After almost a year of lockdowns, it’s time to pack away the pyjamas and the podcasts and trade the quarantinis for some cocktails on the beach. Whether it’s island hopping in Greece or skiing down the Swiss slopes, you’re likely itching to get out and explore the world once more.
It’s understandable you might feel some separation anxiety having to tear yourself away from your sofa and your favourite shows that have kept you company through some very lonely and quiet months. However, we have some handy tips that will allow you to watch your favourite shows on the go.
Streaming Services
With all the streaming services currently available, you can access all of your favourite shows when travelling. From Netflix to Amazon Prime and Hayu to Hulu, there’s no need to miss out on the latest episodes. The great thing about a streaming service is that you can watch whenever you want and as much as you want. You can also pause, fast forward and rewind, all without any annoying ad breaks!
All you need is a decent Wi-Fi connection and a laptop, smartphone, or tablet to watch on. Some streaming services will also let you download content to watch later, so you can have your watchlist prepared before you leave. To find out more about different streaming options, check out this streaming TV guide.
Just remember to pack your USB, chargers and any streaming players, like a Now TV or Roku box, along with your passport.
Get a VPN
You’ve unpacked, seen some sights, and are looking forward to settling in for an evening of entertainment. There’s nothing more frustrating to find out that your streaming service is blocked in another country due to geographical restrictions, making it difficult, if not impossible, to view your content.
A virtual private network, or VPN, allows you to get around geo-blocked services by routing your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server in another country. It will disguise your real IP address, making your location invisible, and replace it with a temporary IP address. By doing this, you will appear to be streaming from the location of your choice, rather than having your true location revealed, so you can anonymously enjoy the streaming services that you did back home.
Dust off the DVDs
If you have a DVD box set collection of that television show you’ve been meaning to watch one day, travelling can provide the perfect opportunity to finally get to them. Simply make copies of the DVDs you’d like to watch onto your computer’s hard drive or a flash drive, or insert the discs into your laptop’s disc drive (if it has one).
This is a great solution for those back-packing trips, like goat herding in Outer Mongolia or building schools in Bhutan, where you know the Wi-Fi connection is weak or non-existent.
No matter what travel destinations you are planning on visiting, or whether there is a Wi-Fi connection or not, you can stay up-to-date with your favourite TV shows, and binge-watch your way through your trip.
