Budding globetrotters won’t have to worry about leaving home without that all important travel essential this summer, thanks to a survey conducted by leading youth organisation Raleigh of 832 volunteers who have all taken part in adventurous expeditions around the world.
Top 5 travel gadgets
While bite-size technologies mean that modern creature comforts no longer need to be left at home, the trusty head torch came out as the clear winner of the most essential travel gadget – scooping 46.2 per cent of the votes in this multiple choice survey question. Keen to make expedition memories last forever, digital cameras were snapped-up by 23.3 per cent of the voters, with music-lovers picking the MP3 player in third place, with 22.9 per cent. Not so hot on its heels came the eco-friendly solar charger, capturing 4.3 per cent of the votes, while 2.4 per cent avoided getting lost with a GPS device.
Top 5 bits of travel kit
An oldie but a goodie, the multi-purpose Swiss army knife was the favoured bit of kit in this multiple choice survey question, gaining 28.7 per cent of the vote. Mums everywhere will be saying ‘I told you so,’ as wet-wipes came out in second place as a rucksack essential with 26.5 per cent of squeaky clean travellers. Bugs were kept at bay as mosquito spray came out in third place with 24.7 per cent of the vote, trusty rolls of sticky gaffer tape received 10.4 per cent, while the luxurious addition of a travel pillow came fifth with 4.9 per cent of the votes from sleepy survey respondents.
Top 5 music artists to travel with
While sitting around the campfire enjoying a singsong is an essential expedition experience, plugging in the MP3 player is a great way of getting ‘In the jungle, the mighty jungle…’ out of your head. In Raleigh’s new survey Jack Johnson was voted the most popular artist to travel with, scooping 6.4 per cent of the vote, followed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers with 4.3 per cent. Irish rock stars U2 entertained 4.2 per cent of travellers, followed by Coldplay who took 3.5 per cent of votes. The relaxing sounds of Bob Marley’s reggae came in fifth with 3 per cent of the vote in the open-ended survey question.
Top 5 books to travel with
Whiling away the hours with a good book on arduous journeys – and swapping well-thumbed paperbacks with fellow travellers – has long been a source of entertainment for globetrotters. Raleigh’s open-ended survey question results revealed the meaty Lord of The Rings trilogy took first place with 6.5 per cent of the votes, beating J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, which conjured up 5.9 per cent. Pointing out it is ‘66 books in one,’ 3.7 per cent of former Raleigh volunteers chose The Bible as the third most popular book to travel with, with witty writer Bill Bryson’s titles scooping 2.3 per cent. Paulo Coelho’s timeless tale, The Alchemist received 2.1 per cent of the votes, for fifth place.
Raleigh has been running expeditions to far flung destinations around the world since 1984, with more than 30,000 people from all walks of life and nationalities volunteering to take part in the charity’s worthwhile projects. Raleigh currently runs five- to ten-week expeditions to India, Malaysia, Costa Rica and Nicaragua departing throughout the year. So, whether you are aged 17 or 70, or are considering taking a gap year, a career break or retirement planning, get packing your head torch, Swiss army knife, Jack Johnson album and copy of Lord of the Rings and you will be in great company.
For more information contact Raleigh on 020 7183 1270