Quick Answer
- Buy the Rainleaf for hostels and backpacking: 61 x 122 cm, snap loop, six sizes.
- Want the lightest? The Sea to Summit DryLite Large is 120 x 60 cm and 145 g.
- Long trip, no laundry? The PackTowl Personal Body has Polygiene odor control.
- Beach? The Nomadix Original (184 x 76 cm) or the budget Eunzel two-pack.
- Hate microfiber? The HAVLULAND Turkish cotton towel is the flat-woven alternative.
- Hostel dorms often charge for towels: St Christopher’s Inns rents them at around €3 or £3, and Generator rents or sells them for shared rooms.
- No fabric softener, ever: Sea to Summit says it reduces absorbency.
Compare the picks
| Pick | Key specs | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Rainleaf TowelBest overall | 122 cm · 61 cm · 120 g | Check price |
| Sea to Summit DryLite LLightest | 120 cm · 60 cm · 145 g | Check price |
| PackTowl Personal BodyBest for long trips | 137 cm · 64 cm · 181 g | Check price |
| Nomadix OriginalBest for beaches | 184 cm · 76 cm · 454 g | Check price |
| Eunzel Beach Towel x2Budget beach pair | 180 cm · 81 cm · 2 pcs | Check price |
| HAVLULAND Turkish TowelBest cotton option | 183 cm · 102 cm | Check price |
| 4Monster Towel + CaseBest with a case | 119 cm · 60 cm | Check price |
| OlimpiaFit 3-PackBest set | 127 cm · 3 pcs | Check price |
61 x 122 cm, listed at 120 g in navy, snap loop and a ventilated carry bag. Rainleaf says it absorbs five times its own weight, and it comes in six sizes. The one most travelers should buy first.
Check price on Amazon Live price on Amazon120 x 60 cm, 145 g, packs to 16 x 16.5 x 2 cm in a mesh pouch. 80% recycled polyester and 20% polyamide, with a press-stud tab for a pack strap or clothesline. The lightest body towel per square metre here.
Check price on Amazon Live price on Amazon64 x 137 cm, 181 g, 50% recycled microfiber with Polygiene silver-ion odor control. PackTowl rates it to dry 70% faster than comparable cotton. The pick for a towel you cannot wash for a week.
Check price on Amazon Live price on Amazon184 x 76 cm, 454 g, packs to 9.5 x 17 cm. 90% post-consumer recycled polyester in a looped MicroTerry weave that Nomadix says absorbs 4x its weight and sheds sand. Feels closest to a real towel.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonTwo towels of 180 x 81 cm each, about 300 g apiece by the pack weight, printed on both sides. Beach-size coverage for two people at a budget.
Check price on Amazon Live price on Amazon183 x 102 cm, 100% Turkish cotton, flat weave with tassels. HAVLULAND says it tumble-dries in about 20 minutes on low against 60 minutes on high for terry. For people who cannot stand the feel of microfiber.
Check price on Amazon Live price on Amazon119 x 60 cm, folds into a hard EVA case with a carabiner, 12-month warranty from 4Monster. Keeps a damp towel off the clothes in your bag.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonThree towels in one bag: 127 x 76 cm, 76 x 38 cm and 38 x 38 cm. Body, hair and face covered in one purchase, which is what long hair and hostel showers need.
Check price on Amazon Live price on AmazonBest travel towel 2026: decide by where you will use it, not by the fabric
A travel towel is one job out of three: drying off after a hostel shower, lying on a beach, or wiping down on a trail. A towel that is perfect for one is wrong for another. The 145 g shower towel is too small to lie on, and the 454 g beach towel is dead weight in a carry-on.
Skip this page if you only stay in hotels: every hotel room comes with towels and you will never miss one. Everyone else, especially anyone booking a hostel dorm in Europe, gets eight towels below, sized in centimetres and checked against what the hostel chains actually publish.
How VoyageHacks picked these eight
VoyageHacks compared the published sizes, weights, materials and drying claims of travel towels in Amazon’s microfiber and beach towel listings, and read the manufacturers’ own pages and three hostel chains’ towel policies on 12 October 2026. A towel made the list only if its maker publishes its dimensions and it is sold by a named brand. Nothing here was bench-tested, and no price appears because the card above links to Amazon’s live one.
Towel weight per square metre: the comparison nobody prints
GSM (grams per square metre) is the weight of one square metre of a fabric, the same mass-per-area measure that ISO 3801 defines for woven textiles. It is the best single predictor of how a towel behaves: lower GSM dries faster and packs smaller, higher GSM holds more water and feels more like a bath towel.
No travel towel brand in this guide prints a GSM figure. So VoyageHacks divided each maker’s published weight by its published area:
| Towel | Size | Published weight | Area | Weight per m² | Packed size (maker) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea to Summit DryLite L | 120 x 60 cm | 145 g | 0.72 m² | about 201 g | 16 x 16.5 x 2 cm |
| PackTowl Personal Body | 64 x 137 cm | 181 g | 0.88 m² | about 206 g | Not published |
| Eunzel (one towel) | 180 x 81 cm | about 300 g | 1.46 m² | about 206 g | Not published |
| Rainleaf | 61 x 122 cm | 120 to 159 g (varies by colour listing) | 0.74 m² | about 161 to 214 g | Not published |
| Nomadix Original | 184 x 76 cm | 454 g | 1.40 m² | about 325 g | 9.5 x 17 cm |
| HAVLULAND Turkish cotton | 183 x 102 cm | Not reliably published | 1.87 m² | n/a | Not published |
The Nomadix is the outlier on purpose. Its looped MicroTerry weave is heavier per square metre, which is why it feels like a towel rather than a chamois, and why it is a beach towel rather than a backpacking one.
Which size do you need?
Travel towels are sold in four size classes. The names are the makers’, the centimetres are from PackTowl’s and Sea to Summit’s published size lists:
| Class | Typical size | What it does | Examples in this guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face | 25 x 36 cm to 38 x 38 cm | Face, sweat on a hike | PackTowl Face, OlimpiaFit small |
| Hand / hair | 40 x 80 cm to 42 x 91 cm | Hair, hand-washing, a gym bench | Sea to Summit S, PackTowl Hand, OlimpiaFit medium |
| Body | 60 x 120 cm to 64 x 137 cm | A full shower, the hostel default | Rainleaf, Sea to Summit L, PackTowl Body, 4Monster |
| Beach | 76 x 180 cm and up | Lying down, wrapping up | Nomadix, Eunzel, HAVLULAND |
One body towel is enough for most adults. If you have long hair, add a hand towel: a single microfiber towel saturates before it gets through both.
Rainleaf Microfiber Travel Towel: the one to buy first
The Rainleaf in its 61 x 122 cm size covers a full shower, folds into a ventilated carry bag and hangs from a snap loop on a bunk ladder. Rainleaf lists six sizes, so the same towel comes in a hand size for hair and a 100 x 180 cm size for the beach. Its listing says it absorbs five times its own weight.
Buy it if you want one towel for hostels, gyms and backpacking without overthinking it. Skip it if weight matters to the gram: the Sea to Summit DryLite Large is the same idea, a little lighter, with published pack dimensions.
Sea to Summit DryLite Large: the lightest
The Sea to Summit DryLite Large is 120 x 60 cm and 145 g and packs to 16 x 16.5 x 2 cm, about the footprint of a paperback. Sea to Summit makes it from 80% recycled polyester and 20% polyamide with an ultra-suede finish, and attaches a press-stud tab so it hangs from a pack strap or a clothesline. The range runs from S (80 x 40 cm, 70 g) to XL (150 x 75 cm, 230 g).
Buy it if you count grams, or travel carry-on only with a backpack. Skip it if you want a towel that feels plush: suede-finish microfiber grabs dry skin, and the Nomadix feels softer.
PackTowl Personal Body: the one for long trips
The PackTowl Personal Body is 64 x 137 cm and 181 g, the longest body towel here. What sets it apart is Polygiene, a silver-ion treatment that PackTowl says keeps it fresh across several uses between washes. PackTowl rates the fabric to dry 70% faster than comparable cotton and makes it from 50% recycled content.
Buy it if you are on the road for a week or more and laundry is irregular. Skip it if you wash every few days anyway: the Rainleaf does the drying job for less.
Nomadix Original: the beach towel
The Nomadix Original is 184 x 76 cm and 454 g and packs to 9.5 x 17 cm. Nomadix weaves 90% post-consumer recycled polyester into small loops it calls MicroTerry, and says it “absorbs 4x its weight” and “dries 4x faster than cotton terry towels”. The loops shed sand when shaken and grip a yoga mat when damp.
Buy it if your trip is beaches, pools and boats. Skip it if you are backpacking: it weighs three times the Sea to Summit, and a beach-size towel is wasted in a hostel shower.
Eunzel Microfiber Beach Towel two-pack: the budget beach pair
Two 180 x 81 cm towels, printed on both sides, roughly 300 g each by the listed pack weight. Eunzel says they dry three times faster than regular towels. Buy them if two people need beach towels and the budget is tight. Skip them if you need one towel for showers too: they are too big for a hostel locker.
HAVLULAND Turkish cotton towel: if you hate microfiber
A Turkish towel (also called a peshtemal) is a thin, flat-woven cotton towel, traditionally with tassels. The HAVLULAND is 183 x 102 cm of 100% Turkish cotton. HAVLULAND says it tumble-dries in about 20 minutes on low heat against 60 minutes on high for terry, and it doubles as a sarong, a picnic blanket or a plane blanket.
Buy it if the squeaky feel of microfiber on skin bothers you. Skip it if you hang-dry in a humid hostel room: cotton holds water longer than microfiber, and HAVLULAND publishes no air-dry figure.
4Monster Quick Dry Towel with Case: keep damp off your clothes
The 4Monster is a 119 x 60 cm microfiber towel that folds into a hard EVA case with a carabiner. The case is the point: a used towel goes back in without soaking the shirt next to it. 4Monster claims it dries five times faster than cotton and backs it with a 12-month warranty.
Buy it if your towel lives in a gym bag or a daypack. Skip it if you pack it wet for long: an EVA case does not breathe, so the towel stays damp until you open it.
OlimpiaFit 3-Size Set: one purchase, three jobs
The OlimpiaFit set is three towels in one bag: 127 x 76 cm for the body, 76 x 38 cm for hair or hands and 38 x 38 cm for the face. OlimpiaFit says its fibres are thinner than standard microfiber and dry up to three times as fast. Buy it if you have long hair or share towels in a family. Skip it if you only ever need one towel.
Do hostels provide towels? What the chains publish
Often not in dorms. A hostel dorm is a shared room sold by the bed, and that is where towels are most often extra. Here is what three European chains state on their own help pages, read on 12 October 2026:
| Hostel chain | Dorm with shared bathroom | Private rooms | Rental at reception |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Christopher’s Inns | Not included | Included free (single, double, twin) and in ensuite dorms, except Berlin Mitte, Vienna, Newquay, Edinburgh and the Flying Pigs | Around €3 or £3; London takes a £5 deposit; Amsterdam Winston includes towels in every room type |
| Generator (Europe) | Rent or buy at reception | Included in private single, twin and king rooms | Prices on each property page |
| MEININGER (Munich Zentrum) | Included with the bed | Included | Not needed |
St Christopher’s also asks guests to reuse towels rather than swap daily, and adds 5% city tax to towel rental in Berlin. If you stay in dorms more than a few nights a year, owning a towel beats renting one at every check-in. Our Hostelworld review covers where to check a hostel’s facilities before you book.
Microfiber vs cotton vs linen: what the makers actually claim
Microfiber is polyester, often blended with polyamide, spun into very fine fibres. Sea to Summit says those fibres give the fabric around 40 times the surface area of a regular fibre, which is why it pulls water off skin fast and lets it evaporate fast.
Every microfiber maker here claims faster drying than cotton, but each measures against its own baseline:
| Maker | Drying claim | Baseline |
|---|---|---|
| PackTowl | 70% faster | “comparable cotton towels” |
| Nomadix | 4x faster | “cotton terry towels” |
| 4Monster | 5x faster | cotton |
| Eunzel | 3x faster | “regular towels” |
| OlimpiaFit | up to 3x as fast | standard microfiber |
| HAVLULAND (cotton) | about 20 min tumble on low | 60 min on high for terry |
Because the baselines differ, the multipliers do not compare with each other. They agree on direction, not on a number.
Linen towels are the third option. Linen sellers widely describe them as faster-drying than cotton, but none that VoyageHacks found publishes a measured figure, so we have no number to give you and no linen towel on the list.
What goes wrong with travel towels
- Fabric softener ruins absorbency. Sea to Summit’s own care advice: it coats the fibres. Wash in plain detergent.
- Packed damp, it smells. Dry it completely before it goes into a bag, especially into a sealed case or a compression bag.
- It grabs dry skin. Suede-finish microfiber drags if you rub. Pat dry instead.
- One small towel for long hair fails. Carry a hand-size second towel.
- Hostel lockers are small. A beach towel and a wet one at that will not share a locker with a backpack.
- Dark colours hide wear, light colours show stains. Sunscreen marks stay visible on pale microfiber.
Sources
- St Christopher’s Inns, “Do you provide towels?”, support.st-christophers.co.uk, checked 12 October 2026.
- Generator, “Are towels supplied in all rooms?”, staygenerator.com FAQ, checked 12 October 2026.
- MEININGER Help Center, “Room amenities”, München Zentrum, checked 12 October 2026.
- Sea to Summit, DryLite Towel product page (sizes, weights, materials, care FAQ), checked 12 October 2026.
- Nomadix, Original Towel product page (size, weight, pack size, absorbency and drying claims), checked 12 October 2026.
- ISO, ISO 3801:1977, Textiles: Woven fabrics: Determination of mass per unit length and mass per unit area, checked 12 October 2026.
- PackTowl, Rainleaf, Eunzel, HAVLULAND, 4Monster and OlimpiaFit: each brand’s own Amazon listing copy, read 12 October 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best travel towel in 2026?
For most travelers, the best travel towel is a body-size microfiber towel of about 60 x 120 cm that packs smaller than a water bottle: VoyageHacks’ pick is the Rainleaf Microfiber Travel Towel (61 x 122 cm, six sizes), with the Sea to Summit DryLite Large (120 x 60 cm, 145 g) as the lighter premium choice. Take the PackTowl Personal Body for long trips, thanks to its odor control, and the Nomadix Original (184 x 76 cm) for beaches.
Do hostels provide towels?
Often not in dorms. St Christopher’s Inns does not include towels in dorms with a shared bathroom and rents them at reception for around 3 euros or 3 pounds, and Generator’s European hostels rent or sell them for shared rooms while including them in private rooms. MEININGER includes towels with every room or bed at its Munich Zentrum property. Check the listing before you book, or pack your own.
What does GSM mean on a towel?
GSM means grams per square metre, the weight of one square metre of the fabric. A higher GSM towel is thicker and holds more water but takes longer to dry and packs bigger. None of the travel towels in this guide publishes a GSM figure, but their published sizes and weights put the Sea to Summit DryLite and PackTowl Personal near 200 g per square metre and the Nomadix Original near 325.
Is microfiber better than cotton for a travel towel?
For packing and drying, yes. Microfiber towels weigh around 120 to 180 g in a body size and every maker in this guide claims faster drying than cotton, from PackTowl’s 70% faster to Nomadix’s 4x faster than cotton terry. Cotton feels better on the skin. A flat-woven Turkish cotton towel is the middle ground: softer than microfiber, thinner and quicker to dry than a terry bath towel.
What size travel towel do I need?
For a shower, a body towel of about 60 x 120 cm to 64 x 137 cm is enough for most adults. For lying on a beach, you need a beach size of about 76 x 180 cm or larger. Add a hand towel of about 40 x 90 cm if you have long hair, because one small microfiber towel cannot dry both body and hair.
Why has my microfiber towel stopped absorbing water?
Usually fabric softener. Sea to Summit warns that fabric softener reduces the absorbency of its DryLite towels, because it coats the fine fibres that pull water in. Wash microfiber towels without softener, and let them dry completely before you pack them, or they start to smell.
The bottom line
Buy the Rainleaf for hostels and backpacking, the Sea to Summit DryLite if every gram counts, the PackTowl Personal for long trips without laundry, and the Nomadix or the Eunzel pair for beaches. A travel towel is also one of the more useful small travel gifts and stocking stuffers ahead of Christmas. Pack it alongside your packing cubes, a hanging toiletry bag for the hostel shower and travel-size bottles, then browse the rest of the travel gear hub or the hotels and hostels guides.