5 Best Travel Essential Oil Diffusers In 2023  (Buying Guide & Review) 

If you’re in a hurry and just want to know which essential oil diffuser would be the best for travel, then I would recommend,Loxim Nebulizing Aromatherapy Diffuser, as your best choice. 

Whether you’re traveling by air, road, or railway, bringing along a diffuser for aromatherapy treatments can significantly help in reducing stress levels. Travel diffusers also offer a secure alternative to lighting scented candles in a hotel room.

Particularly, RV travelers will find immense value in aromatherapy diffusers as they effectively combat and eliminate unpleasant odors that tend to build up in confined spaces. RVs can trap various odors, and fragrances can assist in masking or entirely getting rid of unwanted smells, thereby enhancing overall comfort. If you’re going on a long road trip, you’ll find this website super helpful. You can get expert tips for a comfy RV journey and find RV-friendly locations to stop at.

Let us help you find an essential oil diffuser that’s compact enough for travel, yet works as efficiently as larger diffusers used at home.

In this article I will review the following essential oil diffusers:

5 Best Travel Essential Oil Diffusers Reviewed

1. Most Portable: Rocky Mountain Oils Handheld Personal Diffuser

Travel Highlights:

• Cordless operation
• Pocket-sized

More than a handheld diffuser, this travel kit includes three bottles of essential oils. 

This kit contains one of each:

• Peppermint essential oil (15 mL/0.51 oz)
• Orange essential oil (15 mL/0.51 oz)
• Immune strength essential oil blend (5 mL/0.17 oz)

Rocky Mountain essential oils are tested three times to ensure their quality and purity. Peppermint oil can help keep you alert, orange oil can lift your mood, and the immune strength blend offers comfort. Ingredients are sourced internationally from sustainable farms.

This personal diffuser is highly portable and includes a USB charger. A single charge results in 15 hours of battery life.

Easy to use, you would twist the diffuser open and add tap water to the fill line. You’ll only need to add one to two drops of your favorite essential oil before closing the unit.

Once activated, it releases ten 60-second intervals of strong mist before shutting off. You restart the misting cycle by sliding the panel back up. Sliding the panel down turns off the diffuser regardless of how long it’s been in use.

Due to its portability, you can take this diffuser on road trips, use it to prevent nausea on an airplane, and even take it to the gym.

Pros

• Can fit in small pockets and spaces
• Includes essential oils
• Nice starter kit
• Simple instructions for use

Cons

• The diffuser only cycles for one minute
• It’s not a freestanding device

== Check Price on Amazon ==

2. Best for Car Travel: Plant Therapy Portable Diffuser Travel Pack

Travel Highlights:

• Freestanding
• Protective case with handle

Available in rose gold or wood grain, this is an attractive travel diffuser that comes with a travel case and essential oil.

Plant Therapy’s travel essential oil blend (10 mL / ⅓ oz) is safe to use around children and pets. It’s a blend that encourages alertness and helps reduce motion sickness. Since you’ll only need to use one to two drops at a time, this bottle can last for quite a while. 

The travel case has an interior pocket that can hold two bottles of essential oil. This is really convenient because you’ll have everything you need inside this protective carrier. It also fits the diffuser, USB cord, and AC power adapter. 

Depending on your car model, it might fit inside your cup holder. Its diameter is 2.75 inches. If so, it prevents you from needing to hold the unit. And you don’t have to be fearful of it sliding around your vehicle during a road trip. 

This unit can operate while charging. In continuous mode, it operates for up to five hours. In intermittent mode, you can expect it to operate for up to ten hours while plugged in.

But the diffuser can be used untethered once fully charged. It can diffuse up to three hours on continuous mode if the battery is fully charged. An indicator light flashes when the battery is low.

Similar to larger diffusers, there are multiple interval options. The first option is to run the unit continuously until it runs out of water. The machine is programmed to shut off automatically once all the water is gone. This is another factor that’s beneficial during road trips. You don’t have to worry about shutting off the machine while driving to prevent it from overheating or malfunctioning. 

Additional mist options:

• 30 minutes of continuous mist
• 5 minutes on / 5 minutes off
• 30 seconds on / 30 seconds off

If you mistakenly add water past the fill line, this will activate the diffuser’s safety sensor, causing the machine to shut off. If you drive over rough terrain or the diffuser gets bumped around a lot, this may also activate the safety sensor. While traveling, all of these features help protect and prolong the use of this diffuser.

Pros

• Stylish, aesthetically pleasing design
• It can stand alone on a flat surface
• Multiple mist cycle options
• Comes with a durable carrying case
• Includes one bottle of essential oil

Cons

• Some feel it’s too large for travel
• You may dislike the essential oil fragrance

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3. Best for Hotel Use: Pure Enrichment PureSpa Deluxe Ultrasonic Essential Oil Diffuser

Travel Highlights:

• Long running time
• Practically soundless when operating

The reservoir holds 140 mL(4.75 oz)  of water. To it, you can add three to five drops of your favorite essential oil. This helps you create an atmosphere that’s just like home while you’re sleeping in a different state or country. With a full tank of water, it operates up to 10 hours.

The machine works with or without its LED lights. There are five LED light options that are soft enough to create ambiance that would be a safer alternative to burning candles in a hotel room or AirBnB.

Ultrasonic diffuser quietly operates to create a cool aromatic mist, which is perfect for overnight use. A cool mist maintains the integrity of your essential oils instead of breaking down their molecules with heat.

PureSpa Deluxe produces a strong mist that can fill a room up to 250 sq ft. This makes it a great option for your stay in a hotel suite.

Pros

• Auto shut-off when water tank is empty
• Optional LED lights
• Compact size but wide fragrance distribution
• It runs quietly

Cons

• Must operate on a table of shelf
• You can’t select just one light color

== Check Price on Amazon ==

4. Most Quiet Option: Portable Ultrasonic Mist Aromatherapy Diffuser

Travel Highlights:

• Near silent operation
• Beautiful warm LED light

This travel diffuser model has the appearance of natural rattan fibers, even though it’s made of BPA-free plastic. Its aesthetics can help you feel as though you’re enjoying a spa experience as you travel. 

At about 3.5 inches wide (88 mm) and 3 inches (80 mm) tall, this aromatherapy diffuser is lightweight and highly mobile. The reservoir only holds 30 mL of water, which equals about two tablespoons or 1 fl oz. But at full capacity, this diffuser can run for 2 hours in continuous mode.

On the base of this machine is a non-slip mat, which prevents it from sliding off a table. The mat can also help keep it in place if you’re on a bumpy road while traveling in an RV. With its long, 5-foot cord, you can still operate this machine in a hotel room that only has a few outlets.

One button operation:

• Press once – turns on soft light and continuous mist 
• Press twice – turns the light off, activates intermittent mist in 15 second intervals
• Pressing three times turns the machine off altogether

There’s auto shut-off programming in place when it senses that the water level becomes too low. So you can feel safe to relax and fall asleep while this machine is operating.

Pros

• More affordable than comparable models
• Safety shut-off when water is low
• Simple operation
• Appealing design
• Can be used with the light on or off

Cons

• Must be plugged in to operate
• Low capacity water reservoir

== Check Price on Amazon ==

5. Best Overall: LOXIM Nebulizing Aromatherapy Diffuser

Travel Highlights:

• Waterless operation
• Undiluted essential oil mist

For the purest aromatherapy experience, a nebulizing diffuser is your best choice. Models like this use a vibrating mechanism that breaks the essential oils into tiny atoms, transforming them into a mist. 

Since it’s a nebulizing diffuser, you won’t add water to it. This is one less step you’ll have to take while traveling. You simply screw in one of your essential oil bottles, select your settings, and then relax.

Most 10 mL and 15 mL bottles of essential oils are compatible with this diffuser. But it also comes with an empty bottle that you can fill with your own essential oil single or blend.

At 5.1 inches wide, 5.98 inches tall, with a slender profile, this travel diffuser won’t take up much space. It can also be used cordless. Once it’s fully charged with the included USB, this diffuser can operate up to 8 hours. This gives you ample time to use the diffuser in many different locations before having to charge it again. There’s a low battery indicator.

Virtually silent, you can program the Loxim nebulizing diffuser to operate for 1, 2, 4, or 8 hours before it automatically shuts off. So you can fall asleep with it on, and it won’t disturb you. 

Three mist modes – low, medium, high – can help you monitor essential oil usage. Since nebulizing diffusers disperse essential oils without the need for water, you may go through more bottles of oil than if you were to use an ultrasonic diffuser. 

For economical use of your essential oils, you may want to operate this diffuser on its low setting. If so, the company states that you’ll only use 0.07 mL of oil per hour.  I would suggest operating the Loxim diffuser on its lowest setting as often as you can if you don’t want to replace your essential oils too frequently. 

Pros 

• Pure, undiluted essential oil mist
• Multiple timer options
• Heat-free atomization preserves your oils
• Runs at low, near silent decibels
• Cordless operation makes it more mobile

Cons

• You might use more essential oils than usual
• Avoid using thick essential oils that aren’t pourable

== Check Price on Amazon ==

Selecting the Best Travel Essential Oil Diffuser

The Loxim Nebulizing Aromatherapy Diffuser seems to be the best choice overall for me because it ticks all the boxes:

• Long battery life
• Cordless operation
• Disperses oils without damaging or diluting them
• Offers multiple mist interval options
• Highly portable

All of these factors are important when traveling. If you diffuse essential oils regularly, you want to make sure that when you travel you have a reliable device with you that is also easy to use.

Here are some factors to pay attention to when choosing an essential oil diffuser for travel:

Mist Strength

Depending on how and where you plan to travel, you will want to choose a device accordingly. For instance, if you travel by car or in close quarters on a plane, it’s best for the mister not to release intense fragrance. If the machine has a low mist setting, using it can prevent a nauseating headache while in a vehicle.

On a plane, you might enjoy lavender essential oil but another passenger might not. So if you travel with strangers who sit in close proximity to you, it might be better to use the Rocky Mountain Oils Handheld Personal Diffuser. Its mist is less intense, and it operates for a shorter period of time. It’s likely that you’ll be the only one to smell the essential oil.

Battery Life

Similarly, the amount of time you can use the diffuser also depends on how you’ll be traveling. 

Does the device only operate when plugged in? Will you need an AC adapter? Can you use it without a cord? For how long?

All of these questions are important because you want your diffuser to be fully charged or near a plug at the moment when you need to use it. You can avoid adding frustration to your travels by considering the kind of power source you’ll need to have access to in order for your diffuser to work properly.

Ultrasonic or Nebulizing?

Will you have access to the water needed to pour into your ultrasonic nebulizer? Thinking about where you plan to use your diffuser during your travels, and then considering what you will or won’t have access to can help you decide what type of essential oil diffuser to purchase for travel.

Interval Options

Being able to choose a misting cycle and timing interval can help you get more fulfillment out of your travel experience.

If you use your diffuser while sleeping, it helps to have a machine that will continue to operate throughout the night. Not all travel diffusers cycle for more than a few hours, so that’s something to pay attention to. You may not want to have to get up in the middle of the night to restart the machine. 

Setting intervals can also help you time meditations, driving breaks, naps, and so forth. 

Diffuser Placement

Another point to think about is whether you have to find a special place to operate your diffuser. Must it be held in your hand or is it freestanding? Can you slide it into a cup holder, or does it best operate on a flat surface that isn’t moving? 

For instance, the Portable Ultrasonic Mist Aromatherapy Diffuser has a non-slip pad on its base. This is helpful for those traveling by railway and staying in a private room. Those rooms are pretty small and even though you can’t feel lots of movement, it helps to keep objects tied down as best you can.

The size and skid-free feature to this diffuser makes it a good choice for those traveling by train.  

As you can see, selecting the best travel essential oil diffuser depends largely on your travel needs.

As you’re deciding, ask yourself:

1. How will you power this device?
2. How long is its battery life? Is this sufficient for your needs?
3. Will you be able to operate this diffuser without a cord?
4. Are you okay with an ultrasonic diffuser, or would you prefer a nebulizing travel diffuser?
5. How long will you be able to use this device? In what intervals?
6. Do you have enough space for it in your suitcase or carry-on?
7. Do you want to bother with finding a water source?
8. Can you secure it somehow if traveling by car?

I’m certain that you’ll find the best diffuser for your needs if you ask and answer these questions in the process.

Final Thoughts

Loxim Nebulizing Aromatherapy Diffuser is the most convenient option from my perspective. There’s no need to look for a water source – simply screw in your essential oil bottle and turn it on.

A full battery lasts 8 hours, so that’s less time spent looking for a way to charge the device. You’ll probably smell a stronger scent because the essential oils aren’t diluted in water.

My second choice would be the Plant Therapy Portable Diffuser Travel Pack. It comes with oils, chargers, and a nifty travel case. You can use it in a car or hotel room without a problem.