Thomas Cook: 9 "hot" travel gadgets to take on your vacation

Nowadays there seems to be so many gadgets and gizmos out there for consumers like ourselves to get our heads around. Sometimes it can be a little bit daunting to know what you do and don’t need in your life, especially when it comes to travel gadgets. If you were to take everything in the market on holiday with you, there wouldn’t be room for even your favourite piece of swimwear. So Thomas Cook has picked 10 of its favourite and most essential travel gadgets that you need to make room for in your suitcase this year.

1) GoPro – Small, lightweight and capable of capturing all those magical holiday moments with minimum effort; a GoPro camera is becoming a staple item on many people’s packing list. With the right attachments, such as chest straps, head straps and waterproof cases, it can be used to film everything from high adrenaline water sports to a gentle stroll along a seafront promenade.

2) Trakdot – There’s nothing worse than arriving at your holiday destination, waiting patiently at the luggage carousel and, one by one, everyone collects their suitcases except you. Then the carousel grinds to a halt. Sometimes your luggage goes AWOL and you’re not sure how long it’ll be before it finds its way back to you. Well, place a Trakdot luggage tracking device in your case and you can track its position anywhere in the world.

3) Portable speakers – With the amount of music stores and streaming apps available at our disposal, there’s something incredibly exciting about creating your own holiday playlist. But it doesn’t quite have the desired effect when you try and project the sound from your phone by sitting it in one of the glasses provided in your hotel bathroom. Instead, invest in a small wireless or Bluetooth speaker to take with you. There are plenty out there whose sound can really pack a punch!

4) TanSafe – If you’re anything like me, you sometimes feel a little uneasy leaving your bag alone on the beach while you go for a dip in the sea. But it’s no fun leaving someone behind to keep an eye on your things, right? This is when a TanSafe comes in handy. To the untrained eye, it looks like any normal bottle of sun cream. But open it up and it’s the perfect hidden safe to store your money, phone, room key and any other small valuable items. Genius!

5) Luggage scales – Don’t be that person who has to reveal all your personal belongings to everyone in the check-in queue at the airport. It’s bad enough having to empty things out of your case in front of everyone, but even worse when you have to pay additional charges when you exceed the baggage allowance. Avoid this situation by packing a small luggage scale so you can check how much added weight you’ve added to your bag before heading home.

6) Selfie stick – Okay, I’ll admit it. I used to think selfie sticks looked somewhat ridiculous. But now I’ll hold my hands up (not as high as a selfie stick) and say that when it comes to getting the best holiday snaps, they can be quite advantageous. They can also help you avoid those awkward exchanges when you have to ask a stranger to take the photo for you. You know the ones, when you say “oh that’s perfect, thanks!” and they’ve barely got you in the shot…

7) Portable charger – It doesn’t matter how much we try to deny it, most of us would struggle to get through the day without our smartphones. We like to think that we can get away from that when we’re on holiday, but Wi-Fi is now so easily accessible that it isn’t much different from when we’re at home. But there’s nothing worse than your phone battery dying at that crucial photo opportunity moment, so be sure to pack a portable charger and keep it with you when out and about.

8) Mosquito plug-in – You might be staying in a luxurious 5 star hotel, but this makes no difference to mosquitos. No matter where you’re going on holiday, chances are that when it’s a warm climate, you’ll be dealing with the hungry little menaces. If you’re prone to being bitten, which I certainly am, you might benefit from carrying a mosquito repellent plug-in in your suitcase and plugging it in your hotel room on arrival.

9) Thomas Cook My Holiday app – Not so much a gadget, but certainly a handy little tool to have; the Thomas Cook My Holiday app has everything you need to know about your holiday in one place. Check everything from your flight information and hotel details to the weather forecast in your destination. You can even check out what to do when you’re there and book yourself on excursions! And what’s best, you can still access it abroad, even without an internet connection!

Read more here.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report