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Be it using the laptop for a heavy workload like video/photo editing, web development or simply binge-watching on our beloved Netflix service, let’s face it it’s cool to travel with a laptop! Especially if travel blogging is your thing.
Often times when we travel and being on the road, we’re forced to disconnect to connect. After all, with poor and inconsistent Wifi, we couldn’t do much, can we?
However, most of the time, there’s no desire (or need) to disconnect completely (I’m guilty).
For short travels like 3 days 2 night etc, a simple pack on the electronics is not a big deal. Maybe just an iPad or simply your mobile phones and you’re good to go. For long travels like more than a few days or weeks, however, a great laptop can be a game changer to the trip itself.
You wouldn’t want to drag around a heavy and bulky laptop at the airport and hold back the line, would you?
So what is the best laptop for travel blogging?
With this specially crafted guide, you’ll be able to identify the best travel laptop for your needs.
| Dell XPS 13Portability: 1.20 kgBattery Life: 7 hours Storage Space: 128 GB SSD Processing Power: Intel Core i7-8550U Ram : 8GB Operating System: Windows 10 | |
| Microsoft Surface BookPortability: 0.3kgBattery Life: 5-6 hours Storage Space: 512GB SSD Processing Power: 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7 Ram: 16GB Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | |
| Asus Zenbook UX305Portability: 1.18kgBattery Life: 6 hours and 30 minutes Storage Space: 256GB SSD Processing Power: 900MHz Intel Core M3-6Y30 (dual-core, 4MB cache, 2.2GHz with Turbo Boost) Ram: 8GB Operating System: Windows 10 Pro | |
| MacBook Air 2018Portability: 1.24kgBattery Life: 12 hours Storage Space: 256GB SSD Processing Power: 8th Gen Y-Series Core i5 Ram: 8GB Operating System: mac OSX | |
| MacBook Pro 2018Portability: 1.36kgBattery Life: 9 hours and 50 minutes Storage Space: 128GB SSD Processing Power: 2.3-GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 Ram: 8GB Operating System: mac OSX |
As there are so many types of travelers, the “best” laptop can be on a very large spectrum of factors and considerations. So I’m here to help you identify which kind of traveler you are.
From streaming Game of Thrones wherever you are to heavy editing or web developments, there’s always a laptop for your needs.
Do you have deadlines to meet?
Truth is, laptops above US$1500 are the best kind to work with. High performance and strong reliability, these laptops won’t fail you. However, if you do not have any work or deadline to complete, it’s better to keep it simple.
Recommended for digital nomads/travel bloggers : MacBook Pro.
What will the travel laptop be used for?
This is one of the important factors to get the best out of your travels, so carefully consider your purpose of the laptop. A casual traveler’s laptop will be different for a full-time travel blogger.
Are you traveling light or heavy?
Light traveler is a happier traveler. You don’t want to strain your back lugging around a heavy laptop, do you? It can make or break your vacation. Imagine you holding up the line at the airport.
Things to consider – best laptop for travel blogging
Now that you have identified which type of traveler you are, it’s time to look out for these factors.
Portability
This refers to the weight of the laptop too. Which also affects how light you are traveling. Most travelers want to keep their bag as light as possible. Small laptops take up lesser space but usually have limited capabilities.
Price
The most important factor to look out for. It’s pointless to cash out $1500 on a laptop when you only going to use it for a short travel and minimal use afterwards. I mean there are better and cheaper options out there that will fulfill most traveler’s needs.
Battery Life
Imagine watching Khaleesi and her dragons about to wipe out the army of the dead or even typing out a blog and your battery decided to die on you. Not cool. It’s alright if you’re in the town or hotel and there are switches everywhere, it’s easy for you to juice them up. However, i don’t think there’s any up in the mountains like Adam’s Peak nor Mt Rinjani.
If you spending most of your time off the grid or in secluded areas, consider picking up a portable battery for your laptop.
Quick tips on saving battery life
- Disable wifi & bluetooth (when you’re not using them)
- Keep the brightness down
- Adjust the ‘Power Options’ to power saver mode (duh)
Storage Space
Most laptops don’t have enough space to store all your travel pictures, videos. Hence, it’s always good to invest in a external hard drive or SSD. Take note: External hard drive is always a cheaper option, while SSD tops the performance and the price.
Another option is to have cloud services like Dropbox or Google Drive.
Processing Power
For high end, heavy editing workload, you should also prioritize the processing power.
Currently, Intel Core i9 is the latest in the family of CPUs. However, there are Intel Core i7 and i5 which are almost as good as the latest CPU, only cheaper and 10% slower. Mind you my laptop is running on Intel Core i3 and it’s still rocking for close to 9 years. Thus, i5 is more than good enough for a travel laptop.
In a nutshell, different people have different needs and traveling styles. Travel bloggers and digital nomads may require heavy-performance and high endurance laptops. While light and leisure travelers will be going for a basic laptop that can handle minimal tasks.
My top pick(s) for Travel Blogging:
1. 13-inch MacBook Pro
Weighing only 1.37kg and with 13’3 inch screen, it virtually takes up no space in any of your bags. It’s well-known for its portability as well as its unbelievable performance. Thus, it fits in anyone’s bag for those constantly on the road or even running a business while traveling.
2. Dell XPS 13
The MacBook for the devoted-Windows enthusiast. Besides the lighter weight (1.20kg vs MacBook Pro’s 1.37kg), it carries similar specs and screen size. Need a high-performance non-macbook laptops? Dell XPS 13 is the best option out there.
My top pick for light travel: 13-inch MacBook Air
This laptop is NOT for you if you are
- Travel Blogging
- A Digital Nomad
- Having an online business especially while traveling
- Hating on Apple products, iOS
However, if you find yourself not on that list, THIS IS THE BEST OPTION FOR YOU. REALLY. You will be amazed at the things this small laptop can do for you, swiftly.
If you are looking for a light travel laptop that can cover all your basic internet needs (browsing, Netflix, Word Document, transferring of pictures/videos) – the MacBook Air is my recommended choice.
So
There you have it!
With this guide and choices listed above, I don’t think you can go wrong in choosing the best laptop for travel blogging. Be it for dropshipping and web development, or travel blogging, or even simply watching movies, a laptop is essential in the digital world we are progressing towards.
Personally, I’ve always adored a MacBook and when i finally got the chance to use one, I got sucked into the ecosystem (but not a fan of iPhone sorry not sorry). Hence, if this guide is tilted towards MacBooks or there are better laptops out there, let me know!
Now you can finally watch Daenerys and her dragons conquer the world without any hindrances to your laptop or your trip.
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Considering that I really have to do it as a gift a laptop falls to your guide!
Hello Cristina!
Yesssss laptops as a gift are sentimental to the hearts and the wallets too hahaha!
Glad you enjoyed it though 😀
I travel very light and as much as I love my Dell Inspiron, it became too heavy for me to carry it around. It weights almost 6 kilos together with the charger, because it’s a very powerful laptop. So for my blogging on the go I chose a Samsung Book, which is similar to a Surface.
Hey there Joanna!
Wow Samsung book, the Samsung book is another contender for its weight and performance.
Good choice there!
I don’t even need a new laptop but seeing these choices makes me want to make an excuse the Dell XPS looks like something I would like.
I heard ASUS are great laptops! That’s what my brother has! I have a MacBook and it is so light it is perfect to travel
Hi Corinne!
Yes I’m using Asus and this is the 10th year running. It is still as robust as ever only the weight is the issue hahaha.
I love MacBook badly!!
Good to know! I’ll be needing a new laptop soon. Mine is rather old. I’ll probably upgrade my mac. I’ve really loved it.
My son loves the gaming laptops!
A lightweight laptop with storage always works best for me. I also prefer the smaller laptops.
These sound like some wonderful ideas, it is great that it is so easy to travel these days and do something like blogger, but you need a light and easy to use.
I travel a lot for business. I think you just gave me a list to show my boss for my new laptop. Thank You!
Hello Tracy!
Wow that’s nice, hope you boss get one for himself too 😀
My hubby has a surface and we take it with us when we travel. It’s nice because it’s small and I can still do blogging from it. Win/win!
My laptop is dying a slow painful death and I really need to replace it. These are great options.
Hello there Melissa!
Oh no sorry to hear that. Hope this guide help you carve out the best option for you.
I have been wanting a new laptop! We travel a bit when blogging and a good laptop is a must for sure.
Hi Jessica!
Do take weight into considerations, it can make or break your trip! Hope you can find a good laptop for your needs in this guide 😀
Honestly I love my MacBook Air! I bring it everywhere. It’s so light and functionally it’s awesome. I totally agree, mac is the best.
Hello Julia!
Yesssss as much as I’m hating on iPhones, Mac is on another level. It’s absolutely easy to use with plenty of functions at your fingertips!
I’m hoping to get a MacBook before the year ends because my current laptop is too heavy that I never bring it along with me; I just hate carrying a huge laptop bag.
Hello Dalene!
Yesss MacBooks are always worth the investment. Same here, I used to lug around a huge Asus laptop and it sucks!
Ok helpful post for me at the right time. I am looking to buy a new laptop presently. Everywhere the reviews are confusing. It is tough to decide on which one to buy. I think once again will have to go for Dell.
Hello Shubh!
Yea it’s cool! Glad you found it helpful to narrow down your preferences 😀
For me it’s ASUS. It translates into trust for me.
Hello Lina!
Wow that’s a nice way to put it hahahah I’m using Asus too and it’s my 10th year now with the same laptop!
Give me the MacBook Air any day when it comes to travelling light. I have tried many laptops over the years and I know that many of the others are too heavy or not as reliable as a good MacBook.
Hello Alvern!
Ohyes I love Macbook Air too! Can’t compare between macbook and feather hahahah good choice!
Having a laptop on a long trips is clutch. I love the one I got not too long ago. These are great options!
Hi there Alexandra!
Yea laptops and long trips are a good combination!
I never travel with my laptop. But I always wondered how travel bloggers or people who travel for work do it. This list of laptops seems like the answer!!
Hello Aishwarya!
Glad you liked it! You can try it too to see how it is like first hand hahaha 😀
I have never travelled with my laptop as it’s always time for a digital detox for me. But I know one day my Macbook will be coming on a journey with me!
Hi there Natalie!
Digital detox is nice especially if you are forced to when the resort has poor wifi.
The macbook will be handy for you no worries!
I am looking to buy new laptop for me. And this article about best travel laptop sorted my problem. Because I asked to my friends about laptop which one to buy and getting to many options and I am totally confused now I am sorted and I am going wiht Dell XPS 13
Hi there Sundeep!
Glad you found this article helpful! Dell Xps 13 is a powerhouse too, you’re in safe hands my friend. 😀
I need to replace my old MacBook Air and your post came in the right precise moment. Thanks for sharing…
Hi Enriqueta!
Glad to be of assistance! 😀