While vacations are designed to alleviate some of the stresses of everyday working life, they can actually be an instigator for a whole new bunch of stresses. You have to book the right flight and the right hotels; you have to make sure you’ve got a good pants-to-t-shirt ratio, or convince your kids that they will actually have fun with their aunt for the next couple of weeks.
It’s exhausting, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much to think about when going away for vacation. One of the most important things, however, actually sits inside your pocket. Many people don’t take the time to prepare their phones for a holiday. After all, what is there to prepare? A phone is a phone, right? It can work just about anywhere and you’re sure nothing bad will happen to it during your visit to Niagra Falls, where four phones on average are lost to the water every day.
Well, although you may think your phone is safe on a vacation, there are numerous things you should do in order to prepare it for the trip. This is not to say anything will go wrong. This is just a failsafe. Preparation is to ensure that, whatever you are faced with, your phone is well prepared to deal with it.
Back That Bad Boy Up
This might be an obvious point, but the amount of people who forget to back their phones up before going abroad is concerningly high. Seriously, just the reassurance that all of your data is backed up on a hard drive back home can alleviate about 70% of the stresses involved with travelling.
If you have an Apple phone, simply tap Settings, your name, iCloud, and then select iCloud Backup. For an Android device, tap Settings, System, Backup, and then select the ‘Back Up Now’ option.
It’s quick, efficient and easy. What’s more, if anything does happen to your phone, then you know that the only things lost are every selfie and food pic which you have taken on your vacation so far. If anything, your relatives and friends will be quite relieved that they don’t have to sit through the hour-long presentation when you get back.
Get Insurance
Insurance is crucial. Although some are not aware of this, in specific circumstances, your phone might be covered by renters and homeowners insurance. Basically, if this means your phone is pickpocketed on your travels, your insurance should cover you.
But saying that, it is always better to be safe than sorry. If you are serious about protecting your valuables for vacation, then getting insurance for your tech can be a great way to cover you if things go wrong. Again, this is about relieving the stress from your holiday. This is supposed to be an anxiety-free, relaxing experience. Having a phone that is both backed up and insured can wipe away any concerns you have about it being stolen, broken or dropped a few hundred feet into the Grand Canyon.
Make Sure Your Apps Are Well Prepared For The Journey
Now, onto the more practical side of phone preparation. Once you have ensured that your phone is protected, it is now time to look at utilising your phone to be used in a foreign setting. Look at installing a few apps which can help you on your travels. Apps that can help with finding cheap hotels, and flights, as well as apps which can accurately predict the weather, find the best food places or help you connect with a local community.
As well as this, Google Translate can be a great tool for anyone travelling to a country with a foreign language. You want to make sure you can read signs and menus, after all. If you’re going to be staying at a campsite, you want to be able to read the signs for the restrooms. Similarly, you don’t want to think you’re ordering the pizza only for an egg frittata to arrive at your table.
Buy A Waterproof Case
This last one cannot be stressed enough. Honestly, with nearly any vacation, there are so many reasons to get a secure, waterproof phone case. Not least the fact that some form of water is bound to be involved. Whether that’s the ocean or a lake or a simple jacuzzi bath, there will be water, and where there’s water, there’s a great big phone hazard just waiting to happen.
A sturdy and strong water-proof phone case can prepare you for this hazard. At least then you will know that, should your phone actually fall into Niagra Falls, it is 100% safe. All you have to do is find it, but that should be easy enough. It’s only the largest waterfall in North America. Can’t be as hard as retrieving your phone from the back of the couch.