Are Turkish towels good for travel? You better believe it! While there are still times when that tiny microfiber pack towel serves a purpose, the HPL team generally ALWAYS recommends a Turkish towel when traveling.
But if you’ve never heard of them before, you’re probably wondering what the heck they even are!
What are Turkish Towels?
Fellow traveler Camille already told us that Turkish towels are her one little thing she can’t travel without, and I have to be honest, I became an instant convert after Knotty (an Australian brand) sent me a few to try out for myself back in 2015.
Known as peshtemals, Turkish towels were originally designed for use in public bath houses. In recent years, they’ve grown in popularity as beach/pool towels, travel towels, and even as gym towels (I take mine to the gym!) thanks to their large size, high absorbency level, and quick-drying nature.
But most of all, we love their ability to be packed down quite small – almost just as small as those teeny tiny pack towels you get at the travel gear shops!
Benefits for Travel
So let’s take a look at why Turkish bath towels are perfect for travel:
They’re thin. Even though they are cotton (which is not typically on our quick-dry clothing and travel gear list), they dry fairly quickly.
They actually cover you up. The size is not even comparable to pack towels, but since the material is thin, they still pack up small.
They’re soft on your skin. Unlike the sticky feeling of other pack towels, like my old faithful from Kathmandu, Turkish towels pat down more like a normal towel given the fluffy thread of Turkish cotton.
Absorbency is high. All thanks to Turkish cotton.
