Whenever you travel out of country, you start to read about all the precautions you need to take (or at least I did) regarding personal information and documents.  Be sure to take this, pack that, make extra copies of this or that and keep them with you, or not with you, in your checked luggage, or not….

What’s a girl to do????  Sorta freaked me out a bit.

So I wanted to share a few tricks I’ve learned which involve some technology:

1. The digital boarding pass is our friend. Downloading the app for whatever airline you are flying provides lots of information, right along with the digital boarding pass.  Handy, handy, handy, and some airlines have better apps than others.
2. Once you check in and have your digital boarding pass, take a screen shot of it on your phone. If you don’t know how to do that, Google your model of phone. Your boarding pass then becomes part of your photo gallery.  It has happened us that the app for an airline has suddenly gone down, and we were so happy to have a screenshot.
3. I use a cloud based Notebook to store lots of things. (I use One Note, other people use Evernote, or some similar app.)  The beauty here is that you can access this information from any device.  Should you lose your phone, you still have access to those files.  Trust me here, I have experience!  I lost Our List when I upgraded my old phone!  Dang!  This way, if you need to log on from a hotel computer, or a tablet, you can do so.  On One Note, I keep:

• My packing list
• A scanned copy of our passports
• A copy of airline, hotel or rental car confirmation numbers and information
• The emergency contact phone numbers for each of our credit cards. These numbers can be found on the back of the card.  Having that information in One Note is insurance in case your card is lost or stolen while traveling.
• A list of the prescriptions we are taking, along with physician contact information.
• Our rewards program membership numbers
• Our vehicle license plate numbers (I know, others just memorize theirs!)
• If traveling out of the country, you may want to consider including consulate contact information

4. I have a page in One Note called, “When We Go.” That page contains a list of all the things I need to remember to do prior to our leaving, like arrange for mail pickup, stop the paper, pay the bills, vet requirements if the dog is going to the kennel, etc. Makes a quick getaway possible!

5. After I finish packing (or as I pack), I use my phone to photograph the contents of each bag, checked or carry-on. That way, if anything gets lost, I have a record for insurance purposes. I know that’s a little anal – but someday it’s going to save us!

6. Inside the checked luggage, put your contact information. We put a business card on top.   Even better is the recommendation from fellow bloggers, Tim and JoAnne over at A Note From Abroad. They say to put a copy of your complete itinerary inside your luggage – That way it has some chance of catching up to where you are!  Brilliant!

I do not put actual credit card numbers or any financial information into any cloud based documents.  Perhaps I’m paranoid, but that’s just me.  I’m also sure to take portable chargers with me, so I can keep everything up and running.

So there you have it.  That’s how this voyager uses her digital tricks.  If you have other technology travel packing tips that I haven’t thought of, please be sure to let me know in the comments!  Anything to make wandering easier!

Lynn