My Top 10 Travel Tech & Smartphone Essentials

I’ve been travelling for long enough to know that most travel gadgets aren’t worth packing.

The best travel tech isn’t necessarily the most expensive or the most powerful. It’s the equipment that quietly solves problems. The charger nobody argues over. The adapter you don’t leave behind. The earbuds everyone can identify as their own.

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These are the ten travel tech purchases I’d happily buy again tomorrow.

1. Amazon Fire Stick

This is probably the travel gadget I recommend most often.

We simply unplug our Fire Stick from our Samsung Frame TV before a trip and throw it into our hand luggage. Once we’re in a hotel, villa or apartment, we plug it into the television and instantly have access to all our usual apps and streaming services.

Combined with NordVPN, it means we can watch our favourite programmes almost anywhere in the world.

If you’re curious about the full setup, I’ve written a detailed guide explaining exactly how we use a Fire Stick and NordVPN to watch UK TV while travelling abroad.

If you’re only going to buy one item from this list, make it this one.

2. NordVPN

We originally signed up for NordVPN so we could watch British television while travelling.

Today it runs on almost every device we take away with us. Phones, iPads, Fire Sticks and laptops.

If you travel regularly, it’s one of those subscriptions that quietly becomes essential.

I have written a blog post explaining how it all works and you can read it here.

3. Soundcore P40i Wireless Earbuds

I’ve owned plenty of earbuds over the years, but these are the pair I currently travel with.

The sound quality is excellent, the battery life is impressive and the charging case doubles as a phone stand — surprisingly useful on flights, trains and in hotel rooms.

They also come in different colours. In our house I’m blue and my husband is green, which means there’s never any confusion about whose earbuds are whose. The same colour-coded system now applies to our chargers and power banks too.

4. Anker Nano Power Bank

This tiny power bank permanently lives in my handbag.

Like the earbuds, mine is blue. My husband’s is green. It sounds ridiculous, but colour-coding travel tech is one of the easiest ways to avoid family arguments.

It’s small enough to carry everywhere and powerful enough to rescue a dying phone when you need it most.

5. Anker 3-in-1 Charging Cable

If you travel as a family, someone always has the wrong cable.

This little Anker cable combines USB-C, Lightning and Micro USB connections in a single cable and has saved us countless times.

It takes up almost no space and replaces several separate cables.

6. USB-A to USB-C Adapter

Not exciting.

Incredibly useful.

Have you ever collected a hire car only to discover it has a USB-A port when your phone uses USB-C?

Exactly.

These tiny adapters weigh almost nothing and solve a surprisingly common travel problem.

7. Adjustable Flight Phone Holder

I didn’t think I needed one until I bought one.

Now I wouldn’t travel without it.

It clips onto the seat in front of you and makes watching films, reading or video calling significantly more comfortable during long journeys.

We recently lost ours and I ordered another one immediately.

8. Apple AirTag

I resisted AirTags for years because they felt unnecessary.

Then an airline misplaced one of our bags and I immediately understood the appeal.

Now we keep them in suitcases, backpacks and occasionally even inside checked golf bags.

Hopefully you’ll never need one. But if you do, you’ll be very glad it’s there.

9. European Travel Adapter

This is the newest addition to my travel kit.

I ordered the blue version because travel adapters have a habit of disappearing. The bright colour makes it much harder to leave behind in a hotel room or airport lounge.

If you travel to Europe, a good travel adapter quickly becomes indispensable.

10. A Dedicated Travel Tech Pouch

Mine happens to be a Space NK makeup bag, but the important thing isn’t the pouch itself.

It’s having one place where all the little essentials live permanently.

My charging cable, adapters, power bank and various travel bits all stay inside, ready to be thrown into a suitcase at a moment’s notice.

When a trip comes up, I simply pick up the pouch and know everything I need is already inside.

An Honourable Mention: Our Family iPad

One item that narrowly missed this list is our iPad.

We recently picked up an inexpensive model for around €300 and it has quickly become one of the most used pieces of tech in our house.

Whether it’s downloading Netflix before a flight, entertaining a child on a long journey, catching up on emails from a hotel room or reading on a train, it constantly proves its worth.

The best part is that it doesn’t belong to anyone in particular. It’s simply there when somebody needs it.

My Travel Tech Colour-Coding System

One final travel tip that has saved us countless small arguments over the years: colour-code your tech.

I’m blue and my husband is green.

Our earbuds, power banks and travel accessories follow the same system, making it much easier to identify what belongs to whom in airports, hotels and holiday rentals.

It sounds ridiculous, but it works.

Final Thoughts

Over the years I’ve realised the best travel tech isn’t necessarily the newest or most expensive.

It’s the equipment that quietly solves problems and earns its place in your hand luggage trip after trip.

These ten products come with me whether I’m heading away for a weekend, taking a long-haul flight or spending a month abroad. And they’re all items I’d happily buy again tomorrow.

Mrs. O