Top Gadgets and Items to Take on Your Holiday
Packing, Tips and Guides,
23/Mar/2018
When going away for extended periods of time, such as on a cruise holiday or when visiting an overseas destination, the question of what to pack of course arises. While clothes, towels, and sun cream are important, there are also numerous other useful items that one should bring along, especially in the realm of gadgets. From innovative travel pillows and solar chargers to high-quality cameras and special travel socks, there’s an abundance of fun and helpful items you won’t want to forget! So, to help you fill out your holiday packing checklist, we’ve put together this collection of gadgets and items to take on your next no fly cruise holiday.
Compact SLR Camera
Image Credit: The Travel Hack
During your holiday you’ll likely come across many wonderful sights you will want to remember. From historical landmarks and natural beauty to roaming wildlife and cherished family moments. Therefore it’s essential to capture these occasions digitally to look back on later.
Monica, of the stylish adventure travel blog The Travel Hack, names a compact SLR camera as her top gadget recommendation to bring on holiday, explaining to us that while phones can do a reasonable job, they just don’t match up to specialist devices:
“My favourite gadget is a compact SLR camera such as the Lumix G80. I love it because it's small, lightweight and easy to pop into your bag but still has the same image quality of a much bigger and bulkier camera. Capturing photos and videos during my holidays is so important to me so I can have a record of those wonderful memories. While the camera on my smartphone is good, it can't compete with a DSLR. The Lumix G80 is great for both photo and video and it has inbuilt Wi-Fi so you can easily connect it to your phone to transfer videos and images over. This means you can quickly upload your best shots to social media and share them with your friends and family.”
Flight Socks
For those travelling long distances, it’s not just important to be comfortable but also to look after your body’s health, as there are various issues that can arise during a journey. This is where flight socks come in. If you’re sitting for long periods of time in a car, bus, or perhaps on a plane before boarding your cruise, it’s possible that you can develop Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). This is a potentially serious condition that impacts the leg.
Buy picking up a pair of flight socks, however, from somewhere like SockShop, your legs can retain the blood circulation needed while being compressed by these special DVT socks.
SockShop told us: “Travel Socks are made with a helpful graduated factor 14-18 compression to promote good circulation on long-haul flights and even car, coach and train travel, protecting against the risk of blood clots and dangerous DVT.”
SockShop has a number of fantastic options available, including 40 Denier Flight and Travel Socks, which “can prevent swelling and stimulate blood flow. They are knee length with an attractive sheen finish and a soft feel, so they can be worn without anyone suspecting that they are compression wear.”
Mobile solar chargers
While in the comfort of your cruise cabin or anywhere where sockets are easily accessible, you’ll easily be able to charge your phone and tablet, but when out further afield, relaxing on the beach or walking through a city, having a portable solar charger will come in great use.
As with all technology, you pay for what you get, so instead of opting for an ultra-cheap option on Amazon that won’t give you the charge you need, and can be misleading regarding their capacity, going to a specialist like Mobile Solar Chargers is fully recommended.
There are a few options for such gadgets, but the most ideal solution for your holiday needs will certainly be a solar charger. Solar chargers are rechargeable batteries with a compact built-in solar panel, and fit conveniently into your pocket! These wonderful items are an eminently useful compromise between rechargeable power banks and folding solar panels which are used for long-term off-grid charging.
A solar charger from somewhere like Mobile Solar Chargers requires natural light for continual trickle charge of your device’s battery but can also be powered by mains USB, PC, and car USB. A solar charger with 7000mAh will provide at least two full stored charges of a standard iPhone. To learn more, take a look at this helpful guide.
Packing Cubes
Of course, knowing what to pack is all well and good but sometimes, especially when travelling for a long time, we can do with a little help in the art of packing itself. Suitcases can become disorganised and our required items of clothing and accessories hard to find. This is why Samantha of the travel blog Coco Travels suggests people make use of packing cubes during their trip:
“One of my top tips for a long holiday is to pack your luggage into packing cubes within your case. This helps to keep your case super organised with separate sections for your underwear, clothes, makeup and accessories. They’re especially useful if you’re visiting several destinations and have to unpack and repack your case several times.”
You can read more of Samantha’s tips over on her blog and discover the world along with her as she travels.
Travel pillow
Image credit: Trtl
If your cruise holiday requires you to hop on a plane before departing, or if you have a long car journey ahead of you, you might be worried about not being able to get that all-important shuteye. Starting your holiday fresh is obviously greatly desirable! This is where travel pillows will prove to be incredibly helpful.
There are of course the famous u-shaped pillows but the technology is constantly evolving and Trtl have developed a variation that is both comfortable and easy to travel with. From looking at an image of their special travel pillows (see above), one might gather that the user is simply wearing a scarf but, in actuality, the sleeper’s head is fully supported. We spoke to Trtl to find out what makes this product so unique:
“The Trtl Pillow is scientifically proven to be super-soft and hold your neck, head and jaw in a better position than standard U-shaped pillows, perfect for those long-haul flights, car or train journeys where you need maximum comfort.
“It also only weighs half a pound and is half the size of standard U-shaped travel pillows so it's really easy to carry, you can even attach it to your luggage! The fleece is machine washable so it's always fresh for your travels.
“As well as being preferred by 9/10 people, we're a number one best seller on Amazon.com as well as being 'Amazon's Choice' on Amazon.co.uk.”
And regarding why these pillows are a must-include travel item, Trtl told us: “Our goal in everything we do is to help you for whatever adventure life throws at you next. A big part of that is being well-rested and in the right frame of mind when you arrive at your destination whether you're travelling for business, leisure, to see loved ones etc. You'll be in a much better frame of mind if you have a comfortable journey compared to if you were in an uncomfortable position for a prolonged period of time, say on a long-haul flight.”
Noise cancelling headphones
One of the most delightful aspects of being on holiday is being able to enjoy some well-earned ‘me’ time. There are numerous ways one might choose to do so, but listening to music is certainly a popular option. However, the last thing you want is to hear someone else’s music coming out of their headphones.
So instead of plugging in your favourite pair of earbuds, why not go the extra mile and pick up some noise cancelling headphones? Then you can listen to your music, podcasts, or watch a film at the volume you wish and also not have to put up with other disturbances. These will go down a treat by the pool, beach, or anywhere else where you would like a bit of peace and quiet.
Waterproof mp3 player
Speaking of music, why should you have to pause that song you’re listening to when you want to jump into the pool or go for a swim in the sea? Well, with a waterproof MP3 player, you won’t have to. We are of course all worried about damaging our expensive phones and music devices, so it’s understandable that we try and keep them as far away from water as possible. But by packing a waterproof MP3 player in your suitcase, such as this one from Sony, you can continue listening while still joining your friends and family for that afternoon swim, and not worrying for one second about any tech in your pocket.
If all this talk of holidays and cruises has got you excited, make sure to head on over to our destinations page and start planning your next adventure!
