Whether or not to bring a laptop is a controversial subject, as is bringing a mobile phone on your RTW trip. There are greater upsides to bringing a laptop with you than a mobile phone, but there are also greater risks and hassles involved as well. Many seasoned travelers wouldn’t think of traveling without their laptop, while others wouldn’t consider bringing theirs even once. This is a very personal choice, so we’ll just mention some of the advantages and disadvantages of bringing a laptop and you can make up your own mind.
If you’ve not done too much international traveling yet, you might not be aware that things like digital photo management, personal blogging, and of course e-mailing are all quite easy to do just using the various hostel/hotel computers and internet cafes you’ll find along the way. There are, however, some other more complicated things that are very difficult to do on public computers, so we will cover some of them below.
Advantages of bringing a laptop
- Free wifi is common in most places and getting more common every day. This obviously cuts down daily internet costs and any computer availability issues.
- Advanced photo editing and video editing can be great fun during your inevitable resting and waiting times, and it makes it much easier to be able to back up all your pictures, increasing the chance that you’ll make it home with all of them.
- For those who like to blog or keep extensive travel journals, a laptop is nearly compulsory. And working in private on your bed or in your room is almost always more pleasant than working on a public computer.
- Music – including managing your library, downloading new songs you hear along the way, and updating your iPod with podcast and such. It’s great to have your own laptop for things like this.
- Other entertainment – You’ll have lots of downt time spent waiting, relaxing, in transit, or dealing with jet lag. And there will be days when the last thing you want to do is tour another cathedral or temple. With a laptop you can always play games, watch DVDs, which are available for rent almost everywhere and also available for cheap bootleg purchase in many places if you are into that sort of thing, and download movies and tv shows. Live streaming of sporting events is also nice for you sports nuts out there missing your favorite teams.
Disadvantages of bringing a laptop
- Security – This is major. By bringing your laptop on a RTW you increase the value (and replacement cost) of your possessions by many times. Having to replace missing sandals or sunglasses is something you can get over in a day. Having to replace your laptop (and likely all of your data and programs) could drag you down for weeks. And unless you happen to be visiting the US or Canada, buying a replacement laptop will probably cost you a lot more than the original.
- Bulk and weight – If you do bring a laptop and you have a choice you should definitely take the smallest one you can manage to bring. Every ounce of weight you are dragging around gets multiplied when you are literally hauling every possession on your back for months on end.
So with this in mind you have to change the way you travel. You have to assume that everyone who sees that flat and rigid bag you are carrying knows it’s a laptop. You can’t leave it on the seat when you use the toilet on the train or bus (although you probably can on airplanes). You can’t put it under your dorm bed in a hostel and expect that it will definitely be waiting for you when you return. Even in a private hotel room you have to keep it out of sight since room cleaners usually leave the door wide open while they are working. Nearly everyone who starts their trip with their laptop makes it home with their laptop, and the vast majority of people you’ll come across are honest, but you get the idea.
- Used Laptops – If you like the idea of bringing a laptop, there is another idea to consider. Since it’s unlikely that you’ll need the fastest and most advanced laptop while traveling, you might think about buying a cheap used one for a few hundred dollars just for this purpose. A basic used laptop will do fine for all of these things you’ll need, and if you back your data up frequently on a keychain data stick, external hard drive, and/or photo site like Flickr, getting this cheapo laptop stolen is a very minor problem. And if it does happen, your personal data and other files will remain safe with your main computer at home. Also, it’s possible to sell this one for almost what you bought it for when you return as well.
- What about a netbook? A laptop is heavy, bulky, and expensive, but if having your own computer is of vital importance to you, consider a netbook. Netbooks are cheaper, smaller, and lighter than laptops, making them more portable and easier to replace. A netbook is similar to a laptop but it’s size, functionality and power is much more limited. Space is increasing on netbooks, so photo storage shouldn’t be a problem. You can’t use complicated programs on a netbook, but you can easily check email, update your blog, and surf the web. Even minor photo and video editing can be done, though it’s slow going sometimes. If those are your main concerns, a netbook may serve your needs just fine.
- iPads are another option that can take the place of a laptop. Even smaller and lighter than most netbooks, iPads won’t have the same capabilities, but they can do quite a bit. You can also bring a fold up keyboard if you don’t like typing on the touch screen. The one major downfall of the iPad is the high cost. It’s a great travel tool, but if you lose it, break it, or it gets stolen, it can be a major bummer.
The Prevalence of Internet Cafes
Internet cafes are very common and pretty much everywhere. Obviously this situation changes and improves every month, but you’ll usually have no problem finding computers with decent connections to use while traveling. The hourly cost of using public machines tends to equate more to the cost of labor and rent in that area than what you might think the cost of high tech equipment in that country might be. In other words, using a computer in the south of France is usually going to be much more expensive than using one in a small city in India, even if it’s surprising that little city even has high-speed internet access at all.
Another development is making this situation better all the time as well. With broadband connections becoming more and more common, and older used computers getting cheaper, many hostels and even hotels have areas with free internet for their guests. This can range anywhere from one lumbering machine in a corner for the whole place, all the way up to a room full of fast and modern machines.
Hostels tend to do better at this than hotels, but the situation everywhere is improving all the time since this has become a major selling point for both hostels and hotels. Many places will have a 15 to 30-minute limit on usage if other guests are waiting, but this usually doesn’t become a problem if you are just planning on a bit of e-mail or travel research.
There will be times when you want a longer session with no one looking over your shoulder, so you’ll just block out an hour or two at a proper internet place. If you have some blogging or photo managing that will take a good chunk of time, it’s advisable to do it in, or save it for, your cheaper destinations. The hourly rate in Marrakech might be one third of the hourly rate in Madrid, for example.
The Cell Phone Dilemma
For most people the idea of going on a RTW involves leaving their world behind, at least to some degree. Many of us use our mobile phones for conversations, texting, and staying connected all day long, so the thought of being completely without this device is a bit frightening. But most experienced travelers cringe at the notion of staying that wired on a RTW trip.
If you must, it is possible to stay in touch with special multi-band phones and new SIM cards every time you cross a border. But it won’t be cheap or easy so you should really think hard about this before deciding to give it a try. The technology and costs involved in this are fast-moving targets and this will get a little cheaper and easier as time goes on, but even so you might try to resist the temptation anyway.
For keeping in touch with loved-ones back home, e-mail is far easier and cheaper, and of course you don’t have to worry about time zones and personal schedules. And even if you do prefer phone calls, a much cheaper option is buying calling cards, using calling centers (storefronts where the main business is long distance calling booths and internet stations, particularly popular in Latin America), and of course, Skype. Using calling cards or call centers cost next to nothing these days, and Skype is free (though you’ll have to pay for internet usage if you don’t have your own computer), while any international roaming call will be far more expensive regardless of who did the dialing.
Skype
Even if you do decide to travel with a cell phone, chances are you will use Skype more for calling friends and family. With free video computer to computer calls, it’s a great way to get in touch with and actually see all your loved ones back home. They also offer super cheap calls to land lines and cell phones. Having your own laptop or phone is fantastic for this as you can sit in the privacy of your own room or find a nice, quiet corner of the hostel/hotel somewhere for your conversations.
If you’ve decided not to bring a laptop or phone, though, have no fear. The vast majority of internet cafes and hostels have Skype capabilities and headphones/microphones for use. It may not be the most private call ever, but even 5 years ago this wasn’t a possibility at all, so it sure beats sitting in a phone booth for an hour with a calling card.
Whether or not to bring a laptop or cell phones are a personal decisions that need to be made by each individual person, the same as with cameras, iPods, and other electronic equipment. But there’s still more to think about when it comes to electronics. The addition of the iPad makes it even more difficult to decide. If you definitely want to bring something with you, be sure to read laptop vs. iPad vs. smart phone vs. au natural, which is the next subject we’ll talk about in the RTW planning guide.
Laptops And Cell Phones Checklist
Ask yourself the important questions when deciding to bring a laptop and/or cell phone or not:
- Will you be taking tons of photos?
- Do you plan on blogging?
- How important is it to stay connected?
- Do you get bored easily? Do you break out in hives at the thought of limited movies, tv shows, and sports?
- Do you know how to jailbreak/unlock your cell phone?
- Do you understand the concept of sim cards for using your cell internationally?
- Do you want to have a budget for your cell phone bills/costs?
- Is a goal of your trip to get disconnected?
- How much do you plan on Skyping/staying in touch with family and friends?
- Consider other options-netbooks or an iPad
- Remember that internet cafes and hostel computer stations are more and more common
