Travelling with sex toys is always an experience, especially for me, a person who doesn’t pack shyly. The first time I packed toys in my bag was on a trip coming home from my Mum’s house in Nova Scotia over Christmas. It was that same holiday that I decided to become a sex blogger and reviewer, so when I was visiting Venus Envy, the local feminist sex store in Halifax, I bought a cheap string of silicone anal beads to be my official first review item. I did have some (two) sex toys back at home, but I didn’t end up bringing them (a regret). I ended up throwing the beads in my checked bag for the trip home without a worry in the world.
Since that trip, sex toys have always been a necessity on my packing list. As I acquired more toys, I’d have more options to curate for particular travel jaunts. And because both the retail and sentimental value of my toys were quickly adding up, I had to look into new options for bringing them abroad. We’ve all heard horror stories of bags getting lost and things getting stolen; no way in hell am I going to let a precious custom dildo of mine go missing. I’ll keep my toys on my person, thank you very much.
Travelling with a carry-on presents a couple new issues. I remember getting ready for next trip to Halifax, trying to figure out how I was going to get my Magic Wand Rechargeable, Tango and VixSkin Bandit through the security scanner without being too obnoxious (which isn’t easy when your toys are a far cry away from the traditional vibrator). A lump of thick silicone along with a bunch of wires looks incredibly suspicious to airport security, so there wasn’t much else I could do rather than be honest about it.
After outsourcing travel tips from a couple of my blogging buds over Twitter, I decided to grab a giant Ziploc bag, put all my toys inside, and pen “sex toys” in big, bold letters on the outside. Going through security, I awaited the inevitable bag inspection and the officers immediately understand that I wasn’t carrying anything that would affect the safety of my plane trip. Putting your sex toys in a clear bag allows for the security officers to see what’s inside without them touching your personal items. The added sex toy labelling was just so the security officers didn’t need to second guess what they were looking at. And it worked! I passed through without any problems.
My shame-free sexual confidence grew with my collection so putting them in my carry-on wasn’t a point of worry in terms of having to out myself to the security staff. If I had had a vibrator inspired by nature, I probably wouldn’t have gotten much hassle, but your girl likes to travel BIG. I’ve actually become so confident about it that I now take that Ziploc and place it right in the bin, out in the open for everyone* to see. This technique speeds the process along, as staff can clearly see what’s up, and don’t need to stop me to open my bag. Security personnel probably see thousands of sex toys every day at work, so, personally I don’t feel the need to shy away. Aside from a disapproving look I received from an elderly security lady, I haven’t had any issues travelling with sex toys.
Tip: Make sure you travel with your electronic toys on their locked mode (if they have one), and if not, drain their battery beforehand so you can avoid accidentally turning them on while on route!
When I travelled to Oregon and California last summer, I encountered a sex toy packing problem of a different kind! I was mainly backpacking throughout my trip, so I had to be careful of space. This meant being careful of what sex toys I had to bring too, unfortunately. I narrowed down my selection to what I call the trifuckta of sex toys: a bullet vibe, a dildo and butt plug. If I didn’t have as much space for them as I did, I probably would have just went with the vibe, as it’s my prefered way of getting off most days. If you’re someone, like me, who needs to travel light (and doesn’t have room for a big wand or dildo), travel-friendly vibrators are perfect for saving space.
My experiences are shaped by my openness as a sex toy enthusiast, so I’m biased on the topic, but even if you’re not as bold as me, I still recommend being honest with the security staff you encounter while flying. Not only will this speed the process along, but they usually stop asking questions when you pull out your bag of toys during an inspection. You also could throw your toys in your checked bag, but it will be a cold day in hell when I let my most valuable possessions out of my site in public.
What are your experiences travelling with sex toys?
By the way! This post was sponsored. All writing and opinions are my own.
* Well, not everyone. If there are children near me, I won’t do this.
4 comments
So far, I haven’t traveled with any large sex toys but most of the time they went through security fine. We’ll have to see how well it works next time I bring any of the more interesting toys that I’d gotten. Pretty sure a guy traveling with dildos might get a slightly different reaction.
Interesting and useful: I travel very often too due to my long distance relationship. I LOVE your confidence walking through security with your Ziploc bag marked with “sex toys”, looks like I’m gonna steal your idea for the next trip!
I travelled recently to NOLA with toys in my carryon for the first time. However, I didn’t put them in clear ziploc bags because I had a roommate in my hotel. I did await the inevitable flagging of my bag but it never happened! Also, I was convinced they would throw out my entire container of the butters. I must have gotten lucky(since it was St. Patrick’s Day, that I travelled on), but I felt relieved not to be flagged. I have no shame about my sex toys so I would’ve been glad to answer any questions they asked me.
PS: silly me almost tried to go through a body scanner or metal detector with a pure plug in, it was not my smartest moment traveling.
I literally didn’t think that traveling with sex toys was an issue until now ?. I kinda assumed that the security would usually automatically know what it is or at least know it’s not something dangerous. I think next time, I’ll just stick it in my checked luggage. The germaphobe in me refuses to believe anyone would steal sex toys.