Dear Friends and Family,

Hi, it’s Perry, your friend and type-A travel planner. Today’s newsletter is a practical one - a list of travel tools that we’ve relied on not just during our week stuck in Peru but throughout our travels. (In case you missed it, we're safely home and no longer in Peru.)

Even if you aren’t in a “political situation,” these seven tools are invaluable for travels short, long, near, and far. With Christmas trips starting now, you’ll want to put these to use!

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1. STEP: Register for the United States Embassy’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program

As Pete wrote…

How have we stayed ahead of trouble? One method is signing up for the US Embassy’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). The US embassies in each country send regular security updates by email, allowing us to avoid areas that are holding demonstrations among other potential risks. It has been one of the more useful things that the US government has been able to conjure and speaking to other travelers, it is rarely used to its full potential.

2. Flightradar24 or FlightAware: Flight Tracking Apps

​Flightradar24 and FlightAware are phone apps that track flights and airport statuses in real time.

In non-emergency situations, I enjoy using one (or both!) of these apps to identify planes flying overhead. You can also use them to track any flight status, including where the inbound aircraft is coming from. As a frequent flyer, this has helped me identify when I might encounter flight problems before the airline announces them.

In our current emergency situation, we’ve used Flightradar24 to monitor flight departures at the Cusco airport. We could see whether flights had resumed (or were in the process of resuming) before official announcements were made about the airport opening times. Since then, I’ve been able to monitor the on-time status of the departing flights. It’s a comfort to have this information at your fingertips rather than relying on local word-of-mouth.

Both FlightAware and Flightradar24 have similar features, so try them both and use whichever you prefer.

3. Find My App (iOS/iPhone): Share Your Location

We talked about the Find My app when Pete was scuba diving in Nusa Lembongan.

During our travels in Peru, we temporarily shared our location with several trusted family members when we were transiting between cities. Here’s how: in the Find My app, click on the People tab and then click the “+” on the right side of the screen. You’ll be presented with the option to share your location for one hour, one day, or indefinitely.

The option to share our location for the day saves us a few text messages while allowing our mothers to know that we haven’t been kidnapped diverted. Combined with Flightradar24 or FlightAware, it’s possible to share a creepy level of location information at all times.

Unfortunately, you can’t share your AirTags’ location with other people, but we still highly recommend AirTags to track your own luggage. If you are separated from your luggage for any reason, AirTags are a great way to ensure you get it back (or, worst case, you can file an exceptionally accurate police report).

4. TripIt: Automatic Itinerary Creation and Sharing

TripIt is a free travel itinerary creation app by Concur, one of the largest expense report software systems.

I love using TripIt (even though I’m not creating expense reports these days) because it automates the itinerary creation process by either:

• Automatically scanning my email for travel plans, or
• Scanning email receipts that I quickly forward to TripIt’s email address

If neither works, I can manually add a travel plan using the TripIt app.

Once TripIt has my receipts, it formats all the relevant details into a beautiful itinerary that I can share via email with my travel partners or download as a PDF. The automation here is key - especially as a long-term traveler, this saves me a literal ton of transcription work, and it stays up-to-date with any last-minute changes.

The free TripIt app has a few other features, including security alerts. For a monthly fee, you can subscribe to TripIt Pro for additional flight status alerts, seat tracking, and frequent flyer points tracking. If your company uses Concur, it’s likely that you have free access to TripIt Pro for both your personal and business travel, so make sure to ask!

5. WhatsApp: Free International Messaging

WhatsApp is a free messaging application that is more popular than texting in basically every country other than the United States. It’s frequently used by other travelers and hotels. WhatsApp uses your data or wifi connection, not your text message allotment, and allows you to message other international numbers completely for free - so you can see why it’s popular.

Almost every hotel and host we’ve stayed with has used WhatsApp to communicate with us about everything from our requests for additional towels to local road closures. We exchange phone numbers with other travelers in order to share information or coordinate activities.

You aren’t going to get very far without it.

6. Great Travel Insurance

A critical part of any trip, travel insurance helps cover you if:

• Your flight is delayed more than a few hours, by paying for your meals, lodging, and/or additional transportation
• Your luggage is delayed or lost, by paying a stipend for you to purchase replacement items
• You require medical attention, by reimbursing for your medical expenses
• You require evacuation, by covering the cost of related transportation
• Other maladies occur that we prefer not to think about

As long-term travelers, we signed up for SafetyWing due to its convenient monthly subscription model and policy designed for digital nomads. SafetyWing also works for short-term trips - just enter your travel dates and sign up.

Make sure to check that your travel insurance covers all your activities during your trip. Many adventure sports, like skydiving, are not covered by all insurance plans. For those who are more adventuresome, World Nomads insurance is highly recommended due to its coverage of a long list of activities.

You may have travel insurance coverage through your travel credit card, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve (my fave), American Express Platinum, or Capital One Venture X. Note that credit card travel insurance only covers very specific types of charges charged on that credit card and usually does not cover emergencies requiring medical or evacuation assistance. Make sure to closely review your credit card coverage before traveling. I treat my credit card insurance as a supplement, not as a replacement for a true travel insurance policy when traveling internationally.

7. International Phone Coverage

If you’re in a crisis, you’re gonna want to be able to use your phone to call your mother, call the cops, call a taxi - though maybe not in that order.

The intricacies of international phone coverage could fill an entire article on its own, but I’m going to try to boil it down to a few quick rules.

Phone Coverage for Short-Term Travelers

If you’re traveling for 2-3 weeks or less, I would not worry about getting international phone coverage. I put my phone on airplane mode and use wifi in hotels, coffee shops, airports, or public transport to connect as needed.

That said, you still want to make sure that your current phone plan offers coverage in the country you’re traveling to. This coverage may come at a cost (Verizon charges $10/day), but you want to know that it’s available. If it is, all you need to do in an emergency is to turn off your airplane mode and allow your phone to connect to a local tower. You don’t need any special equipment; as long as your carrier works in that country, just turn your phone on and go.

Phone Coverage for Long-Term Travelers

We switched to Google Fi because it includes international phone coverage in its monthly plan. We love that we’ve never had to worry about our phones during this trip. Whenever we land in a new country, we have coverage.

Through Fi, we have unlimited texts and data. Phone calls are usually charged at $0.20/minute. Note that you do need to return to the USA every 90 days or Fi will discontinue your international data coverage. If you want to sign up for Fi, our referral link gives you $20 off your first month.​

As Americans, your other option for a plan with included international coverage is through T-Mobile, but T-Mobile was more expensive for the two of us.

If you’re going to be out of the United States for more than 90 days, you’ll want to get an eSIM. eSIMs allow you to purchase data for a given country or region using their app or website, and that credit is then applied to the SIM card in your phone. It’s easier than buying a new SIM card in each country and allows you to keep a consistent phone number. This article by The Broke Backpacker breaks down your eSIM options.

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Do you have any other travel tools that you rely on? Hit reply and let us know!

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All the best,

Pete and Perry

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