5 Best Travel Gadgets to Pack

For all you social media lovers who want to stay connected on your travels, here is a list of the essential best travel gadgets to take with you on your travels! Less is more, so bringing one device that offers multiple functions is ideal.

You’re probably thinking about all the possible gadgets you could take. On my trip to Thailand, my main goal was to pack devices that could do multiple functions and minimize the amount of them that I had to bring. I didn’t want to worry about keeping track of a million expensive things!

Here is my list of the 5 best travel gadgets to pack:

1. Smart Phone. The great thing about a smart phone is that it offers you many benefits for your trip:

– take photos
– take videos
– get internet access wherever wifi is available. Bonus: if you are lucky, your service provider has towers in Thailand and you will have 3G access in most cities. 3G means that you can use your data service to access the internet.
– access travel apps like Tripadvisor or Hostelworld.com
– search maps so you can always find where you are going
– read books when you’re on the plane or sunbathing on the beach
– listen to your favorite music whenever you want
– message your new travel friends to keep in touch and figure out where to meet for dinner
YES TO THE YING TIP: I brought my iPhone 6. My service provider is T-Mobile. They have towers in Thailand, so all data services I would be using in Thailand were already included in my current data plan. What did this mean? I got to access the internet whenever I wanted on my phone at no additional cost!!! Added bonus: all facetime calls to other iPhone users were FREE!

2. Memory cards. How do you store all those photos and videos? Memory cards! iPhone users: hopefully your phone has a lot of free memory. If not, get a dropbox account, and upload your photos daily when you get to your hostel with wifi each night. Android users: you can change your memory cards easily. I recommend 64 GB or higher.

3. Portable Power Bank. This saved my life many times! A portable power bank is small, lightweight, and perfect to throw into your backpack in case your phone is low on juice and you want to capture that beautiful sunset. YES TO THE YING TIP: I bought a Lumsing portable power bank from Amazon for only $25. They are usually $60 in a retail store. It was the best buy and super affordable. Worked great and charged my phone 3 full times before I had to recharge the battery.

4. Tablet with keyboard. This gadget is for those of you who blog or love to journal and want to get some work done while traveling. Laptops are super expensive and travel insurance only covers up to $500 if stolen. Tablets are smaller, lighter, and more compact. Purchasing a keyboard cover case will allow you to type everything about your journey quickly and efficiently. It also can be your second device to watch movies or TV shows when you are on plane rides. Again, bring it only if you must. The less expensive gadgets you bring with you, the less you have to worry about being stolen! YES TO THE YING TIP: I brought my iPad mini and Zagg Folio Keyboard case. The case was great because it was incredibly durable and protective while offering me the most functional keyboard I tried out.

5. GoPro. For all you movie lovers out there, this is by far the most exciting gadget to take with you! The GoPro takes amazing video (and photos) to document all of your adventures. I suggest buying a waterproof case and selfie stick so that you can jump in the water with it and capture all the images above and below sea level. The footage I got was stunning!

I hope this helps you narrow down what kind of gadgets to pack! Just to give a full scope of what you can do with these devices, on my trip to Thailand, I took 1,700 photos and shot 80 videos on my iPhone, wrote over 50 pages, and captured over 30 hours of video footage with the GoPro. Talk about a log of my journey! There are so many stories to share!

Comment below with any questions or other electronic gadgets you are thinking of bringing on your trip! I’d love to help you plan the best trip ever!

Much Love,
Alicia

 

Top 10 Items: Travel Packing List for Thailand

Thailand is known for it’s wonderful sights and it’s cheap prices. Before you fill your bags with every item, know that you can buy a lot of items for super cheap. Here are 10 essential items for your Thailand packing list. These are items that you should definitely buy in the States and bring on your trip.

1. Mosquito Repellant. Whether you choose a repellant with DEET or a natural oil to keep the mosquitos away, bring it with you. The US brands do a better job of keeping the pesky bloodsuckers away than the Thai brands.
2. Sunscreen. Especially if you are wanting an oil-free sunscreen, buy your favorite brand at home. The sunscreen in Thailand is fine, but just as expensive for a generic quality.
3. Ziplock bags. Use them as packing cubes and to help separate your clean clothes from your dirty laundry. It will also keep all your things dry if your bags get rained on!
4. Warm jacket/fleece. Planes and trains can get really cold. Some restaurants and hotels also blast their A/C, so bring a warm jacket/fleece to stay warm. Sweaters and jackets are not as easy to find in Thailand’s hot climate.
5. Tissues. There is sometimes no toilet paper in the bathrooms, so pack a few travel packs of kleenex to keep in your purse. It really comes in handy!
6. Hand Sanitizer. Some places don’t have soap. You’ll want to make sure your hands are bacteria free!
7. Locks for your luggage/backpack. Better safe than sorry, my motto is: if they are going to steal my stuff, they are going to have to earn it! Bring a lock for your luggage/backpack. Some hostels will even have lockers. So bring one to put on that as well.
8. Feminine products. Tampons are not as readily available nor cheap. Bring your favorite brand from home. If you are adventurous, try the Diva Cup a few months before traveling.
9. Waterproof windbreaker. It does rain sometimes. This is perfect for keeping yourself warm and dry. You can buy an umbrella over there if you really need one.
10. Parasite pills. I get these from my nutritionist. These saved my stomach! The food is different and depending on your tummy, you will want some sort of supplement to keep the parasites away to prevent any diarrhea and indigestion.

These essential items you can buy for cheap in Thailand:
1. Sunglasses. You can find cheap fake name brand sunglasses everywhere. Traveling will scratch up your shades, so leave your nice pairs at home.
2. Sarongs. You find them in a wide array of vivid colors and beautiful designs for only a few dollars. They have many uses: covering your shoulders at a temple, laying on them at the beach, wearing them as a skirt/dress/scarf, using it as a sheet to sleep on.
3. Waterproof bag. They run about $10. If you plan on going snorkeling or any kind of boat trip, this is essential to keep your things dry.
4. Flip flops. You will have to take your shoes off at the temples. The pairs that look most expensive get stolen, so buy a cheap pair of flip flops (easily available) and wear those during your trip.
5. Aloe Vera. Available at any pharmacy, aloe vera is only a few dollars and will save you the packing space.

Subscribe to my blog for more travel tips. And please share below any other essential items you would want to take to Thailand! What’s your must-have item?

Much Love,

Alicia