We thought it would help to offer up some of the picks from our own collection of travel gadgets, everything from electronics to car seats.
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Last updated: July 9, 2025
Personal Wi-Fi device
We’ve talked about this before, but the thought remains the same. When we travel internationally, we need internet for getting around, pulling up reservations on the fly, or handling anything that comes up. There are options out there, but we’ve preferred using our own personal Wi-Fi device. We’ve tried a couple of Wi-Fi devices and like the GlocalMe Numen Air 5G the most.
I’ll be the first to admit it’s not perfect. You’ll need to make sure the battery is charged at the end of each day. And once you run out of data in the package you purchase, be careful about tapping into your cash stored on the device. That can happen automatically and I learned that the hard way. Plus you might need two of these travel gadgets if you’re going to separate into smaller groups.
But the pros outweigh the cons for us. We find it extremely convenient, especially if we need to connect multiple devices to the internet. eSIMs have been popular, but if you have tablets that don’t have cellular connectivity, eSIMs are not going to be a great option for you. The personal Wi-Fi device, though, would work just fine.
Waterproof phone case
When it’s time to jump in the water, there’s only a couple of travel gadgets to record your moments. Either you go with the cheap phone bag approach or you get a legitimate case for your phone. I’ve always steered away from phone bags, which don’t offer any protection if you accidentally drop your phone (it is wet, after all). I haven’t been convinced of the picture or video quality either.
Thus, I’ve gone with the waterproof case approach. While there are many options on Amazon, I wanted to go with a brand I trust. I’ve had an OtterBox previously and it worked well, so I went with it again for my iPhone 15 Pro.
The FRĒ Series case met all my basic needs. It kept my phone safe from the water, offered protection if I dropped it (and, yes, I did drop it once), and enabled me to take awesome photos and videos underwater. You can see an example of a video I took below with this case on. Despite poor visibility, you can see the manta ray pretty well as it swam 50 feet below us.
What are the downsides? As with all underwater cases, it can be a little tough to use your touchscreen while in the water, so use the shoulder buttons as much as possible. And even while out of the water, I didn’t like the touch functionality enough to replace my normal phone case. One last minor gripe is that I needed to remove my screen protector to get this case on. At least I still have a spare screen protector to use back at home but it meant wandering around without one while on vacation.
Overall, I like the case and would recommend it to anyone looking to get a new waterproof case.
Portable luggage scale
It’s one thing to weigh your luggage at home (where we would just use our bathroom scale). It’s another thing to need to weigh our luggage at our destination for the flight home. Why does this matter? Normally our stuff starts out in one suitcase, but we might move things around like one full of dirty clothes and another clean clothes (relevant for hitting up multiple destinations). Or we might pick up souvenirs.
In any event, it’s entirely likely that the distribution of weight will move around accordingly. While I would love to assume my arms are perfect scales, it might not be the case. And I would rather not discover the weight issues at the airport, causing a delay for others behind me in line. Thus we use a portable luggage scale, which is one of our most-used travel gadgets.
This one works pretty well, with the ability to easily change the unit of measurement at a press of the button. You could also tare the weight if needed. It’s small enough to bring aboard as a carry-on and not take up much room. I’ve found no problems with its accuracy.
The main downside is that you’ll need to be strong enough to lift the luggage off the ground. Shorter people (like 5’0” Jenn) may struggle to fully get it off the ground to see the proper weight, depending on how tall your luggage is. We still like it and value taking it along.
Travel power strip
Sometimes you just need to tap more power out of a socket. In that case, wouldn’t it be nice to bring a power strip with you on your journey? You could just bring a regular-sized one at home, but space is valuable when on a trip and I find I only need a couple of extra outlets.
We’ve been using Belkin SurgePlus for our power strip needs on the go. It has been reliable to us, sticking with us for about a decade. In more recent years, I’d say it’s not quite as necessary in many domestic hotels. As hotels have been remodeled and refreshed, owners have become better at making sure outlets are available in convenient places.
Where I find the power strip most valuable has been in foreign countries. I first plug in my travel surge protector into the wall, and then plug this power strip into it. That allows me more plugs at my disposal without needing to bring around a ton of those international travel adapters.
The downside is that some foreign outlets give a loose fit, making it a challenge if you’re using both the international travel adapter and the power strip, not to mention all the stuff you’re plugging into the strip. I end up finding a way to rest the power strip on something else to make it stable. If you’re afraid of a fire risk (I’m not, but I could see some worry), don’t leave it plugged in this way when you leave the room. I like Anker’s USB C Power Strip Surge Protector a bit more as it would alleviate that particular problem.
Oh, and this won’t help you on a cruise. You can’t have surge protectors onboard, unfortunately, so you’ll need a cruise-approved version like this one.
Travel gadgets that offer extra protection from data thieves
Ever see those USB ports that offer charging and while you’re interested in using them, you’re concerned about it connecting to something malicious that steals your data? Yeah, that’s crossed our minds too. I normally would use a power outlet, but sometimes there might not be much alternative.
One way to overcome this with travel gadgets is by using a data blocker for your USB devices. That gives some extra reassurance that whatever you plug in will be protected. While your phone generally has a pop-up that asks if you want to connect to a device when plugging in, not everything you need to charge is a phone. These are small enough to easily take along wherever your adventures take you.
Fake wallets: not the travel gadgets you expected?
No one wants to be pickpocketed, so you might want to carry around a decoy. Any cheap wallet would do. You just want something that has a small amount of local currency that you don’t mind losing, plus some credit cards from canceled accounts. You want it convincing enough that it’s a real wallet and it might just get you out of trouble.
In truth, it can be any old cheap wallet, and not the one linked above. I’ve picked up cheap wallets as hand-me-downs or kept older ones once they wore down. But if you’re not a hoarder, just go get something cheap. It’s meant to be lost, so don’t waste your money on it.
See our post for more specifics as it happened to me.
Wi-Fi Splitter (Travel Router)
Personally, I have no interest in paying for high fees for daily internet usage. Having a portable travel router means that if you’re ever in a location where you need to pay for internet on a per-device basis, you might get away with just buying internet for one and splicing it for everyone in your party. And that’s where this TP-Link travel router comes in.
The main downside is just having enough IT knowledge to make it work, so it might not work for everyone. That said, I found the instructions fairly simple to follow (and I’m admittedly not the best with IT stuff). I’d suggest testing it at home before you travel just so you know what you’re doing before you need to rely on the router. And once you’re set up, you’re pretty much good to go.
I’ve tried using this on a Celebrity Cruises sailing but the ship’s service was so slow from the start that it made the test a failure. So it might not always get you out of a jam, but it’s cheap enough where I’m willing to keep trying until it works. Just one success from it will more than pay for itself.
Update: the router has indeed worked on a recent Carnival Cruise to help spread the internet signal to multiple devices. More details will follow shortly.
One of our favorite travel gadgets: Apple AirTags
All the rage these days, but still very helpful. The theory is that you can take control over the biggest issue with your checked bags: where they are located. Airline technology has improved for tracking bags, but airlines are still imperfect when it comes to delivering bags to their owners. So, you just place an AirTag in your luggage to help understand where it’s located and remove some stress.
We don’t just use them for travel but also place them on our kids (at home or away) so that we know where they wander off to. I’ve also been tempted to put them on my in-laws in case they run away from us too. There are attachments sold that can transform AirTags into a stylish wristband for kids or add to your keychain. I don’t view it as accessorizing these handy travel gadgets and instead making them more versatile.
Obviously, these work best if you have an Apple iPhone to pair with them. I’ve tried other brands, but nothing yet has come close to the convenience of these AirTags.
Inflatable Car Seats
I’m sure many parents of young children would agree that lugging around a car seat is a feat of its own. As our children have gotten older, we’ve transitioned to booster seats but they’re not exactly easily portable. The seats don’t fit in our carry-on luggage nor in many of our checked bags. We could separately check them in or call them our carry-on bags, but it’s hard to juggle everything.
Enter the inflatable car seat, and specifically the one made by Bubble Bum. We will admit we were skeptical at first, thinking it wouldn’t work well once a child sat on it. And, yes, there is some wobbliness to the seat if you’re in a rush. There is an attachment to connect to seat belts that makes it more secure.
But, by and large it’s functional and sturdy enough for our needs. And best of all, it easily fits into any luggage we bring, freeing up our hands. It isn’t a viable option for anyone needing a convertible car seat, but if you’ve moved on to booster seats, I’d highly recommend it. We have two of these very practical travel gadgets to make life easier with the kids.
What travel gadgets do you like to use to make your travel easier?
Suggested Reading:
- Pro Tip: Exchange Currency at Your Destination
- I Got Pickpocketed and Lost Nothing
- How to Travel with Kids
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That’s a very handy list! Thanks for sharing!