“Which lenses should I take on my trip?”  This is a very frequently asked question. Depending on where you are going to, the best lenses are selected as follows:

When go to cities to visit museum, aquarium etc. The best lenses should be the lenses with larger aperture and image stabilization (vibration reduction).

If you want top image quality, the best lenses are Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 and Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR. However these lenses are expensive and heavy. You might also want to add a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 or Nikon 50mm f/1.4 for shooting at low light.

For more affordable lenses with VR: Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR $150 and Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens ($216.87 at amazon) are a good kit. Since these two lenses have rather small aperture, it would be better to carry a Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF,  which is sharp, cheap and with a large aperture for low light shooting.

If you are going to visit national parks. Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Len is a very useful travel lens.

You also need wide angle lenses such as Nikon 12-24mm f/4G, or more affordable Tokina 12-24mm f/4 or Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM . If you want to take wildlife photos, you are going to need long telephoto lens such as Nikon 200-400mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S VR.

For those who prefer prime lenses, a good kit to travel with is: Nikon 20mm f/2.8, Nikon 50mm f/1.8 and Nikon 300mm f/4.5. In addition, tripods are often very helpful.  For the best tripods for traveling, read here.

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