Photo and video storage

There are devices now that effectively act as USB storage for iPhones and iPads. I have this one, http://www.leefco.com/ibridge . I believe SanDisk also makes a version. It isn't perfect technology, and I still back up to the cloud or GoogleDocs when I have wifi, but it's a promising stopgap measure.

Caroline

P.S. Sorry, forgot to mention. These devices are advertised as able to hold video as well, but my experience with the iLeef/iBridge is that that doesn't work well. I've seen reviews on Amazon that say the same. Still, I don't think it's a lemon technology, just new.

~C

Transfer photo data to your iPad or Mac:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/simple-transfer-wireless-photo/id420821506?mt=8
http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/ipad/transfer-photos-to-ipad-3504873/
http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-software/get-photos-from-your-iphone-onto-your-mac-3630670/

cassie,

For a "once in a lifetime trip" you might consider packing along another camera in addition to your iPhone.

To be 100% certain of not losing photos, get a small portable hard disc back up rather than using any App. For pictures of a lifetime experience, I wouldn't use an iPhone, as its zoom isn't great. I would use a proper camera.

Thank you all for your suggestions! I will look into the link you sent Caroline. Yes I did also think of brining a camera as well, I'm just so much more comfortable with me phone. I did some research and One Drive gets good reviews, I have some time before we leave so planning to test and see how easy to view and delete photos from the app. Keep you all posted for your future trips:)

one thing you may want to consider, is how fast and reliable is the wifi at hotels etc. depending on how many large photos you want to back up to the 'cloud' etc. some hotels have good wifi, some very poor. its hard to guess from our experience. so an external storage is reliable and much faster than sitting waiting for slow wifi to load. just a thought.

I prefer Google Photos but some people find it too intrusive. It will take your trip photos and generate an album complete with locations and animated maps of your trip. You will need a wifi connection which shouldn't be hard to find and it's best to have it upload your photos at night so as not to slow down your connection if you need to go online.
ICloud is also a good service and seamless between Apple devices but doesn't have the features of Google.
As mentioned above, Sandisk makes two Wireless drives which would allow you to connect to your phone and upload your photos. I purchased one to store movies and TV shows so we could connect with our tablets and watch on the plane or train without needing a wifi connection.

I used one of these on my trip last year (this is the newest model):

https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-Digital-MobileLite-Wireless-MLWG3/dp/B019PY0ORK/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

It enables you to view and move media files around with no computer or Internet connection required. I typically did my backups and file transfers on the train. Works with USB sticks, SD cards, or, if you have a lot of large files (like GoPro footage) it even connects to any portable USB-powered hard drive.

Best of all, it lets you offload photos from your smartphone without needing to connect to the cloud. It's all controlled with a free app. So it essentially enables virtually unlimited storage of iPhone photos, which is handy if you get that annoying message that there's no more space on your phone when you're not connected to the cloud and you want to still take more photos.

Plus, it functions as a battery backup for your phone, a wireless hotspot for multiple devices when you do have an internet connection, and can even stream media to multiple devices (nice if several people all want to watch movies that you have downloaded and stored on HD or SD card.)

Pretty handy for under $50.

Cassie - So I'll be the oddball and ask: What is the difference between "Google Photos" and "the cloud"? And could you expand on why you are adverse to cloud storage?

We just spent two of the best weeks of my life in England and every other night, I used the hotel wifi to upload the pictures onto my Google drive. Quick, easy, painless.

a small portable hard disc back up

how fast and reliable is the wifi

Should consider these seriously. For the best solution that suits you, ask yourself:

• How much data do you need to store per day, and for the whole trip?
• What is the transfer speed and time? Will your phone/camera be tied up for hours, or overnight?
• For the "once in a lifetime" photos, how reliable is the transfer connection? Will you need duplicate copies?

Thank you all for your help and recommendations! You all have good ideas that have worked for you- I'm going to look into several options. Since I am bringing only my phone, definitely need multiple options.

Hubestur- I'm going to look into the Kingston lite from Amazon.

Hamlet's Shrink- really no difference between the two. I like of the idea of having my pics and video somewhere where multiple people can access. Since there's a few of us going- I can share my albums with others.

Thanks Richard! I will also look into a Sandisk wireless option.