Coming from experience, a travel purse can either make your travel experience great or ruin it completely: there’s no in-between! You wouldn’t want to be carrying a tote on a hiking trip or a shoulder bag for long, tedious walks. I’ve tried everything, from bulky totes to sleek cross-bodies, and trust me, there’s no one-size-fits-all!
Each trip has its own vibe and demands, and so does your purse. Sometimes you have to carry a whole lot of stuff around during the day trip, or sometimes you just need a small cross-body bag. What if you’re travelling solo? Like I said, every trip is different with its different set of challenges and demands, so let’s see some options for the best travel purse for different type of vacations.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Travel Purse
If it was just for the looks, there would be no problem. But a functional travel purse has so much more than that. Here are a few key factors to keep in mind to make sure you’re choosing the one that suits your travel needs:
Security Features: Safety first! Look for purses with anti-theft features like RFID protection, lockable zippers, and slash-resistant straps. These can be a lifesaver, especially if you’re exploring busy cities, travelling solo or staying in shared accommodation.
Size and Capacity: Think about what you’ll be carrying. Are you someone who likes to carry a lot of items in your bags, or do you prefer to travel light? Do you need a purse with lots of compartments, or are you more a one section type of person?
Comfort and Durability: You’ll probably be carrying this purse around for hours, so make sure it’s comfortable to wear. Go for adjustable straps, padded sections, and lightweight materials. If you want to go an extra mile, choose a bag that’s water-resistant.
Organization and Compartment: Multiple compartment bags are your best friend. They keep everything organized and within easy reach, whether it’s your phone, passport, or that emergency snack you always carry. No one likes digging through a bottomless pit for a single lip balm!
Best Travel Purse Options
1. Anti Theft Travel Purse: For Backpackers And Solo Travelers
Imagine getting your passport or phone stolen while you’re exploring a remote town in a foreign country. Yikes! That is the last thing you want to worry about. So when you’re travelling solo, staying in a shared accommodation or exploring new places alone, choose an anti-theft purse with security features like RFID-blocking technology, lockable zippers, and slash-resistant straps.
What to Look For In Anti-Theft Purse
RFID Protection: This stops the electronic pickpocketing by preventing unauthorized scanning of your cards and passport.
Lockable Zippers: These can be outside or inside your bag and add an extra layer of security, making it difficult for anyone to open your bag without you noticing.
Slash-Resistant Straps and Panels: These protect your purse from being cut open by sneaky thieves, especially in high-traffic areas like buses, trains or city centers.
Compact and Lightweight: You don’t want to be weighed down by your bag, so look for something that’s easy to carry and fits your essentials.
2. Tote Travel Purse: For Beach Vacations
While beach vacations are all about relaxing and tanning in the Sun, there is a lot of stuff to be carried to the beach. Honestly, the part I hate the most! You have to carry your sunscreen, beach cover, towel, umbrella, sunnies, snacks, water bottle, and whatnot! And tote bags are perfect for this because they have large capacity and look chic.
What to Look For in a Beach Tote
Water-Resistant Material: Sand in all your things is a big no-no. Choose material like nylon or coated canvas that can handle splashes and sand.
Sturdy Straps: Make sure the straps are strong and comfortable to carry, even when the bag is full of your beach essentials. Avoid thin straps that can dig into your shoulders.
Inner and Outer Pockets: This one is an optional, but you can choose a bag which has a small pocket inside that can carry your keys, sunnies, phone and wallet.
Easy to Clean: Beach days can get messy, so choose a tote that’s easy to wipe down or toss in the wash.
3. Shoulder Purse: For Business Vacations
If you’re travelling for business, you need to carry a bag that can fit your laptop, work documents and office essentials, but it also needs to look professional. For that, I have found shoulder laptop/work bags to be perfect. You can travel with a small trolley bag to keep your clothes and shoes in, and carry the shoulder laptop bag for daily business meetings. On top of that, I would recommend choosing a neutral color laptop bag so you can carry it with whatever outfit you wear.
What To Look For In A Shoulder Bag
Professional Appearance: Go for neutral colors like black, cream, or tan that can go with any type of outfit and choose a sleek, minimalistic design without too many embellishments.
Compartments: Look for a purse that has dedicated sections for your laptop, phone, pens, business cards, and maybe a water bottle and a small snack.
Comfortable Straps: You’ll be carrying this purse around all day, so make sure the straps are padded or wide enough to avoid digging into your shoulder.
Secure Closures: Choose a purse with a secure zipper or magnetic closure to keep your items safe, especially if you’re using public transportation.
Cross-body Travel Purse: For Day Out
Cross-body bags come in all shapes, sizes and colors, and you have so many options to choose the one which is perfect for your day out. They are perfect for airports, getting drinks with the girls, walking around the city, going for casual coffee dates or simply for running errands. They keep your hands free and can be worn in different ways to match your style or to stay safe. You can easily keep your phone, wallet, keys and cards in it and even go for a bigger sized cross-body bag if you need to.
What to Look For in a Cross-body Purse
Adjustable Strap: With an adjustable strap you can adjust where the bag sits on your body, and you can use this feature for safety, comfort and style.
Lightweight Design: Choose a purse made from lightweight materials that won’t add extra weight to your day.
Secure Closures: Look for zippers, flaps, or magnetic closures to keep your belongings safe and secure while you’re on the go.
Quick Tips To Find The Best Travel Purse
After years of travelling and choosing the purse for each travel, here are some quick tips to find your next best travel purse.
Comfort: You never know the type of challenges you might face during your travels, so you should always go for the comfiest option. Don’t choose bags that feel itchy on your hands and arms, or that have very thin straps, or that don’t have any zipper or magnetic closure pockets.
Type Of Vacation: What bag is perfect for you depends on the type of vacation you are choosing it for. Different vacations call for different bags, so make note of your activities and schedule during your travel and then choose a bag.
Budget: Yes, one of the things we all dread: budget. Once you have selected the type of bag that is best suited for the type of vacation you are taking, next is finding an option that falls in your budget.
Material: Depending on your vacation, choose a material that can keep your belongings safe and still stay functional. For rainy areas, choose a waterproof material, for beach, choose a material that can be easily washed.
Conclusion
There is not one formula for a perfect travel purse. It all comes down to where you’re travelling, what activities you would be doing, what fashion statement you want to make and what falls in your budget. But some things that you should be considering before choosing a travel purse is safety, style, budget and activities. Based on those, choose a travel purse.
I have listed my favourite type of travel purse, based on my own personal experience. I hope these tips help you when you are picking your travel purse for your next vacation. Safe travels!
