Travel and remote work essentials

As a digital nomad, I carry my entire office in my backpack. These are the things I cannot live without, the tools that make travel and work easy, comfortable and stress free. My essential office setup, my reMarkable digital notebook, my Airalo travel eSIM for staying connected, and my rental car insurance hack that saves me a lot of money. I am happy to share them with you.

‘Office’ setup

Nexstand laptop stand

It is important to sit up straight to avoid pain in your shoulders, back or neck. The Nexstand puts your laptop at the right level. It is light, foldable and fits in any bag. I love it. Use code EJNEX to receive a 10 percent discount.

Magic keyboard and trackpad

I combine the Nexstand with the Apple trackpad (much better than a mouse) and a small Apple keyboard. They are light, compact and make working anywhere in the world feel comfortable.

ReMarkable tablet ‘Digital paper’

I use my reMarkable2 for editing books, taking notes, and brainstorming. It replaces all my notebooks. I used to carry a whole pile on every trip, worried that I might need something I had once written down. Now I do everything on this light, thin, easy to use tablet that feels like paper, but is fully digital.

When I brainstorm or do coaching calls I need to scribble, so digital typing never worked for me. I always carried piles of notebooks that I meant to organize one day. Ever since discovering the reMarkable I am completely paperless. I can make visual changes in a PDF, so I do not need to print a book while reviewing it. You can also use it to read books, and because there is no backlight, no internet, and no distractions, it feels calm and focused. Writing on an iPad never felt right for me. Even though it has many more options, I prefer digital paper with no distractions.

Now I do not need paper anymore. I even threw away all my pens. I always have all my notes with me, wherever I am, and writing on it truly feels like paper.

If you use this link to buy your reMarkable2, you get a 40 dollar discount.

Travel esim

Staying connected while traveling is important. My Dutch mobile plan works in most of Europe and the USA, but when I travel outside that zone I either have to depend on wifi or buy a local SIM card. That usually means carrying an extra phone, finding a shop, installing the card, and dealing with the whole hassle. For a short stay or a quick stopover it is simply not worth it.

Then I discovered Airalo eSIMs.

I can install the eSIM before I leave, and without paying expensive roaming or hunting for local SIM cards, I am online whenever I need to be. I can send and receive WhatsApp messages and calls, check and post on social media, order an Uber, and use Google Maps, which I rely on all the time because I have no sense of direction.

No more hassle with local SIM cards. Airalo keeps me online everywhere in the world.

You can check Airalo.com. With code ESTHER666 you get 3 dollars off your first eSIM.

Rental car insurance

I often rent cars. It is super convenient and surprisingly cheap if you know where and how. I usually book through rentalcars.com, because they offer the leftover cars from most rental companies, which makes the prices much lower. A little hack, bookings made from countries like Thailand are often much cheaper than bookings made from Europe, so if you have a VPN you know what to do.

What normally makes rental cars expensive is the crazy insurance that you are pushed or scared into taking at the counter, often €30-40 a day. That is where the real cost is. I finally found the perfect solution. A year round insurance that covers all rental cars, anytime, anywhere in the world, for just 99 euros per year: Cover4car. It pays for itself with just one short rental.

With this setup I often rent cars for under 10 euros a day, anywhere in the world.