We have just booked our holiday for the end of the year – an epic 10 week trip round the world…with a 5yo. Luckily I have been fine-tuning my favourite / essential travel tools as I travel for work throughout the year as I think we may need them! So here are my top tips:
- Tripcase. Amazing, download the app and set it up then start forwarding all your itineraries or hotel bookings and they will be instantly updated in the app. Add into this live flight information (sometimes more accurate than the airport announcements) and its a life saver. It also saves you history if you need to reference it. You can add in hotels, restaurants, maps, weather and direct access to airline help desks.
- Creative accommodation solutions. Loveswaphome and Airbnb for fantastic options for accommodation. Forget the small impersonal hotel room and check out the range of people’s houses where you stay that come with kitchens, washing machines, free internet and sometimes pools and personal tour guides! If you are roaming in North America and prefer the outdoors, check out Outdoorsy which allows you to rent someones RV when it would otherwise be parked up in the driveway.
- Google Translate. Now supporting 27 languages, it can work from searches, voice and from image recognition – just point your phone at the sign.
- Cloud based backups. Always a good idea to scan and save really important documentation / emails to the cloud before you go so you can always access them from any computer. I tend to scan our passports and ID information. To be honest it is a good thing to have handy even when you are not away. Choose carefully where you store it and ensure it has a secure login.
- Battery Packs. Topping life’s essentials after wi-fi is power! Think about investing in a portable battery charger. You can keep it in your bag and if for some reason you can’t charge you have an additional round of power! Here are some shopping tips.
- Free calling on wi-fi. Think about using Skype, What’s App or Facetime to make your calls home. Before you go make sure you have set up all the contacts you will need. You can also use these to talk to each other.
- Password management. Lastpass for being able to log into all your accounts or applications with one login, a password management tool like Lastpass can make everything a little easier. It also allows you to provide access to a trusted friend without having to give them your username and password. I would recommend setting this up a few weeks before you plan to travel and getting used to it first!
