Travel gadgets: 19 really useful travel tools

Every trip should be a truly wonderful experience. What we don’t want in our luggage: chaos and stress. We’d much rather pack useful travel gadgets that give us peace of mind whilst on the move. Lost suitcases? Squabbling children in the back seat? Creased shirts? With the right tools, accessories and apps, these are a thing of the past.

Whether it’s for your next active or beach holiday, a trip with children or your upcoming business trip – we’ll show you 17 travel gadgets that should be part of your essential anti-travel-stress kit:

Travel gadgets for your luggage

#1 Packing cubes

Fed up with chaos in your suitcase? We can understand that. In our travelite trolleys (for example, in the Skaii), straps, a shirt compartment, mesh pockets and small side pockets ensure everything stays tidy. If you want to further organise the interior, packing cubes are ideal. These are smart packing cubes in various sizes that help you organise your clothes and essentials in a space-saving way.

#2 Luggage scales

Excess baggage can quickly become expensive at the airport. Check before you set off how much your suitcase is allowed to weigh and weigh it with a luggage scale before you head to the airport. You can then pack the scale straight away so that you have it to hand for the return journey. Our tip: Try to leave a few kilograms free. You often end up buying gifts, souvenirs and the like whilst on holiday and fly back with more weight in your luggage.

#3 Packing list app

Do you tend to pack too little rather than too much, and often find yourself forgetting half your things? With the app Packtor, that won’t happen to you again. Once you’ve entered the duration of your trip, the climate and the type of trip (backpacking, city break, etc.), the app puts together a packing list for you that you simply need to tick off. The app Packr is also very popular with iOS users.

#4 Luggage tracker

Handing your suitcase over at check-in can sometimes leave you feeling uneasy. If you don’t want to lose sight of your luggage, you can get a luggage tracker. These are small GPS trackers that you connect to your mobile and pack in your suitcase before your trip. You can then use your smartphone to locate your luggage at any time. The classic choice for iPhone users is the Air Tag. Samsung’s equivalent is the Galaxy SmartTag. Tile is compatible with both – Android and iOS – looks like a credit card and therefore even fits in your wallet.

Travel gadgets for air travel

#1 Backpack

Check-in, security check, boarding – before you board the plane, you’ll need to show your travel documents at various ‘stations’. If you’re travelling with a rucksack that has handy external pockets, you’ll have all your documents to hand and won’t be put in the awkward position of having to open your hand luggage in front of lots of other people and rummage through it. With this in mind, we designed our ‘Meet’ rucksack. It’s your perfectly organised carry-on bag, ensuring everything is at the ready, stress-free.

#2 Noise Cancelling

Headphones It’s not exactly quiet on a plane – unless you’re wearing headphones that block out external noise. The ideal solution: Bluetooth headphones with ‘noise-cancelling’. You can find the best models on Esquire.

#3 Calm app

Do you have great headphones but don’t know what to listen to during the flight to really relax? To leave the stresses of everyday life behind, ease your fear of flying and create a ‘calm foundation’ for your trip, we recommend the mindfulness app Headspace. Guided meditations help you to focus entirely on your inner self. Or you could download the app Better Sleep and listen to relaxation music to help you fall asleep.

Travel gadgets for active holidays

#1 Foldable water bottle

You should always stay well hydrated. On an active holiday it’s even more important that you drink enough water. To do this, you should carry a water bottle that you can refill again and again. Bottles that you can fold up once they’re empty are really handy. This saves space and often weight too, as they’re made from lighter materials. Beyond Camping has tested the best models.

#2 Solar power bank

Are you going on a hike through the mountains or out on your bike and need your smartphone to navigate safely to your destination? Then your battery could do with some practical support. With a solar power bank, you can charge your mobile even in the wilderness. The advantage: you don’t need a power socket. The downside: you’ll need plenty of sunshine. Alternatively, you might want to consider whether a hand-crank power bank would suit you better.

#3 Mosquito bite relief

If you spend a lot of time outdoors, you’re bound to come across plenty of insects. And how annoying is it when you can’t enjoy the lovely view because you’re constantly thinking about itchy mosquito bites? One solution is bite away – a thermal bite relief device that stops the itching.

Travel gadgets for a beach holiday

#1 Beach safe

Jumping through the waves, doing a few strokes, taking a quick dip, drifting along on an air mattress – at some point on a beach holiday, the moment comes when you want to leave your sun lounger and head into the sea. But who’ll look after your valuables? The answer: your beach safe. This is a small safe that you can securely attach to your sun lounger. Models from PacSafe are particularly popular. Schwimmwelt has compared other designs.

If you want to be doubly sure, combine the safe with a luggage tracker – our fourth tip in the ‘travel gadgets for luggage’ section.

#2 Waterproof smartphone case

You know your money is safe on the beach. But you still want to take your mobile into the water to take photos. Even though many smartphones are now waterproof, it’s a good idea to have a mobile case that protects against moisture. Our favourite is by Seawisp. The timeless design features an adjustable buckle, so you can easily attach the case to your wrist and ensure your mobile isn’t washed away, even in strong waves.

#3 Underwater camera

Does a holiday mean spending less time on your mobile for you? But you still want to take cool souvenir photos and videos in the sea? Then you should consider an underwater camera. This model isn’t just for keen snorkellers, but also for little water lovers. So nothing stands in the way of family fun.

Travel gadgets for holidays with kids

#1 Colouring book app

Whether on a train, plane or in the car – sooner or later, on every journey, you’ll hear the question, ‘Are we there yet?’. To stop children getting bored whilst travelling, it’s great to have a few books or games to hand. Apps take up less space. Kids Doodle, for example, replaces the colouring book. With Kids Paint Free, children can colour over photos on your mobile – a new pair of glasses for Mum, rabbit ears for Grandad, or sunbeams on the latest photo from the garden. The advantage of the digital colouring book is that it leaves no marks, stains or ‘artwork’ on seats and the like.

#2 Splitter

Sharing is fun. Even when it comes to music, so you can listen to your favourite songs – or that new audiobook – together. With a headphone splitter, two people can ‘plug in’ to the mobile at the same time. Children especially love the ‘Jack Rabbit’ splitter, which looks like a rabbit.

#3 Children’s trolley

The new Pixi book, their favourite jigsaw, and their teddy bear shouldn’t be left at home alone either – children often have their own ideas about what’s essential on holiday. Whilst clothes and toiletries find their place in the large family suitcase, our Youngster lets them take all their favourite things along. The children’s trolley has been designed to be easy to pull, to put a smile on their faces just by looking at it, and to turn the world into a colourful adventure.

Travel gadgets for business trips

#1 Shirt creaser

On a business trip, ironed shirts and blouses are essential. With a shirt bag you can avoid any creases. The hard-shell case is moulded exactly to the shape of your business top and features a crease-resistant lining to say goodbye to creases for good.

#2 Travelrouter

On holiday, it’s nice to have a bit of a ‘digital detox’ now and then – in other words, days spent without the internet. Things are different on a business trip. A travel router is ideal for ensuring you always have the best connection to the World Wide Web whilst on the move. Chip.de has taken a close look at numerous models and presents them to you here.

#3 Expense app

A receipt here, another one there. When you’re travelling for work, you incur costs that you can claim as expenses later. To keep track of everything and store it all digitally, there’s the app Expensify. It has already been downloaded over 1 million times and is rated as highly recommended by the vast majority of users.

Conclusion: Travel more relaxed with the right gadgets

FAQ on travel gadgets