Travel is a time to destress, step away from your daily worries, and (re)discover a side of yourself not restrained by convention. Even so, letting your guard down completely could turn your travels into the sort of life-changing experience you’d rather avoid.
Luckily, technology comes to the rescue through diverse digital tools that will make your trip safer and more enjoyable. We’ve arranged them into general categories to give you a broad overview and help make your preparations more comprehensive.
Quick Links
An Itinerary Planner
Planning a trip around well-known activities other travelers endorse can help lower the risk factor. The ideal itinerary planning tool combines great recommendations, curated user reviews, and the ability to create an itinerary complete with rough timetables and bookings.
Most importantly, you should be able to export and send your itinerary to loved ones, so they always have a general idea of your whereabouts.
eSIM Services
Having dependable mobile network access and strong signal strength wherever you are is paramount to feeling secure and being able to reach out for help. eSIM services unlock the power of your phone’s eSIM chip, allowing you to seamlessly switch between networks without needing to swap out your physical SIM card.
An eSIM lets you keep your original number while enjoying the best possible signal strength and going rates for data or calls. Most importantly, you’re not limited by geographical location and can switch to another country’s providers as soon as you enter it. eSIMs are indispensable whether you’re touring multiple countries or planning on finding yourself in an area with sparse coverage.
Travel Safety Apps
The world is known to change on a whim, and safe destinations can become hotbeds of instability overnight. Travel safety apps are indispensable for helping you choose a suitable destination and keep abreast of local events once you’re there.
Some inform you of unrest or disease outbreaks and provide emergency service information. Others focus on advice for women and solo travelers regarding unsafe neighborhoods, sketchy places, and activities to avoid.
Digital Document Storage
Not having all your papers in order can cause undue stress and even land you in trouble with the authorities. You’ll want to create digital copies of crucial documents like your passport, visa, hotel reservations, medical information, etc., and store them digitally.
Choosing cloud storage lets you access your documents from any device with the proper credentials. Even so, keeping backups on your phone is better for situations where you might not have internet access. Either way, make sure that your service of choice uses strong encryption and doesn’t have a history of data breaches.
Digital Maps
The right apps can turn your phone into the world’s most comprehensive mapping tools. Which ones you need depends on your travel plans. General-purpose maps with local attractions are always popular, as are ones that display train and bus routes in countries with developed public transport systems.
More adventurous travelers will find trail maps indispensable. They’re a godsend for planning camping trips or hikes since they offer detailed directions for established trails with difficulty indicators. These are instrumental in helping you assess whether you’re fit and experienced enough for a route and take on only adequate ones.
A VPN
Wi-Fi is ubiquitous in popular travel destinations, whether in your hotel, a café, or a coworking space. While using an eSIM to connect over a local mobile network is more secure, Wi-Fi can still be helpful when dealing with large amounts of data like video streams.
A VPN encrypts your connection, ensuring no one can spy on or steal your data. Better yet, you can use a VPN and an eSIM together. The eSIM provides the best coverage and data plans, while the VPN can bypass geo-restrictions, allowing you to access services from home that you couldn’t otherwise. For travelers seeking fast and secure access to global content while ensuring personal data protection on public Wi-Fi networks, a high-quality VPN service like https://vpn.pro/ can be invaluable. It enables unrestricted browsing and streaming, shields private information from potential cyber threats, and helps bypass regional censorship or geo-blocking, making it a top choice for both security-conscious digital nomads and occasional vacationers.
However, make sure to choose the best alternatives for both VPNs and eSIMs. Do your research well to find a provider—read VPN reviews and look at eSIM comparison tables to find the best option for yourself.
Money Management Apps
Sticking to a budget can be tricky, especially if you’re going to several countries with different currencies and exchange rates. Money management apps save the day by offering real-time exchange rate data or facilitating digital payments. Some also focus on helping you tip appropriately or share expenses with your traveling companions.
Translation and Language Learning Apps
Unless you’re in an urban center or interact with a younger crowd, chances are the locals won’t understand you, even in countries where English comprehension is high. You’ll want to at least pick some basic phrases up before arriving so you can get directions and help, even if you don’t have phone access for some reason.
That being said, AI has helped translation apps grow by leaps and bounds. Not only are they more accurate, but their text-to-speech function sounds more natural as well. Communicating with almost anyone on the globe has never been this accessible.
Interesting Reads:
The Benefits of Data Warehouse Solutions for Smarter Business Operations
Are You Tracking the Right SEO KPIs? Here’s How to Know
How Localization SEO Helps You Reach the Right Audience in the Right Place
