Savvy + techy

Your smartphone probably gets a real workout on trips, multitasking as a navigation device, travel document "file cabinet" and camera. If it’s not in good working order, you will waste valuable time and money. Make the most of your technology with some smarts before and during your trip.

Get a check-up One to two weeks before you leave, take your phone to a trusted repair store. This is when you want to find out that you need a new battery or charge cord: not on vacation.

What can happen if you skip this step? As an example, on one memorable trip, my phone battery started a slow crash-and-burn on the same day that my charge cord started fraying. It all worked out, but I was barely able to show my plane tickets when we passed through security, and I took a small fraction of the photos I usually do. Not great additions to what's supposed to be a relaxing getaway.

Update your apps and operating system

Just before you leave, make any updates that your phone needs. You don’t want to use valuable charge time and WiFi access making updates while you’re on the road or in the airport.

Download destination apps ahead of time Scan the places you’re visiting and download their apps ahead of time. If you wait until you get to the attraction, you might not have a good WiFi connection or strong cell signal.

This happened to me at Pompeii. I couldn’t download the app when we reached the ruins, and after looking at it when we returned home, I realized that our time there would have been much richer if I’d had it.

Another tip: if your app requires a login or account, set it up from home, and make sure you remember your login and password information before you go. If you think it's frustrating to remember passwords at home, it's even less more fun when you're traveling.

Get a good charger Your phone will run through its battery much faster than at home, and a good charger is a must (I usually go through two to three full charges every day).

Check out the Anker PowerCore 13000, available through Amazon. It’s on the heavy side and takes a long time to fully recharge (18-24 hours), but it has two USB outlets and it charges a smartphone six to seven times before needing a recharge. If you’re sharing a charger with someone else, this is even more important.

Get a couple good adapters

People refer to adapters and converters interchangeably, but they're quite different.

A converter converts volts of electricity, is quite expensive (and bulky), and you are very unlikely to need it.

An adapter, which you need, adapts U.S. plugs to the outlets in the country you’re visiting. I like the Key Power all-in-one adapter available through Amazon, because it has two USB outlets, a variety of outlet settings, and a good price.

Screenshots Take screenshots of public transit maps, ticket numbers, confirmations and other critical info. You are likely to refer to public transit maps a lot, and you may not always have a WiFi connection or strong cell phone signal to access them. This is particularly true for cities like London which have hundreds of miles of public transit underground.

Emergency contacts

Besides including a list of your critical home contacts, keep your country's embassy contact info with you someplace, and check out any travel advisories for your destination, which are available from the U.S. Department of State.

You'll probably never need this information, but if something does happen, you'll appreciate not hunting for it.

Old-school backups

Because bizarre things can and do happen, it's a good idea to have physical photocopies of your hotel confirmations, tickets, itineraries, passports and so on. They take very little space in backpacks or luggage.