Travel Must Haves
Travel is one of the greatest things in life, but visiting new and exciting places doesn’t come without pitfalls. Luckily for travelers today, there are a host of fantastic products that make your adventures abroad more convenient and enjoyable than ever before. Read on to learn about some products that every vacationer should have in their suitcase.
Handheld Fan
One of the best investments you can make when exploring new places is a travel-sized fan. There’s no shortage of handheld, cordless fans on the market, and purchasing one will elevate your travel life immensely, especially when you’re in a location where the climate is muggy and hot. In addition, the soft hum of a small fan provides ambient background noise, while helping to muffle those environmental sounds that make sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings difficult for many people.
Look for a fan that has a USB charger, so you can easily use the included cord and a wall USB plug, your laptop, or another similar connection to charge your new best friend. This is especially useful when visiting foreign countries, where the plug shapes may vary. You can charge your fan during the day or while it’s running at night, so it’s ready when you need it. Some fans will run and keep you cool for six hours or more, so you can even bring them with you when you go sightseeing.
Packing Cubes
The most polarizing items on our list are packing cubes. Vacationers either love them or find them wholly unnecessary. What are they exactly, and how do they help with the packing process?
Packing cubes are fabric blocks or bags that you can use to pack all the contents of your suitcase neatly and compactly. These handy bags have several advantages that make them valuable and essential.
First, packing cubes help you fit more items into your bag than you ordinarily might be able to. Somehow, your clothes take up less space once they are in the cubes. If you are an over-packer or you require a lot of clothing for an extended trip, these are incredibly useful.
Another great advantage of packing cubes is that they help organize your belongings in your suitcase, which hard-case suitcase users will find especially handy. Separate your clothing into the various sizes of cubes: larger cubes for your jeans, sweaters, or other bulkier items; medium-sized for shirts or tank tops; and smaller cubes for your underwear and socks. You can even bring along extra cubes for your shoes or dirty laundry.
Finally, for those who love to actually unpack their suitcases once reaching the hotel, the packing cubes help to streamline and simplify the process. Transfer your cubes from your suitcase into the dresser or wardrobe and poof—done!
Portable Battery Charger
Anyone who has a cellphone and other essential electronic gadgets (so basically, everyone) would be wise to invest in a portable, external battery charger when vacationing abroad. We’ve all felt the pain of a phone or camera dying in the middle of sightseeing, and no one wants to cut a museum trip short over something like battery failure. We won’t even get into how hard it can be to find an available outlet when you need it the most.
There are many kinds of chargers on the market, ranging from lipstick-sized to high capacity chargers that are similar in size to an e-reader or small paperback. Decide which electronics will be making the trip with you, and how many you may need to charge simultaneously before you determine which external battery charger is best suited to your needs.
Suitcase Cover
If you own a hard-shell suitcase, we can’t stress how valuable it can be to buy a cover designed to protect your investment from scratches and marks incurred during the process of being loaded on and off the plane. A suitcase cover can also help prevent over-packed luggage from bursting open. There are a variety of materials, colors, and styles of covers on the market.
Suitcase covers also provide you with the option to personalize your suitcase. Amid the sea of black bags, make your luggage stand out with fun colors or patterns. Go for a sassy red, or even get your own face printed on it. No one would ever mistake your bag for theirs—and luggage thieves are less likely to try and make off with bags sporting a print.
Anti-Theft Purse/Backpack
Investing in an anti-theft bag is one of the most important travel purchases you will ever make. No matter where your wanderlust takes you, it’s crucial to look out for the safety of yourself and your belongings. Anti-theft bags come in a variety of styles and price ranges, but they all help protect you against pickpockets.
A variety of ingenious features, like locking zippers, RFID-blocking pockets, and slash-proof straps make these anti-theft bags uniquely designed to prevent and deter theft. An RFID passport wallet helps ensure you’re staying a safe, savvy traveler.
Due to the rise in popularity (and necessity) of theft-prevention purses and backpacks, you can easily find styles, colors, and materials for almost every look. There’s no need to sacrifice your style for safety with the vast array of available options.
Quick-Dry Towel
If you’ve read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you’re probably already prepared for this one, but for those not in the know, a towel is an absolute when you’re traveling. A good quick-dry towel that is compact and easy to pack makes all the difference if you’re a frequent hostel guest. You’ll also be prepared if ever staying at an independent hostel where towels are not provided.
A fast-drying towel can also improve the drying time of wet clothes: just wrap them up in the towel and wring them out. They also come in handy for cleaning up unexpected spills, packing fragile souvenirs, or serving as an impromptu beach towel.
When searching for an ideal towel to accompany you abroad, look for those labeled as “quick-dry” or similar. Also, compact towels that come with travel cases are good choices.
Lifeprint
Experience the next generation of photo sharing with a Lifeprint printer, and it may just become your new vacation BFF. If you can’t wait to hold your favorite pictures from your trip in your hands, you need Lifeprint. This fantastic device creates instant prints and shares your photos and videos straight from your phone.
Not only is this unique printer as compact as your phone, but it also uses unique zero ink photo paper that eliminates the need for messy cartridges. Even better, this mighty printer that also provides a form of external storage, as it is capable of safely storing your photos and videos on the Lifeprint mobile app. Finally, photos from your Lifeprint printer are sticky-backed, smudgeproof, water-resistant, and tear-resistant, so your memories can truly last.
Instead of sharing your photos of your meet-up with a friend living in a foreign country on Facebook or Instagram, print and share them with your pal for the most memorable souvenir ever. Want to share physical prints with your family back home? Simply connect with them using the application and print from any connected Lifeprint printer, anywhere.
Take your next trip from moderately enjoyable to amazingly seamless by feeling extra prepared, comfortable, and technologically savvy when you take to the road. You’ll be amazed how these simple items can enhance your sightseeing experience. Bon voyage!
Get Lifeprint here or on Amazon.
