5 MUST HAVE TRAVEL GADGETS

Today, I’m sharing my top 5 must-have travel gadgets. These tech travel gadgets have helped me on my travels and I never leave home without 2 and 4. I always bring the first 4 items on every trip and these travel gadgets are especially helpful if you’re travelling with family or a group of friends.

A Small Power Strip with USB slots and Surge Protection

Many of us travel with a lot of technology, and several things need to be plugged in. This Belkin 3-outlet mini travel charger with 2 USB ports will save the need for multiple plugins & international adapters. It’s also a surge protector which can add some peace of mind. This is a must-have travel gadget for me and my family as there are 4 of us and a lot of travel tech accessories.

A Portable Backup Battery For Your iPhone or iPad

If you are an average iPhone user, you probably re-charge once a day. When I travel, I am out all day and will drain my iPhone at least once as I like to take a lot of travel photos with my smartphone and share some on social media. I never leave home without a backup battery whether locally or abroad.

My backup battery of choice is Anker as I’ve had great success with them over the years. It’s important to look for a backup battery that can re-charge your iPhone fully at least twice before needing to be plugged in again. I use the 16000 mAh anker portable battery charger on long-haul flights, long-distance travel and when I don’t have electricity. It can charge my iPhone about 4-5 times and my iPad twice before having to re-charge it. It is also a fast charger.

I use the 5200 mAh portable battery charger for daily use.

Travel with an Unlocked iPhone and Purchase a SIM card at the Destination

You will save on roaming charges and often the local telecom will allow you to tether to other devices.  Rogers offers Roam like Home at $12 per day for International destinations or $5 per day for the USA (capped at $100 per account). However, if you’re staying in a country for 3 days or more, it is worth it to get a local SIM as the costs are much lower in my experience.

• CANADA: Buh bye unlocking fees – as of December 1st, 2017 you will no longer have to pay to unlock your device and new devices should be sold unlocked. There are also caps on roaming charges and other good things thanks to the CRTC, read more about The Wireless Code. A great resource is the Pay As You Go With Data Wiki for accurate and up to date information on prepaid data by country.
• USA & other countries –  locked Phone: If you don’t have an unlocked phone, consider purchasing an unlocked portable wi-fi device and get a local sim card at the destination. I’ve heard good things about the Huawei E5577Cs mobile wifi hotspot which gives you 6 hours of working time and the Huawei E5577s mobile wifi hotspot which provides you with 12 hours of working time.
• NOTE: Some telecoms offer affordable prepaid portable wi-fi device rentals. You can connect 5-10 devices (depends on unit specs) at the same time. Refer to the pay as you go wiki I mentioned above and check with the wireless companies ahead of time. If you’re travelling to South Africa, there are wireless companies at the airports in Johannesburg and Cape Town. I use Vodacom and know they offer mobile wifi hotspot rental units. I am guessing MTN, and Cell C do as well. Refer to the Pay as You Go with Data Wiki I mentioned above.
• Alternatively, companies such as TEP Wireless and KeepGo provide portable wi-fi rental units. Before I had an unlocked iPhone, I rented a TEP Wireless portable wi-fi device for a trip to London. I ordered it online and picked it up at the Heathrow Airport. Read more about that here.

4. An iFlash Drive

If you travel with an iPhone and enjoy taking photos with your smartphone on your travels, this is the tech accessory for you. I often transfer my iPhone photos to my iPad mini to edit and for temporary storage if I’m travelling without a laptop or reliable internet. This is a must-have travel gadget if you find yourself running out of iPhone space and have to delete photos or videos under pressure. This iFlash drive will not only allow me to transfer photos to my iPad mini but back to my iPhone. It works with videos and documents too! It has been a great time saver and allows me to travel lighter when I need to.

5. A Portable Travel Router

Many hotels offer a broadband connection; the service is often free. With a travel router & network cable, you won’t have to use the frequently bogged down wifi service. The travel router will create a private wireless network so you can connect your laptop, smartphone or tablet and also share the connection with those travelling with you. For fee-based broadband, you will save money, as you’ll just have to pay once.

Note: The one pictured below is what I use but isn’t available now and is more expensive than what’s currently on the market. I’ve heard good things about this RAVPower Filehub Plus which is also a 6000 mAH battery pack and SD card reader.