Comments on: The Christmas Unlist: 10 Travel Gifts to Avoid

By: travel gifts

travel gifts — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:03:52 +0000

that’s a great list and useful alternatives!traveling to Europe is an amazing experience!love this post!

By: Ronda

Ronda — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:35:42 +0000

LOL, you’re so right, even here in the backcountry of Andalusia we have all the conveniences of 21st century living, yet we still see Americans lugging around several of the things you talk about, especially the huge blankets/sleeping bags.

Those of us who live here permanently get a chuckle out of tourists who arrive thinking Europe is like a third world country, heck our shops even accept credit cards…

By: malia

malia — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:53:49 +0000

love it! i wish that someone had an “unlist” for things not to get (and your helpful alternatives) before my RTW. i really did get one of those water purifiers, a multi-tool, and a travel pillow that had an ipod hookup. hehe.

although i must disagree with you about brookstone, but only because i happen to be managing a brookstone seasonal store this year. =) we close down in a couple of days though, at which point, i’ll be ready for another vacation!

happy holidays! =)

By: Soultravelers3

Soultravelers3 — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:23:27 +0000

Funny! Well, much depends on how long you will be traveling in Europe. If you are just going for a week or two it is a very different experience than extended travel and deep immersion.

We are into our 3rd year of an open ended world tour, been to 29 countries , 69,000 miles & so far have been mostly immersing deeply in Europe…so our needs are a little different than your average traveler.

We love our binoculars, sleeping bag, swiss army knife & blow up neck pillows and have used them all a ton.

Thanks for the chuckle! Happy Holidays!

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 09:42:38 +0000

Great list. I do carry a pocketknife for picnics and bottle-opening and a multi-country power adapter. But I am visiting multiple countries without a home “base” to store things and swap them out.

By: Alisha

Alisha — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 18:38:33 +0000

Ha, aw I actually just bought a gift for my Dad from Brookstone! Uh oh…

By: Mary Jo

Mary Jo — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:33:41 +0000

I love this list, and pretty much agree.

I do have binoculars, though, and recommend them for certain situations. They came in very handy when I was hiking in the rain forest in Costa Rica, and helped me to see flora and fauna that I might otherwise have missed.

By: Jackie Dishner

Jackie Dishner — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:23:34 +0000

Great list, Christine. Funny, too. But I’m not in Europe; I’m in Arizona, USA, and I’d really like a pair of binoculars. We have some great bird-watching locales where I live, Cochise County for instance, the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area to be more specific.

I know Europeans love this, so if you want to see what a saguaro cactus looks like all lit up, come and visit me at my b5media site:

http://www.thephoenixtraveler.com

But just look, don’t touch. Otherwise, you might need those bandaids you suggest someone buy for you to carry when traveling.

Happy Holidays!
Jackie

By: Vivian Deliz

Vivian Deliz — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:23:49 +0000

You have the one that bugs me the most on your list, the horseshoe pillow… It is so useless and so many people carry them…

By: Travel for the Over 30s

Travel for the Over 30s — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 02:41:58 +0000

That’s a good list and even better alternatives. I find that even if my cell phone doesnt work on the local network the phone book/calculator and alarm functions still work – but personally I’d rather leave the phone behind and just take a tiny alarm! But you are right almost everything has this function these days!