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How to choose the right travel mate for your next backpacking trip?

Both traveling solo and with someone have their pros and cons. As a solo traveler, you can do anything you want without the need to compromise. Nevertheless, sometimes it’s great to share the experience with another person. When you reach a new, exciting place, there’s someone right next to you who feels equally amazed. In difficult moments, there’s someone you can solve the problems with. It can be beautiful, but only if the travel mate is a good match. Choosing the wrong buddy can destroy your trip, so it’s crucial to find the right person. Here’s a list of tips that will come in handy when it’s time to pick a travel mate.

Table of Contents

Friends aren’t always good to travel mates

You might have been friends for years. You might have been the best men on each other’s weddings , partied thousands of nights together, shared a flat or studied at the same high-school. It doesn’t matter; traveling is a whole different thing. It’s surprising what kind of traits people reveal on the road. Be aware that you can find out new things about your friend during the journey, especially if it’s a long one – and vice versa. Don’t just assume you’ll get along because you’ve known each other for a long time. Treat your best friends as you’d treat any other potential travel mates. Tell them what this trip means to you, what and how you want to do. Ask them about their goals and listen carefully what they say. Discuss and find out whether you have shared objectives.  

Have some common interests

It’s going to be hard to travel with a fashion designer who mostly wants to wander around boutiques if you prefer to stay in nature, hike, sail and observe wildlife. It’s good to have something to talk about and a few activities you both enjoy. You don’t have to be interested in the same things, of course. Don’t reject travel mates just because they aren’t into cooking or reading as much as you do. The perfect balance is when you share some interests, but is also able to accept the differences between you. If you both love surfing, you may spend one day together catching the waves, but the next day you stay on the beach with this amazing book you’ve just bought, while your mate goes climbing some rocks.

Don’t go backpacking with a luxury-seeker

It’s incredibly important to have a similar way of traveling. While many differences are acceptable, it’s hard to hitch-hike with someone who doesn’t like spontaneity and must have a detailed plan for everything. It’s equally difficult the other way around. If you don’t feel comfortable backpacking , wild camping, and hiking, you shouldn’t travel with a survivalist. People look for various things while traveling. For some having fun and relaxing is a priority, while others want to explore the cultures, reach unpopular places and talk with locals as much as possible. Make sure your general goals are similar. The minor things don’t matter as much as the primary objectives.

Make sure you’re able to communicate with your travel mate

By “communicate” we don’t mean just exchanging words, but comprehending them as well. You must be able to find common ground. Talk about your plans, share ideas and check whether you understand each other. If you can’t agree before the journey begins, you’ll most likely have to face lots of conflicts on during the trip. Ask your prospective travel mates how much time they expect to spend together with you if they’re okay with being alone sometimes, how they’d solve some problems if they appear. Listen to them carefully and give feedback. You should be open with each other. To avoid misunderstandings, you must be able to let your travel buddy know in case something bothers you. Don’t be afraid to express your opinion and expect the same honesty from their side.

Agree on a similar budget

Whether we like it or not, money matters. The budget plays a significant role in your travels. It affects the way you move around places, the choice of accommodations and activities. When you’re a backpacker traveling on a small budget , it’s terrible to be accompanied by someone with loads of money who’ll constantly try to push you to spend more than you have. It might also be frustrating to travel with a caring person if you’ve been saving money to enjoy some luxury during your holidays.

Ask your travel mate where they’d like to stay: hotels, hostels, wild camping? Tell them where you want to dine: restaurants, street food, buying groceries in a shop and making picnics on the beach? The best solution is to agree on a similar budget. If you have the same amount of money, you won’t have to talk through all the expenses; you’ll just naturally manage the finances the same way.

Avoid picky, crazy and whiny individuals as a travel mate

It doesn’t mean you have to be judgmental. The fact someone’s extraordinary doesn’t mean they will make a bad travel partner, but use your intuition and pay attention to the way you feel about them. If you immediately notice someone’s an extreme chatterbox while you enjoy silence, they’ll probably annoy you. As an adventurer, you’ll be tired of a company of people who tend to complain a lot and be overly sensitive about themselves. Check how independent your potential buddy is. The best way to do it is sharing some responsibilities. Don’t book all the tickets and accommodations, let them do a part of the work, you’ll see how well they can manage. Besides, picky people are usually hard to make trips. Choosing someone who needs everything to be done their way might ruin your trip. Make sure the person you’re about to travel with can compromise.

Test each other on a short trip

Don’t go on around the world trip with someone you’ve just met. Instead, go for a small trip, a weekend getaway at least. Even a few days can be enough to see how you get along. It’s a great opportunity to check how your mates behave on the road, where they prefer to eat, how much time they like to spend alone, whether they’re always in a hurry or relaxed. Someone who will make you irritated within two days surely won’t make a good companion for a long journey.

You don’t have to be like a couple of inseparable lovebirds

You’re travel mates, but it doesn’t mean you have to do everything together. Give your travel partner some space and ask them to do the same for you. It’s especially important for long trips. Spending a lot of time with the same person is usually difficult. Even someone you adore can become a bit tiring if they’re around all the time. You can spend two days hiking together, but after that separate for a few hours and use this time to do different things. This way you’ll have a chance to rest, and once you meet again, you’ll have stories to share.

Leave a comment and tell us about your experiences with travel mates! And share this article with your friends to save them from traveling with a wrong companion.

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What makes a perfect travel mate?

Traveling alone is not as enjoyable as traveling with a travel mate . However, traveling with the wrong person can sometimes be much worse than traveling all by yourself. If you want to enjoy your trip to the fullest, your travel companion should have similar interests as you and preferably also similar personality.

If you enjoy hiking and your travel friend prefers beach holidays, then you may not have a perfect time together. Trips on our travel buddy app  are very detailed and only by previewing them, you get an idea of whether they are the right fit for you or not. You can also filter trips based on many criteria like budget, type of journey or work & travel.

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Travel companions and their plans.

Uk (Scotland/England) and Europe

I have already visited some of these places but it would be…

Looking for: Female

Type of journey: City break

Split costs: Yes

Budget: $1000 - $1500

Malaysia + sri lanka

Not planned yet - Start in Sri lanka, then fly to malaysia.

Looking for: Any

Type of journey: Backpacking, Beach

Split costs: No

Budget: $500 - $1000

Mexico Carribean coast

Looking for a companion to Mexico Caribbean coast

Type of journey: Backpacking, Beach, Other

Bahamas 2023

Open to ideas, just looking to relax

Type of journey: Beach

Budget: $2000 +

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Visiting Two or Three Egyptian Cities on the Way of the Red…

Type of journey: Backpacking, City break, Beach

Budget: $150 - $500

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Home » Budget Travel » How to Find a Travel Buddy: Travelling with a Friend 101

How to Find a Travel Buddy: Travelling with a Friend 101

There’s a certain romanticism in the life of an intrepid solo traveller—solitary and stoic—braving venturing unto new frontiers. But do you want to know the truth?

Some of my warmest, happiest, and most sincere memories from the road are of experiences shared travelling with a friend.

Now, that’s not necessarily to say a friend  from home.  No, rather, a travel buddy that I met on the road. People that, astonishingly quickly, became treasured friends and companions.

Because that’s the underlying magic of finding a travel buddy: it’s a shared experience, and that makes it more real. Suddenly, there’s someone to tell that story with—someone to reminisce with. At the one-year reunion, the two-year reunion, or, hell, maybe (if you’re lucky enough), then when you’re old and grey and still complaining about the price of cigarettes together.

And that’s exactly why I want to teach you how to find a travel buddy! Because remembering and sharing those stories together… that’s more special than the travels themself.

We’ll be covering the basics today, i.e. how to make a friend (in case you missed that 101). But also the peripherals: how to find a travel buddy online AND offline, the (more practical) benefits of travelling with friends, and even the stampeding elephant in the room that is the variable of gender.

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Why Travel with a Stranger?

How to find a travel buddy online, how to find a travel buddy offline, the ins-and-outs of travelling with a buddy.

Ok, so ‘stranger’ is a bit rough. Sure, when you first meet a travel buddy they’ll be a stranger, but that’s the beauty of travel relationships: they get real deep real fast.

Imagine a friend that you see every day of your life, be it for 3 days or 3 months. Every decision is shared, resources are shared, stories—new and old—are shared. Rapidly, this person becomes a staple and constant in your life.

It sounds almost like a… real relationship , right?

But it is, essentially, albeit platonically (most of the time).

If the idea that you won’t find a travel partner is holding you back from travelling, that’s daft. There are incredible places to travel alone in the world.

Short of disappearing into the frozen expanses of the Alaskan tundra, you will never be alone. Often, alone time can almost be like black gold for a traveller.

The world is a big place, and no matter how hard you try, you’re never really alone.

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The Benefits of Travelling with a Friend

Outside of all the esoteric mumbo-jumbo about meeting people to travel with and forming lifelong kinships of an almost spiritual substance, there are heaps of logistical reasons to travel with someone!

• Saving money – Duh— budget backpacking 101 ! Someone to split costs with means spending less money overall.
• Taking nicer rooms – Kind of an offshoot of the last point but think about all the private room options that will open up if you’re sharing. You can take swanky Airbnbs at a steal or share grimy single rooms (with one person on the floor) for a pittance!
• Sharing resources – “Hey, dude, got any mozzie spray?”
• Someone to watch your back – Safety in numbers, naturally, but not just that. You’ve got someone to watch your stuff when you wander off for a piss or to talk to on the long train rides. It’s the little things.
• They might not finish their meal – Cha-ching!
• Photo-ops – You’re gonna be featured in way more Insta-basic-beach-poser shots with someone around to take them.

Travelling with a Friend from Home

Personally, I’m not a fan of the ‘bring a friend’ method. You know how sometimes friends choose to live together and then they discover they’re shit housemates and it gets petty and causes schisms within the whole friendship group? (No, you’re a projection!)

I know the dream is to have your mates from home tag along for the adventure, but a dream can quickly turn to a lucid nightmare. Once you’re travelling—solo or with a travel buddy—you’ll discover the glory of freedom. Both the freedom of the road and freedom from home.

Travel is a chance to be free of the perceptions of who you are held by the people closest to you. It’s a chance to grow, develop, and learn about yourself, with yourself, in brand new and unprecedented scenarios. Bringing a friend from home along to that experience is like sneaking a flask into an AA meeting.

I wouldn’t say doggedly avoid travelling with a friend from home. I would, however, suggest to experience travel in its fullest before you bring that home-friend.

A home-friend, or, yes, a partner, is—to be blunt—a ball-and-chain. A travelling friend is someone you meet on the road. You have no unspoken contract to uphold; if it goes south, then so do you (while they go north).

A friend you travel with , however, has all sorts of potential to get messy, and it’s not a good first-time introduction into the backpack-o-sphere. It’s a commitment and one that works counter-intuitively to the freedom of travel.

It can be a real restriction.

Will here again!

While planning an entire backpacking trip with a friend (or friends) can lead to surefire disaster, a short stint through the crazies of Asia or clubs of Europe is a blast!

When it comes to getting my friends to come out and travel with me for a bit, I am absolutely a convincing bastard! What I like to do on longer trips is to make a Facebook group, add my favourite homies, and then post my—extremely rough—itinerary and any general directional updates. That way, people can work out where I’m heading and decide if they’d like to swing by for an interlude.

I tend to much prefer to go my own way during the adventures, but seeing the peeps from back home is always such a heartwarming experience, especially in the reaches of some far-flung land. It may just take some persistence to convince them. 😉

Travel Alone or with Someone: Shoulda Put a Ring on It

While travelling with a friend may be the dream, solo travel is the real journey. If you find a travel buddy, you’re not solo travelling, and that, simply by nature, is restricting.

As a solo traveller, you’re living on a whim. Anywhere you go is entirely in your hands. And experiences come a lot more frequently as a result of your solitude.

• Hitchhiking alone is easier.
• Meeting locals is easier.
• Having someone host you is easier.

That’s not to say that this stuff doesn’t happen when travelling with someone. Only, it’s more restrictive.

A pair of exotic foreigners is a lot more daunting to approach than a single dazed soul. And you haven’t got to hash out decisions with someone either before you do something crazy in the spur of the moment. You do you.

However, you do lose a lot too. Travel isn’t about being alone: it’s about all the people you meet. It’s about all the things that they teach you, and all the things that you learn together. Meeting a travel buddy and earning a travel companion is a natural extension of that.

What I’m trying to say is that sometimes you just wanna smoke a joint by yourself. I get that—we all do. But, at the end of the day…

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It’s the 21st-century. Of course, we’re doing this digitally! Isn’t the main reason to travel to be looking at your phone more?

Ok, so finding a travel buddy online may not be my favourite flavour, but it does work. There are no shortage of travel companion sites and ‘find a travel buddy’ apps fit for the purpose of hooking you up with some loose cannon through cyberspace.

The most obvious is social media and this does work:

• Facebook – Is the no brainer. Check general backpacking groups, backpacking groups for the country you’re in, groups for specific hobbies (hiking, climbing, etc.), or even ride offering/asking groups in the famous road trip countries (Australia/New Zealand/etc.).
• Instagram – Yeah, Insta does have its purposes ; try posting a photo or story showcasing where you’re at now. Chances are someone you met on the road before will hit you up.
• Twitter – I’m not even going to pretend to be an expert on Twitter, but if you’re already an avid tweeter of twits, then I’m sure you know how to utilise it. I have heard success stories!

Your socials are already covering a lot of ground given that so many people—and travellers—are active users. But your also looking at a huge gene pool of many splendid examples of the lowest common denominator. There are no referrals, no rating system, and no barrier of entry.

They definitely have their uses, but there are plenty of much more nuanced travel friend apps and sites to find people to travel with.

Best Travel Buddy Apps and Sites

• GAFFL – On the reverse end of social media’s low threshold to sign up is GAFFL with its 4-step verification process—yikes! There’s a site with a yummy UX and an accompanying travel buddy app, plus you get some extra bonus features for planning the trip itinerary and securely splitting the costs even prior to the trip.
• Travel Buddies – Well the name certainly fits! It’s kinda like a social media platform with the explicit purpose of advertising your upcoming trips and seeing other peoples’. It’s pretty straightforward to contact people and overall a pretty clearcut travel buddy site.
• Meetup – It’s not actually a site for finding a travel companion but rather a site for group meetups and events—hiking, pub drinks, Taco Tuesdays, LGBTQ Taco Tuesdays. You may never meet a travel buddy through meetup, but you’ll definitely meet some friends!
• Tinder – I know, I know. But, using Tinder while travelling does have its uses.
• Backpackr – Just a straight app without a website. You can browse people’s profiles (so, yeah, it’s a bit dating-ish) and a ‘Common Room’ for asking questions, getting tips, and screaming into the void.
• 5W: Women Welcome Women Worldwide – I wanted to throw a ladies-only choice in, and this one is more like a worldwide network than just an app for meeting travellers. 5W is a non-profit that’s been around since 1984. You’ll have to complete an application process first to ensure you meet the prerequisites (i.e. having a vagina), but once you do, you’ll be given the keys to the kingdom: the members list with plenty of opportunities for attending gatherings or organising one-on-one meetings.

Then there are Traveller forums. They’re a dime a dozen for both seeking tips and finding travel buddies. If you’re not a massive fan of apps, these are the major players you should look at:

• Tripadvisor forums – People ask a lot of questions over there too.
• Reddit –  There are endless subreddits divided by different destinations, communities, and hobbies. Check out the Travel Partners and Solo Travel boards particularly.

Couchsurfing – A Broke Backpacker’s Secret Weapon

Heya, Sexylegs.

While the above apps certainly serve the cause, there’s only one platform that I believe takes the true crowning jewel of being the best app to find a travel buddy—Couchsurfing! I have Couchsurfed in all manner of weird and wonderful locales—Iran, Venezuela, and Jordan just to name a few—and I have always found the Couchsurfing community to be absolute gems.

As well as being a fantastic platform for finding free accommodation and meeting locals, Couchsurfing is also a great site and app for making travel friends. I have found numerous people through Couchsurfing’s groups who I have travelled with, and I’ve won some truly treasured friendships as a result.

The best group to look in is either the ‘Backpacker’ group or the ‘Travel Buddies’ group as well as checking out the specific group for whichever country or region you are travelling and Couchsurfing in. Often, people will post in country or city groups asking if other CSers are around for drinks, an adventure, or to see if anybody else is trying to find a travel mate. It’s also definitely worth heading to any local Couchsurfing meetups in your area too!

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Look, I’m old fashioned. I don’t like Tinder. I prefer paying in cash, and I do enjoy popping the odd Werther’s Original. Finding someone to travel with offline is my jam.

You’re going to meet travel companions organically as you travel alone (assuming you’re lovable with a winning smile). It’ll be in any number of differing formats too. They could be a:

• Solo human with an equally unquenchable thirst for the world’s most adventurous places .
• Pair of humans who are either previous friends or also travel buddies.
• Group of any size and connecting factor (though a group of all solo travellers is always madness of the finest calibre).
• Romantic pair of humans. This actually happens more often then you might think and is more-often-than-not excellent fun! Bonus points to the travelling couples who argue in their native tongue for the sake of politeness.

There are probably other formats than this, but that’s the basics. And again, it will happen organically , even if you’re not lovable with a winning smile. (Unless, of course, you’re a total prick, but then you have bigger issues).

Meet Other Travellers (But Never Settle for Second-Best)

Do let it be organic. You’re a solo traveller! Be the badass motherfucking homeless-hero thou most certainly art.

Go and solo travel. Brave new ventures, be lonely sometimes, and make many, many new friends. When the right companion to travel with comes along, you’ll know it. Forcing this issue is just like forcing relationships – it doesn’t work out very well!

Usually, finding a travel buddy (or buddies) is a matter of something shared; it is a core value of The Broke Backpacker Manifesto . A shared desire for the same off-beat adventure. Or it could be a shared matter of convenience— we were both going to the same place, but then we stayed together.

Often, for me, it’s just a shared love for the same simplicities in life: living cheap, travelling without money , eating local, smoking the finest dankeries, and, sometimes, sleeping under the stars. The dirtbag life.

My point is, don’t settle for mediocrity! You’re way too good for that. Wait until you meet travel buddies that truly deserve you.

Just do you, soak up the journey, and let the opportunity come to you. Ultimately, it’s gotta flow.

Places to Find a Travel Buddy Offline

If you’re steering clear of the apps and socials in your travels (or are just terrible at using them), then there are still some classic meeting points to find a travel mate:

• Hostels – Staying in backpacker hostels is the tried-and-true classical method to meet travellers and find someone to travel with. But remember to pick hostels that match your vibe.
• Work Exchange Programs – Absolutely! Things like Workaway, WWOOF, Worldpackers, HelpX, etc… these types of travel jobs are tops places for meeting travellers. Particularly solo and long-term travellers.
• Public Transport – If you’re carving a typical backpacking route for any given place—say the Banana Pancake Trail in Southeast Asia —then you’ll always encounter travellers en route between the major destinations.
• On the Plane – You can find a travel buddy before you even leave the airport! Scout the plane and passengers (at the baggage claim is also a smart spot) for any smelly backpacker vagrant types, and ask them if they’d like to share a taxi to the nearest backpacker hub of whatever city you’ve landed in. A general rule: the cheaper the flight , the more likely you’ll walk into some fellow broke backpackers!
• Declaring a Grand Adventure – It’s happened to me no short number of times. You declare with great intention (no bluffing allowed) about some grand adventure you’re planning—say, hitchhiking across India or finding some legendary hidden mountain village. If the chances of death are still low enough, people are always gonna want to tag along.

Often, if the flow is right, someone that you met as a short-term travel buddy (say, on the bus) can end up being someone you travel with for a while. Sometimes, it can be a long while.

Seriously, work exchange programs are a brilliant method to meet other travellers. Given that the people you meet—not even counting the local friends that you’ll make—are more than likely going to be dedicated to the slow travel life (and to exploring a country away from the tourist bubbles), forming substantial friendships is just a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

It also helps to know your way around the voluntourism sector, and how to choose worthwhile programs (ideally, with a steady influx of travellers). Worldpackers and Workaway —two esteemed platforms for volunteering abroad—are good places to look too.

Worldpackers: connecting travellers with  meaningful travel experiences.

Nobody said it was easy. No one ever said it would be this hard.

Yes, indeed, the man known as ‘Coldplay’ was correct. While sometimes it flows effortlessly, sometimes it is hard.

They’re not a true friend until you’ve seen them at their worst. They’re not a true friend until you’ve considered throwing them out of a 6-storey window.

If you’re going to choose to travel with a stranger, you’ve got to be prepared for some strangeness. Sometimes it gets tense. Sometimes it gets uneasy.

Finding a travel partner is only half the journey.

Oh Boy, We’re Discussing Genders

Yay for minefields! I really wanted to avoid this topic because finding a travel buddy should never be about the potential to get inside another traveller’s Thailand Elephant Pants. However, we can’t honestly pretend that gender isn’t an influencing factor and so… it’s into the abyss we go!

Yes, finding travel companions for singles, as a single, is definitely a thing. Finding love and sex while backpacking is a potential natural conclusion of this. Fairly often, it ends poorly once the honeymoon bubble of travelling together wears off; but it does work out too… sometimes.

BUT, it’s more important to shift your thinking away from that and to more consider the variable of gender , i.e. how gender affects travel.

I remember travelling with a friend—female and very much treasured—in Sri Lanka. She cracked the shits at me one night after dinner because I failed to see the host was ignoring her and taking executive decisions on the meal order from me: the man. Truthfully, I was completely oblivious; I was just pumped for dinner.

However, having a female travel companion does help create insight. Many parts of the world are substantially more difficult for a girl to travel in solo or otherwise (though certainly not impossible)…

The Arab World is tricky. South Asia is not the best either? South America is… mmm .

Being a female looking for a male travel partner in these parts of the world—while not a necessity—is smart. It does mitigate the intensity. With a couple of fake wedding rings thrown in, you’ll be coastin’.

If you do end up travelling with someone of the preferred gender and orientation you most enjoy diddling, again, you guys do you. Just remember the variable.

Dudes, stay aware of your female travel companions. Just stand a bit tighter in the surge of a crowded bazaar, or keep an eye on her drinks during a psy-banger in Goa. Remember that her experience will always be different.

As for the Mademoiselles travelling with a guy friend, just keep communicating: be chill, girl-bros. If you’re gonna crack the shits, do so gently. Sometimes, we’re just not paying attention.

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How to Travel with a Friend: On Fights

Yeah, arguments do happen on the road. Travel with a friend long enough, and, eventually, it’ll happen.

The first time I had an argument with a travel buddy, it got ferocious. Imagine two colourfully dressed hippies shoeless on the side of a New Zealand road screaming and cussing each other out—one in broad Australian, one in angry Japanese. That wasn’t our last argument either.

The next time I hitched long distance with someone, I warned him:

“Alright, dude. At some point, we’re gonna fight. We need to decide now, what we’ll do then.”

He thought I was joking.

“Oh, yeah, well how about we roll a joint on it.”

Several days later while being held semi-captive in a buttfuck-nowhere Indian village, we had our first fight, and that’s exactly what we did.

Assume it’ll happen, make the necessary plans in your head, and communicate well. When you find a travel companion, you’re gonna see that person every day. Often, for every meal.

Travelling relationships can be every bit as intense as romantic ones. The only difference is you don’t get the catharsis of a make-up bang afterwards.

How to Travel with Someone – Tips and Pointers

• Talk – And communicate; if you’re having an off-day—a case of the traveller blues—mention it. Talking is important, especially if it’s about something that affects the team.
• Share – If you’re both giving and taking fairly, you’ll end up a stronger team for it. Pool your resources!
• Don’t be an accountant –  For big sums of money, sure, but keeping track of the little things is going to wear very thin. Often, it’s easier just to go 1:1 on buying each other chai, meals, bus fares, and whatever else.
• Take Space – When you feel you need it, and sometimes when you don’t too. Timeout is rarely the wrong choice.
• Compromise – You ain’t solo travelling anymore which means sometimes you’ll need to make concessions! Somedays, you’re just not going want to do the same thing.

And remember that word— team.  Because that’s what you are. You’re a team working together towards a shared goal.

You gotta function as a unit.

Travel Alone or with Someone, but Get Insurance!

I once had a friend spot his travel buddy several grand when she got herself into a medical mess in Nepal (which is yet to be returned, to the best of my knowledge). Now, granted, he’s self-sacrificing to a fault, however, it’s a picture-perfect example of exactly why you should have travel insurance.

Because it ain’t you who’ll be cleaning up your mess.

All kinds of things can happen when you travel, and they do happen. Be sure to consider some quality travel insurance sorted before you head off on an adventure!

ALWAYS sort out your backpacker insurance before your trip. There’s plenty to choose from in that department, but a good place to start is Safety Wing .

They offer month-to-month payments, no lock-in contracts, and require absolutely no itineraries: that’s the exact kind of insurance long-term travellers and digital nomads need.

SafetyWing is cheap, easy, and admin-free: just sign up lickety-split so you can get back to it!

Click the button below to learn more about SafetyWing’s setup or read our insider review for the full tasty scoop.

And Now You Know How to Find a Travel Buddy!

And how to travel with them. It’s kinda cool, right?

Ding-dong—I’m a solo traveler!

For me, one of the greatest thrills of backpacking is to rock up somewhere completely new and meet a whole new crowd of people, travellers and locals alike. I have done a huge amount of solo, partnered, and group travel, and I highly recommend you have a crack at all of them.

Moreso, I can’t stress enough that if the fear of being alone is holding you back from travelling, it shouldn’t. One of the main reasons some would-be vagabonds never leave home is because they’re worried they won’t meet anyone and will be lonely. One of the lessons you’ll learn travelling is that that’s simply never going to happen.

The backpacker community is awesome; everybody is extremely friendly and, in general, people just want to meet-and-greet (the same as you). It’s really quite easy to find people to travel with. And the times that you are, you’ll still be having a damn good time!

It’s something someone said to me a long time ago: some things you can only learn in a relationship, and some things you can only learn on your own. I think the same is true of travel.

Travelling solo is only one part of travel as is travelling with a friend , buddy, stranger, partner, or even in a group. Don’t find a travel buddy because you’re scared. Be scared and be awesome, because the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Travel in all ways, experience it in all forms, and when you do find travel buddies, experience that too. Because many of those shared stories—and those shared photos—will be the ones that inspire your kids to travel.

1+1=3… which is to say that a unit is greater than the sum of its parts. A team, a friendship, and travel buddies—when it’s right—are stronger together than they are apart. And the end results?

They’re worth all the stupid fights.

Ziggy Samuels

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17 Comments

Too cool of a website. Thumbed the NA Continent, tried in SE Asia {didnt know what thumbing was} and met fine people. There are great people wherever one goes and ones that will go out of their way to help another. Canada is super, picturesque as is the Alcan, North of 60 {Phillip smith mts}. Stayed mostly northern areas. The south has a different atmosphere but good folks. Want to try Hitching Trains. Valuable info to share with others re the site

This helps. I need a travel companion if nothing else someone to talk to but, I would like to find someone that can do some of the driving. Money is not my problem it’s time. I once said we have 3 things. MONEY, SEX, TIME. SOMEONE INTERESTED IN TRAVELING THE USA STARTING IN MARCH OR APRIL CONTACT ME. [email protected] .

I’ve been trying to FIND Someone Anyone!! to go with me from: TX. To and Through: OK./MO./KS. with NO LUCK!!! LOCAL TRAVEL(S) NOT FOREIGN TRAVELS!! Because I LIVE LOCALLY In The USA DUH,……For TWO YEARS Now,…..SO NOT GETTING ANYWHERE OR ANYPLACE, With DIALING The: CHARTER BUSES, The RIDE SHARES, And Even Other HIKING AND BIKING BUDDIES, Especially LONG Distance, Because I Don’t Drive A Car As A Grown Up ok??? VERY FRUSTRATING!!!! What HAPPENED To Just Getting A SIMPLE RIDE Safely Of Course (That Word SAFE AGAIN Grrrr!!!) (SAFE THIS AND SAFE THAT, Or: Safe That And Safe This, For TWO FREAKING YEARS NOW!!!) (SHUT UP ABOUT SAFE!!!) (And Oh Yeah Also: WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER BULLCRAP For TWO FREAKING YEARS!!! ENOUGH ALREADY!!!) Basically AND Generally??? I N E E D A R I D E From A D R I V E R Or D R I V E R S And/Or A Bike AND Hike Group A LONG A DISTANCE Soon For The REST Of This fall And winter DUH!!! And SOMEONE AND SOMEBODY WHO KNOWS THE AREA And/Or AREAS WE ARE GOING THROUGH Soon!!!!! I JUST WISH!!!!!! I’LL EVEN LEAD THE GROUP OR A GROUP, IF NEED BE, THOUGH I’VE NEVER ACTUALLY HAVE LED A GROUP OF OTHER PEDESTRIANS EVER!!! UHG!!! GETTING MORE AND MORE FRUSTRATED DAILY HERE IN GREENVILLE, TX./Texas AND SOON I’M JUST GOING To Go FIND SOME ABANDONED CAR, AND HOTWIRE IT EVEN IF IT’S A NEW WORLD ORDER AI SCARY BOT CAR!!! TIRED OF WAITING FOR A FEW YEARS TO RETURN There WHEREVER!! And A FRUSTRATED TRAVELER(S), BECOMES A HOSTILE CRANKY TRAVELER(S)!!!

Sad to not see more comments since Covid… It’s like a message in a bottle thrown into the sea. I’m French, 35 yo, fit, gentleman, I don’t smoke, marketing manager teleworking, looking for a travel buddy, a woman, I’m not vaccinated, I already moved to different places with my car in France but I also plan to travel in EU, I usually stay a month or more in the same place. I like to explore around, to try the local food, organic mostly, monuments, history, nature… The week I stay around the place to work and do multimedia art, music, etc. on my laptop… I don’t need someone but when I see that most places I rent are for 2 minimum, well… It’s a shame not to share this experience, right?

TravBuddy & Thorntree shut down their service.

GAFFL is a similar site which matches up travelers with similar travel plans and ensures the safety of travelers through their well-built verification process. Currently, it has users from over 170 countries.

This can be a great addition to this list.

Hi my name is LUIS I live in Houston to and I’m ready for new adventures

Teacher: Looking for travel buddy know knows how to budget. Currently in Mexico and looking to head to Asia. Any takers? My goal is to travel with Will one day!

Yes i too would like to travel to Asia! You still down for it?

Hi Guy !!! I am an asian guy,living in the Netherlands now.I will be travelling to Viet Nam ( from 12th/Jan/2019 till 28/febr/2018. I wanna look for a travelbuddy to join me .You dont need to travel as long as i do if you cant.You dont need to travel with me all the time either,if you dont want it.You can catch me up during imy holiday in Viet Nam.Travelling with me together wont be only a great fun, but it will also be a great advantage for you,because i have known the beaufitul cities and countrysides in Viet nam,i do know where we can get cheap accomodation ,, cheap and delicious local food..and wonderful highlights in Viet nam too.Ofcourse you can afford in travelling with me with your low budget . I can speak Vietnamese ,English and Dutch.Any guys are interested in being on vacation with me together in Viet Nam.Be welcome to contact me : [email protected] Greeting. Khale

Hi I’m isaac 28 yr old currently homeless having lost both my parents rest of family have turn there back on me looking for a buddy to travel with I’ve haven’t got much but a good Hart and great company.

I am nearing 60 , but my heart is still of 25 . Passionate about Travel ( Nature) , Sports Music . I have traveled 59 countries so far , partially due to my official requirement and remaining pleasure- trip . I have now enough free time to explore the World with some like minded travelers at economical way . South America , Australia-New Zealand, Japan , Scandinavian Countries are in my bucket list. I am of very flexible and adjusting nature . I am now looking for a like minded travel buddy. Anyone interested ? [email protected]

I would like to add https://travelmate.world to your list as well 🙂 It’s more than just a platform to meet travel buddies. You can also write a free travel blog and ask others for help.

Nice one! It is really nice to watch people going back to good old fashioned hobby – travelling. I love those new travel platforms and apps, allowing people to find ideal companion from a different country so quickly and easily. I do not have many experiences with a “travel buddy” system, but many times I heared about https://tripgiraffe.com/

Another good article for finding travel partners.. Also, Babak I really liked your network you’ve created too! I started my own travel network a while back for finding like-minded travel partners also – http://www.travelchum.net

Great roundup. I’d add another free resource: https://www.tripolette.com/ I started Tripolette to help you find other travelers with similar plans and share trips together. The benefit of this over other forums is the powerful search and discovery, and social aspect. Give me a shout if you like it!

I’ve taken a lot from this post. Firstly – awesome idea about making the facebook group for your itinerary, I always struggle so much remembering who to tell.

BUT, mostly I’ve decided that if you’re ever short of cash, you should contact Colegate and offer to promote them while you travel. They sponsor you to smile next to a famous landmark and boom, you’re rolling in dollar. While giving 60% to your manager in commission for coming up with such a great idea of course.

Oh, I’ll be your Colegate manager by the way.

This looks crazy fun. This is one of the best things in travelling with family and friends. You get to do all things that can give you the fun that you need.

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Acer TravelMate P6 review: a suitable business partner

A consumer laptop in business clothing.

By Monica Chin , a senior reviewer covering laptops and other gadgets. Monica was a writer for Tom's Guide and Business Insider before joining The Verge in 2020.

Photography by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

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Any business laptop that comes out these days is entering a tough field full of very established players. The world is already stuffed full of ThinkPads and Latitudes, which have strong followings, cover price ranges across the board, and are highly attuned to what workers need. 

So my question with lesser-known business laptops is usually: Where does this fit? What customer is it catering to who might be underserved by a ThinkPad? 

With its TravelMate line (specifically the TravelMate P6), Acer seems to be going for two potential openings. The first is that the TravelMate is, as the name implies, specifically intended for frequent business travelers. It’s light, portable, and sturdy, at the expense of some other traits. And the second is its price. Starting at $1,199.99, the TravelMate line is targeting a more price-conscious demographic than many business laptops that would be considered “premium” are. I think the TravelMate succeeds in filling these two niches in particular. But it has some other drawbacks that make it tough to recommend for a general audience. 

The aspect of the TravelMate that should be a big help to mobile business users is the port selection. Despite being quite thin, the laptop is able to fit a USB Type-C (supporting USB 3.1 Gen 2, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3, and USB charging), two USB 3.1 Type-A Gen 1 (one with power-off USB charging), one HDMI 2.0, one microSD reader, one combination audio jack, one Ethernet port (with a trap-door hinge), one DC-In jack for Acer’s adapter, one lock slot, and an optional SmartCard reader. The fewer dongles and docks you have to travel with, the better.

Portability is another priority here and is another one of the TravelMate’s highlight features. At just 2.57 pounds and 0.65 inches thick, the TravelMate should be a breeze to carry around in a backpack or briefcase. Acer says it’s put the product through a slew of durability tests for weight and pressure, drops, shocks, vibrations, and other hiccups you may encounter during the day.  

Another area that’s likely important to some mobile professionals is videoconferencing capability. I found that to be a mixed bag here. The TravelMate’s four-microphone array had no trouble catching my voice, in both voice recognition and Zoom meeting use cases. Acer says they can pick up voices from up to 6.5 feet away. The webcam also produces a fine picture (though this unit doesn’t support Windows Hello for easy logins) and has a physical privacy shutter. The speakers are not great, though — music was tinny with thin percussion and nonexistent bass. 

Acer TravelMate P6 specs (as reviewed)

• 14-inch 1920 x 1080 TFT LCD display, 16:9
• Intel Core i5-10210U at 1.60GHz, four cores
• 8GB DDR4 SDRAM, upgradeable up to 24GB DDR4
• 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD
• 2.57 lbs (1.17 kg)
• One USB Type-CTM (supporting USB 3.1 Gen 2 up to 10 Gbps, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt 3, USB charging), two USB 3.1 Gen 1 (one with power-off USB charging), one HDMI 2.0 with HDCP support, one microSD reader up to 128GB, one headphone / speaker jack, one DC-In jack, one Ethernet (RJ-45) port, optional SmartCard reader slot
• Windows Hello fingerprint reader
• Black finish

The TravelMate also includes some business-specific features including a TPM 2.0 chip and Acer’s ProShield security software. 

In other, less business-y areas, though, the TravelMate has a few shortcomings. Shoppers looking for anything more than portability out of the chassis may be disappointed. While most of the TravelMate is made of magnesium-aluminum alloy, it has a bit of a plasticky feel — and while the keyboard is sturdy, there’s considerable flex in the screen. And then there’s the aesthetic: the P6 is far from the prettiest computer you can buy for $1,199.99. It’s almost entirely black, with very few accents (and the ones it has are a drab gray color). And the bezels around the 16:9 screen are quite chunky by modern standards. Plus, the 16:9 aspect ratio is falling out of fashion for a reason — it’s cramped for multitasking, especially on a 13- or 14-inch screen — and the panel maxed out at 274 nits in my testing, which is a bit too dim for outdoor use. 

The TravelMate looks and feels like it was made a bit better than budget fare. But it also looks and feels closer to an Aspire 5 than it does to a top ThinkPad. For context, you can get an Aspire 5 with identical specs to this TravelMate model for just over $700 . Another comparison: the Swift 5 , a gorgeous consumer laptop that’s even lighter than the TravelMate, can be purchased with comparable specs for just $999.99 . This is all to emphasize that you’re sacrificing a bit of build quality (as well as some extra money) for the TravelMate’s weight and business-specific offerings. 

The touchpad is also not my favorite. For one, I had some palm-rejection issues. Those didn’t interfere with my work per se, but it was still unnerving to see my cursor jumping around the screen while I was typing. In addition, the touchpad on my unit had a bit of give before the actuation point, meaning one click required me to make (and hear) what felt like two clicks. And its off-center placement meant that I was constantly right-clicking when I meant to left-click, and I had to consciously reach over to the left side in order to click with my right hand. Finally, the click itself is shallow and far from the most comfortable. 

AGREE TO CONTINUE: ACER TRAVELMATE P6

Every smart device now requires you to agree to a series of terms and conditions before you can use it — contracts that no one actually reads. It’s impossible for us to read and analyze every single one of these agreements. But we started counting exactly how many times you have to hit “agree” to use devices when we review them since these are agreements most people don’t read and definitely can’t negotiate.

The Acer TravelMate P6 presents you with multiple things to agree to or decline upon setup.

The mandatory policies, for which an agreement is required, are:

• A request for your region and keyboard layout
• Windows 10 License Agreement and Acer license agreement

In addition, there is a slew of optional things to agree to:

• Connect to Wi-Fi
• A Microsoft account for sign-in
• Fingerprint sensor authentication
• Device privacy settings: Find My Device, Inking and Typing, Advertising ID, Location, Diagnostic data, Tailored experiences
• Allow Microsoft to access your location, location history, contacts, voice input, speech and handwriting patterns, typing history, search history, calendar details, messages, apps, and Edge browsing history to let Cortana provide personalized experiences
• Share your name, region, and email address with Acer to register for an Acer ID. In doing this, you also agree to Acer’s Privacy Policy.
• Enroll in Acer’s mailing list and the Acer User Experience Improvement Program (allowing it to collect information on your usage and send it to Acer), and allow Acer to share contact details with Norton so it can send you updates about its pre-installed security software

In total, that’s five mandatory agreements and 13 optional ones.

I also didn’t love the power button. It contains a fingerprint sensor, which worked quite well. But the button itself is stiff and very shallow. I know this sounds like a small nitpick, but it was really irksome and made turning the TravelMate on in the morning more of a hassle than it could’ve been. 

The TravelMate model that I received to review is sold out everywhere I’ve looked as of this writing. The closest model to it is listed at $1,199.99 (though it’s cheaper through some retailers ) and comes with a Core i5-10310U, 8GB of RAM, and 256GB of SSD storage. My unit is the same, but it has a Core i5-10210U. Those processors don’t have a significant performance difference , so my testing here should give you a good idea of what to expect from that model. You can also buy a model with a Core i7-10610U, 16GB of memory, and a 512GB SSD for $1,399.99 . Both configurations run Windows 10 Pro and include a 1920 x 1080 non-touch display. 

For my office workload of emails, spreadsheets, Zoom calls, etc., the TravelMate did just fine. I sometimes heard the fans spinning at times when my load wasn’t super heavy, but the noise wasn’t loud enough to be a problem. Note that this processor has Intel’s UHD graphics, rather than its upgraded Iris Xe graphics, which means the system wouldn’t be a good choice for gaming, video software, or other graphics work. 

But there’s one area where the TravelMate really impressed, and it’s one that’s quite useful for travelers: battery life. Running through my daily workload at 200 nits of brightness, my system averaged nine hours and 15 minutes of continuous use. That’s almost twice what the budget Aspire 5 got with my same workload. It also beats the Swift 5 and the pricier ThinkPad X1 Nano . If your workload is similar to (or lighter than) mine, you should be able to bring this device around an airport or conference for a full work day without being attached to a wall. 

One performance complaint, though: this thing comes with bloatware. My unit was pre-installed with all kinds of junk, including games (Amazon was pinned to the taskbar) and other software like Dropbox. Most annoyingly, it came with Norton, which bugged me with annoying pop-ups all the time and also seemed to impact battery life: the TravelMate consistently lasted around an hour longer after I uninstalled the program. It doesn’t take too long to uninstall everything, but I’m still morally put off by the idea of so much cheap crapware being loaded onto a laptop that costs over $1,000. And it’s especially troubling to see on a business laptop, because it can expose users to cybersecurity risk . 

The TravelMate line is filling a pretty specific niche, and it fills it just fine. If you’re a frequent business traveler who needs a light device with plentiful ports and all-day battery life, you’re shopping in the $1,199 price range, and you’re willing to overlook a mediocre touchpad, dim 16:9 display, and other hiccups, then the P6 will be a better choice for you than something like a pricier and heavier Dell Latitude or the shorter-lived and port-starved ThinkPad X1 Nano. 

That said, the P6 has enough drawbacks that I think the bulk of customers would be better served by other laptops. Those who like the Acer brand may like some of Acer’s other offerings — especially those who don’t need the business-specific security features. The Swift 5 is lighter, nicer-looking, and more affordable than the TravelMate, with a better touchpad, screen, and processor. And budget shoppers can find much of what the TravelMate offers in any number of cheaper laptops. The Aspire 5 and the Swift 3 don’t have the TravelMate’s battery or port selection, but they do improve upon its touchpad, audio (in the Aspire’s case), and looks (in the Swift’s case). And, of course, there’s a litany of other laptops in this price range — from HP’s Spectre x360 to Dell’s XPS 13 — that are excellent in almost every way and also offer 3:2 screens. 

Ultimately, the TravelMate isn’t a bad laptop — but if it’s the best laptop for you, you probably know who you are.  

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How to Find The Perfect Travel Mates

Are you planning to travel to your dream destination and wonder how to find the perfect mates to join you? Or, maybe you’re sorting out the details. For example, the duration of the trip, accommodations, means of transportation, trip itineraries, and so on. 

And then, ​ it comes time to ask all your mates if they want to travel with you ​.

Unfortunately, this is where things start to get out of control. Your best friend just told you they couldn’t make it because he/she needs to attend that cousin’s wedding. Then, you ask colleagues, and they tell you that they are too busy. Or, maybe they have different plans for that week. Or, perhaps they need to take care of a sick family member. Of course, your would-be perfect travel mate just may ​ not want to join you ​.

Everything is Not Lost

In some cases, finding a mate to travel with might be a daunting task or even a nightmare. Indeed, it can also lead some people to quit plans about their long-awaited trip. Thankfully, everything is not lost. 

By planning in advance, ​ it’s very possible ​ to get perfect travel mates interested in your dream trip. Yes, they can take part, without the need for you to give it up. Indeed, that journey to Thailand that you’ve been thinking about for a lifetime can happen! 

So, let’s take a closer look at how to find perfect travel mates to join in on your adventure.

Always Plan Ahead of Time

Proper planning requires a lot of effort. Also, the quest to find the perfect travel mate is no exception. So, give yourself ​ plenty of time ​ to reach out to as many interested people as possible. Then, reach out to your circle of friends and acquaintances in particular. Finding the right travel mate could one or two months.

Tip: To avoid conflicts, keep your potential travel mate  aware  of possible ​ date changes ​ and ​ updates . By doing so, you will avoid potential issues that could hamper the traveling experience together. Antonio Marfella

Be As Clear As Possible

Nobody wants to misunderstand or get disappointed. When spreading the word, make sure your travel mate will be informed about each and every single detail of your trip. People are different; what seems alluring to you, might be unattractive to another. It’s an excellent decision to make your buddy aware of accommodation, tours and itineraries, and transportation, and decide together what’s best for your exigences.

Use Tech to Find The Perfect Travel Mates

When trying to connect with the outside world, one of the best choices you can make out there is to make use of the ​ Internet ​ to get to your purpose in a fast and efficient way. 

For example, post/share your travel projects on ​ Facebook groups ​ and your timeline or even ​ Twitter ​. Chances are there are already hundreds of people planning to travel to the same destination as you. Moreover, many are also looking to join someone else, just as you do. This is a perfect chance to make new genuine friends from all over the world.

Also, mobile platforms can play a crucial role in finding travel mates. In particular, there’s an exciting tech startup project called Wander​. It’s about to make traveler’s lives easier by helping them find their ideal travel mate.  

Wander works by selecting a destination and a date of travel. Then, the app will show a list of users that are also looking to go to the same place at the same time. The mobile platform gives you the option to either ​join​ other groups/individuals trips or to ​ create ​ your own group with your preferred travel itinerary and selected travel mates. 

To get the app, you’ll need to get on their ​ waitlist ​. This way, you’ll get notified about the official launch at ​ https://get-wanderapp.com ​ .

Meet The Perfect Travel Mates During Your Stay

Who said you need someone ​ before  ​taking off? A lot of people get scared just by thinking about taking that  flight alone . Indeed, I found some of the best friendships and travel mates during my past 4 years  traveling solo . Indeed, many of these friendships got made in hostels, hotels, Airbnb, and guesthouses all over the world. For this reason, I think it’s ​ one of the best ways ​ to meet people from every corner of the world. And even better, they are often just as open-minded about traveling as you are and will be more than happy to share their adventures moments with you. 

Saying that so feared word “​ Hi ​” is not that bad after all! You’d be surprised at how many people actually want to start a conversation with someone. Still, they are just as shy, introverted, or afraid as you. I have enjoyed some of my greatest travel moments with people I’ve only talked with for 5 minutes. For example, I even remember sharing my trip with a hostel roommate that I had only met on the spot! He was as crazy and excited about traveling as I was. And, it turned out to be a great friend, and we even got to meet up again at the same place after 1 year. So my humble advice is not to be afraid to talk to others because you won’t regret it 🙂

Boost Your Good Vibes

It seems logical that a good mood and an optimistic personality go a long way. Indeed, they are fundamental to a person’s social interactions. 

People like to surround themselves with people who can ​ uplift ​ them and don’t create drama out of everything. Even if you’re struggling, or not in the perfect mood, try and lift yourself up. Yes, get your good vibes back to attract others. Then, you’ll ​ significantly improve ​ your chances of making your trip perfect with the ideal ones joining you. 

Have you had challenges finding travel mates? If so, how did it go? Did you find them? Comment below!

Antonio is 27 years old, born and raised in Italy.  Tony has spent his last 4 years working and traveling around the world and lived in 4 different continents.  He is fluent in 4 languages and likes to dive into every country’s culture by interacting with locals and sharing opinions about world themes and trying new food from every corner of the world and making friends from 45+ countries.

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That is a difficult task because we are entities in our selfs and each traveller will have a different need for a travel companion. Travel is so rewarding in so many ways a companion, good or bad is part of the experience and becomes a basic foundation to either include him or her in future destinations or not. Sometimes a poor travel companion can become a great one!

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Acer introduces 6 new TravelMate business laptops for hybrid workers

Meet the TravelMate P2 14, P2 16, P4 14, P4 Spin 14, P4 16 and P6 14 — yes, it's a lot

Acer has unveiled a slew of new business laptops here to address the current work climate we find ourselves in — between work and home. Meet the TravelMate P2 14, P2 16, P4 14, P4 Spin 14, P4 16 and P6 14. Yes, those are indistinguishable, but we'll cut through them together.

Ready? Because this one is a doozy.

Acer TravelMate pricing and availability 

All of the new TravelMates will be available in North America starting in June. Here are the price points that they'll start at:

• Acer TravelMate P6 14 (TMP614-53): $1,249.99.
• Acer TravelMate P4 16 (TMP416-52) : $1,049.99.
• Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 (TMP414RN-53): $1,149.99.
• Acer TravelMate P4 14 (TMP414-53): $1,049.99.
• Acer TravelMate P2 16 (TMP216-51): $849.99.
• Acer TravelMate P2 14 (TMP214-55): $849.99.

Acer TravelMate P6 14

The Acer TravelMate P6 14 is the top tier version of the latest TravelMates due to its higher-res display, more expansive components (minus the GPU) and super light chassis.

This notebook can be outfitted with up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, an Intel Iris Xe Graphics GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB SSD.

The Acer TravelMate P6 14 comes with two display options: a 14-inch, 1920 x 1200, IPS panel, or a 2880 x 1800 OLED screen. This laptop comes in at a slim 12.2 x 8.8 x 0.67-0.73 inches and 2.4 pounds.

It's likely that because of the slimness and weight, Acer had to ditch its discrete GPU, which is a shame. An OLED display and an Nvidia GPU makes a killer combination.

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The Acer TravelMate P6 14 is outfitted with a 65Wh battery, which isn't the best (the highest you can go with TSA approval is 99.9Wh).

Acer TravelMate P4 16, P4 Spin 14 and P4 14

The Acer TravelMate P4 16, P4 Spin 14 and P4 14 are the mid-tier TravelMates, which is perfect for those willing to spend a little extra for better specs, displays and security features like a privacy panel.

They all can be outfitted with up to a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU, 64GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

The Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 (touchscreen) and P4 16 are both outfitted with 1920 x 1200- pixel , 16:10 aspect ratio displays at 14 inches and 16 inches, respectively. Meanwhile, the P4 14 can be upgraded to a 2240 x 1400-pixel display.

The P4 14 comes in at 12.4 x 8.9 x 0.73 inches and 3.1 pounds, the P4 Spin 14 at 12.4 x 8.9 x 0.73 inches and 3.3 pounds, and the P4 16 at 13.9 x 9.8 x 0.73 inches and 3.5 pounds.

All the laptops are outfitted with 65Wh batteries, but since the 16-inch has a larger screen, and the P4 Spin 14 is touchscreen, the P4 14 is likely to have the longest battery life.

Acer TravelMate P2 14 and P2 16

The Acer TravelMate P2 14 and P2 16 are on the lower end of the spectrum of TravelMates, which mean they start at a more affordable price.

They both can be outfitted with up to 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2050 GPU, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

The Acer TravelMate P2 14 and P2 16 are both outfitted with 1920 x 1200-pixel, 16:10 displays at 14 inches and 16 inches, respectively. The 14-inch comes in at 12.5 x 9.2 x 0.78-0.82 inches and 3.5 pounds, while the 16-inch weighs in at 15 x 10.1 x 0.78/0.89 inches and 4.1 pounds.

Both laptops are outfitted with 65Wh batteries, but since the 16-inch has a larger screen, it's likely to have a shorter battery life.

Rami Tabari is an Editor for Laptop Mag. He reviews every shape and form of a laptop as well as all sorts of cool tech. You can find him sitting at his desk surrounded by a hoarder's dream of laptops, and when he navigates his way out to civilization, you can catch him watching really bad anime or playing some kind of painfully difficult game. He’s the best at every game and he just doesn’t lose. That’s why you’ll occasionally catch his byline attached to the latest Souls-like challenge.

Acer debut new TravelMate and Chromebook Plus devices ahead of Computex 2024

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• How do I find a travel buddy at JoinMyTrip? You can find a travel buddy by joining trips hosted by passionate travel buddies, whom we call TripLeaders. The trips are carefully handpicked and curated, offering you the best experience you can't find anywhere else. The TripLeaders will be in charge of these trips, from designing the itinerary to leading the way. Furthermore, TripLeaders will accept travelers, whom we call TripMates, on their trips and travel together. So, by joining our trips, you can connect with other amazing travelers from all over the world.
• How does JoinMyTrip verify Travel Buddies? Nothing is more important than your safety when traveling with us! Every TripLeader and every TripMate who wants to join one of our trips has to verify their identity with us. Provide us with your ID or passport and phone number to verify you.
• The more, the merrier. Gain lots of amazing moments as you share them with your travel buddy, a.k.a. TripMates.
• Save money by sharing costs with your travel friends.
• You do not need to spend a lot of time creating an itinerary as it is provided by our TripLeaders.
• As you know, there is safety in numbers. Traveling together with your travel buddies can ensure you this!
• You get to know every travel buddy who will be traveling with you before you go on a trip. You can see the profile of your TripLeader and TripMates beforehand. Besides that, your TripLeader will create a group so you can get closer to your travel buddies.
• How safe is it to find a travel buddy at JoinMyTrip? Your Safety is our top priority. We verify every travel buddy on the platform. A TripLeader has to verify their phone number and identity with us by uploading an ID or passport. We also keep in touch with our TripLeaders before, during, and after the trip. Most importantly, our community protects you. If there is a problem, we will definitely intervene remotely. If you still have any doubts, please get in touch with us !

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Acer’s portable TravelMate laptops get the AI treatment

Acer has unveiled their new TravelMate laptops mere days ahead of Computex. These business laptops are traditionally known for their slim form factor and long battery life. In fact, the 2023 version of the TravelMate P6 nabbed a top spot on our best laptops roundup , earning the title of “Best Ultraportable.”

The new models announced today come loaded with more power-efficient Intel Core Ultra CPUs as well as useful AI capabilities. There’s also a 2-in-1 version and a clamshell with a bigger 16-inch display, and they all use recycled materials in both design and packaging. Heck yeah.

Configurations, hardware, and availability

Acer puts forth three offerings on the table: Acer TravelMate P6 14, Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14, and Acer TravelMate P4 16.

Acer TravelMate P6 14

The Acer TravelMate P6 14, a traditional clamshell and the first to lead the charge, is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and comes with up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage.

The 14-inch touch-optional display is a real stunner with its 2880×1800 resolution, 16:10 aspect ratio, and 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut support for sharp-looking pictures with rich colors.

It even comes with Wi-Fi 7 (gotta go fast!) and Thunderbolt 4 support — both ideal if you’re connecting high-performing devices. It has a starting price of $1,429.99 and will be available to purchase in July 2024.

Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14

The Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 is the convertible version of the business lineup. That means you can swing the screen around a full 360 degrees and use it in various positions, like tent or tablet mode. It weighs 3.29 pounds, making it super travel-friendly.

The machine also comes with up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor, a 14-inch touch-optional 1200p display with a 16:10 aspect ratio, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of SSD storage. The taller aspect ratio makes scrolling through web pages a much more comfortable experience.

This versatile device has a starting price of $1,329.99 and is expected to launch in July 2024.

Acer TravelMate P4 16

Looking for a laptop with a bigger screen? The Acer TravelMate P4 16 is your girl. Like the other models above, it’s packing the latest Intel Core Ultra processor.

However, you can load this one up with up to 64GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. 64GB is a lot of RAM — and that’s a good thing, especially if you typically work with video editing software.

The 16-inch display has a 1920×1200 resolution and 100 percent sRGB, so the picture and color quality should be quite good. The starting price is $1,229.99 and you can start ordering it in July 2024.

New AI capabilities

Everybody’s embracing AI these days, so it’s no surprise to see Acer jump on that bandwagon. You’ll find a number of AI features in the Acer Experience Zone on the TravelMateSense application.

Need to remove something in the background of a photo? Acer LiveArt has you covered. You can also generate “depth maps on 2D images,” according to Acer.

The TravelMate laptops also come with Acer PurifiedView 2.0, which uses the CPU’s neural processing unit to create more seamless, free-flowing AI experiences. This is useful for when you need to blur your background during a videoconferencing call.

Enterprise Chromebooks

Speaking of business laptops, Acer’s got two new business Chromebooks on tap: Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 515 and Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise Spin 514.

Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 515

The Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 515 has a spacious 15.6-inch 1080p display and an equally spacious keyboard with a number pad. The number pad is key for both workers and students alike, especially if your day-to-day consists of punching in numbers (data entry is no joke).

The Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 515 has a starting price of $649.99 and will be available in June.

Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise Spin 514

The Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise Spin 514 is the convertible model, meaning you can prop it up like a tent or flip the screen around and use it like a handheld tablet. It also has Google AI-powered video call tools, which automatically enhances the webcam picture.

The Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise Spin 514 will hit the market in August with a starting price of $749.99.

For regular customers, there’s also the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514. It comes with up to an Intel Core 7 150U processor and 16GB of RAM. It has a starting price of $549.99 and will become available in August.

Author: Ashley Biancuzzo , Associate Editor

Ashley is a professional writer and editor with a strong background in tech and pop culture. She has written for high traffic websites such as Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her off time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction novels, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.

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Acer launches new line of TravelMate AI laptops

Bioggio , SWITZERLAND ( May 22 , 2024 ) – Acer expands its TravelMate series with new AI-enhanced models. Powered with the latest generation of processors with built-in NPUs, the new laptops offer next-level performance, productivity, and mobility, in addition to enhanced security and connectivity features.

AI is transforming the way we do business, presenting new opportunities for increased productivity, personalized experience and power efficiency. These revolutions are causing a ripple effect in the PC market, offering significant benefits to both vendors and their partners. In essence, AI improves efficiency, drives business performance, and helps boost output.

The Acer TravelMate series unlocks all the AI advantages that enhance productivity through high-powered processors, fast-charging batteries, premium connectivity options, and dedicated AI apps; plus, support from TravelMateSense™, Windows 11 Pro, Copilot, Teams, and professional, hardware-grade security. This translates into 42% faster completion of workloads a , 58% drop in security incidents b and 68% improvement in quality of work c .

Enhanced with AI features  

Each of the new TravelMate laptops are equipped with Acer TravelMateSense, the new Acer Experience Zone , and a collection of AI-related features that allow the PCs to be managed, customized, and maximized for optimal use and performance. Creative professionals can leverage Acer LiveArt which helps to instantly remove the background of an image 8 with people, animals and objects and generate depth maps on 2D images. With GIMP and Intel Stable Diffusion plugin 9 , they can also generate illustrations and images with just a few clicks and simple text input. TravelMate laptops also ship with the new Acer PurifiedView 2.0 , which utilizes the NPU to offload AI-accelerated applications to optimize power consumption and create smoother experiences when videoconferencing and live streaming experiences with Background Blur, Automatic Framing, and Eye Contact to make users always look their best. The devices also have Acer PurifiedVoice with AI Noise Reduction to actively suppress background noise for clearer audio. 

Pre-installed business support solutions

Acer's suite of commercial solutions supports entrepreneurs and business owners manage business functions and safeguard vital information.

With the new TravelMateSense software, users can optimize, tailor, and access support systems on their laptops with one click of the TravelMateSense key .

“ Workflow ” consolidates all the functions users may need in different work scenarios (Meeting, Away, and Work) and can be further customized based on specific preferences.

“ Secure Guard ” provides a range of security-related features, including USB Device Filter, Personal Secure Drive, File Secure, and Dynamic Lock to keep the TravelMate devices safe from potential threats. With “ Checkup ”, users can examine the health of vital device components such as storage, RAM, and battery health which comes with a guide to perform calibrations for battery charging optimization. Further configurations on the system such as performance and charging modes, screen settings, and the DustDefender function are available along with an overview system status window on the home page for a real-time status report on the TravelMate devices.

Acer Office Manager allows offices without dedicated IT staff to poll data, centralize resources and monitor IT assets in one portal. Safeguarding critical data is also made easier as Acer ProShield Plus integrates multiple security and management features in a single-client console.

Certified earth-friendly

All Acer TravelMate laptops are EPEAT-registered and incorporate the use of recycled materials in their design and packaging, meeting the most demanding set of criteria for sustainability leadership in electronics and helping businesses to meet their ESG goals.

Acer TravelMate P6 14: premium experiences and OLED display quality

Acer TravelMate P6 14 (TMP614-73) is powered by the latest Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processors with Intel vPro, built-in Intel Graphics and Intel AI Boost to unlock new AI experiences, performance, and power efficiency in the premium device. The Intel Evo™ edition business laptop has up to 32 GB of LPDR5X memory 2 , and up to 1 TB M.2 PCIe SSD 2 for long-lasting battery life and fast response even when handling large workloads.

A stunning 14-inch WQXGA+ OLED (2880 x 1800) panel with a touch option, paired with a 16:10 aspect ratio, narrow bezels, and DTS ® audio delight users with immersive audio and visual experiences. Cinematic colors and motion clarity can be experienced when watching videos with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut support and VESA HDR TrueBlack 500 certification. The TravelMate P6 14 also comes with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth ® 5.3, and a large availability of essential ports that support Thunderbolt 4 ™ for seamless connectivity and convenience during business travels.

Acer TravelMate P4 series laptops: the ultimate work companions

The new TravelMate P4 Series of thin-and-light business laptops include a 14-inch convertible design, as well as 14- and 16-inch clamshell models, all with new performance, security, and device management features to support professionals and IT technicians.

The 2-in-1 Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 (TMP414RN-54) allows users to effortlessly switch between various tasks and modes and take advantage of its portability weighing just 1.49 kg and 21.9 mm thin. It gets a performance boost with up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 165U 1 with built-in Intel Graphics and Intel vPro Enterprise eligibility, and long battery life 2,3 for efficient work sessions plus fast charging capability when needed. The device also comes with a 14-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) display with a touch option and a 16:10 narrow bezel for an enhanced visual and audio experience with DTS immersive audio. Helping highly mobile professionals stay connected, the TravelMate P4 Spin 14 comes with Wi-FE 6E and optional 4G LTE 2 connectivity. 

Productivity and reliable performance are ensured on the Acer TravelMate P4 16 (TMP416-53) as it is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra processors with Intel vPro Essentials 2 . It is further supported with Intel Unison, fast dual-channel DDR5 memory of up to 64 GB and up to 1 TB of PCIe SSD storage, along with extended battery 2,3 life. Stunning visual details are shown on the device's WUXGA (1920x1200) 2 narrow bezel display paired with Acer TrueHarmony technology for elevated audio. Like the convertible model, the 16-inch laptop comes with a variety of ports that help professionals stay connected when out of the office.

The Acer TravelMate P4 14 (TMP414-42-TCO) features the latest AMD Ryzen Pro 8000 Series processors, with up to eight high-performance processing cores based on the “Zen 4” architecture, to support productivity and enterprise-class security features on the mobile workstation. It supports up to 64 GB of DDR5 memory, up to 1 TB of PCIe Gen4 storage, extended battery life, and AMD’s modern Enterprise Mobility Management solutions.

All the TravelMate P4 Series devices are designed to withstand the rigors of daily wear and tear without impeding performance. Their military-grade durability compliance 4 does just that and Acer Dust Defender helps minimize dust buildup internally that can be a cause of slowdown. Device protection extends even further with all devices equipped with discrete TMP 2.0, privacy shutters and fingerprint readers for secured logins, and an optional Smartcard reader for the TravelMate P4 models. 

Founded in 1976, Acer is one of the world’s top ICT companies with a presence in more than 160 countries. As Acer evolves with the industry and changing lifestyles, it is focused on enabling a world where hardware, software and services will fuse with one another, creating ecosystems and opening new possibilities for consumers and businesses alike. Acer’s 7,500 employees are dedicated to the research, design, marketing, sale, and support of products and solutions that break barriers between people and technology. Please visit www.acer.com for more information.

Media Contacts

Noesis                         Tel:  +39 91 2610 111                Email: [email protected]

© 2024 Acer Inc. All rights reserved. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks of Acer Inc. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, and/or service marks, indicated or otherwise, are the property of their respective owners. All offers subject to change without notice or obligation and may not be available through all sales channels. Prices listed are manufacturer suggested retail prices and may vary by location. Applicable sales tax extra.

a. Principled Technologies (2023). b. Techaisle (2022). c. Work Trend Index Report (2023).

1. Microsoft Copilot is embedded in Microsoft 365 apps and requires pre-installment.

2. Specifications may vary depending on model and/or region. All models subject to availability.

3. Battery life is measured under specific test settings and conditions pursuant to MobileMark 2025. Actual battery life may vary considerably by specifications, model, and operating conditions.

4. MIL-STD 810G/H is a testing protocol conducted in controlled settings and does not guarantee future performance in all situations. Do not attempt to simulate these tests, as damage resulting from this will not be covered by Acer's standard warranty.

5. For more information on our TCO Certified devices, please contact your local sales representative.

6. PCR material on B cover and power adapter

7. EPEAT® registration varies by country. See http://www.epeat.net/ for registration status for each country.

8.  Image format in .jpg and .png and size up to 10MB. Acer LiveArt updated version, availability and rollout timing varies by models.

9. Only supported on Intel models.

This article was posted on UAEMoments

This article may contain affiliate links that Microsoft and/or the publisher may receive a commission from if you buy a product or service through those links.

Acer's new TravelMate laptops feature OLED, AI, and 4G LTE to entice busy professionals

They're not Copilot+, but they are still AI PCs.

What you need to know

• Acer announced new 14- and 16-inch TravelMate P4 and P6 laptops ahead of Computex 2024.
• TravelMate P6 14, TravelMate P4 Spin 14, and TravelMate P4 16 models come with Intel Core Ultra CPUs with NPU.
• TravelMate P4 14 will be available only in European regions and will have AMD Ryzen PRO 8040 chips also with NPU.
• All laptops are expected to launch in July 2024 except for the TravelMate P4 14, which is expected Q4 2024. Prices start at $1,229.

Computex 2024 kicks off next week in Taipei and will run from June 3 until June 7, but Acer has already unveiled a collection of new AI PCs made for business users. The Windows laptops , powered by a mix of modern Intel vPro and AMD PRO hardware, are not classified as Copilot+ PCs , but they do include a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for local AI acceleration.

There are four new TravelMate laptops headed our way, with the first three expected to launch in July; a fourth is expected to hit European markets later in Q4 2024. Here's what you need to know about the new laptops.

Acer's TravelMate P6 14 has a 2.8K OLED display

Price: From $1,430 CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, Core Ultra 5 135H (vPro), Core Ultra 7 155H, Core Ultra 7 165H (vPro) GPU: Intel Arc NPU: Intel AI Boost (~10 TOPS) RAM: Up to 32GB LPDDR5x SSD: Up to 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Display: 14 inches, OLED, 2880x1800, 16:10, 400 nits, 100% DCI-P3 Webcam: FHD, privacy shutter Battery: 65Wh (12 hours) Ports: Two Thunderbolt 4, USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 2.0, microSD card reader Wireless: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3 Security: dTPM, Acer ProShield Plus, fingerprint reader Dimensions: 12.34 x 8.92 x 0.67-0.74 inches (313.4mm x 226.5mm x 16.9-18.9mm) Weight: 2.62 pounds (1.19kg) OS: Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home

Acer's TravelMate P6 14 (P614-73) looks to be the most exciting new business laptop headed our way if only for the display. Measuring 14 inches, it has an OLED panel for deep color and contrast with a crisp 2880x1800 resolution. That 16:10 aspect ratio provides some extra vertical screen real estate ideal for multitasking, and Acer says it hits 100% DCI-P3 color to suit some specialized work. It also comes with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification for compatible content.

The 14-inch laptop weighs in at just 2.62 pounds (1.19kg) and comes with MIL-STD 810H durability certifications to ensure it can keep up with a busy lifestyle. Ports include dual Thunderbolt 4, USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 2.0, and a microSD card reader. It looks like only the P4 laptops come with an optional SmartCard reader for enterprise use.

Powering the PC are Intel's Core Ultra H-series processors (CPU), available in standard and vPro Enterprise flavors. All four of the CPUs come with Intel's AI Boost NPU, which hits around 10 TOPS of performance for local AI acceleration. These chips will bring more power than the Core Ultra U-series alternatives found in the TravelMate P4 laptops also announced today. They also have strong Intel Arc integrated graphics.

Acer offers up to 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM (soldered) and up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid-state drive (SSD), and the system runs on a 65Wh battery. As for wireless connectivity, the P6 14 is the only TravelMate laptop announced today with Wi-Fi 7; the others have Wi-Fi 6E. Bluetooth 5.3 is also on board to handle wireless accessories.

Acer expects to launch the TravelMate P6 14 in North America in July, with prices starting at $1,430. It will come to the EMEA market Q3 2024 starting at €1,359.

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The TravelMate P4 Spin 14 is a convertible with optional 4G LTE connectivity

Price: From $1,330 CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 125U, Core Ultra 5 135U (vPro), Core Ultra 7 155U, Core Ultra 7 165U (vPro) GPU: Intel Graphics NPU: Intel AI Boost (~10 TOPS) RAM: Up to 64GB DDR5 SSD: Up to 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Display: 14 inches, IPS, 1920x1200 (FHD+), 16:10, 340 nits, 100% sRGB Webcam: FHD, privacy shutter Battery: 65Wh (14.5 hours) Ports: Two Thunderbolt 4, two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 2.0, microSD card reader Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 4G LTE (optional) Security: dTPM, Acer ProShield Plus, fingerprint reader, SmartCard reader Dimensions: 12.56 x 9.02 x 0.74-0.86 inches (319mm x 229mm x 18.9-21.9mm) Weight: 3.28 pounds (1.49kg) OS: Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home

Professionals looking for some extra versatility and connectivity from their business laptop will no doubt want to check out the TravelMate P4 Spin 14 (P414RN-54). It's a 14-inch convertible that weighs in at 3.28 pounds (1.49kg), and it comes with the same MIL-STD 810H durability certification as its siblings.

The laptop is powered by Intel Core Ultra U-series chips, again with standard and vPro Enterprise options. These chips have an Intel AI Boost NPU with around 10 TOPS of performance, and Acer offers up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM and up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. A larger 65Wh battery is quoted at 14.5 hours of runtime, which of course is a number that should be viewed with caution. Real-world usage will no doubt bring the runtime down, but that's still the best estimation of all the TravelMate laptops announced today.

Perhaps the best part of the P4 Spin 14 is the optional 4G LTE connectivity. It's not 5G , but it's still better than nothing for travelers, students, and pros who need to stay connected to the internet at all times. There are otherwise Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 capabilities available.

The IPS touch display measures 14 inches and has a 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Acer notes it hits up to 340 nits brightness and should hit 100% sRGB color. It's also compatible with an active pen for inking.

Wrapping things up are an FHD webcam with a privacy shutter and a fingerprint reader for biometric security through Windows Hello.

The TravelMate P4 Spin 14 is expected to launch in North America in July starting at $1,229. It's also expected to hit the EMEA market in Q3 2024 starting at €1,019.

Price: From $1,229 CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 125U, Core Ultra 5 135U (vPro), Core Ultra 7 155U, Core Ultra 7 165U (vPro) GPU: Intel Graphics NPU: Intel AI Boost (~10 TOPS) RAM: Up to 64GB DDR5 SSD: Up to 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Display: 16 inches, IPS, 1920x1200 (FHD+), 16:10, 400 nits, 100% sRGB Webcam: FHD, privacy shutter Battery: 53Wh (14 hours) Ports: Two Thunderbolt 4, two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 2.1, microSD card reader Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Security: dTPM, Acer ProShield Plus, fingerprint reader, SmartCard reader Dimensions: 14.09 x 9.88 x 0.74-0.82 inches (358mm x 251mm x 18.9-20.9mm) Weight: 3.64 pounds (1.65kg) OS: Windows 11 Pro, Windows 11 Home

Acer has also unveiled a larger 16-inch TravelMate P4 laptop, this time without convertible functionality. I can see it being a solid option for those who want to spend less than the P6 price yet still land a secure and durable laptop.

The TravelMate P4 16 (P416-53) comes with Intel Core Ultra U-series CPUs with standard and vPro Enterprise versions. The same Intel AI Boost NPU with about 10 TOPS of power is included, and you can get up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM and up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD for plenty of storage. A 53Wh battery is quoted as offering up to 14 hours of runtime, which will no doubt come down in real-world usage.

A 16-inch display should provide plenty of space for multitasking, especially with the taller 16:10 aspect ratio. Acer lists a 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution, with 400 nits brightness and 100% sRGB color. It's a pretty standard display, but that's not out of the ordinary for business laptops.

Above the display is an FHD webcam with a privacy shutter, and a fingerprint reader is included for extra biometric security through Windows Hello. A SmartCard reader is also optional.

There's unfortunately no optional 4G LTE connectivity available here; the laptop offers instead Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Acer expects to launch the TravelMate P4 16 (P416-53) in North America in July starting at $1,229. Again, the EMEA market will get it Q3 2024 starting at €959.

The TravelMate P4 14 has AMD Ryzen PRO chips for the European market

Price: From €949 CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 8840U, Ryzen 5 PRO 8540U, Ryzen 5 PRO 8640U, Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U GPU: AMD Radeon 760M, Radeon 780M NPU: ( Ryzen 5/7) Ryzen AI with 16 TOPS RAM: Up to 64GB DDR5 SSD: Up to 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Display: 14 inches, IPS, 1920x1200 (FHD+), 16:10, 300 nits, 100% sRGB Webcam: FHD, privacy shutter Ports: Two USB-C, two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 2.1 Battery: 65Wh (14 hours) Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 Security: dTPM, Acer ProShield Plus, fingerprint reader, SmartCard reader Dimensions: 12.56 x 9.02 x 0.74 inches (319mm x 229mm x 18.9mm) Weight: 3.06 pounds (1.39kg) OS: Windows 11 Pro

Finishing up Acer's TravelMate announcements is a laptop that I wish was coming to North American markets. Alas, it appears that it is only expected to launch in the EMEA region in Q4 2024 starting at €949.

It's the only new TravelMate laptop announced today sporting AMD's Ryzen PRO 8040-series chips with a more powerful NPU hitting about 16 TOPS for local AI acceleration. That's still not enough to hit the Copilot+ threshold, but these CPUs look to be powerful and efficient.

Acer is offering four different CPUs, including the Ryzen 3 8840U and Ryzen 5 PRO 8540U without Ryzen AI. The Ryzen 5 PRO 8640U and Ryzen 7 PRO 8840U are also offered, and they'll be the go-to for that NPU boost. Up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM and up to a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD are available, and the system runs on a 65Wh battery that Acer quotes as offering 14 hours of runtime.

The 14-inch display looks to be the same as offered in the P4 Spin 14 except it doesn't have touch functionality. It sits at a 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution with a 16:10 aspect ratio, 300 nits brightness, and 100% sRGB color.

Ports do not include Thunderbolt 4 due to the AMD platform, but you still get dual USB-C (Acer doesn't specify whether they're USB4 ), two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), HDMI 2.1, and a SmartCard reader. Wireless connectivity is handled by Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3.

Why are these AI PCs not considered Copilot+?

Copilot+ PCs are headed our way in the near future, bringing support for advanced AI features in Windows 11. It's part of what Windows Central Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino calls a "Great Reset" in the Windows PC industry , and at the moment it's thanks to a collaboration between Qualcomm and Microsoft.

Why are these TravelMate PCs not considered for Copilot+ if they have an NPU? Copilot+ features require at least 40 TOPS of performance to run locally. The new Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus chips with 45 TOPS are currently the only options available; Intel Core Ultra and AMD Ryzen PRO don't make the cut.

That doesn't mean you can't use these TravelMate laptops for AI help in applications like Windows Studio Effects. You just won't have access to things like Windows Recall , Auto Super Resolution, Live Captions, and local AI image and text creation.

Not everyone needs a Copilot+ PC, and until Intel and AMD catch up with their next-gen chips sporting a more powerful NPU, you'll have to live without to land Intel vPro and Ryzen PRO enterprise features.

Cale Hunt brings to Windows Central more than eight years of experience writing about laptops, PCs, accessories, games, and beyond. If it runs Windows or in some way complements the hardware, there’s a good chance he knows about it, has written about it, or is already busy testing it. 

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Get Star Wars Outlaws™ with purchase of qualifying Intel® Core™ 14th gen products!

TravelMate P4 14

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Beyond Performance

Intel ® Core™ processors excel at real-world business computing, improving upon the revolutionary architecture that uses adaptive computing to give all professionals a powerful and smooth experience.

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Users are better protected with AI-powered security capabilities that can help detect threats before they happen, including ransomware, cryptojacking, and software supply chain attacks.

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Intel ® Unison™ seamlessly connects with your choice of phone. Transfer files & photos, send and receive calls & text messages, and receive & manage phone notifications all from your PC.

Security and Management Mastery

Enter a realm of unrivaled security and comprehensive administration where your data is safeguarded with discrete TPM 2.0, Smartcard reader 1 , biometric security, and privacy shutter. Streamline and simplify with IT Deployment & Management for business.

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Embrace security at your fingertips, protecting against unauthorized access and safeguarding your personal data.

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The physical camera cover ensures no unwanted eyes can access your webcam, keeping you safe from potential threats.

Acer ProShield Plus

An all-in-one security solution that helps secure against unauthorized access and intrusion.

AI Innovation

Experience the future of productivity on an AI business laptop with TravelMate Sense, PurifiedVoice with AI Noise Reduction, Microsoft Copilot with hotkey 3 , and more.

Optimized to deliver new AI-powered capabilities, all new business laptops come with Acer TravelMateSense for quick access to device management settings and customizations, a new Acer Experience Zone for the collection of the devices’ AI features, and Copilot accessible through a dedicated hotkey. Each model also includes advanced security and administration features to streamline device deployment and management for business, ensuring data is safeguarded with discrete Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, biometric security, and a camera privacy shutter.

Designed for business leaders and executives, the Acer TravelMate P6 14 (TMP614-73) is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra 7 processors with Intel vPro, and built-in Intel Graphics and Intel AI Boost to enhance AI experiences, performance, and power efficiency. The Intel Evo edition business laptop has up to 32 GB of LPDR5X memory and up to 1 TB M.2 PCIe SSD, offering long battery life and fast response even when handling large workloads.

A 14-inch WQXGA+ OLED (2880 x 1800) panel with a touch option, paired with a 16:10 aspect ratio, narrow bezels, and DTS audio provides immersive audio and visual experiences. The 100% DCI-P3 color gamut support and VESA HDR TrueBlack 500 certification ensure vibrant colors and motion clarity when watching videos. The TravelMate P6 14 also comes with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3, and a variety of ports supporting Thunderbolt 4 for seamless connectivity during business travels.

The new TravelMate P4 Series of thin-and-light business laptops include a 14-inch convertible design, as well as 14- and 16-inch clamshell models, all with new performance, security, and device management features to support professionals and IT technicians.

The 2-in-1 Acer TravelMate P4 Spin 14 (TMP414RN-54) allows users to switch between various tasks and modes easily and weighs just 1.49 kg and 21.9 mm thin. It features up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor 165U with built-in Intel Graphics and Intel vPro Enterprise eligibility, and long battery life with fast charging capability. The device also includes a 14-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) display with a touch option and a 16:10 narrow bezel for an enhanced visual and audio experience with DTS immersive audio. The TravelMate P4 Spin 14 offers Wi-Fi 6E and optional 4G LTE connectivity.

The Acer TravelMate P4 16 (TMP416-53) ensures productivity and reliable performance with the latest Intel Core Ultra processors with Intel vPro Essentials. It includes Intel Unison, fast dual-channel DDR5 memory of up to 64 GB, and up to 1 TB of PCIe SSD storage. The device's WUXGA (1920x1200) narrow bezel display, paired with Acer TrueHarmony technology, provides elevated audio and visual experiences. The 16-inch laptop offers a variety of ports to keep professionals connected when out of the office.

The Acer TravelMate P4 14 (TMP414-42-TCO) features the latest AMD Ryzen PRO 8040 Series processors with AMD Ryzen AI, with up to eight high-performance processing cores based on the “Zen 4” architecture. This model supports up to 64 GB of DDR5 memory, up to 1 TB of PCIe Gen4 storage, extended battery life, advanced enterprise security features, and modern Enterprise Mobility Management solutions as part of AMD PRO technologies.

All TravelMate P4 Series devices are designed to withstand daily wear and tear without impeding performance. Their military-grade durability compliance and Acer Dust Defender help minimize dust buildup internally that can cause slowdowns. Device protection extends further with all devices equipped with discrete TPM 2.0, privacy shutters, fingerprint readers for secured logins, and an optional Smartcard reader for the TravelMate P4 models.

Each TravelMate business laptop is equipped with new AI features for collaboration and creation, available in the Acer Experience Zone on the TravelMateSense application. Creative professionals can use Acer LiveArt to instantly remove backgrounds and generate depth maps on 2D images. With GIMP and Intel Stable Diffusion plugin, they can generate illustrations and images with simple text input.

These TravelMate products also include Acer PurifiedView 2.0, which utilizes the NPU to offload AI-accelerated applications for optimized power consumption and smoother videoconferencing and live streaming experiences. Acer PurifiedVoice with AI Noise Reduction actively suppresses background noise for clearer audio.

Acer's suite of commercial solutions supports entrepreneurs and business owners in managing business functions and safeguarding vital information. With TravelMateSense software, users can optimize, tailor, and access support systems on their laptops with one click of the TravelMateSense key. “Workflow” consolidates functions needed in different work scenarios (Meeting, Away, and Work) and can be customized. “Secure Guard” provides security-related features, including USB Device Filter, Personal Secure Drive, File Secure, and Dynamic Lock. “Checkup” allows users to examine the health of vital device components and perform calibrations for battery optimization.

Acer Office Manager allows offices without dedicated IT staff to poll data, centralize resources, and monitor IT assets in one portal. Acer ProShield Plus integrates multiple security and management features in a single-client console.

All Acer TravelMate laptops are EPEAT-registered and incorporate recycled materials in their design and packaging, meeting sustainability criteria.

Exact specifications, prices, and availability will vary by region. For more information, please contact your nearest Acer office via www.acer.com.

I went on one date with a man, and then we decided to travel together indefinitely. It's not as romantic as it seems.

• While traveling full time, I joined a dating app and went on a date; we fell for each other.
• Since we have similar values, we decided to travel together indefinitely. 
• It's been difficult at times, and our future is uncertain, but it's the perfect life for us.

Last year, I finally fulfilled my dream of traveling full time when I got a job aboard a cruise ship. I was loving every moment of my nomadic life. I was too busy enjoying myself to worry about a relationship.

But in my second year of the job and third year of being single, I joined the Nomad Soulmates dating app . I wasn't necessarily looking for my soulmate because travel was my priority for most of my life. But at 32, I knew I had to make a proactive choice to prioritize relationships and dating.

In April 2023, I disembarked the ship in Lisbon and tried out the app. I was skeptical it would lead anywhere because I only had two months off the ship before I had to head to Norway to join my next contract. Plus, I had already scheduled my travel plans for the next two months.

But then I matched with someone that made me rethink everything.

We had an instant connection

I matched with a man who was in Lisbon for the month. He asked me out for Greek food, and I figured it was worth a try. Once again, I didn't imagine it would go anywhere because I planned to stay for only a week before heading to Porto for the weekend and then off to Spain for the next leg of my trip .

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But our date ended up being so much fun that I was interested in seeing where it could go. He was silly, and that was refreshing. We shared many of the same values and loved traveling, so the conversation never lagged.

I surprised myself when I invited him to stay with me for a few nights in Porto. During our visit to Porto, I canceled my trip to Spain and accepted his invitation to return to Lisbon with him, beginning our partnership.

We decided to keep traveling together

I had to choose between my travel plans and my partner . Having been a solo traveler, giving up my travel plans for something that might not work out wasn't a decision I took lightly.

But I wanted to take a chance as we found ourselves on the same page about everything — especially what we were looking for in a long-term relationship and what we wanted in the future. I never saw myself returning to the US; I wanted to return to Italy or continue traveling full time with my future partner and kids. He also had no plans on returning to his home country of Germany and, having been traveling full time since 2018, was uninterested in stopping. He also wants children and plans to travel with them full time.

I saw that we were on the same page regarding how we wanted to incorporate parenting, traveling, and our careers, so we decided to continue traveling together — which was a decision we made exceptionally quickly.

I was fearful at the beginning of our relationship because I heard horror stories from friends about traveling with partners they just met. Luckily, being seasoned travelers , we face inconveniences quite similarly and calmly. Within the last year, we've dealt with being separated for months at a time and spending every second together for months at a time. We've also experienced missed flights, scooter accidents, cockroach infestations, and a lack of necessities such as hot water. It's not all romance and dreamy vacations.

Like so many other relationships I've had, I thought each new inconvenience would fracture our relationship, causing us to decide that maybe this wasn't the right partnership for us. But it all had the opposite effect, building the foundation of our relationship as we moved into the second year of traveling full time together.

Bound by wanderlust , we aren't sure what our futures hold, but we'll sculpt it with our shared dreams.

Watch: Marriott International's Tina Edmundson tells Insider that the travel mindset has changed since the pandemic

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