No summer travel would be complete without our favorite tech in tow.
As you pack for your upcoming summer escapade, you’ll want to bring along your favorite devices. There’s just no way you’re missing a chance to post the perfect #SummerFeels selfie, after all. You’ll want to keep all your summer moments fresh long after the sunny weather is gone, too.
What tech should you pack for your summer trip? How do you keep your smartphone from being rendered useless overseas? We’ll give you the answer to these and more right after the jump.
First Stop: Your Smartphone
You may be bringing a boatload of gadgets, but pay close attention to the most indispensable one in the bunch: your daily driver. Get your smartphone ready for some fun under the sun with these tips.
Bring along necessary accessories
Your phone will do a whole lot while you travel, so expect it to drain faster than normal. Have a lightweight power bank/battery pack around and your smartphone can accompany you throughout your road trip. Bring a universal plug adapter with you, too. Some countries won’t have compatible power outlets so you might not be able to readily charge your mobile device at your destination.
Get ready for international travel
The easiest way to keep your phone number connected overseas is to pay for your carrier’s international roaming package. It may be expensive for some networks, but it saves you from the hassle of installing a foreign SIM card. Getting a foreign SIM is the cheaper way to go, though. Keep in mind that you’ll have to unlock your phone to make it work with foreign SIM cards, which can be a hassle for non-techies. For more ideas on using your phone overseas, check out a previous post.
Download useful apps before the trip
Because you never know whether the foreign country’s cellular service will be spotty or sluggish, download important mobile apps before takeoff. You can conserve data consumption and get around the locale much easier when you already have apps like Google Maps downloaded. You may try ridesharing apps that may be legal or available in your chosen destination, too. It’ll be a great way to make friends and do sightseeing overseas.
Tech Must-Haves for Summer 2018
As you get your dose of vitamin sea, double the fun with a few techie essentials. Here are some helpful devices you shouldn’t go without.
Multi-Port Charger
Packing multiple power adapters to charge your devices isn’t exactly traveling light by any means. Save up on space by bringing a multi-port wall charger like Anker PowerPort 4 to power up all your gadgets simultaneously.
Waterproof Speaker
A sunny day out on the beach won’t seem right without some epic summer anthems playing in the background. Look cool playing all those summery tunes with portable speakers, one that’s ideally waterproof. It’d be best to bring one that has enough juice to last you hours—enough to get your beach party going until sundown.
Snapchat Spectacles
You don’t need to hold your smartphone on one hand and play beach volleyball with the other. No need to take your eyes off the pavement during your early morning jog just to capture the epic local scenery on a GoPro either. How? Go hands-free with Snapchat’s coolest, new gadget: Spectacles.
Simply press the button to record and save the content on your handheld device for easy access later.
Headphones
Want some peace and quiet during long flights or cross-country rides? In that case, a solid pair of headphones may be a worthwhile investment. For serious audiophiles, a dependable pair is a top travel must-have regardless of the season.
Action Camera
Whether you’re trekking or diving this summer, you’d miss great moments without a rugged camera on hand. That’s probably why GoPros have come into prominence the last couple of years. They’re waterproof and are, clearly, built for the great outdoors. No need to worry if you toss your GoPro HERO6 into the water by “accident”.
e-Reader
Summer breaks are a great time to catch up on your lengthy book reading list. So while you’re getting a tan by the poolside, grab an Amazon Kindle Oasis and start poring through its digital pages. What people like about this Kindle is that it has a fantastic 300ppi display, Bluetooth audio integration, and, best of all, waterproof.
Streaming Device
Not everything shown on your hotel room’s TV will be worth watching, especially when they only air foreign free-to-air channels. Make your downtimes more interesting by bringing along a media streaming device (e.g. a Roku Streaming Stick+). Most of the popular streaming sticks can be tucked in a pocket so you won’t miss your favorite TV shows back home wherever you are staying. You’ll need a stable Internet connection to enjoy watching content without constant buffering, though.
Summer is about adventures and, for most of us, no adventure may be complete without our trusty gadgets. Just don’t let a short battery life or hardware problems dampen your day out on a picturesque beach.
