Coyote Broad Advice for Women Travelers:
Getting info on the road
Follow me on Twitter to see where I'm
traveling currently: coyotebroad
disclaimer
The Internet and cell phone networks have made is unbelievably easy to get
information while traveling: it's hard to believe that there was a time not
too long ago where a traveler had to lug around books, maps and printed
notes so that much-needed and might-be-needed information would be readily
available.
But Internet access and mobile phone access remain imperfect. Even in the
USA, it's all-too-easy to find yourself unable to access online information.
In addition, it can be cost-prohibitive to spend more than just a few
minutes on a computer or smart phone looking up information on the web.
Here are my recommendations for what information to take on a trip, and what
to have linked online for quick, easy access while traveling - and note, I
travel a lot by motorcycle, which means my packing space is VERY limited,
and I have a feature phone, rather than a smart phone: in other words, if
you have a lot more space to pack than I do, and the latest smart phone and
plenty of money for your calling plan, you may not need to do any of this,
since space and money is no challenge to you while traveling):
This is the information I compile and print out to take with me on a
trip, as well as certain publications I take with me:
- Names, addresses and phone numbers for any places I plan to stay
overnight (friends' homes, hotels, hostels, etc.)
- Maps of where to find national forest, BLM, national monument and
state park camp sites in the area where I will be traveling
- Region or state maps (my husband has a GPS - but we still find maps
VERY helpful while on the road)
- Printed copies of my passport, visas and driver's license (kept
somewhere separate from those actual documents)
- Information clearly labeled In case of
emergency, please contact... and then complete
information for those contacts
- Contact information for USA embassies and consulates for any countries
I'm visiting
- Contact information for my medical and travel insurance providers, and
all policy numbers
- Contact information for all airlines I will be taking while on my trip
(in case I need to get in touch with customer service)
- Addresses for people I might want to send postcards to
- Lonely Planet or
other guidebook for that city, region or country, if I have such
I also encourage you to create an online space for key information
that you can access as needed from a computer while you are out on the road.
You can house this information for free, and password protect it, on a
Google Drive (associated with your gmail account) or on a private groups.io
community where you are the only member.
Suggested info to have in this private online area, to
access as you need it:
- Names, addresses, phone numbers and web links for any places you plan
to stay overnight
- Links to city or state maps
- Copies of your passport, visas and driver's license (to print out as
needed)
- Contact information for your medical and travel insurance providers,
and all policy numbers
- Information clearly labeled In case of
emergency, please contact... and then complete
information for those contacts
- Contact information for your country's embassies and consulates for
any countries you will be visiting
- Contact information for all airlines you will be taking while on your
trip (in case you need to get in touch with customer service)
- Addresses for people you might want to send postcards to
- Links to online travel fora, like the Thorn
Tree on Lonely Planet
If you have a smart phone, you could put this information in HTML files and
put those files on your phone, so you can access them offline. You also
should get your phone ready so that key online information is just a click
away. For instance:
- your webmail mobile access (access to your email via a web site
especially designed for mobile devices)
- a weather app
- an online map service
- apps for state parks, national forests and national forests
- an online news service. Believe if or not, there might be breaking
news that you want to know more about, because you really care or
because it's going to affect your travels in some way (forest fire,
hurricane, strike), or just because you're curious.
If you are on Twitter you consider
creating a list of the profiles for the following sites, for easy access
while on the road - and it also provides an easy way to tweet out or to
post a complaint or a compliment as the experience is happening:
- National parks, national forests or state parks you plan on visiting
(a great way to get breaking news about road closures, camp site
closures, etc.)
- Mass transit updates for any cities where you are going to ride the
bus or take light rail
- Commute updates for any cities where you are going to be driving
- Airlines you will take during your travel
I also configure my Twitter
feed so that I get a text message if anyone DMs me via Twitter.
You should see if your blog host allows you to send new entries via
email; most will require you to configure this feature before you can do
it.
If you are looking for free Internet access: public libraries, Burger
King and various restaurants. However, be sure you have a VPN app on your
phone and you use it whenever you access a public Internet network, to
protect yourself from ID theft - I like Hotspot
Shield.
WARNING: you need to make absolutely, positively sure your cell phone,
feature phone or smart phone will work outside of your home country before
your trip. You may be able to rely on just Internet access to use your
phone - you may not, if Internet access isn't easily-had. Do plenty
of online research and call your cell phone provider to ask a
representative. You may find conflicting information, you will probably
need to buy a card to put into the phone overseas, etc.
Disclaimer
Any activity incurs risk. The author assumes no responsibility for the use
of information contained within this document.
_______________________________________________
If you have read anything on
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Quick Links
Index of resources for women travelers
(how to get started, health & safety considerations,
packing suggestions, transportation options, etc.
Advice for camping
with your dogs in the USA
Saving
Money with Park Passes in the USA
Advice for women motorcycle
riders and travelers
transire
benefaciendo: "to travel along while doing good." advice
for those wanting to make their travel more than sight-seeing
and shopping.
Suggestions
for Women Aid Workers where the culture is more
conservative/restrictive regarding women than most other
countries.
Where I've
been
A list of all of the states in the USA and all of the
countries I have lived in or traveled in, the farthest North
I've been by land, the nearest I've been to the equater,
various other stats.
This includes all of the places I have traveled to and through
via motorcycle.
Some
of
my favorite photos from my travels. Very hard to
pick favorites.
Advice
for Hotels, Hostels & Campgrounds in Transitional &
Developing Countries: the Qualities of Great, Cheap
Accommodations
Disclaimer: Any activity incurs risk. The
author assumes no responsibility for the use of information
contained within this document.
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those of Ms. Cravens, unless otherwise noted.
