How do you upgrade your trip? Or, should it be: How do you upgrade every part of your trip?
Travel tech essentials, that is.
Travel technology applies to the supplier and the client sides. For travelers, these essentials are the tools, devices, pieces of equipment, and gears that can make any trip even more enjoyable, convenient, and memorable.
Below are some of the travel tech essentials you’ll surely need wherever in the world you are headed.
Travel tech essentials: gears and gadgets for a travel upgrade
Connected camera
A connected camera captures wide-angle photos of the panoramic views in front of you, so it’s a must-have. Another great feature is the capability to take time-lapse videos.
What’s great about any connected camera is sending the photos wirelessly to the smartphone and sharing or printing from there.
Camera lens kit
Bringing a camera lens kit with you is a way to give justice to the landscape that you see. It is a way to immortalize the scene and let others see it from your point of view. The same goes if you want to take a closeup of certain objects that fascinate you.
Camera lens kits are compact enough and they clip right onto your phone. No need for an extra bag because it fits the pocket.
Tripod
What you want is to take photos in various settings regardless of how uneven the surface is. This is where the role of a tripod becomes handy: for stabilization. You’ll need a tripod whether you are using a smartphone, connected camera, or DSLR. It twists and turns until you come up with the desired setting.
Good thing, the tripod comes in various sizes. Most tripods are lightweight and not bulky, and so a tripod will easily fit into the spare space of your bag or luggage.
Action camera
Any adventure inclined traveler also knows how valuable an action camera is. Action cameras are unassuming, but they are packed with features such as electronic image stabilization, standard tripod screw, and GPS functionality.
Aside from its sleek and aerodynamic design, most cameras are water-resistant. You can use it technically anywhere—land, air, and water.
Mini Bluetooth speaker
Whether you want to relax inside the hotel room or chill with travel buddies by the poolside, you’d want music to perk up the mood. A Bluetooth speaker, which should be your go-to travel companion, is up for the challenge.
Bluetooth speakers are highly portable and with a capacity of up to 10 hours of playtime, so this should be the least of your worries. Some are even waterproof and tear, dust, and rust-resistant. Some models come with a strap that you can easily attach to your bag and carry anywhere you go.
Fitbit
Fitbit started as a tracker, and now it evolved into a full-on smartwatch. It has the added capabilities of storing songs and listening through phone-free Bluetooth functionality, accessing weather forecasts, and requesting Uber transport.
It is the best Apple Watch alternative yet. What’s more, it has four-day battery life. This is important for travelers who also want to keep their health and fitness while on the go.
Portable router
The Internet is a staple of life in this modern day and age. What you want is to take the connection wherever you go. Somehow, it is a necessity for some (looking at you travel bloggers) A portable router can help in this undertaking.
In some instances, the Internet can be of big help if you and your companion get lost or you had an emergency back home and you need to contact a family or friend. Indeed, a router lets you stay connected even when on the road.
Noise-canceling headphones
Traveling can be really exhausting. And sometimes, you just want peace and quiet and some respite and get refreshed. You only want to have a comfortable journey wherever it may be. Then, of course, you don’t want to spend the entire trip on your bed.
A noise-canceling headphone can minimize, what else, the noise around you may it be the guy snoring behind you or the crying baby in front of you. This will help you focus on recharging your body and spirit to tackle a new day of exploring the place and what it offers.
Portable charger
When traveling, you’ll need all these gadgets more than ever. These are more of a necessity than a luxury. It hurts when the phone dies because you won’t be able to capture the scenic views. Finding a place to charge your phone, cam, or anything else is not always easy.
The backup plan is to bring the charger with you. With this, you may use your gadgets however you want and just recharge when needed.
Portable Wi-Fi hotspot
Mobile hotspot is a relatively new category when it comes to global connectivity beyond prepaid and postpaid plans. This is perfect if you need to access the Internet occasionally.
A portable Wi-Fi hotspot lets you connect to the Internet. They are mostly fast and reliable too. Interestingly, the hotspot can connect numerous devices without any GB limits. Some hotspots double as a portable charger too, so that’s one less tech essential on the list.
GPS device
Like other gadgets on this list, they can also come with a built-in GPS feature. If not, you might as well invest in a GPS tracker. Some even come with detailed map download capabilities even offline, so you navigate easily in various countries worldwide.
You can use this when going off the grid. Being able to text your other travel companion and sharing locations minus the need for data or Wi-Fi connection is possible with a GPS device. Nonetheless, you have to be three miles away from one another.
Automated vacuum
Just when you thought you won’t need a vacuum, but this unassuming gadget will be handy during travel packing. For instance, it can remove all the air inside the luggage and even condense clothes to half their original size.
This leaves you with all the spare space for souvenirs and other things you may want to buy and bring home during the trip. Also, you’ll need more space for winter wear if you are traveling during the season.
Power bank
With all the above, it is necessary that you also have a power bank. It is the next best thing to carrying power anywhere you go—even adventures on the go!
Personal humidifier
In some areas, you need to contend with bone-dry heat. It would be wise to bring a personal humidifier, especially one that you can wear around your neck.
They are small, rechargeable, easily controllable, and highly portable but really work in purifying the surrounding air. Think of it as another layer of protection against negative ions and reduce the harm of radiation to the skin. You’ll need one when going from places to places.
E-reader
An e-reader is the logical solution if you want to carry good reads with you. With this, you don’t need to carry stuff to the brim during your trip.
What’s nice about e-readers is they keep you occupied during lull times such as when on a plane or the beach. It has an adjustable front light to fit whatever the lighting needs may be.
Smartphone sanitizer
You can never be overprotective or OC while traveling. You don’t know what you are dealing with out there. And the pandemic has taught us to prepare and protect our health the best way we can. One of these ways is to sanitize whenever necessary because you don’t want to take home any viruses.
Of course, you need to sanitize your tools and gadgets too because bacteria and viruses can get into them. Germs accumulate, so you need a smartphone sanitizer that emits UV light to disinfect.
Air drone
Okay, an air drone is not a necessity. However, if you are seriously considering professional travel photography, you must invest in one. There are drone models for beginners—they are controllable, packable, and take stunning photos with intuitive smartphone control and intelligent features. These models are more for compactibility and portability.
Of course, if you want a drone that has a longer battery life or high-quality photos, you should purchase a travel drone with such features and more.
Sometimes, the best way to enhance any travel experience is not just about tossing your phone and charger inside your bag but also becoming technologically prepared wherever the destination may be. Above are the travel tech essentials that you will surely need while on the road.
Create a tech checklist based on the above list, if you may.
You’re welcome.
