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Travel Essentials

What I Pack for Trips with the Family

Some links in this post are affiliate links. If you shop through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend things I'd actually pack myself.

Family travel means packing for every scenario, including a few you didn't think of until you needed them. These are the additions that have made a real difference on trips with kids.


Cliganic Mosquito Repellent Stickers

Cliganic Mosquito Repellent Stickers

Adhesive patches that go on clothing rather than directly on skin, which matters when you'd rather skip spraying repellent on kids. Stick them to shirts or pants and they work through the day. Good for outdoor activities, warm climates, and anywhere near standing water.

Get this for your next trip


Passport Holder

Passport Holder

Keeps everyone's travel documents together in one place instead of distributed across multiple pockets and bags. When you're moving through customs with kids, having everything in one hand is the difference between calm and chaos.

Get this for your next trip


Portable Noise Machine

Portable Noise Machine

Hotel rooms are not quiet, and kids who need white noise to sleep at home need it on the road too. A small portable machine travels easily and makes a real difference at bedtime in unfamiliar places, for kids and for adults trying to sleep through a hallway that doesn't quiet down until 2am.

Get this for your next trip


Bento Snack Containers

Bento Snack Containers

Divided containers that keep snacks organized and intact. Nothing crushed, nothing spilling into everything else. Pack them before you leave and skip the airport markup on snacks, or fill them at hotel breakfast for a long day out.

Get this for your next trip


Wireless Bluetooth Headphones

Wireless Bluetooth Headphones

Long flights, long drives, movies in the hotel room: a solid pair of wireless headphones means each person controls their own audio without the whole row or the whole car being involved. Worth it on any trip longer than a few hours.

Get this for your next trip


That's the family travel list. Most of it exists because I've needed it on a trip and didn't have it.

If you pick up anything through the links above, thank you. It helps keep Sunshine and Travel running, and it doesn't change your price.

Happy travels.

Jen