To Take, Or Not To Take.

[VITRUVIAN51]

Should I take my laptop with me? It may seem like a dumb question but the only place I've ever been is to Mexico. I'm from Texas, so it's kind of a shoe in that I would go there but I've never taken my laptop. Is it safe to take it, and is it a huge hassle to take w/? I've always been a gypsy, but thanks to all of y'all I'm not scared to just go out and live anymore. So thank you for the inspiration and the help. Take or Not to Take, That is truly the question?

[pinion]

I don't like taking anything that will make me cry if it gets lost or stolen. I bought a brand new digital camera for my trip and I stressed out about that more then I like to admit....

Internet cafes are so common now I don't really see why you would want to bring it. I mean I'm sure you can last without playing Doom 3 while travelling...

[bluepea]

I agree with Pinion. If you're going to gone backpacking, I wouldn't recommend. I brought my laptop backpacking Europe and it was a pain. I ended up just leaving it at my "home base" because I was always worried about something happening to it and even though it's not that heavy, it was heavy enough to be a burden. Like he said, internet cafes are everywhere, or else libraries. The only reason I could think to bring it is if you have a digi camera and want to be able to offload pics without uploading them somewhere, in which case I'd suggest either buying more memory, or sucking it up and uploading. It's just not worth the hassle.

If you're just going on a trip where you'll be in a hotel or something for a shorter period of time, then I'd say it's worth it.

[mowark]

It really depends on what your trip plans are. But no matter what they are, do you really need a lap top? Maybe it would be cool to have along, but in my opinion it's not worth the hassle/risk.

[d_fresh]

I wouldn't take a laptop with me unless I absolutely needed it....like if I was working....

- they're too heavy. an extra 10lb in my pack is something I don't need.
- they take up too much precious space.
- they're something else to worry about getting stolen or leaving somewhere. If you're staying in a dorm, would you really want to leave your laptop there?
- there's plenty of internet cafe's all through Europe to check your mail, make reservations, etc.
- there's plenty of places that will burn your photos for you if you need that done

[omisan]

I would LOVE to take my PowerBook with me on my month-long trip, but all rationality says: NO!

Here are the reasons I've used to make my decision:

PRO:
- Access to all my own email apps
- Ability to download/edit photos in Photoshop and put them on my own server
- Will be visiting our Sydney office to make a few days of this trip "official"
- Would have all my music and pictures with me to share with friends

CON:
- 7 lbs + cables, chargers, accessories and I'm trying to pack ultralight
- Don't want the possibility of losing $3k of gear
- Sydney visit will most likely just consist of eating BBQ and drinking beer
- I'm going to relax and enjoy the southern hemisphere, not geek out!

I think the cons outweigh the pros here, and as much as I'd loooooooove to have my baby with me, it just doesn't seem rational. That said, I've always seen people with laptops with traveling and haven't heard of anyone getting theirs stolen, but it's just something I don't want to risk.

[foofiter]

I am taking mine to south america because I will be there for 85 days and internet cafes are not as common or as good. I will be uploading my pics to my laptop as I go and also keeping my journal there cos my handwriting is horrible. And since I will be going into the foreign service as well as my masters partially abroad I will have to get used to lugging it. I am a special situation though.

If I were going somewhere else I would not bring it but this time actually can justify the risk/weight.

Foo

[weirdbeard]

85 days? Wow that's a long trip.

[omisan]

Foo - one thing I noticed at a lot of internet cafes in Costa Rica (including at hostels) is that they won't let customers hook up their own laptops to the network. Granted, places with wireless were the exception, but a lot of them wouldn't allow it for fear of security problems.. just FYI