Best travel accessories for Mac

Whenever I travel with my Mac, there are a few accessories I never leave home without. Depending on how and where I’m traveling to, what I decide to pack may change, except for a few items. From making sure I’m never without the right kind of outlet adapters, to drowning out plane noise, these are the travel accessories for Mac I could never live without:

PlugBug World by Twelve South

The PlugBug World by TwelveSouth is a world adapter that not only keeps your Mac charged all over the world, but doubles as a dual adapter for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. That means you can charge your Mac and an iOS device at the same time.

Out of the box the PlugBug World comes with 5 different adapters which should have you covered in most countries including the UK, North America, Hong Kong, Singapore, most of continental Europe, New Zealand, and Australia.

I’ve had bad experiences with adapters for my Mac in the past, whether it was overheating or the blocks themselves were getting uncomfortably hot. That’s why it’s important to pick an adapter that controls voltage properly. The PlugBug has never failed me and when traveling, especially for business, my Mac is my most important productivity tool.

• $ – Buy

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Bose QuietComfort 20 noise canceling headphones

I almost never leave home without my Bose QC20i headphones. The sound quality of Bose products is part of what drew me to this line, but the other half is that they are one of the only pair of in-ear headphones that I’ve found to truly offer the same noise-canceling experience that over the ear headphones offer.

I don’t have anything against over the ear headphones but I’ve never found them to be as portable as in-ears are. This is why I jumped at the chance to buy these as soon as they came out. Years later, I’m still taking them along on every business trip, long car ride, and late night Starbucks work session. No matter where I am, the noise cancelation is the best I’ve ever experienced.

Since notice canceling headphones require you to charge them, battery life was also important to me. I don’t want to charge them every other day. Bose claims the QC20i series will get around 16 hours per charge (they take between 90-120 minutes to fully charge). I use my pair quite often and I only charge about once a month or so, which makes me think they may even stretch a bit further than what Bose states.

• $$$ – Buy

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Inateck iPad Pro and MacBook sleeve

I recently went on a hunt for a laptop sleeve that could house either my iPad Pro or my 13″ MacBook Pro. As more devices come out, there are more accessories and cases to deal with. If I can combine a few, that makes my life easier (and I don’t travel with both of them at the same time anyways).

I stumbled upon this Inateck sleeve during an Amazon search and for only $20, I figured it was worth a try. After using it for a while, I still like it. While it doesn’t replace a laptop bag for longer trips where I need to pack more gear, it does let me travel lighter on quick trips, to the coffee shop, and for meetings.

This particular model (Inateck offers a few) is one of my favorites because it has several pockets that I can stow away headphones, my Apple Pencil, and other small items I may need to carry.

If you own a 13″ Mac and an iPad Pro, this is definitely a case worth having in your travel bag.

• $ – Buy

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BaseLift for MacBook by Twelve South

I spent a lot of time behind a computer, and as a consequence of that I’ve had a few neck problems. I purchased a standing desk for my iMac and now have my home workstation set up to be more ergonomically friendly.

This led me to also want a solution when I’m not at home, and that’s when I found the BaseLift for MacBook by Twelve South. It’s a simple attachment that looks something like the top of a Smart Cover for iPad. On the other side it has an adhesive that attaches to the underside of your Mac. You can then fold it under just like you can a Smart Cover.

Doing this gives you a few more inches of height so you aren’t looking down at the screen as much. This has helped me prevent neck pain when traveling almost completely. Oh, and don’t worry, while the adhesive is strong, it will peel off if you need it to and leave your MacBook undamaged.

• $ – Buy

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Your favorite travel accessories for Mac?

If you travel frequently, what travel accessories for Mac do you depend on the most? Does what you bring change depending on the type of trip? Let me know in the comments!