Travel Accessories

Noise reducing headphones are key when you're flying. When you don't hear the noise from the airplane it makes the flight much more pleasant, and I'm convinced embark on your new adventure with more energy. I'm a big fan of the Sony headset, but Bose are good too. Earbuds are also good, and my favorite brand of those is Audio Technica. They save space, but are less comfortable and don't block the noise out quite as well. The each of these headset goes for about $400, but the earbuds are about $150. However, there are plenty of different brands out there, so you can just google noise reduction headphones and you will find lots of comparison sites.

A Kindle is a great gift for any traveler, or a treat for yourself. You can download reading books, magazine subscriptions, and guidebooks. The new kindles even have international wifi, so that you can download a book as you sit at the local cafe waiting for your cappuccino or waiting in the Brussels airport waiting for your flight to Rome. This way you save space and weight, which is always important when you're traveling around. And if you decide to go to an unexpected place while your abroad, one more guidebook is just a click away. The current price of a Kindle is about $260.

I have not had the pleasure of experimenting with the iPad (which run $500 and up), but from what I hear it is very similar to the kindle, but has way more going on. Somehow, though, I think I like the kindle better, because it don't get tempted with the distractions of technology, and I get to just read my book. After years of the successful Kindle, other tech companies were bound to make copies, so there are also all of those options out there.

However, I must admit, it takes some getting used to. There is just something about holding a book, and flipping the pages that is hard to forget. So, personally, I would travel with a kindle, especially on long trips when I will have lots of time to read. But opt to purchase hard copies when I have room to spare.

Tip for Smartphone Users:

There are many guidebook apps that you can download for your phone. Most of them cost money, but there is an app for blackberries called quintessentially that is completely free. And it's an app that gives you short guides to cities all around the world. It definitely cannot replace a guidebook, but would make an excellent quick reference tool while traveling. They may have this app for iPhones as well, but I'm not sure.