What electronics do you take when you go on vacation? When I packed the electronics for my family of six, I quickly discovered the quantity of items added up to some significant weight in my backpack. Any rational person going to Aruba focuses on swimming trunks and flip flops at a minimum. However flying with 4 kids under 9 years of age makes you consider how to handle flight and downtime entertainment in a different way. While my list was exhaustive, each and every device that came along was used during our stay. None were extra.
My arsenal of electronics contains:
- 4 tablets (1st Gen iPad, 2nd Gen iPad, Kindle Fire, & HP TouchPad) – tablets are mainly for the kids to be entertained during travel or in the room as we prepare for dinner.
- 4 cameras (Nikon D5000, GoPro HD Hero, Canon Powershot Elph 300, iPhone 4s) – you can never have enough cameras. I use my GoPro and iPhone (in a Drycase) as the waterproof camera. The point-and-shoot and SLR do all the other pictures.
- 3 waterproof camera cases (GoPro waterproof case, GoPro waterproof case with wrist strap, & DryCase)
- 2 tripods, 2 portable Bluetooth speakers ( Motorola EQ5 & Jawbone Jambox) – in the hotel room we like to listen to music so these are good options. We bring two as sometimes the kids need on for listening to a movie on the iPad.
- a half dozen USB cables
- mobile hotspot
- iPad camera connection kit - I use the camera connection kit to check images at night in the event something is out of focus or has bad exposure. A vacation night is a good time to determine if you want to retake a picture.
- eReader (Amazon Kindle)
- 2 mobile phones
- AVCHD video camera – A dedicated HD video camera with a optical zoom lens is a blessing. I always do a family video of our vacations, about 3 min in duration, this is the main source of video footage.
- and several other non electronic accessories required.
One piece of advice as you pack for your vacation: have a backup plan if something critical fails. Given that we had a beach vacation, I wanted a variety of waterproof camera options from a dedicated device like the GoPro to my iPhone in a DryCase waterproof bag. In my case, the clip on my GoPro waterproof housing failed but I had a ready backup. A useful tip is to use RainX on the waterproof case over the lense cover to help reduce distortion due to water drops.
If you want your kids to make air travel a breeze, have tablets jammed packed with games and movies they love. My 8, 5, & 3 year olds had so much entertainment both mom and dad got to start our relaxation while in flight. No screaming kids or questions like are we there yet. This also let us take turns handling our 1 year old that wanted to walk the aisles.
Likely the best travel accessory everyone needs is a tripod, so you can get great family photos. While a small portable tripod is best, having a gorillapod is wise given the many times a flat or level surface is not an option.
My best suggestion as you plan for your next trip is to over-pack your electronics. Nothing is worse than not having the option to capture a memory because you left an essential item at home. Most important, I was able to review all my video and images on our iPad, so we could retake any images that did not look right the first time around. It pays to over plan.
It also goes without saying that what works for me probably won’t be right for you. The most important thing is to pre-plan and prepare long before you start throwing things in a bag.
You might consider purchasing small see-through bags to load cables, connectors, batteries, etc. All in one place where you can quickly find it. Put all this is a small backpack or bag that is easy to have with you all the time. All the tech in the world won’t help if you don’t have it when you need it, each have and every time. And don’t be the person with their DSLR in the water.
