Updated
We’ve spent decades traveling internationally and have learned a lot of lessons, mostly the hard way. Here we offer a few of our must-have travel accessories…
Digital Device Recommendations
Keeping our digital necessities charged at home comes as second nature but half way around the world it’s a whole different issue. First, there is no international standard for electrical outlets. Second, the power in those outlets runs a wide gamete from AC to DC and 120 volts to 220 VAC. So heres a few of what we consider travel necessities:
Outlet Adaptors
From the illustration at left it’s obvious that there is a range of choices and you need to carry some specific to your destinations.
If you’re planning to do a lot of international travel we’d recommend a complete set, but if it’s only one destination you can buy one specific to that for a lot less. Because they’re small we usually carry duplicates and I can’t count the number of times we’ve had to share with travel companions.
As far as converting voltage is concerned there’s some good news. Most of our digital devices (cellphones, laptops, tablets) will charge off of multiple voltages so a voltage tranformer is normally not necessary.
A Six Inch Pigtail
It might seem silly but this little length of power cord has saved us numerous times. For some reason internationally and on many cruise ships the outlets are recessed. Often there is no way to get that devices charging converter into those outlets. This is a must have for accessory.
A Travel Power Strip
This is maybe not a necessity but it’s something I wouldn’t travel without. Many hotel rooms internationally will have only one outlet as well is older cruise ships. This little gem is small and light and provides extra outlets along with several USB and USB-C ports.
RETHINKING THIS ITEM…
I’ve Changed My Mind About The Power Strip Above!
As a frequent traveler that takes long international trips I’m always on the lookout for items that can save my space and weight. This item was almost half the size of my old travel power strip – Great Right? Well we just came home from a short trip and I was not happy with this item so I’m going back to my old power strip. Its current replacement item on Amazon is HERE.
Here’s the problems I discovered:
- The cord is too long and too stiff – It takes up a lot of surface area when in use and the stiffness makes it hard to manage.
- When the cord is wrapped around the unit for travel you plug it into an outlet to hold it in place – That alone causes the height of the strip to almost double.
- Storing the cable by wrapping it around the power strip covers up all the vUSB ports.
- When considering all the issues I didn’t really end up saving much space over my previous travel power strip.
Charging Cables
Most every one of us carries their phones charging cable, but what do you do when it gets lost? On every trip we carry a pair of these octopus cables as insurance.
On a recent short trip I didn’t and I lost my cable. The only thing within a reasonable distance of our hotel was a connivance store – $36.95!! That’s three times what that pair of cables cost.
One More Travel Must-Have
Travel Night Light
Just as important as those items above is our night light. Again this has been a blessing from cruise ships to international hotels. Our choice is this rechargeable, motion activated device. It’s only about 3″x3″x1″ and weighs almost nothing.
You’ll wish you had one when you wake up in a strange room in the middle of the night that’s pitch black!
Again here we provide links to our recommended items on Amazon as a connivance but we do not currently get any commission on these sales:
• SINGLE COUNTRY OUTLET ADAPTOR
FYI: This entire recommended collection would weigh less than a half pound, fit in a normal toiletries kit and cost less than $38.
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