During our family gap year, one of the things that we found tricky was finding decent entertainment in some of our cheaper accommodation. We were backpacking and regularly stayed in homestays or basic hotel rooms, and most of the time these didn’t have a TV.

We were so busy taking in the sights of the beautiful countries we visited that often we forgot that we didn’t have movies to watch, but after a few weeks we missed our family movie nights and being able to just chill out and watch a good film together.
We recently had the opportunity to review an amazing little gadget that would have been incredible to travel with- had it been released before our family gap year! We’ve made the most of it since we got it and are particularly excited to take it on our next adventures.


Battery life is two and a half hours – ideal to watch two episodes of your favourite series back to back – and using a HDMI cable it simply plugs straight into DVD or Blu-Ray players, Xboxes and the like so you can stream straight from your device to the projector. The JBL speakers inside are incredible for how tiny this little gadget is.
The M1 mini is literally pocket sized, 11 x 11 x 2.7cm and just 300g) so it will be coming with us on caravan trips, holidays abroad and everything in between. We might even try it against canvas on our upcoming teepee break!

I would recommend the M1 mini for any family who travels often (especially budget or backpacking travel as budget accommodation often lack in entertainment facilities), or those who have teenagers who might want to spend more time in hotel rooms than hanging with family (it’s their holiday too, right?)
The ViewSonic M1 mini is also great for families who want to upgrade their movie nights without splashing out on an expensive new television- setting up the projector adds a new element of fun and excitement to the whole experience!
The ViewSonic M1 mini is priced at just under £150 which I think is excellent for something that could really help during those ‘make or break’ travel moments- sometimes kids just need to snuggle up and enjoy a film no matter where they are in the world!


The girls have particularly been enjoying movie nights since we got the ViewSonic M1 mini projector- we grab a load of blankets and pillows, make a whole load of popcorn and put on a movie that fills our living room wall!
If you’re thinking of travelling long term with children, or you have an upcoming trip or birthday gift to think of, I would highly recommend grabbing yourself a ViewSonic M1 mini and enjoy your favourite movies in larger-than-life size!
The ViewSonic M1 Mini is available exclusively on Amazon here.
Leave a Reply