5 Best Family Travel Gadgets
Travel items need to be compact and very useful, maximizing function, meeting crucial family travel needs, while being easy to pack.
In previous posts, we showed you DIY and handy luggage tags in How to Make Suitcases Easy to Spot, and for recharging cell phones or other devices away from the hotel room, our review of the Waka Waka Solar Charger.
Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate Sleeps5 earns from qualifying purchases. Sleeps5 provides links to products or services that may interest you. Viewing or buying via a link means Sleeps5 may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Use the search box in the upper right sidebar, or the menu at the top of this page to search for other travel tips, and Sleeps5 hotels worldwide with family rooms and suites for 5, 6, 7, or more people!
Click here to see if you and your kids each need a cooling towel to keep you cool.
Here are 5 more extremely handy travel items to make small-item carrying, electronics and phone charging, photo or video taking, and even hotel-room sleeping, easier. Their functions will be well worth the space in your suitcase.
1. Multi-Port External Battery
This extra battery pack device can help traveling families in airports or on the road to keep all phones, pads, tablets, and laptops charged up. The one pictured below, by highly-rated RAVPower, can charge multiple devices at once. That feature is ideal when your kids also have phones and iPads to charge up.
This one is quick in recharging itself when plugged into an outlet. It’s also very powerful, meaning it provides recharge capabilities quickly and for more than one device, which does make it more expensive than some. There are many other models with lighter weight and less speed that are more budget-friendly.
Click here to compare reviews and prices of multi-port external batteries.
2. Grid – It Organizer
Our family uses more than one of these handy organizers when we travel. They come in all kinds of sizes. They also come in many colors, like red, blue, yellow, pink, purple, and white, in addition to black.
It’s basically a hard surface that won’t scratch anything, criss-crossed with elastic bands. Any size of item, like a calculator, phone, or earbud cords, get tucked into a band and stay there! The bands can be used for items that aren’t electronic, too, such as pencil or business cards, just about anything.
This travel organizer also has a zippered pocket, or more than one pocket, depending on the size and configuration of the Grid-It selected. It’s easy to pack in any suitcase or carry-on bag, and easy to set on a hotel desk or bedside table to keep all little belongings in one place. Every item is right there, visible and handy.
Click here to check out the sizes and prices of the Grid-It organizers.
3. International Adapter Travel Charger
This all-in-one travel adapter and wall charger has dual usb ports for multiple devices. It solves the problem where family members all need to charge a device or two but the hotel room has only one or two outlets, or some of the hotel outlets are impossible to reach behind a bed or other piece of furniture. Previously, we’d have to take turns charging, giving ‘priority’ charge time to mom or dad, of course, lol.
This worldwide charger adapter comes with plugs for US, UK, EU and has 4 ports. The 1500+ reviews are great, at nearly a perfect 5-star average!
Click here to read reviews and check prices for more multi-port travel wall chargers!
4. Magnetic Flexible Tripod
This small tripod comes with a holder that works with any smartphone. It’s got magnetic feet so it can be positioned on any metal, including a car! It’s also flexible and can ensure even shots and wrap around objects, so any uneven surface, or any place to hang, works just fine.
It’s great to be able to position your iPhone or Android smartphone or video camcorder anywhere! We love that there are so many makes and models of tripods or hang gadgets for camera purposes. Some are flexible, some are grippy, some hang, some stand. The inventions are really amazing and so affordable.
Click here to check out other flexible smartphone tripods.
5. Travel White Noise Machine
When our kids were babies, we brought a travel sound machine along when we traveled. At nap time and bed time, it really helped our little ones fall asleep. Sometimes they have a hard time nodding off in a new place such as a hotel room, or when there are sounds of traffic or people in the hallway, for example. But a sound machine is also great for any age of person to peacefully sleep by blocking the sound if there’s a family member who snores!
This Rohm portable sound machine is so compact, it’d be easy to fit in any suitcase or carry-on. Another great feature is that it runs on a rechargeable battery so it can be placed or hung anywhere, even locations where it’d be impossible to plug it in. It recharges by USB cable.
Click here to check out various sound machine reviews and prices.
(updated 2/18/18)
-Sandy Nielsen
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Pin This to Pinterest!