If you’re an explorer at heart with a remote job, congratulations! You’ve just set yourself up for the adventure of a lifetime: traveling while working remotely! In this guide, you’ll find all my tried-and-tested tips for traveling and working remotely.
Can you survive a trip without following these tips for working remotely and traveling? Sure, but why survive when you can thrive? I recommend these tips to anyone who wants to avoid panicking over lost chargers, poor internet connections, or stolen backpacks and instead focus on relaxing, enjoying the views, and experiencing your journey to the fullest!
Quick-Glance Summary
- Ensuring your job allows remote work
- Finding places with reliable internet connections before you arrive
- Keeping your electronics bag with you at all times
- Cleaning out your backpack so it’s as light as possible
- Always using a VPN or your own hotspot
- Pre-planning your budget and keeping track of it
- Booking lodgings and activities in advance
- Packing the right gear and essentials (battery packs, adaptors, laptop stands)
- Starting with short, well-planned trips before moving on to longer adventures
- Bringing snacks to power your brain and body
Tip #1: Ensure Your Job and Employer Allow Remote Work
If you’re a fully remote employee, that’s great! As long as your company allows you to work remotely and your actions are in agreement with company policy, you are good to go and start exploring! Personally, I am fully remote, so I am able to book trips as long as I want/need as long as I have my laptop and secure internet connections.
For hybrid employees, it’s a bit of a different story. While I am not a hybrid employee, I have friends and family who are, and they suggest only taking the days off that you would need to go to work. For instance, if you work remotely Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, then you would only need PTO for Thursday and Friday.
Tip #2: Locate Places with Reliable Internet Connections before You Arrive
I cannot stress enough how important it is to ensure you have reliable internet connections before you arrive at your destinations! Trust me, as someone who has made this mistake before, it’s not enough to rely on your phone’s hotspot. Always check and see if there are places (hotels, coffee shops, libraries, remote work areas) near your destinations before you arrive there. Luckily, there’s a lot of people who work remotely nowadays, so it’s typically pretty easy to find a place with stable Wi-Fi that allows remote work.
Tip #3: Keep an Eye on Your Electronics Bag at All Times
I know it’s annoying to carry your backpack or electronics bag everywhere, especially if you haven’t followed tip #4 of this post. But I promise you, the annoyance of carrying your backpack everywhere you go is nothing compared to the absolute, mind-shattering panic of returning to your seat and finding that your backpack (with all your electronics, company notes, chargers, essentials, and favorite snacks) has been stolen. I get it – both options are a hassle – but the first option of keeping your items on you at all times seems like the smaller of the two hassles in my opinion!
Tip #4: Clean Out Your Backpack so that It’s Easy to Carry
In order to make tip #3 of this post less of a hassle, I highly recommend cleaning out your backpack before your trip so it’s easy to carry. The one time I didn’t clean out my backpack was the one time I had to run across the Dallas airport to reach my terminal, and let me tell you, my back cursed me every step of the way. Don’t do what I did, and only carry your essentials, electronics, and maybe a couple snacks with you – everything else can either be left at home or packed in a carry-on/checked bag.
Tip #5: Always Use a VPN or Hotspot for Digital Safety
Since I work in IT and security, it would be super embarrassing to have my device hacked. Oh yeah, and also my boss would not be pleased. At all. No matter where you are (unless you’re at home using your own network), always use a VPN or a personal hotspot for your digital safety and wellbeing. Remember, if you work for a company, it’s your responsibility as an employee to keep your company’s data safe and prevent yourself from having a heart attack over stolen data.
Tip #6: Pre-plan Your Budget and Keep Track of It
Now, I don’t want to go too into-the-weeds with budgeting, but just make sure you are accounting for all expenses during your trip, and budget before you go. Budgeting before you go (and keeping track as you travel), will help ensure you have a fun time without your brain screaming at you about finances every five seconds.
Tip #7: Book Lodging, Transportation, and Activities in Advance
Now, for all the spontaneous people out there, I suggest following at least the first part of this tip, and the rest can usually be handled on the spot. I always want to know that I have a comfy bed and place to rest when I travel, which is why I personally book all my lodging in advance. Planning transportation and activities are 50/50 for me, depending on where I’m going and how busy it will be. Usually, it’s a good mix to have at least a basic travel plan in place and then being spontaneous when the opportunity arises (makes life a bit more fun)!
Tip #8: Pack the Right Gear and Essentials
As a remote employee, you absolutely need to pack your laptop and charger in your backpack. Personally, I also bring a light laptop stand (super light and thin from Amazon) to prevent me from hunching over and looking like a gremlin, a couple batter packs, a couple chargers, and outlet adaptors if I’m going overseas. I always ensure I have all my essential electronics with me, any medications/necessary snacks, my wallet, phone, and I’m good to go! Usually, anything else can be brought in your carry-on or checked bags.
Tip #9: Start with Short Trips before Advancing to Longer Adventures
If you’re new to traveling and working remotely, it might not be the best idea to book a two-week long trip to Italy for your first ever remote work and travel experience (but if you do, that’s awesome, and you’re awesome for being able to do that!). Normally, it’s a bit easier to book a week-long trip in the U.S. or an area you are somewhat familiar with so you can nail the basics of remote work/travel and work out any issues before going on longer or overseas trips.
Tip #10: Don’t Forget Your Snacks!
No doubt, this is the most important tip of all. After all, as Snickers says, “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” Or was it Hershey’s who said that? Whoever it was, they were absolutely right. Whether you want to carry your own snacks with you (you actually can get them through TSA I found out recently) or buy airport snacks, remember to power your mind and body with good food, drink water, and just make sure you take good care of yourself!
Thanks for sticking around till the end of this post, and let me know if there are any other tips you recommend for our community in the comments below. Wherever you go on your remote work adventures, have safe and happy travels!
FAQs
While you don’t need to plan every single step of your trip, it is helpful to research the areas you want to visit before you go to ensure there are areas with stable internet. Mobile hotspots, portable wi-fi devices, and VPNs will be your best friends when you need to hop on the internet and get some work done while you are traveling.
Remote work is a great opportunity for people who want to travel more frequently and for longer periods of time. Remote workers are able to explore new places and go on adventures while using less PTO. Overall, remote work and travel does require a bit of planning, but it is worth it for those who enjoy new scenery and out-of-the-norm adventures.
There are a few factors to keep in mind when choosing your next remote work and travel destination:
-First, consider the budget you have to work with and find areas that are within that amount.
-Second, research how remote-friendly the area is (for example, are there remote-work-friendly areas, such as coffee shops, libraries, and places with internet connection?
-Third, choose a time of year with favorable weather. The last thing you want is a hurricane breaking up your Zoom call with your manager!
-Lastly, while Outlook and other digital planners usually sync up time zones automatically, it’s always a good idea to ensure you know the time difference between where you usually work at home vs the areas you plan to travel to.
Yes! Some travelers fall in love with Europe, the U.S., and other areas outside of their home countries, and they end up moving there permanently. Keep in mind that moving is a whole other ballgame when compared to traveling, and there are a lot of legal documents, processes, and steps you need to follow to ensure your move is safe and in alignment with your employer’s policies, the laws of the country you are leaving, and the laws of the country you are moving to.