- Padded construction protects contents
- Six sections for different types of jewelry
- Button-snap loops separate necklaces and keep them from tangling
Cons
- Soft construction may not be sturdy enough to protect fragile items
Best Travel Organizer for Medication
StarPlus2 Large Padded Pill Bottle Organizer
If your medication needs call for their own travel organizer, look to this large, sturdy organizer for pill bottles—meaning no having to transfer pills from their bottles into a separate container, potentially losing track of them. There’s also a compartment suitable for other medical items, such as tubes, syringes or contact lens cases. A lockable version is also available.
Pros
- Built to hold bottles up to two inches in diameter
- Mesh pockets to easily see medications
- Waterproof construction
Cons
- Some users say bottles fall out when the organizer is opened
Best Packing Cubes
Eagle Creek Pack-It Cubes
If you’re still not a convert to packing cubes, this solidly built set from Eagle Creek will win you over. They cost a little more than budget packing cube sets, but users love their durable, long-lasting construction. The collection includes three sizes: a medium option suitable for a few larger clothing items, a small for items like t-shirts and socks, and an extra small for underwear.
Pros
- Made from 100% post-consumer recycled material
- Water-resistant
- Mesh panels for breathability and visibility
Cons
- Some users say the extra-small bag is too small to be useful
What to Consider When Buying a Travel Organizer
We think travel organizers are a great idea for every type of traveler, but here are a few things to consider before you purchase anything:
- Weight: You can cram a lot of clothing into packing cubes, which means that a stuffed packing cube can weigh a lot, and potentially exceed carry-on weight limits.
- Size: Determine what you plan to pack ahead of purchasing a travel organizer. Do you need small, compact compartments for jewelry or other tiny items? Or perhaps a large organizer for your abundance of vacation clothing may suit you best? Regardless, carefully considering what size you need is a crucial step in the decision-making process.
- Quantity: Assess your packing needs before you wind up over-purchasing travel organizers. If you’re already carrying a laptop case, you might not need a separate organizer for electronics. For those who don’t wear much jewelry, your baubles can probably tuck into a cosmetics carrier. Packing for a family or a long trip? You may want several large packing cubes rather than a bunch of small ones.
Types of Travel Organizers
As our list shows, there are travel organizers for the main categories of your suitcase contents, including:
- Packing cubes: These are great for compressing clothing into small spaces and reducing unwanted wrinkles.
- Cosmetics carriers: Store your toiletries in a soft- or hard-sided case (some are even designed to be hung up).
- Medicine organizers: Need a place to hold your daily happy pills while abroad? Grab a medicine organizer: They can hold entire pill bottles or individual capsules.
- Electronics organizers: Meticulous tech lovers will appreciate having all their gear organized and easy to access with these typically padded, compartmentalized carriers.
How We Found the Best Travel Organizers
As shopping experts, our only job is to help you find a winning product. We start with the research and reporting basics—what products are made of, what they look like and how much they cost—to ensure that we’re only recommending the buys that are worth your time and money. Then, we research the features that speak to the product’s quality, taking advice from industry insiders and subject-matter experts on what makes a product a smart value (or worthy of a splurge). Finally, we do the work of combing through user reviews to see how real people interact with the product, and if it stands up to the test.
FAQ
Is it better to fold or roll clothes for travel?
The consensus is that rolling clothes is a space-saving measure and helps reduce wrinkling, especially if you have to fit many items in a suitcase. Folding clothes and packing them flat remains a good option if you don’t have much to pack.
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