Hi all! I’m getting close to being finished with all my location-specific posts about our European road trip, but I thought it could be nice to take a break and write about something a little different for my next post. You may have seen the article I wrote over the summer — 5 Travel Essentials I Can’t Live Without — and after a few more long trips, I realized there are some other things I never travel without.
So here’s another list of my travel essentials… this time, with a focus on essential travel electronics.
1. BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Travel Dryer
It’s scratched up because I’ve used it for almost a decade, LOL
I bought the BaBylissPRO Nano Titanium Travel Dryer back in 2017 before my trip to Southeast Asia, and when I say I NEVER travel without it, I mean it! There are two main things that make it an absolute essential for me: first, the fact that it’s so small, it’s about the size of a can of soup when it’s folded up. And two, the fact that it has dual voltage so it can be used in any country around the world without damaging or ruining it.
You may have never even known that was a possibility. But I remember studying abroad in London in 2013, and my roommates and other girls on the dorm floor were constantly frying their hair dryers, curling irons, and straighteners. That’s because the U.S. uses 120 volt power, and many other places in the world use 220-230 volts. Which means most of our electronics aren’t compatible.
Unless… like this tiny but powerful blow dryer, it has a little switch that you can turn from 120v to 240v. It’s that simple! Which means you can use it anywhere in the world. (And honestly, it’s my everyday blow dryer at home, too.) After all these years, she’s still going strong.
Bonus: If you have curly hair like me, consider this foldable diffuser that fits perfectly on the end of the BaBylissPRO Nano. I’ve also been using this diffuser for years — both travel and everyday life.
2. Bose QuietComfort 35 (Series II) Wireless Headphones, Noise Canceling
Maybe I have sensitive ears, but I can’t tell you how many times I’d be on hour #5 of a 10-hour flight and my ears would be hurting from wearing earbuds for so long. Ever since I got the Bose Quiet Comfort Headphones, I’ve never had that problem again! They’re a bit pricey, but I’ve had them for almost four years now, and they’re still going strong. And I use them almost every day.
I love their Bluetooth capability, the fact that they’re truly noise-canceling, and they come with a good old-fashioned cord so I can plug into the screen to watch movies or TV on flights. They charge quickly and have a decent battery life, too. There’s something so comforting about putting them on and shutting out the rest of the world when I’m in the middle of a looooong travel day. At this point, I would never travel without them! (Also, they fit perfectly in the front pocket of my PacSafe bag, so it’s like we were meant to be.)
I’ve linked to the exact ones I have, but there are lots of other great headphones choices from Bose, too.
3. Amazon Kindle
I’m actually pretty new to having a Kindle! But Matt got me one for Christmas — he’s had his for years — and it’s been so great to travel with, just during the few trips I’ve used it for so far.
I like reading a lot, but it’s hard to travel with books. First, I’m kind of a binge-reader, so if I was really on a reading kick, I could finish multiple books on a two-week trip. That’s not very practical for packing purposes, especially knowing how light we pack (in just a backpack). And once you finish a book, it would basically just be dead weight in your bag.
The Kindle solves pretty much all of these problems. It’s so small and packable, and I did a trial of Kindle Unlimited when I first got it, which ensured that I could start new books whenever I wanted. But I did eventually figure out how to set up a Libby account with my local library!
4. Wi-Fi Repeater
You know we’ve been living that #digitalnomad life for the past year on and off, and one of the hardest things about it is definitely finding strong Wi-Fi. Especially when we’re having calls, or when Matt has a podcast recording with a client. We need reliable Wi-Fi to make sure we’re able to do our jobs from wherever we are.
Sometimes, we have a great hotel or Airbnb that has horrible Wi-Fi, or it has good Wi-Fi that only works if you sit in one specific spot in the room. Enter… our Wi-Fi Repeater. It basically extends the existing signal to be stronger, thus making it possible for us to get our work done. Or at least not have to stand in the bathroom to reply to text messages from our parents at the end of the day.
5. International Travel Adapter
I have plenty of European travel adapters on hand from when I lived in Spain, but those weren’t helpful for my two trips to the UK in the past year. While my English brother-in-law let me borrow some large U.S.-to-UK converters he made, they weren’t super convenient to travel with because they were bulky — and despite this list, I don’t have THAT many electronics to plug in all at once. 😉
But then, for Christmas this year, he and my sister got me an all-in-one international travel adapter. I used it on our January Eurotrip and again during my visit to London and Budapest in March. It worked great! One of my favorite things about it is the fact that it has two USB ports you can just plug your cords into. So I can charge my phone and my Bose Headphones or my Kindle at the same time.
You can also use it as a traditional adapter, where you plug your U.S. plug into one side and select the plug type you need for the international socket on the other side. And you can still use those two USB ports! This particular adapter says it can be used in more than 200 countries, and considering that there are generally considered to only be about 197 countries in the world… you should be covered with this adapter.
(Mine looks slightly different from this one, but it’s this brand so I think it’s the same.)
Alright, that’s my list of five essential travel electronics I use every time I travel! What are your essential travel electronics? Do you have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
-Cathy
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Originally Published on April 6, 2023.
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