Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Don't hit the road empty-handed! We lean on technology to make our everyday lives easier, but it can be a game changer for our vacations, too.
Sarah Kimmel with Family Tech Zone shared five gadgets that will save your trip sanity.
Portable Charger
Obviously you need to pack along a charger, but Kimmel said not all of them are created equal.
"When you're traveling and you don't have access to that little magical jack… you're gonna want something portable," she said.
Her favorite version has the cord built into it so you don't have extra cables hanging around all over the place. Everything stays together in one device.
Trackers
Lost luggage is probably one of the most frustrating travel experiences. Kimmel said to use trackers to make that less likely.
"You wanna put it in your luggage," she explained. "You wanna put it in your kid's shoe. You wanna put it basically on anything you want to track."
Kimmel emphasized understanding how the technology works before relying fully on it.
"The caveat with like an AirTag… is that it has to be around another iPhone to be able to track," she noted.
If you're going somewhere more remote, she suggested looking at GPS-based options instead.
Kindle
Kimmel said she wasn't always sold on e-readers. But after traveling with friends who used them a lot, she changed her mind.
"I originally kind of pooh-poohed the whole Kindle thing," she said. "It was so easy for them to just bring to the beach, to bring to the pool."
She especially likes the ones that reduce glare as opposed to your phone or tablet.
"You can see it in the sunlight," she said.
While smartphones and tablets can handle reading, Kimmel now sees the Kindle as the perfect travel companion if you like to relax with a book on vacation.
Bluetooth Headphone Adapter
Air travel has changed in recent years. If you're a wireless headphone user, you may not be able to connect to the in-flight entertainment system. She shared a small adapter that fixes that problem.
"We don't have headphone jacks anymore," Kimmel said. "This plugs into the plane's headphone jack and you can use your Bluetooth headphones."
It's a small thing, but that way, you don't have to carry around wired headphones just for a plane ride.
Instant Film Camera
Kimmel also recommended bringing an instant camera, especially for kids.
"They love having something like this so that they can take pictures of everything that's happening on the vacation," she said.
Beyond the fun factor, these photos can become meaningful keepsakes. The pictures kids choose to take often capture moments that adults might miss. It lets you see the trip from their perspective. They may not focus on major attractions or planned activities. Kids often snap the small details that stand out to them. Those photos become a unique record of the trip.
Find more tech ideas from Sarah Kimmel on Instagram, @familytech.
This story was adapted from a TV broadcast script using artificial intelligence. Every story, including those adapted with AI, is reviewed by a human editor before publication to ensure that KSL's editorial standards are upheld.
