Have you ever wondered how celebrities pack for vacation? What go-to snacks are tucked away in famous people’s carry-ons? Or what beauty products they swear by to combat jet-lagged skin? Wander Musts gives you an inside look at celebrities’ travel tips, tricks, and can’t-live-without essentials. In this edition, actor and producer Elijah Wood talks with Opheli Garcia Lawler about why he’s always aspiring to be an organized packer, why New Zealand will always be a special place for him, and which mid-flight snack he will never turn down.

We love Wood—his portrayal of Frodo in the Lord of the Rings franchise made for one of the most beloved characters in pop culture. Beyond LOTR, Wood has taken on a plethora of fun and interesting roles, like Walter in Yellowjackets and Ryan Newman in Wilfred. Right now, you can see him star in Bookworm, available on most streaming platforms. His career in Hollywood started at age eight, and in the years since, he’s traveled all over the world for work, making him extra qualified to share his musings on packing and traveling.

The first trip I ever took was to Los Angeles for a modeling and talent convention with my mom and brother. It was the first plane ride I remember being on. I remember very specifically looking out the window and seeing palm trees for the first time and being kind of in awe of this place that I had associated with the movies. I have very vivid memories of driving around Los Angeles, seeing the Hollywood sign, the Chinese Theater, these somewhat cliche but iconic places.

I started working when I was eight. By the end of that year, I was already traveling to Baltimore to work on a movie called Avalon. My life as a traveler really started that year. Most of the films that I worked on were on location, so I traveled a ton. I developed a wanderlust relatively quickly.

I love traveling. I love the adventure of it, I love the newness of it, experiencing new places. The older I got, the more I invested in that I became. Obviously, as a kid, working as an actor, my mom and I were traveling together. As you become an adult, there’s an ownership over that process and sometimes also a choice of where you want to go on your own that starts to come into your life, which is just so wonderful. I’m a huge foodie, so I research wherever I travel, what restaurants to check out, and I will take myself out. That becomes a way of identifying the identity of a city and experiencing a city.

I spent the better part of four years of my life in New Zealand, getting to know that place, traveling all around it, and really living there. It was the first time in my life that I’d ever lived away from home for an extended period of time. It was an incredible place to be for that first experience, which was so formative. New Zealand has imprinted on my DNA and in my heart in such a specific way. It will always feel like home. Flying into Auckland has an emotional resonance, this sense that I’m home again. It’s hard to find anything that holds quite that degree of resonance.

New Zealand is top, but there are other incredible places. I spent a bit of time in Turkey. I really love it there. Spent a bit of time in Spain—the culinary scene there is extraordinary, and it’s an incredible country. Denmark is a huge part of my life. My wife’s from Denmark, and our kids are Danish by birth. Copenhagen is one of my favorite cities in the world. The city planning is so extraordinary. It’s an incredibly walkable city. It’s extraordinarily friendly. The food’s amazing. It’s just one of those places that opens itself up very quickly.

There are some places that are elusive initially and sort of open up over time. Los Angeles is one of them, partially due to the fact that LA is massive, and I think it’s really difficult to get a sense of the city very quickly for visitors. Whereas there are other places that I think just their identity very quickly reveals itself to you. Like Austin, for instance. For me, even though Austin is growing and changing and morphing over time as it continues to populate, it will always hold this feeling of home.

Rapid fire
Window or aisle seat?

Window. I put the shade down—I mean, if it’s sunny, it can be hard reading or watching a film—but keep it up during takeoff, when I like to look out the window. I’m not necessarily an entirely nervous flier, but I don’t find my comfort until we’re at cruising altitude, which I think is relatively common among a lot of people. So I like to look out the window and just sort of orient. My wife’s a much better traveler than I, she doesn’t need to see, and I’m like, I need to see a little bit. I like sitting by the window.

Are you a light packer or an overpacker?

I would say I err on the side of overpacking. I’ve traveled with people who only bring a backpack and I’ve not been able to do that. I bring a carry-on bag for light travel, and I think I’m actually quite efficient at packing a carry-on. But I do think I’m a little bit of an overpacker because I want to give myself options for when I land. I’m like, “I’m going to bring a couple extra things just in case I need them.” That being said, I do pride myself on being an efficient packer. I feel like I use space really well and pack well, but I do think I sometimes bring more than is necessary.

The tricky thing for me, though, is when you have a trip that incorporates two climates. That is an effer, man. I’ve had this recently—thankfully it wasn’t super extreme—but I was in Texas and then I had to be in Vancouver, and Vancouver is much cooler and Texas is 90s. I try to avoid checking a bag at all costs now, but it’s that conundrum of being able to pack for all seasons and the winter coat of it all, it’s a total nightmare.

What’s your favorite way to pass time on a plane?

A couple things. There’s a sort of rotation of podcasts, movies, and either Switch or Steam Deck. What have I listened to recently? There’s a new documentary series that explores each of Stevie Wonder’s seminal records from Music of My Mind straight through to Songs in the Key of Life. Each episode is about a different record of his in this period that is considered a golden period of his. I tend to listen to things that are documentary or long-form so that there’s something to dig into. But mostly what I do on planes is watch films.

What’s your biggest travel fear?

My biggest travel fear is probably heavy turbulence. I just don’t like turbulence. I just get a little anxious and I haven’t really let that go. It’s funny, the frequency with which I travel hasn’t changed that much. I remember there was a period where I was inured to it way more than I am now. I feel way more sensitive to it now, weirdly, and I don’t quite know why.

I was never a nervous traveler and I wouldn’t say that I am entirely now either, but I don’t love feeling the plane. I think that’s it. I was on a flight recently—it was an A380, a massive plane—but I just felt the wind the whole time. I could just feel that we were hurtling through space in a way that you don’t want to feel. The beautiful thing about a great plane journey is that it just is consistent, you’re in this tube and you’re not really aware of the fact that you’re moving. And so this flight was just… It was fine, but I didn’t like that feeling.

What’s your favorite travel snack?

I don’t really bring snacks on a plane, but on board, it’s such a cliche, but I’ll never deny warm nuts. It’s like the only place on the planet where I eat that. It is so specific to plane travel. And then I won’t deny a cheese and cracker situation. For our kids, the one treat on planes that is very associated with plane travel is M&Ms. It’s become a ritual with our family.

Must-have travel items

Headphones: I just got some headphones that were kind of an upgrade. Bluetooth cans rather than in-ear headphones, which is kind of a lovely thing on a plane. There’s a plug so I can plug it in or I can use it with Bluetooth. That’s kind of key for travel, both for watching my own films or whatever, but also for listening to my phone, that’s key.

Lip balm: Always bring lip balm. You get dry on planes.

Steam Deck: Either a Switch or Steam Deck, some kind of video game unit just so that there’s entertainment. I genuinely wish that I was more of a reader and I really miss that. I used to be such a reader in my twenties and early thirties and I have fallen off so miserably. Although occasionally I will bring a book with the attempt to try and read.

Bluetooth speaker: Having a Bluetooth speaker, so I’m able to play music at a hotel, it just helps to make me feel at home. Wherever you are, your sounds, your music, it’s a reflection of your world—and bringing that to a foreign country or a hotel, it immediately gives you a sense of belonging, I think.

Altoids: I always travel with Altoids. That’s something I’ll get at an airport if I don’t have it. That’s a real constant.

Spray hand sanitizer: Hand sanitizer too, in this particular day and age. I’ll always have a hand sanitizer spray with me.

A little bag: I have this little bag that I actually got from Michael Smiley, this wonderful Irish actor that I’ve worked with a couple of times. It’s basically just like a toiletry bag that he had gotten on a flight, and he gave it to me when we worked on this movie called Come to Daddy. I carry that thing with me everywhere and I use it. I used to put my—I was a smoker for 20 years—so I used to put cigarettes and stuff in it. Don’t do that now. It holds all of my chargers. I bring that case with me everywhere I go and it just always has my cables and things that I need.

Travel adapter: A huge thing that I’m on top of is just making sure that I have the right travel adapter for wherever I’m going. If you’re left in the lurch, it can be a bit of a bummer.