What Are the Best Gadgets if You’re Heading Away on Holiday?

We all love to go on holiday.

Leaving behind the strain and strife of real life is a blessed relief, whether you’re the sort of person that wants to flop and drop onto a sunbed, get your skiing goggles and winter coat on or just take yourself off an a hike into the wilderness, holidays are a chance to recharge your batteries.

The problem with a lot of holidays is that, unless you’re travelling business class, you need to be quite specific with what you’re packing.

With that in mind, what are the best gadgets that you absolutely must ensure are packed away in either your hand luggage or your main suitcase for your trip away?

Headphones

There are a huge number of reasons why you need to remember to take headphones away with you when you go on holiday. In fact, there’s a very good argument that you should make sure you’ve got some when you’re simply leaving the house. Whether you’re on the train or flying somewhere, having the ability to tune into a TV programme or film you’re watching on your tablet or simply play some noise to block out the outside world can be invaluable.

People really do just be doing things in public I just couldn’t, also forgot my headphones today and the sensory overload is almost making me throw up, yay for me.

— Jared (@culturedscum) October 18, 2024

How many of us have been away and wanted to smack our head against our seat because there’s a noisy child in front of us or a raucous stag do behind? Even the irritating sound of your partner can be happily ignored whilst you tune in to some Stone Roses or rewatch The West Wing for the 100th time. You can’t of any of that if you’ve forgotten your headphones, though, which is why they should be the first thing that you pack in your luggage.

A Tablet

Speaking of using your headphones to watch a film or TV show, one of the best ways to do so is on a tablet. Apple users know all too well the benefit of having an iPad with them for a journey somewhere, whereas those that prefer Android will have their own tablet of choice. The beauty of them as devices is that they can be used for a myriad of different things, with playing games or watching something at the top of the list of time-wasting activities.

Although it’s sad to think about work whilst you’re on holiday, for some people it is just the reality of life. If you’re self-employed, for example, then you never really get to take a holiday, constantly needing to do at least a little bit of work in order to pay for the adventure that you find yourself on. Tablets offer a degree more flexibility than a laptop, being significantly lighter and taking up much less room. Then, when you’re done, you can go back to that episode of The West Wing you were in the middle of.

Power Bank

If you’ve spend the flight watching one thing after another on your tablet, the chances are high that it’s going to be running out of juice pretty quickly. If you’re out and about in a picturesque area, you’ll want to take plenty of photos and that is something that can be pretty power consuming. Whatever it is that you’re up to, you will want to ensure that you can keep your devices working by having a power bank to hand.

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If you’re got kids then this can be even more important, given the fact that they’ll either have devices of their own or else be quick to use yours and run the power down on it playing games or using social media. If you want to ensure that you don’t hear them moan then you’ll need to keep a power bank to hand, ready to plug it in at a moment’s notice in order to avert a potential disaster of having no phone to hand.

An e-Reader

If it is a sunbed-based holiday that you’re heading on, you will have your own idea of how you want to spend your time. Perhaps you’re the sport of person that will chat to everyone, making friends as soon as you arrive and joining in with the likes of the water polo, aqua aerobics or crazy golf. Maybe you’re on an all-inclusive and plan to spend your time propping up the bar or taking the ‘all you can eat’ challenge seriously.

I love a physical book and nothing will ever beat it but the one advantage to a kindle is being able to prop it up and only having to tap to turn the page. Meaning I have free hands to hold and drink my coffee at the same time and not have to put either down. Genius invention

— 🖤ARCANE🖤 (@maybeiamcrazyfu) October 24, 2024

Maybe, though, you’re the kind of person that likes to get lost into the world of a good book. If that is the bracket that you fit into then you would do extremely well to have an e-Reader with you at all times. Whether it be a Kindle or some other company’s make, you can stock it full of books and even download more whilst you’re away if you find yourself reading faster than you thought you would.