Bringing along the right technology during the holiday season can make or break the big lines at the airport and lengthy travel times, especially if you are traveling with antsy kids. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, holidays are among the busiest long-distance travel periods of the year. Eric Marcus, the CEO of Tempe-based Marcus Networking Inc., recommends travel checklists to clients and business owners, to make sure they are prepared with everything they need for holiday vacations.

 

What to do before you leave:

• Make a separate travel bag to keep track of all of your chargers and cords.
• Buy a USB-enabled battery charger to use on the plane or in the car to keep phones, laptops and tablets charged the entire trip.
• Load kid friendly apps and games on your phones or tablets that don’t require internet, this will help kids stay entertained without a connection to Wi-Fi.
• Purchase big rubber cases for your child’s iPad, so that they are easily recognizable and safe for your kid to use.
• Make sure everything is backed up on your phone and laptop before traveling to avoid valuable information being lost.
• Consider getting a credit card just for apps so that if you need to cancel it while traveling, it won’t compromise your finances while on vacation.

Steps to take once you reach your destination:

• If you can, try to avoid connecting your phone to Wi-Fi networks you aren’t familiar with to dodge hackers.
• If you don’t have a safe Wi-Fi network to connect to, you can use your phone as a hotspot.
• Use apps such as OpenTable and Yelp to find great local food recommendations.