Inexpensive travel gifts, also external battery charger in OZ?

A really useful and bound to be appreciated gift would be some euros! Yes, cash, to be used upon their arrival in their first European city for transportation from the airport. If London is their first stop, then pounds rather than euros. There ..... problem solved.

martianellen, for what kinds of devices do you think they need battery chargers?

I'm thinking if they are out and about sightseeing and their batteries go low- mostly iPhones.

Good idea Norma! Thank you!

I bought an Anker battery charger from Amazon. It worked very well on our trip to Europe in Sept.

You might try searching for "portable charger". I have a Jackery charger and it works great.

I'm thinking if they are out and about sightseeing and their batteries
go low- mostly iPhones.

If they are out and about, they probably don't want a plug-in USB charger. In that case, an external battery like the Anker one works. They are called portable chargers, but they are actually an external battery that you charge from any USB charger and then use to charge another device on the go.

Be aware that if any part of their trip to Europe is in the UK, not only is the currency different but so are the electric plug sockets. So you'd need to find a multi-country adapter.

Personally I'd love money - or maybe something like the Eyewitness guides, which tend to be quite expensive.

its a bit difficult to work out from your post if they live in Australia, or you and them? If the battery charger is for their phones they should only need plug adapters ( and take their chargers) either way euros would be good.
maybe you could think about using Viber ( or skype etc) with them when they are there, to keep in touch with them.

I am in Portland, Oregon- They are in Australia. I do not know their itinerary, or what they already have. They are going on a bus tour. I was thinking the portable batteries are a good option as they can charge them up at their hotels and then take them out and about with them when they go sight see.
I have since found out that Amazon Australia is only limited to Kindle & apps.

For external batteries for iPhones or similar devices, you might have a look at these......

http://www.jackery.com/products/

Here's the page you're looking for on Amazon......

https://www.amazon.com/Jackery/pages/6457718011

And here's their Australian website. You should be able to find dealers there.....

http://www.jackerypower.com.au/

This appears to be one of the authorized dealers in Australia.....

https://www.jbhifi.com.au/Search/results/?keywords=jackery

If you think your niece and nephew may not be able to recharge their phones for a day or two (out hiking or whatever), you could look at something like the Jackery Bar Premium with 6000 maH capacity ($15.99 US).

I assume they've already checked on what the costs will be for roaming in Europe, especially for data.

OP may get better suggestions by telling us whether the nephew and niece are seasoned travelers, or are first time travelers to Europe. Knowing what their travel interests are would also help.

You are right, they are somewhat seasoned travelers and taking a tour bus around Europe. I thought it would be a good idea since they might run out of juice while they are exploring.

Since they are in OZ and I am in Oregon I don't know them well, distance has made it hard. At any rate, I've gone ahead and bought the external chargers and they are on their way. Hopefully will get there in time. They may already have them (their Mom didn't say), but I thought it couldn't hurt to have another.

Thanks for all your input everyone!
Happy Holidays!

Hi Martin, I'm not a technical person but if they have an IPhone I don't think it matters where they are coming from so much as where they are going. You should be able to use any external charging device with an IPhone (maybe check the Apple store?).

They will need plug adapters for the countries they're visiting. These are on sale now -- https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/european-power-adapter.

I would wager US$20 that they had learned from their first few trips, and had their charging issues resolved :-)

That would be quite possible, but they are already bought and sent. I was trying to be thoughtful, you don't need to make me feel bad about it. Given the fact that I've never met them due to the distance and cost of traveling to OZ, I did the best I could.

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