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Best Laptop For Travel Bloggers & Influencers

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By Jessie Festa. This guide to the best laptops for travel blogging contains affiliate links to trusted partners. Additionally, I was gifted the MacBook Air with M2 Chip to test out. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this article nor was I required to write it.

Looking for the best laptop for travel bloggers?

Then you’re in the right place!

While being a travel blogger has its perks (hello, travel!), it also has its challenges. Actually, one of the most important considerations for travel bloggers and influencers is how to efficiently and effectively work from the road.

And because travel bloggers are often also digital nomads without a designated office or set location, their gear is really the thing that can help them get things done.

Now, there are many different pieces of gear that can help you create high-quality content as a travel blogger, though the most important is undoubtedly a laptop, particularly one designed for constant travel.

If you’re a perpetual traveler in the market for a new laptop, then keep reading, as I’ll be sharing details on my top pick for the best laptop for traveling and working, as well as an alternative option for those with a heavier workload.

Additionally, you’ll snag tips for seeing success as a travel blogger and creating a blogging workflow on the go.

My goal? That by the end of this guide you have a full plan for how to create a powerful yet portable workspace for your digital nomad lifestyle.

Make Money Travel Blogging [Free Workshop]

But first, before we dive into how to choose the best laptop for travel blogging, I invite you to grab a seat in my free workshop: 10 Powerful Ways To Make Money Travel Blogging.

In this free workshop, you’ll learn:

  • Myths related to monetizing a blog (that may be holding you back!)
  • Strategies for creating profitable content (so those blog posts, emails & social shares lead to income!)
  • Tips for earning recurring passive revenue as a blogger (so your income grows even when you’re away from your laptop!)
  • How to create products that you know your audience will buy (so you don’t waste your time!)
  • Advice for growing your affiliate income (with a strategy that truly works!)
  • And more!

Once you’ve grabbed your seat, keep reading to discover the best laptop for bloggers and influencers.

The Best Laptop For Travel Bloggers & Influencers (+ A Bonus Option)

On that note, let’s go over my pick for the best laptop for travel writers and influencers — as well as an alternative option for those who need to be able to push their laptop a little further with intense tasks.

MacBook Air 2 with M2 Chip

Apple demo showing how the MacBook Air with M2 Chip is a great laptop for digital nomads
MacBook Air 2 with M2 Chip. Photo via Apple.

This is a great portable laptop for bloggers wanting something lightweight that also offers incredible performance.

Specs:

  • Choice of silver, starlight, space gray, or midnight finish
  • Weight = 2.7 pounds
  • Size = 0.44″ (H) x 11.97″ (W) x 8.46″ (D)
  • 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
  • 8-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • 100GB/s memory bandwidth
  • Up to 18 hours of battery life
  • Up to 2TB SSD storage
  • 8GB unified memory that is configurable to 16GB or 24GB
  • 1080px FaceTime HD camera
  • 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit Liquid Retina Display with IPS technology;1 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch with support for 1 billion colors

Pros:

As I recently shared on TikTok, I absolutely love this laptop. I really think it’s the best computer for travel blogging.

Here’s why:

First of all, it’s super thin and lightweight, with a sleek square design and an upgraded edge-to-edge 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display that showcases really sharp text and vivid colors in images and videos. Plus, the display adjusts its color and intensity to match the ambient light — which is great when working outside.

As a travel blogger, a big part of the job is editing photos and videos. Fortunately, the laptop’s M2 chip makes it really easy to edit large files quickly and efficiently on the go.

For example, I own a photography company called NYC Photo Journeys, and am able to easily edit full client albums without any lag:

Editing a client album in Lightroom on the best laptop for digital nomads the MacBook Air with M2 Chip
Editing a client album in Lightroom on my MacBook Air with M2 Chip

Speaking of video, as a travel blogger, there is a good chance you’re often away from loved ones and rely on video chatting to stay connected. If this is the case, then you’ll love the upgraded 1080px FaceTime camera.

And thanks to the laptop’s long battery life, you’ll be able to continue using it when working without an outlet on planes, trains, and buses.

Finally, there is a Touch ID button on the keyboard that allows you to quickly lock and unlock your laptop as well as make purchases without needing to sift through your stuff to find your credit card.

Cons

In my opinion, there aren’t many downsides — though you will need to buy an adapter to add SD card and USB ports. Luckily, there are many options depending on what you want. I use the Selore USB-C Multi-functional HUB.

The other con is that the laptop gets fingerprint marks easily, though for me the performance totally outweighs this minor issue.

MacBook Pro 13″ with M2 Chip

Apple demo of the MacBook Pro and how it's one of the best laptops for travel bloggers
MacBook Pro with M2 Chip. Photo via Apple.

Now, for those of you that require a little more power, the MacBook Pro with M2 Chip is a great contender for the best laptop for travel bloggers.

Specs:

  • Choose between silver or space grey finish
  • Weight = 3 pounds
  • Size = 0.61″ (H) x 11.97″ (W) x 8.36″ (D)
  • 8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
  • 10-core GPU
  • 16-core Neural Engine
  • 100GB/s memory bandwidth
  • Up to 20 hours of battery life
  • Up to 2TB SSD storage
  • 8GB unified memory that is configurable to 16GB or 24GB
  • 720p FaceTime HD camera
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors

Pros:

Looking at the specs, you can see that the two laptops are almost identical; however, the MacBook Pro has a slightly longer battery life and a higher GPU, meaning it’s a better option for graphic intensive operations.

Additionally, while the CPU is the same for both laptops, the MacBook Pro will still give you a little more bang for your buck since it has a built-in fan, which is necessary to cool the laptop down when handling bigger and longer tasks, such as spending hours editing large videos.

Cons:

Because of this fan, the MacBook Pro is slightly heavier than the MacBook Air.

That being said, I’ve taken my MacBook Pro 13″ abroad countless times and can honestly say it travels very well and fits perfectly into my carry-on backpack’s laptop pocket. In my opinion, it’s one of the top travel laptops.

Now, along with being slightly heavier than the MacBook Air, you also have a less brilliant display that is also smaller (unless you spring for the pricier 14″ or 16″ MacBook Pro).

Additionally, while the MacBook Pro FaceTime HD camera is 720px, the MacBook Air’s is 1080px.

woman using the best laptop for travel blogging from Apple
Working on while traveling on my MacBook Air with M2 Chip. Photo via Jessie Festa.

What Should I Look For In A Travel Laptop?

When researching the best laptop for travel bloggers, there are a number of things to consider, including:

Operating System

As you can probably tell, I’m an Apple fan. I’ve got the MacBook Pro, the MacBook Air, an iPhone, and an Apple Watch. I absolutely love Apple products, mainly due to:

  • the design (which I think really speaks to creative professionals like myself)
  • the life-cycle (both of the MacBook Pros I’ve purchased have lasted over 10 years)
  • the support (having the Genius Bar to go to for free support as well as educational classes is a huge perk)
  • the Apple product ecosystem (for example, I love being able to AirDrop videos I edit on my laptop to my phone to quickly share on social media)

For this reason, I always opt for laptops that run on the Mac OS operating system.

Of course, this is far from your only option, and it may not be the best fit for everyone. For instance, Windows and Linux are two other popular choices. Do some research to see which operating system makes the most sense for your workload.

From there, you’ll be able to choose the best laptop for blogging based on your specific projects.

Size & Weight

This is typically one of the most important considerations when researching the best laptop for travelers, especially travel bloggers and influencers who are constantly changing locations and need something light and compact.

Personally, I made the decision earlier this year to swap my full-sized laptop and my full-frame DSLR for the MacBook Air and the Nikon Z6II Mirrorless Camera — both high-quality yet compact products. Traveling and working is truly so much easier with a lighter load!

woman showcasing how the MacBook Air with M2 Chip is the best laptop for travel blogging and is very lightweight
The MacBook Air is so lightweight I can carry it like a notebook! Photo via Jessie Festa.

Performance

Of course, you don’t want to sacrifice great performance for size, so as you’re looking at your options for digital nomad laptops, make sure that it is fast and can efficiently handle multiple tasks at one time.

A few specifics to look at when deciding on the best laptop for travel bloggers include:

CPU. This is the most important piece of hardware to consider. It’s essentially the brain of your laptop, and it determines how powerful and fast it is. The best laptops for travel photographers, bloggers, and influencers will have a larger CPU.

The thing is, the larger the CPU gets, the heavier the laptop gets, as it will need to include a fan to cool down the machine as it handles more processes. Therefore, you’ll need to consider the tasks you’ll be doing as a travel blogger and how much CPU is necessary.

This is why the M2 Chip is such an exciting development in the Apple world, as it improves the CPU performance while still being lightweight.

GPU. This stands for “Graphics Processing Unit” which, as mentioned above, is important for graphic intensive operations, like image or video processing and rendering.

Note that when it comes to the common travel blogging task of video editing, CPU will typically be the most important consideration; however, GPU can help with playback and rendering during the video editing process.

Moreover, you should check your video editing software for its minimum GPU requirements to run properly.

RAM. RAM is what allows you to run multiple applications at the same time and for your laptop to process more data quickly. This is important for travel bloggers who perform content heavy tasks such as editing photos and videos.

When considering the best laptops for blogging, realize that most experts suggest opting for a laptop with no less than 8GB.

Personally, as a travel blogger who uses her laptop almost daily to edit photos in Lightroom and who hosts live workshops weekly, I usually opt for 16GB minimum, though you’ll need to of course consider your budget.

Storage. This is typically denoted as “SSD” or “solid state drives” and is where all of your data and files is stored. It’s certainly an important consideration when researching the best laptop for travel bloggers.

The good thing is you can always purchase cloud storage or a hard drive if you need additional, though if you’re like me and edit client photo albums in Lightroom Classic or you do video editing on your desktop, you’ll need enough local space to work efficiently.

Battery Life

This is a big one — especially for the digital nomads who travel to remote locations that don’t always have reliable power, or who are often on long bus rides or flights without outlets.

That time you’re in transit can be a great opportunity to get things done, so make sure your laptop won’t die within an hour of turning it on (which good laptops for travel won’t do).

Design

How does the laptop feel to you? Is the keyboard comfortable? Is the display easy to view? Are the colors rich and is the text sharp? These are just a few things to think about when perusing the best laptops for travel bloggers.

Price

Of course, it doesn’t matter how great a laptop is if it’s out of your budget. The best laptop for travel bloggers will ultimately be the one you can afford.

Before doing your research, think about how much you’re willing to spend — while also considering longevity. While you may need to spend more on a superior product upfront, it can be worth it if it’ll outlast the cheaper product.

female travel blogger working on her laptop at an Airbnb
Working on my laptop at an Airbnb while traveling. Photo via Jessie Festa.

Should I Bring My Laptop While Traveling?

Okay, so now you know what to look for when purchasing the best laptop for traveling professionals; but, do you really need to bring your computer with you on trips?

As someone who has been a full-time travel blogger since 2011, I can say with confidence that if this is your profession, you’ll almost always want your laptop with you.

Traveling is when you’ll be gathering your content — taking notes, snapping and editing photos, capturing and editing video, crafting social shares, and more.

Even if you don’t publish your content until you’re back from a trip, having your laptop with you on the road allows you to begin organizing and storyboarding it — vs coming home to an overwhelming amount of work.

Additionally, if you deal with clients, having your laptop with you makes it easier to continue business as usual.

Personally, as someone who earns a large portion of their income through selling tours, creating courses, and working with brands, being able to maintain communication with the people I work with is crucial, and I need my laptop to do this efficiently.

Is It Safe To Bring A Laptop Traveling?

Of course, traveling with a laptop does mean you’ll need to take some extra precautions. My top tips for keeping your laptop safe on the road include:

Only bring it out when going someplace to work. Typically, I don’t leave my hotel with my laptop unless I’m going to a cafe or co-working space to work. Otherwise, I work from my room or a business lounge onsite.

Get insurance for your laptop. Once you choose your travel blogging laptop, you need to protect it. Of course, things can happen. Prepare for the worst by insuring your travel laptop as well as any other expensive gear you bring with you. Personally, I insure all of my gear through AllState.

Back up important work to the cloud. Saving things on your desktop means that if the laptop you use for travel blogging breaks or goes missing, you’ve lost your work. I back up everything to Google Drive, and I also have a SmugMug membership which gives me unlimited photo storage. You can click here for a free trial of SmugMug to try it for yourself.

female travel blogger working on her laptop in Panama
One perk of travel blogging = getting to work in beautiful places! Photo via Jessie Festa.

Tips For Working Remotely As A Travel Blogger

Now that we’ve gone over the best laptop for travel and work as well as how to keep it safe, let’s go over some important advice for actually working on the road.

New to remote work? Here is how to become a digital nomad with no experience — including tips for the best digital nomad jobs, popular places to base as a digital nomad, and more.

Need a travel blogging workflow? Here are the steps I suggest:

Not sure how to stay organized when working while traveling? Here is what I recommend as a travel blogging workflow:

Pre-Trip:

Before your trip, make a list of travel blog post ideas you might cover. I highly suggest doing keyword research so that you choose topics you can truly rank for. I use Keysearch to do this — which you can snag for 20% off with code JESSIEONAJOURNEY.

If you’re new to Keysearch, here is a mini tutorial:

During the trip:

In terms of content creation, my advice is to wait until after a trip to publish content; however, you should spend a little time each day organizing your notes and media.

Personally, I like to do mini write-ups on every experience from the day that I plan to include in my blog posts. There is often downtime while traveling, which I typically use to begin drafting my articles in my Notes App or in Google Drive.

I also like to backup my photo and video files daily — just in case anything happens to my SD card.

If you notice there are any photos or videos you’ll want to share, you can also start drafting captions.

Finally, I like to start outlining my social stories. For instance, if I do a sunrise hike in Acadia National Park that I know I’ll want to share with my audience, I’ll start marking my favorite vertical images and clips in my phone (by tapping the little heart icon) and thinking about how I might share them to tell a cohesive story. Favoriting media also adds it to your “Favorites” album, making it easy to find later.

Post-Trip:

Once I’m home, I create and edit my content. One of the first things I do is organize and edit my photos by:

  • Importing all of my trip photos to Photo Mechanic to add a star rating to the ones I like
  • Uploading the trip photos to Lightroom, where I can see the star ratings and quickly cull to be left with the images I actually want to use in my blog posts and on social media
  • Batch edit all chosen photos in Lightroom
  • Individually edit all 5-star marked photos
  • Create a trip folder in SmugMug and create two galleries: one for “All Photos” and one for “Best Photos” — the latter of which includes all of the images marked with 5 stars

Doing this makes it much easier to pull ready-to-go images for my various content projects.

In terms of blog posts, I like to create a schedule in my planner so that I know when I’ll be working on which article — so that it actually gets done.

Then I like to implement a few ways to create blog content faster to speed up my process. For instance, you might use a tool like Jasper AI, which utilizes artificial intelligence to help you quickly create outlines and can even assist with writing articles.

My Gear Essentials As A Travel Blogger

So, along with my pick for the best laptop for travel bloggers, what does my full gear list look like? As a travel creator, here are the essentials I bring on the road:

Hardware:

Images taken with the Insta360oneX2 and Invisible Selfie Stick

Software:

  • Google Drive for cloud storage
  • SmugMug for unlimited photo storage (link gets you a 14-day trial)
  • Keysearch for keyword research (use code JESSIEONAJOURNEY for 20% off)
  • Photo Mechanic for culling photos
  • Lightroom for editing photos
  • iMovie for creating landscape videos
  • Canva for creating blog graphics and vertical videos

You can click here for a full list of travel blogging resources that I use and recommend.

The Best Laptop For Travel Bloggers [Summary]

When searching for the best laptop for travel bloggers, you’ll want to focus on finding one that is compact and lightweight yet powerful enough to handle the 101 content creation-related tasks you do every week.

While there are many great computers out there, the MacBook Air with M2 Chip is my top choice for traveling professionals who need to stay productive on the road.

This is especially true for those looking for the best small laptop for travel, as the M2 is incredibly thin, especially when you consider the CPU, RAM, battery life, and other powerful features included.

What do you think is the best laptop for travel bloggers?