Travelling can be a whole lot of fun – but it can even be a bit stressful, too. Thankfully, in this day and age, we’ve got a lot of options to make our journeys – and even our destinations – smoother and more fun. And the best part? Most of these options are right at our fingertips! If you’ve got a trip coming up, or you’re a seasoned traveller, here are a few tech tips that MissMalini and the team use on a regular basis to make our lives a lot easier. We hope you find them worth your while, too!
Download apps to make your journey easier
There are quite a few apps out there that make travelling easier, so do a little poking around to figure out which ones work best for you. TripIt is a good option to organise all your travel plans (you can even sync them withy our calendar). Apps like FlightTrack and FlightStats can give you real-time updates on delays, gate changes, cancellations and more, so you can have all the information you need on your journey. GateGuru is another great app that can give you a full list of the amenities in over 200 airports worldwide, so if you’ve got a long layover or are stuck at the airport, you can explore the airport.
Scan your travel documents
You never know what can happen, so make sure to scan important travel documents – like your passport, other ID, visas, etc – with apps like CamScanner. You can keep the digital copy on your HTC smartphone (and on a cloud drive), so just in case you lose an important document, you’ll have it on hand. You can also then just leave all your travel documents in your hotel room once you’ve arrived, knowing that you’ll still have access to everything. The best part is you don’t even have to repeat this process the next time you travel.
Make sure you’re fully charged
Leave your house with all your devices fully charged – smartphone, tablet, smartwatch, whatever – because you never know what can happen. Your flight may get delayed, you may not be able to find a free plug point at the airport… whatever it is, you’ll have a lot more peace of mind knowing that you’re still connected. And if you’re still worried about your batteries lasting you throughout your trip, consider investing in backup options like phone cases that charge your smartphone, or external power banks that you can just hook your device up to.
Pack your chargers and adapters!
I’ve lost count of the number of times people tell me horror stories of getting on a plane and then realising that they left chargers at home. Make it a point to pack these (put them on your to-do lists, set reminders on your phone, or whatever). If you feel like you’re going to forget it still connected to your wall outlet, then consider buying an extra set – something that you pack way in advance, so you don’t need to remember to throw it in last minute. Also, if you’re travelling internationally, don’t forget to do a little research into what kind of adapter you’ll need, and try to get it in advance (or at least pick it up at the airport gift store so you don’t need to go running around later). You may even want to buy an all-in-one adapter that can work for multiple trips.
Download apps to make your trip better
Once you’re at your destination, you’ll need even more apps to work for you. You probably already have Google Maps pre-installed, which will help you get around your new destination. If you’re travelling internationally, you may want to look at downloading a translator app. The combination of Swarm/Foursquare can let you check-in to new locations and get recommendations of things to do nearby. Remember to also add a world clock/weather widget for your destination.
Load up on entertainment
Again, you don’t know what can happen – delays, cancellations etc are all part of the game. So take some time out to load your devices with movies, TV shows, books, music – anything that can keep you company on the flight and even off it, if it comes to that. If you’ve got an HTC smartphone, give the Mix-Radio a whirl: you can stream editorial mixes or sync your own mixes for offline playback.
Disable mobile data before getting on an international flight
If you’ve got an option to uncheck data roaming, then you’re going to want to do that before you get on your flight. Or just disable data entirely. There’s nothing like switching your phone on after a long, international flight, and realising that your phone has connected to a network and downloaded all your e-mails, messages, social media notifications etc – those roaming data costs can go HIGH!
Research your connectivity options
If you’re travelling within the country and need Internet access, consider looking into a dongle with plans that work for you. If you’re travelling internationally, do a quick search into where you can pick up SIM cards and what kind of plans would work best for you.
Do you have any travel tech tips to share?