Travel is unquestionably great. We live in an age where it’s possible to leave footprints on every continent, in every country – to move around in previously unprecedented ways.
Indeed, it’s estimated that about 690 million people traveled internationally for pleasure just between January and June in 2025. The convenience and availability of flights, plus the relative cheapness of traveling, have led us to undertake it more and more. There’s no doubt that travel is an amazing, fantastic experience that so many people are enjoying in today’s world… but it has one major drawback.
The lack of internet.
A lot of folks are heavily dependent on the internet for a huge chunk of their daily activities these days, whether that’s for admin, work, or leisure. We are used to having our emails at our thumbtips, our favorite games just a click away. And yes, while you’re up a mountain in the middle of Europe, you might not miss the connectivity… but nobody wants to spend their whole trip in a blackout. So, how can you enjoy online activities while you’re on the move? Let’s find out.
Opt For Lightweight Choices
Before we talk about the practical tips, it’s worth recognizing that a change in your own habits is often the most effective first step. When your internet is limited, whether because of data restrictions or poor Wi-Fi, scaling back your expectations and keeping it simple can really help.
What does that mean? Well, let’s take gaming as an example. Maybe you like to engage in multiplayer, high-energy, triple-A titles that take huge amounts of data. That’s probably not feasible from a little cottage on a remote beach. You might have to adjust your expectations a bit.
Instead, opt for something that’s designed for on-the-go play. Online slots work well, providing a good range of choices that are tailored to be lightweight and easy to play. These games tend to connect easily, even if your internet is lacking, and you won’t need to worry about lag, streaming issues, disconnects messing up your teammates, etc.
And depending on where you are, you might even be able to play an online slot themed to suit your location – or perhaps current activity. Catching Oktoberfest with this OktoBeerFest slot in your pocket is just perfection.
Of course, you can apply this principle of “lightweight” to many other activities – it’s not just about gaming. View your emails online, rather than downloading them. Stream music, not videos. Save photos locally, rather than to a cloud (you can always upload them later, when you’ve got a good connection again).
With that principle in your back pocket, you’ll be much better prepared for handling poor internet… but even so, there are things you can do to improve your lot and maximize your connectivity while you’re on the move.
Get A Local SIM Card
One of the most effective ways to enjoy a good connection on the go is to get a local SIM with unlimited data. This works well if you’re going to be in one country for a while; you’ll usually be able to get a strong data connection if you’ve got a local card. You probably won’t see incredible speeds (although that’s what our above tip is designed to help with), but most people find them sufficient.
Plus, you can hotspot to your computer if you’ve got things you want to do on there; it’s not difficult to set this up, and it means you’ll have internet ready and working on all your devices. We’d advise having a power pack too, though, as running your data and a hotspot can drain your phone’s battery fast. And if you’re out on the trails, check out our other tips for keeping yourself online – and safe – when civilization is a long way off.
Get A Portable Router
Sometimes, your phone won’t cut it – but a portable router with an eSIM might. They can be a bit expensive to get set up, but they’ll definitely help if you want to connect multiple devices (many can handle up to 10 devices). Groups who are traveling might find this much more convenient than each trying to create their own hotspot.
Some even offer the ability to charge other devices from the router, giving your phone or tablet a bit of extra juice, rather than draining it. You’ll find these are a lot more secure than using public Wi-Fi too, which is a must if you’re going to do any kind of online banking, or even just access sensitive information via the internet.
Carry An Ethernet Cable
This might seem old-fashioned, and it probably won’t help when you’re out and about, but if your accommodation has a poor Wi-Fi signal, you’ll be very glad of this cable. It definitely doesn’t hurt to have one stowed in your bag, especially for the evenings, when you might want to do more internet-heavy gaming or streaming. A wired connection will pretty much always outdo a wireless one, giving you a far better experience for all your online activities.
Plus, Ethernet cables tend to be small and lightweight, so you might as well take one along!
Hopefully, a combination of these approaches will help you ensure you are never stuck without a connection, struggling to enjoy your online world as you map out the physical one.
