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One of the most important pieces of technology every traveler should have on their packing list is a pair of headphones or earbuds. Without them, we feel lost on long flights, train rides, road trips, city walks, or just connecting with friends on the go. And even if Diplo claims he can “manage the journey,” I’d definitely rather listen to FKA Twigs than my own thoughts.
Sure, traveling can be chaotic at times, but with the right headphones or earbuds, you can create your own personal bubble of calm—perfect for enjoying your favorite playlist, discovering new music, listening to podcasts, watching reruns of your favorite shows, talking to friends and family, and even meditating.
Plus, respect those digital nomads who hold their meetings poolside with a pina colada in hand—your boss will never need to know what you're really doing thanks to advanced noise-cancelling technology.
While the importance of traveling with headphones is obvious, choosing the right ones is a fine art. With thousands of models and brands out there, you’ll want to look for five important features: portability, noise cancellation, sound quality, and battery life. Check out some of the best options below:
Best overall
Apple AirPods Pro
Despite the increasing competition, Apple’s AirPods remain some of the best earbuds on the market. They feature comfortable ear tips with multiple size options, portability, noise cancellation and transparency options, great sound quality with adaptive equalizer, and longer battery life than the competition.
While opting for noise cancellation is always a plus, I also find the AirPods’ unique Transparency mode to be particularly useful for travel because it allows you to clearly hear the sounds of your environment while also maintaining the quality of indoor audio. You can hear important flight instructions through music, or enjoy the lush sound of a tropical rainforest while listening to a podcast on a hike.
Best sound quality
Sony WF-1000XM5
These Sony earbuds provide users with rich and highly detailed in-game audio quality. With three customizable EQ settings, an equalizer with 11 presets, top-notch noise cancellation, and an AI-based noise reduction algorithm to clearly transmit your voice over calls in noisy situations, these earbuds will deliver the highest quality audio – no matter which side of the phone you’re using.
The controls on these Sony earbuds are much more limited than the AirPods, and they come at a higher price, but if sound quality is your top priority, these are the earbuds for you.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Wireless Headphones
The Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II are the best noise-canceling headphones in the business, creating a wonderful aura of pure silence outside when you’re tuning in to your music. Some users even describe the pure silence as eerie. But this silence will make these headphones your best friend on an all-nighter flight, thanks to their superior ability to drown out even the noisiest airplane engine or the screaming baby sitting next to you.
They also have great audio quality, especially with the “immersive sound” feature, which provides surround sound to the earbuds. However, these great technological features come at the cost of battery life, as these earbuds have the shortest battery life of any of the other options on this list.
best budget
Anker Soundcore Space A40 Earbuds
If value is your top priority, the Soundcore Space A40 headphones are budget-friendly, with great sound quality and noise cancellation that rivals higher-priced options. They're lightweight, comfortable, and have great battery life, too.
Where do they go wrong then? The two main drawbacks I noticed were the quality of voice calls, and the lack of an automatic ear detection feature that would allow the audio to automatically pause when answered.
Best overall
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Headphones
Bose QuietComfort Ultras are the industry’s leading travel headphones. They’re lightweight, made with ultra-soft materials, and fold up into a compact bag for easy portability. Most importantly, they deliver incredible spatial audio and top-notch noise cancellation—you’ll be completely immersed in your own world while wearing them. Plus, they feature up to 24 hours of battery life on a single charge, a microphone that filters out background noise during calls, and advanced touch controls.
Best battery life
Sennheiser Consumer Audio Momentum 4 Wireless Headphones
The Sennheiser Momentum 4s’ 60-hour battery life beats all other headphones. To put that into perspective, that’s basically two and a half days of listening time. Plus, you can fully recharge them in two hours or, if you’re pressed for time, you can charge them to four hours of battery life in just five minutes.
They also get a good rating for being lightweight and extremely comfortable — the padded ear cups and adjustable headband allow users to customize the fit as needed and maintain comfort even when wearing glasses or bulky earrings.
Honor Award
Sony WH-1000XM5
These Sony headphones almost win our award for best travel headphones ever. They only lose a few points to the Bose because they don’t fold up as compactly for transport and may be a little less comfortable. They rank high on all other counts—sound quality, great noise cancellation, clear voice calls, and advanced touch controls. The two things that the Bose wins on are battery life (they can last up to 30 hours on a single charge) and price (they’re a little cheaper at $400).
