The great travel backpack vs. tote debate has one very satisfying answer: it depends on your trip. A hands-free backpack can make airport connections and sightseeing days feel infinitely more manageable. A tote keeps essentials within easy reach and transitions beautifully from the terminal to a lunch reservation to your beach chair. And sometimes? Bringing both means you're excellent at planning ahead.
Here are a few favorites to help you find the right travel companion:
Travel Backpacks: Your Hands-free Best Friend
For Maximum Organization: XL Clarion Backpack
Some trips involve a charger, headphones, snacks, an extra layer, a book, three things you promised to carry for someone else, and approximately 47 tiny essentials. The XL Clarion Backpack is ready to handle it all.
At 19.5” high, this extra large backpack gives everything a place thanks to five exterior zip compartments, two side pockets, and an interior filled with six slip pockets, a pen slip, and a zip pocket. An interior carabiner clip offers another handy spot for keys or essentials you don't want buried, while adjustable shoulder straps and an adjustable chest strap make this women's backpack especially appealing for travel days when you expect to be on the move.
In other words: your hands are free, your essentials are sorted, and nobody has to dig to find what they need.
🌟Pro tip: Take your backpack organization to the next level with a makeup bag, jewelry case and more fun organizing accessories for your next trip.
For Plenty of Space Without Going XL: Large Clarion Backpack
Want the organizational personality of the XL Clarion in a slightly slimmer silhouette? Meet the Large Clarion Backpack.
It shares many of the same travel-friendly details, including adjustable shoulder and chest straps, two exterior side pockets and plenty of interior organization. Four exterior zip compartments make frequently used items easy to separate, while six interior slip pockets, a pen slip, zip pocket and carabiner clip help keep the main compartment from becoming a free-for-all.
This large but lightweight backpack is a smart choice when your itinerary includes airport corridors, sightseeing, public transportation, or any other situation where hands-free wins.
When Your Packing List Has a Packing List: XL Bancroft Backpack
There's prepared, and then there's "XL Bancroft" prepared.
The XL Bancroft Backpack shows off its storage prowess with three spacious zip compartments, a dedicated laptop zip pocket, a tablet sleeve, and expandable side pockets designed to accommodate a variety of water bottle sizes. There's also a trolley sleeve, so you can slip the backpack over your luggage handle for an easy-carry option while rushing through the airport.
And when your packing list grows? A zip expansion panel at the base adds two inches of depth. Because sometimes “just the essentials” develops its own definition halfway through packing.
Thoughtful details continue inside, with multiple slip pockets, a zip pocket and a pen slip, plus a front ring for keys or charms. For longer travel days or adventures that require more gear, this backpack understands the assignment.
For Business Trips and Weekend Departures: Large Bancroft Backpack
The Large Bancroft Backpack lives at the intersection of polished and practical. It accommodates up to a 15” laptop and includes three compartments, a front zip pocket, multiple interior slip pockets, and a zip pocket.
A trolley sleeve makes navigating with all of your luggage much easier, while two side slip pockets, keep grab-and-go necessities close. There's even a front ring for keychains or charms, because practical does not mean personality-free.
For travelers moving between airport, hotel, and work meetings, this backpack keeps technology and everyday essentials organized without looking like you borrowed your hiking bag for the occasion.
🌟Pro tip: Add a coordinating cord organizer pouch to wrangle your chargers, earbuds and other tech accessories so charging your phone doesn't require a frantic five-minute search.
For Walking-Heavy Adventures: Large Berkhill Backpack
City wandering, museum hopping, or a full day exploring somewhere new are all backpack territory.
The lightweight, casual Large Berkhill Backpack is designed for an active day, with adjustable straps, two exterior zip pockets, two side pockets and a compartment that accommodates up to a 15” laptop. A trolley sleeve adds airport convenience, while interior slip and zip pockets keep smaller belongings under control.
If your ideal women's backpack for travel needs to move easily from flight day to sightseeing day, the Berkhill makes a compelling case.
Tote Bags for Travel: Get the Best of Both Worlds
Backpacks may win for hands-free convenience, but totes have their own travel superpowers: wide openings, easy access, and the ability to move from travel bag to everyday carryall without missing a beat.
For Airport Organization: Knollton Tote Bag
Our Knollton Tote Bag was made with travel in mind. Its spacious silhouette includes a zip main compartment, dedicated zip laptop pocket, and back zip pocket with a webbing trolley sleeve inside.
It holds a 15" laptop, while three interior slip pockets and a zip pocket help organize everything from travel documents to chargers.
If you're searching for a travel tote bag with a zipper that feels polished enough for work trips but roomy enough for weekend departures, the Knollton is ready for boarding.
For Spacious, Simple Carrying: Marston Grand Tote Bag
The Marston Grand Tote Bag keeps things refreshingly uncomplicated. Its roomy interior gives you space for the extras that inevitably join the trip, while an interior zip pocket and key loop keep smaller necessities easy to find.
Its generous 21.75” top width also makes it easy to reach inside when you need something quickly, a definite advantage when your passport is somewhere in there and you're finally at the front of the TSA line.
For travelers who like a spacious women's travel tote without an abundance of compartments, Marston keeps the experience simple.
🌟Pro tip: When you're the kind of traveler who always says “throw it in, we might need it!”, use small, medium, and large pouches to make every little thing easy to find.
For Two Looks in One: Hathaway Tote Bag
Packing space is precious. A reversible bag? We respect the efficiency.
The Hathaway Tote Bag features a reversible design, quilted cotton lining, exterior and interior slip pockets, and a hidden magnetic closure. Its versatile shape works beautifully for vacation days when you want a lighter carryall for shopping, sightseeing, or dinner.
And because it reverses, changing up your look doesn't require finding room for another bag. Your suitcase approves.
For a Vera Bradley Classic: The Original Vera Tote
The Original Vera Tote knows a thing or two about going places.
Its roomy interior includes six slip pockets, while exterior slip and zip pockets make frequently used essentials easier to grab. A zip closure keeps the main compartment secure, and quilted cotton lining brings that unmistakable Vera Bradley feel.
With a 12” handle drop and generous proportions, it's an easygoing women's travel tote bag for road trips, weekend getaways, and days when you would simply rather carry than wear your bag.
🌟Pro tip: When you're packing the big suitcase, add our soft cotton Small Original Vera Tote, which is just the right size to bring your style on the road.
For Zip-It-and-Go Ease: The Original Zip Tote Bag
For anyone who loves the classic tote experience but prefers everything securely zipped inside, there's the Original Zip Tote Bag.
This roomy carryall features a full zip closure, 12” handle drop, exterior slip pocket, two interior slip pockets, and an interior zip pocket. It's versatile enough to move from travel day to everyday life long after you've unpacked.
If a travel tote bag with a zipper is high on your wish list, this one makes a strong argument for Team Tote.
Keep Track of All of the Little Things: 3 Pouch Organizer Set
Whichever bag you choose, organization gets even easier with the 3 Pouch Organizer Set.
The set includes three zippered pouches in large, medium, and small sizes, making it easy to create your own system inside a backpack or tote. Think tech accessories in one, personal essentials in another, and all those tiny things that otherwise disappear precisely when you need them in the third.
The Power Move: Bring the Backpack and the Tote Too!
Who says you have to choose?
Pairing a backpack with a tote gives you flexibility throughout the trip. Use your backpack for hands-free airport navigation or walking-heavy days, then switch to your tote when you want easier access to essentials or a more relaxed carryall. A tote can also hold those last-minute additions that mysteriously appear between leaving home and reaching your gate.
When it comes to your next trip, sometimes the answer is both!
