We’ve come a long way since the days of Traveler’s Cheques, phone cards, and internet cafes. Now we all have computers in our pockets with apps available for navigating or buying just about anything. Obviously travel is much more convenient when we have all this tech power at our fingertips. On the other hand, now we’ve got new worries: device syncing, power cords, pickpockets, roaming charges. It almost makes me nostalgic for old school paper maps.
Ok, not really. I’m all in on the travel tech. But it does introduce a whole ‘nother layer of logistics planning, and it pays to get your tech situated ahead of time. Here’s my tech game plan, some of which is driven by our trip coordinators (their first instruction: If you don’t have one already, get a smart phone).
Transit Apps – This is a biggie. If you’re taking a train or a bus or a ferry, the service most likely has an app, and life will be easier if you use it to buy your tickets. I’ve downloaded the apps for at-bus, Trenitalia, Flix, and a Florence local taxi service. I’ve already created accounts, so I don’t have to stand on a curbside under duress having to fiddle with my phone when the bus is ready to pull away.
eSim – In the past, I’ve paid our home cell service provider to provide international roaming / data, which has worked out fine. But this time, our trip coordinators recommend using an eSim, and the company has a contract with an eSim provider. The cost is about the same but is more flexible date-wise, so I’ll do that this time around.
VPN – I’m bringing my laptop, of course, mainly so I can continue these scintillating blog posts. Having a VPN function allows you to route your internet connection through a server in a specific geographic location. This is handy when it comes to Netflix and other streaming services which usually block you if you try to log in from a foreign country.
What? you ask, you’re going to watch American TV when you’re in Italy? Well, yeah; after all, I’m going to be there over a month. There will be some downtime. Plus, if I rely on my Italian skills to know what’s happening in the world, I’ll be sadly uninformed. I tried out the VPN thing on a trip to Spain earlier this year and it was about 80% successful as far as streaming goes (one service blocks connections even via VPN). 80% is Good enough.
Here’s something funny: The other day, I used the VPN from here to connect to the web via an Italian server. I must have updated various American podcasts when I was still routed through Italy. Later, when listening to the podcasts, I discovered the ads were all in Italian. I guess they drop in different ads depending on where you’re downloading from. Who knew?
HDMI cable – I’ve discovered it’s handy to have. You can plug your laptop into the hotel/apartment TV and have everything run through the bigger screen. However, I’ve been foiled in a few hotels when they bolt their TV to the wall making the HDMI port inaccessible. Also, it’s good to bring a long cable since there never seems to be a bureau or desk right near the TV.
WhatsApp – A messaging app that just about everyone in Europe uses. I’ve used it before, but it lies dormant on my phone when I’m in the States. Our trip coordinators require us to have the app on our cell phones and have already created various chat groups for our cohort. It’s easy to use and allows internet-based phone calls as well.Other – Fitness watches, power banks, Kindles, and Ipads are all standard tech-fare these days. I plan to bring my Wahoo bike/mapping computer loaded with a few Florence area bike routes in case I’m able to work out some cycling. In my regular life, unfortunately, I operate using a different device for everything so the challenge for me is to consolidate and resist taking them all. Oh, and to make sure I have all the right charging cords.
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