The binoculars for sure, but how about something like an 80 mm / 90 mm short-tube refractor, or a 90 mm / 127 mm Mak? Either of these is compact enough, light enough and robust enough to pack easily into a suitcase or back-pack.
I recently bought a TwinStar-branded 90 mm Mak on eBay for US$149.99 (plus US$80.58 USPS priority international shipping to Australia - it was delivered to Brisbane less than 2 weeks after I purchased it). That price includes two eyepieces, a basic Alt-Az tripod, and a 45-degree "erect image" prism, which makes it a good terrestrial scope as well as a travel scope for star-gazing. (At 1,200 mm focal length, it's not exactly a "wide field" telescope, but I get 1.3 degree FoV @ 30x magnification with a 40 mm Plossl eyepiece.)
The OTA uses a standard camera mount, so you only need to pack one tripod for both telescope and camera / binocular use. I kept the Styrofoam box that the OTA came in, which is good for packing it into my luggage. It really is an excellent travel scope - and the optics are actually very good (exceptional for a budget telescope), particularly when using Plossl eyepieces that I already owned. (The supplied Kellner eyepieces are OK, but my Plossls are better.)
For convenience, it teams really well with a 7.5 mm - 22.5 mm zoom lens - all you need to pack is 1 x OTA, 1 x collapsible tripod / Alt-Az mount, and 1 x zoom eyepiece. Add a screw-on T-mount tele-adapter , and you've also got a 1,200 mm lens for your DSLR camera, which makes a wonderful wild-life lens.
And all of that kit (including my camera) easily fits into a small suitcase, with room for a change of clothes and a bottle of rum (for those cold evenings under the stars).
Read my review here:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=122827