It’s been a crazy year and a half. COVID-19 Stunted many things. One of them is recreational travel. But with a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, we hope you get to experience easy recreational travel again, safely and soon! With the anticipated rise in vacation travel, the team at Banty here thought we’d give you a few choice tips on the best way to handle a video call online whilst on vacation.
Hopefully the only reason you’d want to hop onto your video conferencing software during holidays or vacations is a desire to connect with others socially. Friends and family and such. But maybe you need to for business. It’s not ideal but you “gotta do what you gotta do”. Whatever the reason, we’d like you to have the smoothest, most stress-free virtual meetings ever. So here’s what to do if you think you might be having a virtual meeting on vacation. Or several. Let’s start with the most obvious.
I know, I know. Most people already do. But you’d be surprised at how many bring unreliable devices, or ones not great for video calls, or simply don’t bring one at all. Some people like to travel light and rely on whatever local options they can rent/borrow, for most of their digital needs. Which may seem like a good idea, depending on where they're going. There are countries where internet cafes rely very heavily on providing tourists with those kinds of services. Mainly, they thrive on providing strong internet and they complement their income with convenient webcams and computers for your use.
For example, depending on where the cyber café might be, its services may be solely available through ethernet cables. Which means using their devices may be a lot more convenient for you. And again, such locations are not available at every holiday destination. Meaning that it’s better to bring your own device if you know you’ll want to be video chatting. Which brings us to the second tip.
Find out the best internet options for a video call wherever you plan to go, and prepare accordingly. If you’re in a city where strong, reliable, free wifi is available in most locations, or even public spaces, you can likely make do with a good smartphone or tablet. If you’re in a country where strong connections might be hard to come by and you have to take whatever you can get, a device with an ethernet cable port (most likely a laptop) might not be a bad idea. If you’re visiting such a place, remember to research the best locations where you can get good internet access, and note the ones that are closest to where you’re staying, as well as how to get there.
It’s great that we can use video conferencing software almost anywhere in the world nowadays. That said, let’s remember to be physically safe while doing so. If your vacation involves hiking and climbing, pay attention to your surroundings and only reach for your phone when it’s safe. Don’t try to have a video call whilst climbing some rocks or standing on the edge of a cliff or something. Nor should you be having a video call whilst cycling, operating any kind of motor vehicle, or even independently riding your own horse.
And of course, beware local crime. Wherever you’re from, you’re likely familiar with where it's safe to have an expensive electronic device out in the open and where it’s not. This doesn’t always apply on holiday or vacation. This isn’t a question of luxury or economic advancement either. There are high crime rates and electronic device thefts in quite a few developed holiday destinations. A few of them may surprise you. From your private accommodation, to your destination’s outdoors, be vigilant of your device and know when to use it.
Happy travelling! We hope you get to go somewhere nice soon. Follow those tips to experience terrific video calling almost anywhere you go. Of course, to make a good video call even better, consider Banty’s subscription video conferencing solutions. When you decide on one, you can try it for free for the first 14 days!
