Before you go out on your next fabulous vacation (or, let’s be honest, your “workcation”), you’ll want to make sure your tech is all charged up and ready to go. From having a phone case for your smartphone to downloading a map, here are our top 10 tips for making your tech vacation-ready.
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Bring a Light and Portable Laptop — You wouldn’t bring an entire desktop computer and monitor with you, especially when you’re trying to enjoy your vacation. The whole point of a laptop is to have a portable computer. Many of our laptops today, such as gaming laptops, can be quite heavy. If you have a lighter and more portable laptop, bring that one instead.
Or a Multitasking Tablet — Alternatively, if you have a tablet like an iPad, you can use it as a multitasking tablet. It’s easy to read and check emails on your tablet. Get an attachable keyboard for your tablet so that it’s easier for you to type and surf the web than it would be if you just had the tablet by itself. It’s a lightweight version of your laptop, especially if you don’t have an alternative traveling laptop.
Set Up Password Protection — Make sure your devices are all password protected before going on vacation. If you haven’t set up two-factor authentication or 2FA on private accounts such as your bank account, be sure to do that before you go on vacation. If your phone or laptop gets into the wrong hands, you’ll at least rest easy knowing that your devices have a pin or password only you know. 2FA offers an additional layer of protection for your accounts and devices.
Get Your Tech Physically Protected, Too — It’s not enough to make sure your devices are set up with passwords. You’ll want to make sure your devices are physically protected as well. That includes your devices like AirPods. Your AirPods case doubles as a charger, so make sure your AirPods case is protected with an AirPods case cover. You may be hesitant to apply screen protectors to your phone. They’re annoying to apply, and you always get those bubbles in weird spots. Use a sustainable liquid screen protector instead that is easy to apply.
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Book a Hotel with WiFi — If you plan on peeking at your email during your vacation, watching some videos to fall asleep and posting tons of selfies, you’re going to want a hotel with WiFi. Stay away from connecting to unsecured public WiFi networks like when you’re going about town or around the city during your vacation. Stick to more secure private WiFi networks.
Ask About International Data Roaming Plans — Getting ready to travel abroad? Make sure you ask your phone company about international data plans. You’ll pay a bit more upfront to save more money when you’re traveling. Calls, texts and anything else that takes up data can cost you hundreds of dollars for a week of travel abroad, especially if you’re travelling with the whole family, without an international data plan.
Plan Your Travel Itinerary — If you’re getting the travel bug and are excited to travel this summer, you’re not alone. A survey from the U.S. Travel Association shows that about one in six Americans is planning at least one summer trip. To better plan your trip, use a travel itinerary app. You’ll be more organized since you’ll know what time your flights are, what your hotel’s check-in and check-out times are and what you plan on doing each day you’re on vacation, all at your fingertips.
Download a Map — Even if you have WiFi or an international data plan, don’t count on always having internet access everywhere you go. Especially if you travel to a remote country where you don’t speak the language, you’ll want to make sure you have a map downloaded on your phone. That way, even if you get lost, you’ll be able to find your bearings without Google Maps guiding you the whole way.
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Speak the Local Language with Translation Apps — Take advantage of modern technology by speaking the local language without having to actually learn the language. Use translation apps to help you speak with locals. They can help you find your hotel if you’re lost or even make some fun local recommendations for places to eat.
Put AirTags on Your Luggage — There’s nothing worse than getting all excited about your trip, landing at your destination, waiting for your luggage at the airport and waiting, waiting and…still waiting. Lost luggage happens. Do yourself a favour and put AirTags on your luggage. If you have an iPhone, you can track any items with an AirTag on them like luggage, your electronics and so forth. That way, you’ll have more information to provide the airport with and you’ll be on your merry way to the rest of your vacation.