The Tech Geek’s Travel Guide

By Evan Kline | Posted on February 4, 2010 at 10:00 pm

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Traveling can be an adventure if you’re a tech geek. If you’re like me, the days leading up to a vacation are spent getting your tech in order, so that you’re prepared for both travel and for your destination. I’ve previously written about what’s in my laptop bag, but the gear you take with you is only one part of the equation. There are apps and other considerations to keep in mind. Today, we’ll take a look at what you need to do to prepare for your trip, by discussing my own preparations for an upcoming trip. I travel mostly for pleasure, so I’d love to hear how the rest of you prepare – especially if you’re a road warrior who frequently travels for work.

Photo by Kossy@FINEDAYS

This post presumes that you want to take some gear with you. On the other hand, if you want to pack lightly, then a netbook, such as the excellent Toshiba mini NB205-N311/W is a good idea. On short weekends, I throw it in my suitcase, along with a power charger, and I’m set. But when I go on vacation, especially one involving a long trip, I need my gear to help keep me entertained (we like remote ski resorts, without much nightlife), and to help keep me on course. For an upcoming ski trip to Montana, here’s what I’ll be toting with me, plus one other suggestion:

The laptop bag and the gear: For a rundown of what gear I’ll be packing, check out my earlier post on what’s in my laptop bag. I have made one change since that post. I’m now using my SwissGear Synergy laptop backback instead of the Targus shoulder bag. The Targus is an easier fit in overhead bins on small commuter planes, but we won’t be on any puddle-jumpers on this trip. I’ve used the backpack for a few weekend trips now, and I’d forgotten how much I love this thing. Check out the user-submitted images at the Amazon link to see all the various compartments (including a couple of well-placed ones for stuff you need to get to quickly). It’s sturdy, has padding for your back, and boasts a hard shell on the bottom. It also contains interior pockets near the top, inside the larger compartments, so that your small items don’t sink to the bottom.

Evernote: Evernote is an obvious choice for all those odds and ends that you need to keep track of on a trip. Evernote’s tagging feature, and its availability on a multitude of mobile platforms, makes it likely that you’ll have access to it on the go. One thing to check – does your mobile platform allow you to access Evernote notes offline? The iPhone app now provides for complete offline access to your notes, so long as you’ve configured the app properly in advance. You want to make sure that when you’re on a plane, with no internet, you can still access your information.

TripIt: Over at Digitzd, I also discovered a great iPhone app and web site, TripIt, that organizes your travel information. TripIt is easy– simply create an account, and then forward your confirmation emails from various travel sites. TripIt will pull the relevant travel information from those emails, and organize it into a slick chronological itinerary. For an upcoming vacation, TripIt organized my flight and lodging information from Expedia, and my car rental confirmation from AAA. I was also able to input the address of a grocery store that we’ll be visiting after our flight lands, and the app inserted it right into my itinerary, along with a link to directions.

Software for remote file access: I want to be able to access the files on my home PC in case I forget something. There are a few ways to do this:
- Right now, I’m using the free version of LogMeIn for remote access to my entire PC, although there are other options out there. In a future post, we’ll take a look at these other options.
- Dropbox is great if I can preplan which files I’ll need. I just drop them into my Dropbox folder, and they’ll be there for me on any computer.
- One of the benefits of Google Docs and Gmail is that all of my documents and email messages are available to me wherever I have internet access.

Connectivity: Make sure you do some research into your internet connectivity options before you leave on your trip. I’m a case in point- I will need a dial-up plan on my upcoming trip. Yes, you heard me- dial-up. While we have broadband access via WiFi down in the main lodge (and we typically hit that a couple of times during the week), we have no such luck in our cabin. To top it off, AT&T’s coverage map has me doubting that I’ll have internet access via my iPhone (I did have coverage at the resort via Verizon on my last phone). So, as with past trips, I will sign up for a dial-up plan before leaving, and then cancel it after I return. I’d love something like a MiFi card, but I can’t justify the expense for the bit I’d use it.

Power accessories: I have a battery backup for my iPhone, and one for my netbook, to help get me through the travel day. I haven’t tried either yet, though, so can’t recommend them yet. If you’re going on a long trip, don’t count on your devices lasting for the duration. Do some research, and get some battery power.

Daemon Tools Lite: Daemon Tools Lite, which is free for personal use, is essential for a netbook, which typically doesn’t have a CD/DVD drive. This application allows you to emulate virtual CD/DVD drives on your computer. I’ve taken images of some old (VERY old) games that I own, and copied them to my netbook hard drive. In testing, they’ve worked great using this application. I plan to dive into the games on the flight, where it will be too cramped to dig out my laptop.

Portable apps suite: Thanks to my netbook, as well as apps like DropBox, I don’t use my USB thumb drives much. Bobby astutely pointed out, though, that a thumb drive, loaded with a portable apps suite, could be a good choice for some people. If you aren’t taking your own computer with you, but will have computer access and want your own apps, something like the PortableApps.com platform might interest you.

So, is there anything that I’m forgetting? Let me know now, before I leave for my trip!

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