Traveling with electronics

We use our phone for everything and it is only normal we take it on our vacation. We also carry other electronics for convenience. Taking too many of these electronics can become a problem when not planned properly.

Think of the frustration when things go wrong. When you are out on the street the phone dies. This is exactly what happened to me in Mexico City, Mexico. I left for the day and have used my phone for photos, videos and gps with bad signal. My phone dies. That day I had left my portable charger in the hotel by mistake. I was so lost as if that I didn’t know what to do. I had to walk back to my hotel getting lost which took me two hours. I was exhausted.

When an electronic item is forgotten in vacation, it becomes a mission to get it and you are cutting into your vacation time. Not to mention that you have to pay tourist prices. That could have been avoided with planning.

With all the electronics we must remember chargers, cables and if you are traveling to a foreign country you also need an adapter that conforms to outlets from various countries. Most European countries other than England has the same circular socket.

If you are traveling with an iPhone the charger can be used world wide as it 110- 240 volts and you can plug it right on the wall provided the socket is the same.

The Apple Watch charger is the same that could be with the Apple adapter on to wall. Similar to android phones. Remember if you bought a generic USB adapter for the wall make sure the compatibility.

Air pods are charged with USB. The newer wall adapters come with USB ports. You shouldn’t have problems with that.

Portable power chargers is a must during traveling. All the electronics that you carry needs charging and what better way than to have this in your backpack. Phones are constantly looking for signal and the batteries run faster than when you are roaming at home.

A solar power charger is what I carry. This can be charged at home before you leave and you could use it with sun when you hiking in the wilderness. Like the Appalachian trail.

T-mobile as a carrier will make a lot of sense as the plan comes with unlimited data and Wi-Fi all over the world. Pretty impressive. Other carriers you have to pay extra to get the same. Couple of my trips to Peru I have used it and I never had problems. However the service with the local carrier may be a bit slower as T-Mobile would share their cell towers.

Alternative solution is that if you have an unlocked phone you could buy a sim from the country’s carrier for the duration of your trip. This has worked for me in South America and was pretty cheap. If you simply depend on Wi-Fi, that could be a big handicap as they limit time and you have to go through a sign up process that no one understands. Airports are the same for Wi-Fi.

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If you are into adventure a GoPro is ideal and again with the issues of charging. The batteries on GoPro does not long. Carry the charger and make sure you don’t miss the cables. Then it becomes a burden.

The other advantage to a GoPro is that if you hiking in the wilderness or a strenuous hike it is imperative that you watch where you are stepping and not on your phone. Have your GoPro attached to your body or backpack so you can concentrate on your path and enjoy the scenery.