One of the greatest parts of travelling somewhere is taking in the cultural sites, witnessing unique events and enjoying memorable nights out. And while you’re sure to have more than your fair share of such experiences, these can often be unevenly distributed.
Suppose you’re taking an overnight train, or find yourself holed up in a hostel in the back of beyond – at such times, it can be a great idea to bring the means of accessing your own entertainment should you find it lacking in your immediate surroundings.
Many people swear by the classic holiday read, and it’s easy to see why – the opportunity to unplug from our day to day makes spending time abroad a great moment to catch up on the latest bestseller. However, not everybody is partial to reading. Fortunately, thanks to our trusty technology, there are more alternatives to enjoy than ever before.
Listening
While the idea of reading is appealing to a lot of people, some struggle or derive little pleasure from the act of page-turning itself. For those holiday goers, making use of a platform like Audible can be a godsend.
Audible is home to the world’s largest directory of audiobooks, and for a subscription of just £7.99 a month, users get access to any book of their choosing in exchange for a monthly allotted credit.
Not only does this facilitate access to books in a form much more palatable to some, but it also represents great value – particularly when one considers that certain books retail for upwards of £30 normally. Users are also at liberty to buy as many additional audiobooks as they want each month, all for only a further £7.99 each.
Of course there’s more to listening than just books nowadays. Podcasts have never been more popular, with everything from true crime to comedy shows engaging and entertaining thousands of listeners every day. Simply take a look at the offerings doing well in the iTunes or Spotify charts and you’ll be sure to find something to tickle your fancy.
And speaking of Spotify – it bears remembering that your perfect holiday playlist is only ever a few clicks away when using this music streaming software. Spotify’s algorithms are second to none, and it can quickly conjure your ideal mixtape from just a couple of select tunes.
Gaming
Those of a more active persuasion can also make use of their smartphone or laptop to play a huge variety of games, either in app form, or online. There are over 1 million gaming apps available across Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store, meaning you’re sure to find something to tickle your fancy. If you’re looking for a smoother gaming experience, consider using the best vpn for gaming.
Elsewhere, those of a mind to have a flutter can peruse the thousands of slots titles or recommended online casinos furnished by Vegas Slots Online. This platform offers its services to over 50 countries around the world. This means your odds on to make the most of any number of its welcome bonuses or sign-up offers to access real money gaming from your holiday spot.
For some however, nothing but a high octane triple-A gaming experience will do. Fortunately cloud gaming platforms, such as the Xbox’s own that comes bundled with its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, means that – providing you’ve got access to decent WiFi, you can play hundreds of the latest titles, from Halo: Infinite to Forza Horizon 5, right from the poolside.
Streaming
Sometimes nothing beats a bit of telly, even when you’re in the tropics. Fortunately, those wanting to ‘Netflix and chill’ in their villa can easily avail themselves of a VPN (short for Virtual Private Network), a clever piece of software that lets you access region locked content by routing your IP address through an intermediary location.
What this means in layman’s terms, is you can catch up on your favorite UK Netflix, Amazon Prime or even BBC iPlayer show from wherever you are in the world, simply by setting the VPN to the UK.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that you can rent hundreds of movies from either Amazon or YouTube, typically for as little as a couple of quid each, meaning you can grab the popcorn and host a movie night, regardless of whether you’re in the outback or Iceland.