Technically, in a way, I’m a professional traveler. I run the Glam Italia Tours in Italy all spring, summer, and autumn long, plus I travel all year for pleasure.
I fly back and forth between the U.S and the EU all year long, with trips to Oceania scattered in between. On average I do 10 or 12 long haul international flights each year, plus tons and tons of domestics. So in the world of travel, I know a thing or two about which items should be on the must-have list and which ones you can skip. There are some incredible deals already happening for Black Friday, so if you are a traveler, or if you are traveling in the next year, this list is for you!
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50% Off Glam Italia Books!
This one is exciting for me – Amazon has 3 of my 5 Glam Italia Italy travel guides at 50% off for 5 days over Black Friday and Cyber Monday. (Rome, Florence and Venice)
*** If you have a Kindle Unlimited you can get all my books for free. If you don’t have Kindle Unlimited, this is a subscription service giving you access to unlimited free books – you can check it out here.
*** If you don’t have a Kindle you can read Kindle books on your laptop/iPad/phone via the Kindle App.
Kindle
I read exclusively on Kindle. Kindles hold as many as 5000 books, making them perfect travel companions – you have an entire library at your finger tips! They are slim, weigh next to nothing, and slip easily into your handbag or backpack. I also love them because you don’t need extra light to read – the screen gives you the perfect light level, so you can read both in the dark and in bright sunshine. I read my Kindle on the beach in Italy and by my pool in Phoenix, in bright white sunlight.
I bought my Kindle Paperwhite in 2019 and it is still going strong. There are newer, more tricked out models available, but the Paperwhite is excellent so were I ever to need another Kindle, I would stick with this model. Check out Black Friday pricing here.
Tours of Italian (and other European) Cities
This is super cool! My go-to company for providing small group half-day tours in Rome, Liv Tours, is offering 25% off of all tours, site-wide. I always refer people Liv Tours for Rome tours and for Vatican tours, but they also do tours all over Italy (including Florence, Milan, Naples) as well as other major European cities such as Berlin, London, Barcelona and Paris. Click around the site and look at all the options. I particularly love the Ostia Antica tour and the e-bike tour along the Appian Way. Check out all the tours here.
MY MVP TRAVEL PRODUCTS
TRTL Travel Pillow
This is my new favorite travel product. I’ve now had three long haul international flights (12+ hours) using the TRTL Pillow and I swear by it. The pillow supports your head and neck, letting you sleep in an upright position. It is the best thing ever. The wrap around part of the pillow is fleece, which not only keeps you warm but also helps you drift off to sleep. See price here on Amazon.
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Best Travel Adaptor and Converter
A really good travel adaptor and converter is essential when traveling internationally. The adaptor part is what plugs into the different countries’ wall sockets – and there are tons of these available. The converter part is the most crucial part. This converts the energy from the other country’s 230 volts to the U.S 110 volts, and stops your electronics from frying. My MVP is the DOACE Adaptor and Converter. I’ve used this one for 2 or 3 years now. See price here on Amazon.
Airfly Wireless Audio Transmitter
Another brilliant travel gadget for anyone who flies anywhere, is the Airfly Wireless Bluetooth Transmitter. If you’ve ever used airline earbuds when watching movies or listening to other audio, you’ll already know they’re super uncomfortable, crackly, and hard to get quality audio from. This little gadget plugs into the airplane audio auxiliary jack and runs audio through your own earbuds/headphones, giving you excellent audio quality as well as comfort. ** Traveler Tip: I recommend getting all electronic gadgets in white or other bright colors instead of black. It is so easy to overlook black electronics and leave them behind on planes and trains.
See the Airfly Transmitter here on Amazon.
Portable Wifi Hotspot
I have an old Vodafone Wifi Hotspot that I bought years ago, and which they no longer make. It has been brilliant as whichever country I fly into, I can just buy a local SIM card and have endless free wifi and data. My Verizon iPhone can’t be unlocked, so an eSIM is not an option for me. One of my friends brought a wifi router to use with eSIMs on our trip to Istanbul a couple of months ago and the eSIM didn’t work. Over the past few years I’ve had multiple Glam Italia Tour travelers who have bought eSIMs that haven’t worked with their phones. As such, I like to stay old school and use a regular SIM card and a regular little Mifi/Wifi hotspot..
If you are from the U.S, the phone carriers mostly have pretty useless international plans (especially Verizon) so if you are traveling internationally and need lots of wifi, a portable Mifi hotspot is a really great investment.
I asked ChatGPT to recommend me a good one that can use local SIM cards (I need to buy a second one) and it recommended the Mifi TP Link M7000. I’ve checked it out on Amazon and am ordering one in the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales. Check the M7000 out here on Amazon.
DJI Osmo Gimbal
Another electronic I’m buying this Black Friday is the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 gimbal. I already have multiple DJI products and love them. DJI is the industry leader and their quality is top of the line. I bought an earlier version of the gimbal back in 2019 but found it too bulky to travel with. Since then they’ve streamlined it and made it both more high tech (of course) and smaller and easier to travel with.
You can use the DJI Osmo Mobile 6 gimbal for taking steady videos while you’re walking/moving, for vlogging, and to get cinematic looking videos. It’s also great for getting smooth tracking when videoing your kids sports. It is currently discounted but will also have more discounts during Black Friday/Cyber Monday. See pricing here.
DJI Mic Mini
I bought one of these earlier this year. I previously had a less expensive lav mic but upgraded after having to trash a big video project due to the audio crackling. This DJI Mic Mini is a game changer. Crisp, clear, perfect audio, bluetoothed directly into your smartphone. This is great for any videos that involve talking or capturing local ambient sound. (Think running water, rain, birdsong etc.) See price here on Amazon.
DJI Osmo Pocket 3
I also bought a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo earlier this year. I had an earlier model but found it harder to use as the screen was tiny. The newer Osmo Pocket 3 has a 2 inch screen that lets you switch between shooting vertical videos and photos or horizontal, and that I find much easier to see. The camera quality is outstanding and the video tutorials make everything really easy for someone like me who has fewer tech skills than your pet goldfish.
I chose the Creator Combo because it came with microphones, 2 different microphone windscreens, a battery pack with handle, a tripod, a type C to C cable, and a cool little carrying case that slips into my handbag. The newer combo pack now has a few more items.
This is ideal for bloggers, You Tubers, and anyone who wants to make videos on the go. The Pocket 3 is only slightly bigger than your hand, so is super mobile and great for anything from taking video on your travels to capturing family moments/school sports/making movies. It Bluetooths into your smartphone or iPad if you want a larger screen to use as a monitor. Check it out here.
Apple AirTags
I swear by Apple AirTags. I have one each in my suitcase, my carry on bag, my handbag, and any other piece of luggage or cabin baggage I bring on any trip.
When you fly as much as I do (both internationally and domestically) it is inevitable that you run into issues where luggage appears to be missing, or actually is missing. The Air Tag lets you know exactly where the item is, faster than any airline can find it. In fact, the technology is so brilliant that multiple airlines have integrated it into their own luggage tracking systems.
I have sometimes had “missing” luggage tracked to the wrong luggage carousel and have had an alarm notification for a bag left in a car. I love seeing the exact location of my luggage as I’m moving through the airport, seeing it has made it onto the plane and that it has arrived to the same airport as I have. Occasionally a tour traveler has had a piece of luggage not arrive on the same plane they have. Most recently a traveler arrived to Florence while her luggage went to Frankfurt. We were able to track it within a couple of minutes and have the airline get it to us in Florence on the next flight. In my opinion Apple Air Tags are indispensable. Also, they are always on sale on Balck Friday/Cyber Monday. See pricing here.
Jisulife Handhel Mini Fan
Another must-have for travel is the Jisulife Handheld Mini Fan. These small fans slip into your handbag and take up no space. They pack some power on hot days, cooling you down, but also on airplanes when you’re stuck on the tarmac. In the past 2 years I’ve had several flights where we’ve been stuck in the plane with no air-conditioning, while we wait an hour or more to take off. The mini fan saved me each time! Check pricing here.
Wine Angels
I swear by these Wine Angel portable wine bags. I always bring bottles of wine and olive oil back from Italy in my luggage. These bags have a bubble wrap insert that slips inside a heavy plastic outer cover. This outer cover then double zip-locks, and lastly you roll the velcro onto itself. You end up with a perfectly packaged, completely secured bottle that can safely travel in your checked luggage. They are reusable too – I use the same ones over and over, which makes them great value for money too. See price here.
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Portable Phone Charger Power Pack
Regardless of which type you get, when you travel internationally you must take a portable phone charger. You’ll be taking videos and photos on your phone and the battery will run down very much faster than it does at home. The key is to get a charger that is slim and lightweight, and that has 10,000 mAh. There are plenty of charges with lower mAh, but they run out of power too quickly. Check out the INIU Portable Phone Charger here
Airbuds
Apple’s AirPods 4 Wireless Airbuds are already on sale at 44% off. If you need to update your AirPods now is the time to do it. See price here.
Travelon Cross Body Anti-Theft Bags
Travelon make the gold standard in crossbody anti-theft handbags for travelers. They are slash proof, have RDIF blockers to protect your passport and credit card info, have carabiners to secure all 5 zippers, and have steel cables running through the shoulder strap so no one can cut it.
I had one of these with me in Turkey earlier this year and loved it. They also come in some chic, fashion forward colors and have a variety of shapes and sizes. I have the one above and also have the slightly larger medium crossbody bag, which fit my Osmo Pocket 3 camera set perfectly. One of my travelers this fall had a front crossbody sling bag that looked super cool with everything she wore.
Click through all the options to see what works best for you. Some of the Travelon Anti Theft bags are already 50% off. See pricing here.
Packing Cubes
Packing Cubes make travel packing so much easier. They help you to organize your travel wardrobe by grouping items per packing cube, and the cubes fit into your suitcase like building blocks. They’re brilliant. These ones are already on sale for Black Friday.
Laundry Sheets
Laundry sheets are a traveler’s best friend. Whether you’re handwashing a couple of items in a bathroom sink and just tear off a small corner for a tiny bit of detergent, or whether you are using a whole sheet for a whole load, they are the perfect traveller companion. They are also eco friendly which is huge in many/most countries. I love that you can just throw a few sheets into a ziplock bag and it doesn’t take up any space in your luggage as well as there being nothing to leak onto your clothes.
These fragrance free Earth Breeze Eco Friendly Laundry Sheets have more than 97,000 5-star reviews. These Earth Watch Hypoallergenic Laundry sheets have an ocean breeze scent and are a bit more expensive but are also excellent.
Le Petit Jardin Reed Diffuser
This one is not a travel product, but I just ordered the Le Petit Jardin Reed Diffuser in Quebec Balsam Fir. It’s a wonderful hostess gift, business gift, or gift for yourself. It comes in 4 different flavors, but I love Balsam Fir fragrances over the holidays, so chose this one. Check them out here.
Subscriptions
Subscriptions can make fantastic gifts, both for others and for yourself. There are normally some great deals popping up around Black Friday. Here are some of my favorites:
Audible
I love audiobooks. Especially when I’m driving / exercising / doing housework or even flying. You can give gift subscriptions for Audible for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months. You can also check out regular Audible subscriptions here.
Kindle Unlimited
This is a fantastic subscription for anyone reading books either on Kindle or on the Kindle App. Kindle Unlimited literally gives you an unlimited number of books per month, so as soon as you finish one book you can grab the next.
You can get a Free Trial, a Black Friday Deal regular subscription or a gift subscription. Gift subscriptions run 6 months, 12 months or 24 months.
Amazon Prime
Amazon is offering free trial memberships to Prime as well as regular Prime memberships.
Most of the items in my Amazon.com shop (Amazon.com/shop/CorinnaTravels) are already on sale for Black Friday. You can see the rest of the list here on Amazon.
