Pack This! - A Spare Cell Phone
Cell phones have become so powerful that they are now user-friendly computers at a conveniently small size. For many people (including myself!) it is the one item I admittedly have become the most dependent upon and have a hard time living without.
Especially when traveling, your cell phone is your swiss army knife. Whether it be getting directions and navigating your way through a city, taking photos and video, finding a tour or things to do, accessing tickets, calling a hotel, translating a language, or accessing a restaurant’s menu, there is no doubt your cell phone is very useful and almost somewhat now of a necessity when you travel (I am sure you can think of other ways in which losing your phone might put a bump in your trip).
Without your phone, you literally lose internet access (which is access to everything you need for traveling) and a part of your identity since you can no longer get in touch w/ people and possibly no longer access online accounts (because of 2 FA or loss of password manager).
Cell Phone Advice - Be Careful and Prepared
Because of the significance your cell phone has to one’s trip, my advice and solution is well…for one, not lose it in the first place. Check and double-check you make sure you have it (along w/ your passport, travel documents, wallet, and keys), wherever you go and especially whenever you are leaving somewhere. Perhaps carry around a small travel bag or fanny pack that you can keep your valuables in that is more secure than a backpack.
But, if life happens and your cell phone does end up lost or broken, then my advice is to be prepared - bring and have at least two cell phones amongst your party.
Now if you are traveling w/ family or friends then this shouldn’t be a problem as pretty much everyone nowadays has a cell phone and most likely everybody in your party will have one. If you are traveling solo, however, this would mean bringing along a spare phone whether an old one or perhaps even a work phone you may just in case of an emergency.
From Experience…
As you might have guessed, the reason I am writing this post is because unfortunately, from experience, I have been on trips where a second phone came in handy.
On one trip, my friend lost his phone on a ride in Disney World…and for people who haven’t been to a Disney Park recently, your phone is pretty important because of the Disney Parks app. This is the app you will heavily rely on since it allows you to watch ride wait times, link and digitally manage tickets and reservations, and even order food, just to name a few of its uses. Anyway, my friend lost his phone on a ride, midway through our trip, and luckily for him, I had brought along a second phone. Thus I let him use it and he was able to access his accounts (which had many of our reservations, bookings, and info!).
Then on the other trip, I lost my phone at the Frankfurt Airport in Germany (I believe I left it on the airplane). On this trip, not only was I traveling internationally, but I was traveling by myself! I fortunately also had a second phone on this trip (that I did not lose!) and so was able to make find my way around and make do. If I hadn’t brought the extra phone though, I can imagine things would have been much different…I think getting around and directions would have been the most troublesome thing to have to figure out.
Anyway, let this be a lesson and warning from me to you. Your welcome.
In all seriousness though, losing or forgetting your cell phone while traveling is not fun. The lack of internet is the biggest stressor…especially when traveling internationally. And since international trips are usually a special occasion done only several times a year for most people, the last thing you’d want is for it to be ruined and excruciatingly stressful without a phone and internet at your convenience.
As far as what kind of phone you bring as your spare that is for you to decide. I would recommend though, at the very least, a cheap smartphone that has internet access if connected to wifi. With a connection to the internet via wifi, you can access whatever information you may need, make calls and send messages, and even download or screenshot maps and directions. And since wifi is common to pretty much everywhere and included at most hotels, the spare phone doesn’t even need to have cellular data.
Ideally, though, you’d want a phone that can access some sort of cellular data when traveling (usually speeds are slower internationally). Such options for this include buying an international plan w/ your cell phone provider, buying a temporary SIM card upon arrival at your destination, or renting a mobile hot spot to connect to via wifi.
Trust me, this makes traveling way more convenient and much easier.
On top of this, you’d want whatever apps and accounts downloaded and logged in prior to your trip(to avoid 2 FA authentication or forgetting your password).
As far as my equipment, my regular phone is an iPhone 13 which has my main cell phone number. When I travel, I bring along a Google Pixel 6. I personally like the Pixel 6 for traveling because I like to take pictures and it has one of the best cameras for a smartphone. When I am home I usually just turn it and leave it off. Then before I travel, turn it on and run whatever software updates are available.
Anyway, that’s it for this post. The lesson - be prepared. Have at least two cell phones amongst your party when traveling.
