Planning a trip abroad? The tech essentials that could help it go more smoothly

Irish Times

9 hours ago

Summer is peak travel time, and therefore time to re-evaluate your tech. While a holiday is the perfect time to dial back the doomscrolling and social media addiction, there are also ways that technology can help your trip go more smoothly.
Before you go
Languages
If you need to learn a few essential phrases to get you through the day while on your travels, Duolingo is an easy first step.
The free version limits you to five mistakes a day, so you can build up a few key phrases in a short space of time.
And if you need a buddy to practice your conversational skills with, simply go to
ChatGPT
or
Gemini
and ask it to speak to you in your language of choice. You can then chat away and hone your skills.
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Packing app
If you are a frequent traveller, packing becomes second nature. For the rest of us, there are lists. Or attempts at lists. Inevitably, something gets left behind and, hopefully, it is something that is easily replaced. If you aren't willing to take the risk, however, there are lists, and apps that will create AI-generated lists for you.
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A favourite around here is TripIt's
PackPoint app
. You can give it all the basic information it needs such as the length of stay, date of travel and activities while you are there. Add in the location and the app will use weather reports and other AI-powered data to create a personalised packing list for your trip. All you have to do is stick to the list.
Travel guides
It is inevitable that AI will take some sort of role in your holiday tech. If you need a bit of help to plan your itinerary before you go,
GuideGeek
is a good option. An AI-powered chatbot that works on Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram, it can provide recommendations for holiday activities based around your personal criteria: walking distance from your accommodation, mobility issues to take into account, personal interests. It will also give more practical information, such as whether cash or card is preferred locally, where the nearest ATM is and what the local customs are around tipping.
On the way
Noise-cancelling headphones
If you want to survive a long-haul flight with your sanity intact, a set of good noise-cancelling earphones or earbuds are essential.
Apple fans may already be hooked by AirPods Pro, which have decent noise cancelling, while Pixel phone users may have discovered the upside to pairing up with Pixel Buds.
But there are other choices. Sony, for example, has the WH-1000XM5, a set of over-ear headphones with excellent noise cancelling and great battery life at €299 – comparable to a pair of AirPods Pro. They are comfortable to wear for long periods too – you won't feel like they are squeezing your head – and they have a quick attention mode should you need to pay attention to what is going on around you.
Bluetooth trackers
Most people will admit to some sort of luggage anxiety while travelling. Perhaps they have been burned by an airline in the past, with their cases failing to materialise at their destination. Or maybe they immediately imagine the worst case scenarios in their heads, where their luggage never arrives and they are forced to handwash the same two T-shirts for their holiday.
Bluetooth trackers can alleviate some of that anxiety. There is something reassuring about checking in on an app while sitting on the plane to find your luggage tag is pinging from somewhere close by.
The catch is that Bluetooth tags will require a strong network of people also using the same system to help you locate lost devices. Once you are out of Bluetooth range, you will be depending on that network to connect in with your tracker and bounce its location to you.
After testing several of these trackers, the most effective I found were the ones that link in with the big phone companies. Apple's
Find My network
is particularly strong on this, using the power of millions of devices to create a fairly comprehensive system to help you track down your tags. Apple's own tags are designed to work with iPhones, iPads and Macs, but there are third-party companies coming on board. Tile and Eufy, for example, have tags that will link with Apple's Find My system, while also keeping their own apps.
If the worst happens, and your luggage gets left in an airport along the way, you can now share your luggage tracker's information with your airline – assuming they support it – to help them locate your bag more quickly.
Bluetooth transmitters
I like in-flight entertainment, but I hate the headphones you get on the plane. Some airlines now allow you to link your smartphone or tablet to the in-flight system and use your Bluetooth headphones to watch TV shows and movies while you fly. But if that's not an option, the
Twelve South AirFly
Bluetooth transmitter can be a good stopgap.
The device plugs in to the headphone jack on the seat and, once paired properly, will transmit the audio to your Bluetooth earbuds of choice. The Pro version will allow you to split audio between two sets of headphones, which is also a good solution if you have a single tablet and two people who want to use it.
As a bonus, the device will also turn anything with a headphone jack – speakers, stereo, even your TV – into a Bluetooth-enabled audio device.
E-readers
If you are a holiday reader, you will be familiar with the struggle between taking enough books to see you through the holiday and managing to stay within your airline's luggage limits. This is where e-readers are a lifeline, allowing you to pack hundreds of books into something smaller than a single paperback.
You could load them on to a tablet or smartphone, but e-ink displays are not only better for your eyes than a smartphone screen, they will also have a much longer battery life, lasting a few weeks in between charges rather than a few hours.
The obvious choice is a Kindle, with Amazon's e-reader giving people an easy way to buy books from Amazon's store directly, or borrow them through Amazon's Kindle Unlimited subscription. You can also get magazines on subscription delivered to your device. It's a good all-rounder.
However, if you want to use your local library's BorrowBox titles, you will have to look outside of the Kindle e-reader.
Kobo
is another option with fewer restrictions than the Kindle. Its six-inch e-reader has a built-in light, wifi and Bluetooth for connectivity, and enough storage to hold up to 12,000 books. And you can use it with BorrowBox to get titles free of charge from your library.
While you are there
Translation
If your limited Duolingo skills fail you, you have options. For translating speech in real time, you have Google Translate, which will not only help you order your meals but can also use your phone's camera to translate text such as menus or signs.
Apple has its own language translation app too, simply called Translate, which does virtually the same thing, from real-time conversations to printed words.
Getting around
When it comes to getting around,
Google Maps
is still a favourite. Not only does it have a fairly decent grasp of what is available in the local area, there are extras such as the Live View, which allows you to get your bearings by pointing the phone's camera at signs and buildings. You can download selected areas of maps to your device for offline directions, just in case you can't access the internet while out and about.
There is also Apple Maps, which comes with your iPhone, and also offers an offline feature. If you are planning any trips in the next few weeks, it may even proactively suggest you download the relevant map before you leave home. Plus you can search for some local activities and sights before you go, and add them to a personalised travel guide so you have suggestions at your fingertips when you need them.