No matter what your idea of a perfect vacation is, you’ll likely want it filled with sunlight and warmth. This could mean lounging at the beach, wandering around sunshine-filled gardens, and even spending a day or two riding through the dunes of a golden desert. To prepare for these adventures, savvy travelers know not to forget sun protection. For this purpose, after sunscreen, their best companion is a trusty pair of sunglasses that can block UV radiation.

What some don’t know, however, is that their shades can go a step further than that. You can level them up by getting polarized lenses, which serve you not only by protecting your eyes from the sun but also by enhancing your overall visual experience—which is essential for soaking up your travels. Here’s an overview of just how these sunnies can enhance your trips.

They protect your eyes from glare

Have you ever noticed that your eyes can still sting or squint from brightness even when wearing sunglasses? That’s because UV rays aren’t the only things your eyes need safeguarding from. You’re also in danger of glare—the light that bounces off reflective objects, like waves or snow, and hurts your eyes. Regular sunnies don’t shield you from them. Polarized sunglasses, however, do. This is because they have a chemical filter that absorbs and nullifies the glare. With these shades, you can go snowboarding in the mountains without worrying about stray beams of light bouncing off the sleet or have fun motorcrossing with your friends while paying no mind to the shine of your sleek vehicles. You can immerse yourself in your activities, knowing that you’re safe.

They have specialized colors

Polarized sunglasses can come in different tints. While this doesn’t affect your sunniest ability to block glare or UV rays, lens color and the performance technology behind polarized lenses are designed to tackle specific tasks and light conditions. This means you can pick the tint that best suits your vacation to get the most out of your lenses. For instance, tints with gray bases are often best for everyday use, like wandering around a historical location, while those with copper bases are excellent when the sky’s overcast and you’re taking a trek outside. You can even choose lenses with color combinations—a blue mirror lens with a gray base, for example, provides excellent contrast on open water and offshore if you plan on sail boating.

They boost visual acuity

Perhaps you’ve experienced this frustrating hiking situation: you’ve managed to scale to the mountain’s peak, triumphant and excited to gaze upon a beautiful view, only to be disappointed with how the intense light seems to overpowering your surroundings. This is due to the light waves bouncing around and hazing your vision. The polarized filters on your lenses can cut through all of that and allow you to see clearly. This even works with smartphone images—one study showed that a modified phone with an inexpensive polarization foil could optimize for high-resolution textures. With your polarized sunnies, you can look at your resplendent vacation surroundings with sharp visual acuity.

They come with various lens coatings

You need to be versatile when you’re traveling, and so do your shades. Polarized sunglasses can offer that flexibility—not only through their abilities mentioned above but also because those capabilities can be boosted via extra lens coatings. With an anti-reflective coating, you can reduce reflections from headlights when you’re driving in cloudy or low-light conditions. With a scratch-resistant coating, you can keep your lenses pristine when going through thorny foliage while hiking. These coatings can cost extra, but the upgrades they offer for your polarized shades are investments that will help your pair adapt to whatever will be most helpful to you in your travels.

Polarized sunglasses can upgrade the visual experience of your travels. You’ll be able to see the wonders of the world with sharpness and clarity, basking in the sunlight with no fear.