MY TOP TRAVEL ESSENTIALS

 

As a travel blogger, embarking on this year-long overland adventure involved downsizing my home office into the more confined surroundings of my Land Rover, Colonel Mustard. I’ve left my super-sexy 27” iMac and leather-bound swivel chair behind and swapped them for my MacBook Pro and a hammock – which much better in the heat anyway!

Having a comfortable lifestyle that allows me to stay connected with the outside world whilst I document and capture the experiences of life on the road doesn’t have to cost a fortune.

Here’s my guide to the latest and greatest travel products we’re using throughout our Best Life in the World expedition.

YB3 TRACKERIMG_9936

FOLLOW THE YELLOWBRICK ROAD – Keeping my audience up-to-date with exactly where we I am has been a core part of my last three expeditions. My YB3 Tracking unit pings our position every 30 minutes, which automatically updates our Live Tracking Map that’s neatly embedded into our blog. From there you can search our entire route to see the blogs, photos and videos we’ve created and where they happened. Heaven forbid if shit went down you’d know where to rescue us from too!

It’s perfect for global travellers, expeditioners, yachtsman and Arctic explorers and comes in a rather fetching yellow colour with a huge battery life (we charge it every two weeks) and all the YBlog system is thrown into your package.

XCOM GLOBAL WIFIIMG_9935

STAY CONNECTED GLOBALLY – running a website, uploading to social media or checking on friends and family back home when you’re travelling the world doesn’t have to be the frustrating experience it once was!

Trying to find an internet café with a stable connection, keeping your personal details secure online or posting an urgent photo to Instagram can all happen from the palm of your hand with XCom Global’s WiFi Hotspot.

We carry this little beauty with us everywhere we go. It can be used in virtually every country in the world with a 2/3 or 4G cellular network, comes with spare batteries and is delivered to your door just before you leave. With unlimited download capacity you can surf the web to your hearts content!

MY TRAVEL CASH CARDIMG_9934

ELIMINATE BANK FEES – every $, £ or Baht you spend on bank fees is less you can spend on yourself to fun or buy gifts for family back home (ok now I’ve committed to it!)

Having searched far and wide for a friendly bank that wouldn’t charge me and arm and a leg to use their card overseas I gave up and turned to an alternative.

Using a My Travel Cash card allows me to pre-load currency onto my money card and use it throughout the Mastercard network so it’s accepted at thousands of ATM’s and EFTPOS terminals around the world. They don’t charge any bank fees for the pleasure either. Perfect!

GALILEO PRO GPS MAPPING APP

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FIND YOUR WAY WITHOUT THE INTERNET – I still have my paper map stuffed down the side of my seat in the Land Rover just in case the world’s GPS system suddenly fails but I now swear by this incredible iPhone app – Galileo Pro.

The app costs around $4 from the App Store but once you have it in on your device you’re equipped with one of the simplest, most comprehensive mapping tools available on a smartphone.

Download the highly detailed street maps (they include hotel names, ATM locations, hospitals – in fact virtually every POI out there) from any country in the world and they’re accessible without an internet connection meaning no expensive global roaming bills!

The map-sets are tiny meaning you don’t sacrifice essential storage space on your device. One update I hope they employ soon? Make them routable please.

GOPRO 4 BLACKIMG_9937

THE BEST JUST GOT BETTER – I’ve been a sucker for the GoPro brand every since they launched onto the market back in 2002. It’s difficult to find a competitor on the market that’s as compact, rugged and versatile, yet as technologically advanced and produces such incredible result as these little boxes of joy.

The new GoPro Hero 4 Black is a pleasure to shoot with and use, far surpassing the Hero 3+ I traded it in for. Coupled with the GoPro App (available on Apple and Android platforms) it’s simple to use and the results are nothing short of epic. Add a few mounts and accessories and you have the best image capturing device on the market.

BOSE SOUNDLINK MINIIMG_9938

PURE AURAL PLEASURE – listening to music on my iPhone or watching a movie using my Mac’s built-in speakers really doesn’t deliver the goods when it comes to perfect acoustics. I invested in a Bose Soundlink Mini before we came away and I’m so glad I did.

From its brushed aluminium finish, to its 360º sound delivery, to the low-down-bass – this speaker punches well above its weight. This rechargeable travel-ready, Bluetooth device provides Sophee with enough volume to drown out my excessive talking, so it must be powerful!

Have you found anything that revolutionised your travel experience when it comes to technology? Let us know and we’ll be sure to check it out!