If you’re not travelling with a pair of the best headphones when travelling, you’re not doing it right. You need comfort and you need to block out distracting sounds most of the time so you can focus on your work and your personal time.
Based on hours of testing in all kinds of environments, these are the best travel headphones available to buy right now. We've covered a wide variety in terms of price and design – and, of course, included many of the best noise-cancelling headphones as it's an integral feature for those travelling.
It's time to elevate your listening experience, whether you're heading down the road to the shops or visiting a friend on the other side of the world by plane. If you're specifically looking for the best earbuds rather than over-ears, then be sure to check out that best-of list.
T3's Top Picks
If you want the best all-around headphones to travel with, there's no doubt in our mind that the Sony WH-1000XM6 takes the crown. These are headphones to suit all occasions on the go.
Active noise cancelling is essential on the go, and the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones delivers perfect ANC – and all of its other features are really impressive as well, by the way.
A pair of top-quality travel earbuds don't have to break the bank, as the Nothing Ear (2) prove. Despite the low price, they're stacked with features, and sound fantastic.
Update 4 July 2025: Added in a bunch of newly-launched headphones to refresh our recommendations, including the new winner from Sony.
The best travel headphones in 2025
Best travel headphones overall
Sony's WH-1000XM6 come with a number of useful upgrades over the XM5 that we think are perfect for travellers: market-leading noise cancelling, a design that finally folds once again, and a new case that's arguably perfect.
What's more, the active noise cancelling is adaptive relative to your circumstances. The headphones will learn (or can be told) about your most commonly visited locations, and can (if you wish) adapt itself to suit – not a bad little audio trick.
While this pair of headphones isn't cheap, in our Sony WH-1000XM6 review we talked about sound that's "superb", "confident", "expansive", and "balanced", and with great battery life too, they're a great pick for the best travel headphones.
Best travel headphones for noise-cancelling
The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones are perfect for travellers, with the great carry case and folding design, as well as the superior active noise cancelling that you get. You can disappear into your own little audio world with this pair of cans.
As you would expect from Bose, the audio quality is top notch, and you also get a fantastic Immersive Audio (spatial audio) feature to further enhance your sound. You're guaranteed a superb listen whether you're on the go or staying at home.
As we said in our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones review: "All hail the noise-cancelling king! If you're looking for incredible travel headphones then you can do no better." Give your ears a real treat with the best travel headphones for ANC.
Best budget travel headphones
The second-gen Nothing earbuds, the Ear (2), knocked the T3 team's socks off (well, ears off really). Our Nothing Ear (2) review describes these as "everything you need and nothing you don't", and they're a great pick for something more affordable.
We know that Nothing tries to be as fashionable and as innovative as possible, with its phones as well as its earbuds, and admittedly the design might not be to everyone's tastes – but their compact size makes them perfect for going travelling.
It's hard to find any faults with these affordable ANC in-ears, unless you don't particularly enjoy the design, and you get audio quality that's better than you might expect for the price. You even get in-ear access to ChatGPT, via your phone.
Best travel headphones for comfort
You want to be comfortable on the go, and the Sonos Ace offer superior comfort, thanks to the memory foam and snug fit. In our Sonos Ace review, tech editor Mike Lowe called them the most comfortable pair of headphones he's ever worn.
The Sonos Ace headphones are the first pair we've seen launched by Sonos, and while it's quite a surprise that they don't offer full integration with existing Sonos Wi-Fi speaker systems, there's an awful lot to like about what's on offer here.
It's not just that they're super comfy though – the Sonos Ace pump out a fantastic level of audio quality, feature some really well thought out design choices, and bring with them a very respectable amount of battery life between recharges as well.
Best noise-cancelling in-ear travel headphones
If you want stellar active noise cancellation (ANC) as well as a compact form factor for your travels, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are just about the best pick: expensive, sure, but excellent at blocking out all outside noise from your ears.
As we put it in our Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds review, "if you're in the market for one of the best-sounding pairs of earbuds, these sit in scarce company". The accompanying app is really well done too, adding to the appeal of the headphones.
It's hard to find anything to complain about with the build quality, the design, and the comfort of these wireless earbuds either. While we've highlighted the ANC in particular here, these are earbuds that score highly in every category as well.
Best luxury travel headphones
Our luxury travel headphones pick are the Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3: they're not the cheapest out there, but the audio quality is undeniable. You get superb dynamics and details from this pair, and a prestige sound to match this prestige brand name.
The build quality and the materials used here are top-notch too, at the expense of a little extra weight that we don't think most people will mind. There are easy-to-use on-board controls, as well as the option of a wired connection if you need it.
Add in the 30 hours of battery life between charges, and they're fantastic for your travels. As we said in our Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S3 review, "there's little criticism that could be laid upon these headphones".
How we test the best travel headphones
At T3 how we test is important. We spend a lot of time reviewing the latest headphones, so when it comes to recommending which are the best headphones for travel to buy, you can be safe in the knowledge that we'll recommend the best options for you personally.
We'll usually spend a week or longer testing the latest headphones. We try out the very latest features to see if they work and if they're useful. This might be a noise cancelling feature, a new app function, or a voice assistant. We test everything in-depth, with audio experts reviewing each pair thoroughly.
All of these new features also get tested alongside everything a pair of headphones should be classically good at, such as sound quality, noise cancelling ability, how long the battery lasts, and how comfortable they are to wear for long periods of time. Once the initial review period is complete we'll publish a full review, give the headphones a star rating.
