Travel gadget: Gift guide
HOLIDAY IDEAS | Industry experts dole out ideas for helpful gadgets
NEW YORK -- Looking for a holiday gift for someone who loves to travel?
Here are some recommendations from experts across the travel industry (retail prices may vary):
• Recommended by Amy Ziff, editor-at-large for Travelocity: Bose noise cancelling headphones ($300-$350), a pure pashmina shawl ($75-$100), a 55-hour iPod Battery Extender ($80), Peace of Mind On-the-spot relief (lotion) from Origins ($10).
• Recommended by Mark and Mimi Comfort, who run the Cruise Holidays booking agency in Kansas City, Mo.: a handheld travel scale for weighing luggage ($10).
• Recommended by James Samans, author of Spontaneous Tourism: The Busy Person's Guide to Travel: external power for computer notebooks ($65-$600), a 3M Privacy Filter for LCDs ($50-$150).
• Recommended by David Lang, a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines: a $25 Crown Room Club one-visit pass for long layovers or delays.
• Recommended by Jeff Miller, travel industry consultant/lawyer: an airline gift card, drink coupons ($4 to $5 a drink; minimum purchase required.)
• Recommended by Amy Myers, associate vice president of marketing, Things Remembered: leather ID holders with room for identification, business cards and credit cards ($10), ear buds for iPods and MP3 players ($10-$500).
• Recommended by Jeffrey Krudop, manager of Vacation Travel for Carlson Wagonlit in Fort Wayne, Ind.: High-magnitude binoculars ($500); water-repellent luggage ($25-$300); arrange for a cruise line to serve a bottle of wine at dinner.
• Recommended by Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Editor-in-Chief, WeJustGotBack.com, a family travel Web site: for older kids, a travel journal and digital camera. (Target has digital cameras for less than $100).
• Recommended by Carol Weston, author of the Melanie Martin travel diary series: books about the destination ($10-$25), sketchbooks with colored pencils, small stuffed animals, just for the trip.
• Recommended by Carole Terwilliger Meyers, author of Miles of Smiles: 101 Great Car Games & Activities, a map of the world with pushpins to mark the places the child has visited ($20-$100), a beginner's origami booklet with paper ($5-$10).
• Recommended by Tony Wheeler, co-founder of Lonely Planet: a portable GPS ($250-$1,000), an Oregon Scientific clock (which runs either on batteries or electric power and includes clock, radio, and barometer, $10-$50).
• Recommended by David Lang, a flight attendant for Delta Airlines: scented room spray (Lang notes that nonsmoking hotel rooms in Europe may not be as smokefree as nonsmoking rooms in the United States), a white noise machine ($50-$100), a phone charger (universal models, $15), a magnum flashlight ($25).
• Recommended by Ziff of Travelocity: portable iPod docking and battery ($80), wireless mouse ($20-$150), ultra thin laptop ($500 to $2,500).
• Recommended by David Bromham, a guide in East Africa and India: a Polaroid instant camera, so that you can offer snapshots as a way to connect with locals ($35).
• Recommended by James Samans, author of Spontaneous Tourism: The Busy Person's Guide to Travel: a handheld water purifier ($130), Panasonic ultra-thin travel shaver ($59.99).
• Recommended by Carol Keskitalo, co-owner of Breakaway Adventures: an international cell phone ($169-$279 on www.cellularabroad.com, includes roaming), telescoping walking stick or trekking poles ($10-$150).
AP