It's that time of year where lots of us are looking forward to our summer holidays - and at the same time doing everything possible to make the travel part as easy and affordable as possible.
Aside from finding the best luggage deals, there are lots of ways to ensure keeping travel costs down. But one of the best essentials we've found for saving hundreds, is this £9 digital luggage weighing scale at Amazon. The nifty little device takes up little space, and makes it super easy to check your lugagge weight before arriving at the check-in desk (to lots of extra baggage charges).
Hook and lift your luggage to get instant weight with this handly little gadget. At less than £9, this affordable investment could save you hundreds on your travelling costs. "It is small, neat and light so handy to take away on holiday to weigh luggage for the return journey," said one reviewer.
For woman&home's ecommerce content director Lindsey Davis it's an essential item. "Overpacking paranoia hits me before both out and inbound flights, so I picked the PJP Digital Luggage Scale up before my trip to Lake Garda last year and have taken it on every trip since. It takes up just a few inches of hand luggage space and makes sure I don't overstuff my case with souvenirs (read: wine).
"It is really easy to use – one button to switch on/off and change units of weight – and you simply loop it round your bag and lift to weigh."
Something else to help avoid any extra charges is knowing the size of the baggage the airline you're flying with allows. Easyjet cabin bag sizes and most other low-cost airlines have strict limits, which will be checked before boarding, so it's definitely worth ensuring your bags adhere to the guidelines to avoid any surprises at the airport. I found two brilliant easyjet and Ryan cabin bags, both tried and tested, for under £25.
For more savings, these are the (under £40) travel essentials I never go on holiday without, and some more picks below to make life that little easier (and cheaper).
More travel essentials
A couple of the woman&home team now own this Lossga travel backpack, myself included, and it's been one of my best buys this year. It sails through check-in with easyJet and Ryanair, and is deceptive in just how much you can fit in there. It has multiple pockets and compartments, including a specific section to keep shoes separated from clothes. Lossga does it in two sizes - one that suits easyJet and another for Ryanair (which is slightly smaller) - so be sure to check you have the right one selected before buying.
This travel pillow might look a little odd, but it's unique shape that has helped it secure the top spot in our round up of the best travel pillows. The J-Pillow supports your head at almost every angle (opposed to just the back and side like a traditional U-shaped one). It's not the smallest though, so maybe best suited to long-haul flights. Our tester said: "Even the most sensitive sleeper will get a couple of hours of shut-eye with this pillow."
I bought one of these recently, not just for holiday. In the throws of permimenopause, I'm finding my body temperature switches between roasting or freezing a lot, and so I got a portable fan for times when I'm experiencing the former, as wel as for keeping me cool while away. I've tested three of most highly rated hand held fans on Amazon now, and this one is the best. It's slightly more bulky than I would like, but it has five different power settings, a stand so you can use it hands-free and folds down to make it more portable. For under £10, it's an essential summer buy.
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