Whenever you travel, you may be excited to get away from the normal hustle and bustle at home. You can turn off the work cellphone, stop checking emails, get away from your neighbor’s annoying dogs and find some time to relax by yourself or with your family.
You don’t want to forget home completely however and you may want to finally finish that book that’s been on your nightstand for weeks or maybe you don’t want to stop binging your favorite TV series.
You surely won’t be leaving your cell phone behind either and will probably be using it throughout your travels. Below are some tech tips to consider before you embark on your next big adventure.
Download Maps
When you’re out and about in a new city, you may not be able to charge your phone as often as you would like. We use our phones from everything throughout the day and it can be hard to make it from sunup to sundown on just one charge.
That’s why it’s a good idea to download offline maps of your next destination. Whatever navigation app you have, it will help to have them preloaded on your phone. That way, you can turn your phone into airplane mode to save battery and turn the location on.
When you’re finished, you can simply turn location off again and make sure you have a full charge throughout the day.
Keep it Loaded
Speaking of holding a full phone charge, it might be time to invest in a mobile phone charger. Many mobile phone chargers are quite small and fit into your pocket quite easily.
In case you can’t find an outlet or didn’t bring the right plug, all you need is a USB cord to charge your phone on the go. It’s simple and can save you a massive headache as well.
Bring Your Entertainment With You
Chances are, you’re in the middle of a series you are binging or a TV show that you can’t go without missing. Everyone has that one guilty pleasure as well.
Even though you’re less likely to be spending time in front of the TV while you’re on the road, it is always nice to come back home after a long day touring and sit on the couch for movie night. If you’re going international on your trip, you may not even be able to find a program with a language you understand.
The good news is you can bring home entertainment with you. Troypoint provides excellent guides on how to install Live Net TV on your Firestick or Android TV box. You won’t miss anything with your handy dandy device on the go.
Look at Your Phone Plan
If you’re traveling domestically, chances are you won’t have to worry about this. If you’re going international, this will definitely be something you’ll want to consider.
Check with your phone provider to see what kind of prices they offer and if it will be worth it. If it’s going to be too expensive, maybe just consider relying on messaging apps or Skype to keep you in contact. Just about every place has their own WiFi set up and you will be able to contact people or places easily.
If you’re, say, going on a European backpacking adventure, you should look into getting a SIM card there. There is no extra charge for roaming while within the European Union, meaning a SIM card you buy in Portugal will give you the same phone access in the UK.
Backup Your Photos
No matter who you are or where you’re going, you’re going to be taking pictures of your vacation. Those could be simple selfies or just pictures of all the monuments.
You won’t want to lose any of those precious photos. Losing your phone is already a big enough pain, but also losing your precious photos is just something you can’t replace. Look into a service that will properly backup all your photos. Many phones come with a service that will link your phone’s photo gallery to a tablet or computer. In case your phone ends up being lost, damaged or stolen at least you know that