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Featured in this articleBest Travel Tote Bag Overall
Away The Everywhere Tote
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Best Packable Travel Tote
L.L. Bean Zip Hunter’s Tote Bag With Strap
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Best Leather Tote for Travel
Longchamp Le Pliage Xtra M Tote bag
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Best (Vegan) Leather Tote
Cincha The Vegan Leather Go-Tote – Navy
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It seems like totes don’t want to work these days. They’re floppy, allergic to moisture, and too cool to carry actual stuff. They went vegan, then minimalist, then micro. Finding the best totes for travel shouldn’t be harder than finding your gate. You want something spacious, wipeable, and tough enough to survive TSA.
These are the best totes for travel. They don’t collapse under pressure, don’t mind getting dirty, and, most importantly, carry your baggage (emotional or otherwise). We’ve schlepped them through airports, overstuffed them with travel essentials, and wedged them under seats.
For more travel bags, check out our guides to the Best Metro Totes, Best Laptop Backpacks, and Best Toiletry Bags.
Best Travel Tote Bag OverallPhotograph: Boutayna Chokrane
For business travelers and solo flyers who pack light, the Away Everywhere Tote is the one-bag solution for back-to-back meetings, red-eye flights, and weekend getaways. Made from water-resistant nylon and accented with leather trim, it was clearly designed by someone who knows the realities of travel: fumbling through security lines, sprinting to trains, dodging coffee spills. It’s fashionable enough for client dinners and durable enough to store in the overhead bin or under your seat.
The dimensions are dialed in to meet most airlines’ personal item requirements, and it comes in a variety of low-key tones, from coastal blue to clay pink. A full top zipper keeps your essentials secure. There’s a trolley sleeve that slides over a rolling luggage handle (though be warned: it looks like the exterior zip pocket, which has caused me more than one accidental drop). Inside, a padded sleeve cradles up to a 16-inch laptop and multiple interior pockets—plus a handy key clip.
Just know this: There’s no dedicated water bottle pocket, which feels like a strange omission in 2025.
SpecsMaterialsWater-resistant nylon and leather trimDimensions16″(H) x 12.6″(W) x 7.9″(D)Weight1.57 poundsColors AvailableJet Black, Navy Blue, Coast Blue, Sea Green, Cloud Gray, Salt White, and Clay PinkCare InstructionsSpot-clean with warm water, gentle laundry soap, and a washclothBest Packable Travel ToteL.L. Bean
Zip Hunter’s Tote Bag With Strap
L.L. Bean’s Field Tote is all grit and no gimmicks: a thick, double-layered polyester shell, burly double-stitched seams, and handles that feel industrial. Inside, a thermoplastic lining shrugs off moisture, mud, and mystery goo with wipe-clean ease. It’s not fully leakproof, but it’s close, and that makes it perfect for hauling damp beach towels, snow-crusted boots, or a post-workout fit.
It’s a single, cavernous compartment, with no fussy pockets. There’s an open-top version, but we love the zip-top model for travel. WIRED director Michael Calore tested the extra-large, 53-liter version, and it’s massive enough for a week’s worth of produce, a couple half-gallon cartons of oat milk, and a 12-pack of hard kombucha if you’re also planning on going grocery shopping during your vacation.
SpecsMaterials1,200-denier polyester shell, nylon, and thermoplastic interior coatingDimensions17″(H) x 19″(W) x 10″(D)Weight2.19 poundsColors AvailableBlack, Maple Brown, Olive DrabCare InstructionsSpot clean only
