Holiday travel is coming up faster than you think. That means planning, packing, and running through busy airports. When you’re traveling overseas, there are so many things to think about while you’re preparing for your tip. Packing the right clothes, bringing the right shoes, and remembering your passport (and Kevin, if you’re a member of the McCallister family) can consume your thoughts. There are, however, a few essentials you shouldn’t leave home without. Below are five tech essentials that will make your overseas travel as smooth as possible so you can focus on celebrating and enjoying the holidays without worry.
Cloud Storage
In today’s day and age, most of us take all of our photos on our phones, leaving our cameras at home. Pictures have begun to take the place of souvenirs and allow us to look back on our amazing trips later on. However, our phones have limited storage and running out of space can put a damper on an otherwise amazing time.
We’ve all seen the “storage is full” message that pops up at the worst possible time. In order to avoid that frustration, you can invest in cloud storage before heading out on your vacation. Storage sites, like Google Drive, iCloud for iPhone users, and Dropbox, provide cloud platforms that allow you to take hundreds of photos and never worry about running out of space.
Portable Charger
Taking all of those photos, mapping your route using GPS, or using a transportation tracking app to figure out the fastest way to get from one place to another can quickly drain your phone battery. As we depend on our phones more and more, the thought of running out of battery in a foreign country, especially one with a language barrier, can be a scary one.
Carrying a charger is always helpful, but, more often than not, places that allow you to charge your phone are likely already full of tourists. When you’re traveling, pack a portable charger or two. That way, you can always be sure your phone and any other electronics stay charged, and you can wander around a new city without a care in the world (except maybe what’s for lunch).
Moveable WiFi
Not having WiFi didn’t use to be a big deal, but nowadays, it’s almost like walking around without shoes. Many of us are connected on social media and want to be able to access our networks from anywhere. At the same time, overseas phone plans can be expensive, and many of us opt for the cheapest option.
Bringing along a portable WiFi device can easily solve both problems for you. goTenna Mesh provides a traveling WiFi signal so you can stay up to date on everything happening at home, connect with the people you’re traveling with, and upload all of those amazing photos you’ve been taking.
RFID-Blocking Products
One of the first things people say when they hear you’re traveling overseas is to make sure your money and credit card information are kept safe at all times. We’ve all heard the cautionary tales about pickpockets and scammers. And now our credit cards have chips that store all of our information, which can easily be stolen by someone who has an RFID (radio-frequency identification) scanning device.
Bringing along RFID-blocking products can help make sure that doesn’t happen, even if someone gets close enough to scan your card. There are many RFID-blocking wallets, bags, and card holders to keep that from happening and allow you to wander freely without worrying about anyone stealing your money.
Personal Alarm
It can be a bit dangerous, especially for women, if you are traveling alone without a personal safety device. Worrying about your personal safety can take up a lot of your headspace and keep you from enjoying your vacation. Nobody wants to worry about something bad happening to them while they’re on vacation, let alone thousands of miles from home.
Packing a personal alarm is a great way to ease your mind and help you to enjoy your time exploring a foreign country. The BASU Personal Alarm is small and can easily fit in a purse, on a keychain, or in your pocket. Pull the pin to sound the siren if you’re ever in trouble and it will play for 30 minutes (or until you replace the pin).
When it comes to holiday travel plans, our schedules and minds can get a little hectic. When you add the element of traveling overseas, things can get even more chaotic. Although bringing the right clothes, shoes, and travel paperwork should be your top priority, packing the right tech can go a long way in making your trip the most seamless yet.