Traveling With A Laptop

I have been traveling with my laptop the last five years. I have visited ten countries, taken eight international flights, two trains and long-distance buses, not to mention numerous subways, tuk tuks, long tail boats, scooter taxis, local buses and lots and lots of walking. And throughout the whole journey, a laptop has been along for the ride.

For me, the question of whether to bring my laptop wasn’t really even a question. But it is something I get asked about a lot by other travelers – so here’s my take on whether or not it makes sense to bring a laptop on your journey.
 

The first thing most people ask when they hear I am traveling with a fairly expensive laptop is, “Are you insured? And aren’t you worried about theft?” No, I don’t have insurance on my laptop, and yes, I worry about theft. That’s probably why it hasn’t been stolen yet.

No, I don’t have insurance on it, and yes, I am worried about theft. That’s probably why it hasn’t been stolen yet.

Getting your laptop covered by home or travel insurance is pretty unlikely if you’re going traveling. Most insurers won’t cover you unless you pay a very high extra premium. My insurance agent told me that I would have to “self insure”  – meaning if it gets lost or stolen, I pay for a new one.

To reduce theft, I bought a combination cable lock that plugs into a slot in the side of the laptop. I use these whenever I stay at bungalows, hostels, or slightly sketchy hotels. While traveling, I always keep my laptop with me in my carry-on bag. Sometimes I’ll lock them up if I’m on a train or am planning to take a nap.
 

Should you bring a laptop when you travel? It’s a highly personal question that depends on a lot of things – what you’ll be doing, where you’re going, for how long, and so on. In the rest of this article, I’ll share my own impression of the pros and cons of traveling with a laptop, then share a few guidelines that might help you decide whether to take one with you the next time you hit the road.

9 reasons you should bring a laptop

1. You can blog. Even when I am offline for days at a time, I could write new posts for blogs. If the only local Internet access was at web cafes, I’d save the posts on a memory stick, lock up the laptops, and head out to the internet café.
 

2. It makes travel planning way easier. You just can’t plan for weeks on the road before you leave – sometimes you have to do much of your planning on the go. For our trip, we booked intercontinental flights and some hotels, then go on the computer and review as you travel. We researched destinations and “what to do and see” on many great sites.
 

And I did most of it from wifi-enabled cafes and hotel rooms; often on rainy days when we would have just been killing time without a laptop. We’ve been able to save countless dollars by comparison shopping and finding discounts for travel excursions, clothing, etc.
 

3. You can keep up with friends and family by email. Email has been a great way to correspond with loved ones back home. Obviously, this is something you can do at internet cafes, but it’s so much nicer from the comfort of your hotel room or lobby. A lot of hotels/resorts come with free wifi.
 

4. You can call home for free (or very cheap) with Skype. We’ve enjoyed Skyping with friends and family — it’s always great to see each other while you talk. We even bought webcams for our children before we left to make sure we could keep in touch. Plus, we’ve made lots of calls to landlines and cellphones all over the world using Skypeout, which lets you call from any web-enabled laptop for mere cents per minute.
 

5. You can store your trip photos. You can download digital photos to your laptop – where they can later be uploaded to photo sharing services like Flickr, Picassa, and Facebook. Saving them on a laptop gives you way more storage so you don’t have to worry about filling up your camera’s memory card.
 

6. Keeping a trip journal is easier. If you’re keeping a separate trip journal (aside from any articles or blog posts you’re writing), a laptop can be handy. I type a lot faster than I write, and stuff written on a computer is much easier to edit.
 

7. You get a lot of information storage in a small space. My laptop has maps, directions, bus and train schedules, must-sees for key cities, and lots more. Considering how much information I’ve got saved on it, it’s much lighter to carry around than several big guidebooks!
 

8. It’s an entertainment alternative. Sure, you’re traveling, and you should be out interacting with the locals and having adventures. But everyone needs some downtime. When you get stuck inside your hotel room during a rainstorm, or if you’re just too hung over to do anything else, you can watch all those cheap DVDs you bought.
 

9. You can work. If you’re a writer, a designer, or do any other kind of work that can be done from a computer, you can work and earn some money online.
 

3 reasons you shouldn’t bring your laptop
 

1. It’s a timewaster. You can get sucked in to online life and waste time on Facebook or surfing the web when you should be out experiencing the foreign city you paid so much money to get to.
 

2. It’s extra weight. If weight is an issue, you’ll lose a few pounds by not bringing your laptop, power adapter, and any other plug-ins and devices you use with it. (This point can depend on how many places you’re visiting, and for how long. For a long trip, a laptop makes sense because it’s lighter than even a few Lonely Planet guides and novels stuffed in a bag.)
 

3. It could get lost, damaged, destroyed, or stolen. Depending where you’re traveling, the risks range from mild to extreme. I’ve made it through Asian countries, European countries, Africa, and the Caribbean with no damage or theft issues. (Knock on wood!)
 

Only you know the answer for what kind of risk you can tolerate. If you do bring your computer, I recommend a soft case to keep it safe – we use water-resistant neoprene ones – and a good lock. And don’t do anything stupid like stow your computer in the luggage bin on that $9 bus ride through China.
 

Making the decision: Other factors
 

I’d say the biggest consideration is whether you feel you actually need a laptop. Are you a writer? Someone who works online? Someone who absolutely needs to stay connected? Then you probably never seriously considered the possibility of not bringing it in the first place.
 

Are you a writer? Someone who works online? Someone who absolutely needs to stay connected? Then you probably never seriously considered the possibility of not bringing it in the first place.

Your decision also depends on where you are going. The more remote your travel destination, the less likely it is that you’ll find a wifi connection. I have visited a few remote islands that were lucky to have super-slow dial-up connections, never mind a wifi signal.
 

You also can’t assume that the wifi is free when you order a coffee or food. There are plenty of cafes and restaurants around the world that do offer free wifi when you order something, but that isn’t always the case. (For example, In Bangkok, Starbucks at MBK mall charges for access, but you can head upstairs to Coffee World and get it free.)
 

Depending on your needs, there are other choices too. If you want a smaller, lighter, less expensive alternative to a laptop, consider bringing a notebook like the Asus Eee PC or an Ipad. These are smaller, lighter, and cheaper, with less storage and processing power, but if all you’re doing is a bit of blogging and web surfing, they might be the best thing for you.