Round-to-it Recommends - Vacation Items

Here are some of the things we have found to be really useful when we travel. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments!

1) Phil & Ted's Traveler portable crib
We have the older (slightly heavier) version of this crib and it has been fantastic. I much prefer having my own crib for my little one, so we don't have to keep our fingers crossed that the ones where we stay are safe/clean/comfortable. This one is small and light enough to pack in our daughter's duffle bag and still have room for her clothes and toys. It is also great for a little one at the beach to keep her out of the sand and give her a place to sleep at nap time. Well worth the cost!

2) Waterproof camera housing
We have a Panasonic Lumix digital camera right now, but many of the higher end digitals have a housing available. We keep our camera in this most of the time and are able to take pictures while snorkeling, in the pool, and anywhere else without having to worry about it getting ruined. Some of our favorite vacation photos have been captured because we were able to take our camera in places that would otherwise have destroyed it.

3) Inflatable booster seat
We have gotten tons of use out of our seat. It has lasted through 2 kids and would definitely last through more. This one collapses down fairly flat, so it is easy to pack (in the same bag with the crib) and weighs almost nothing. It's also good to have at home when friends come over with their kids. Definitely beats using the phone book!

4) UV protective rash guards
If you look back at our vacation photos, you can see that we all wear rash guards any time we are out in the water. We learned long ago that getting burned is just miserable and this is the best and easiest way to keep that from happening. the kids are currently wearing the ones from Lands' End and I really like the the quality of the fabric. My favorite ones for me are from the Pacific Whale Foundation store, but those are harder to come by. Wearing these also means it takes about half the time to sunscreen everyone.

5) A really good guidebook
Since we mostly travel to Hawaii, I can recomend one series of books. Maui Revealed (and the books for the other islands, as well) is the absolute best guidebook for travel to Maui. We're not completely fond of their food recommendations, but aside from that, it is spot on for things to do and safety considerations. Even though we have been to Maui many times, we still take the most recent version of the book along with us for reference.

6) Headphones
This may seem silly, but they make all the difference for when your kids want to play video games or watch the movie or beg you to do something on your computer to kill time. We have simple over-the-head ones for our kids, but there are lots of options.

7) Handheld video games
We're not big on letting our kids plug in and tune out, but for travelling, we do what we must to pass the time. Our kids have the Leapster (for the younger two) and the Didj (for our oldest). The games are educational and for the Didj, we can set the learning level for the games by hooking it up to the computer. It keeps him challenged and he is working on math skills he hasn't gotten in school yet.