Are you prepping to head out on vacation with the family? If so, did you know that your Raspberry Pi is actually the perfect travel companion? The mini computer can actually do quite a few things that might surprise you.
From acting as a full-blown media server to a blog that you may write offline and have automatically sync up when connected to the internet, your Raspberry Pi is the perfect travel companion for your upcoming vacation and trips.
Raspberry Pi 5
It’s only recommended for tech-savvy users, but the Raspberry Pi 5 is a tinkerer’s dream. Cheap, highly customizable, and with great onboard specs, it’s a solid base for your next mini PC.
7Turn It Into a Travel-Friendly Media Server
Have you ever been at a hotel and wished you had easy access to yourPlex media library? It’s actually easier than you think tobring your media server with you—without bringing a massive computer.
Raspberry Pis are pretty powerful these days. Most hotels have 4K TVs, meaning you could play 4K content natively without transcoding, though 1080p content might be a bit more practical due to storage constraints. I’m getting ahead of myself, though.
UsingLibreELEC, you’re able to have a media server up and running on a Raspberry Pi in just a few minutes. It usesKodi as the media server interfaceand runs on just about all Raspberry Pi hardware.
If you pick up a 2TB microSD card, then you’ll be able to load hundreds of movies or TV shows from your personal media library on your Pi media server. While it might not hold all of your content, 2TB provides enough storage to pick and choose your favorite movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and more to enjoy while away from home.
When you get to a hotel, friend or family member’s house, or anywhere you want to watch media, just plug the Pi into a TV or projector, use a wireless keyboard and mouse to select the media, and enjoy your favorite movie—all without relying on an internet connection.
SanDisk 2TB Extreme microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card
SanDisk’s 2TB microSD card delivers up to 240MB/s transfer rates in an ultra-compact form-factor. Perfect for your GoPro, Raspberry Pi, or any other device that utilizes microSD cards.
6Create a Personal AI Assistant With Offline Capabilities
The latest Raspberry Pi 5 offers quite a bit of power, especially when youadd the AI HAT+ to it. This add-on helps with AI-heavy workloads like large language models, making it possible to create your own personal AI assistant and chatbot with a Raspberry Pi.
One of the best tools for this isOllama, which allows you to run a LLM locally on your computer (or Raspberry Pi). Load upOpen WebUIon the same Pi, and you’ll have a ChatGPT-like experience without paying a dime (or giving anyone else your data).
Since Ollama and Open WebUI run locally on your Raspberry Pi, your AI chatbot will also function completely offline. This could be useful if you travel a lot and need access to AI assistance without reliable internet access. It also means that your data never leaves the device, providing extra privacy and security for your data.
5Create a Travel-Optimized NAS With External SSD Support
Did you know that the Raspberry Pi 5 can support SATA storage? I didn’t until recently, and I absolutely love the idea.
ThePenta SATA HATconnects to your Raspberry Pi 5 and offers four SATA 3.0 ports on the top, with an extra eSATA connection on the side. While it is recommended to utilize external power for it, that shouldn’t be a huge drawback as your Pi already requires external power when traveling.
While I wouldn’t personally use a Raspberry Pi as my primary NAS (primarily due to storage limitations), it’s the perfect system to carry with you on your travels. A fewhigh-capacity SATA SSDson top of your Raspberry Pi in a3D printed case, and you have a fast, lightweight, and power-efficient NAS ready to go anywhere you do.
Penta SATA HAT
The Radxa Penta SATA HAT for Rasberry Pi 5 connects to the PCIe interface to deliver five total SATA connections: four traditional and one eSATA. This allows you to connect multiple SSDs to your Raspberry Pi and turn it into a NAS or storage system.
4Turn It Into a Lightweight Laptop Replacement
One of the original uses for a Raspberry Pi was to be a simple, affordable computer. While there are many projects that use it as anything besides a personal computer, the Pi still handles that functionality well.
Picking up ahigh-capacity microSD cardalongside awireless keyboard and mousegives you a pretty powerful laptop replacement that travels anywhere you do. You’ll need to find a way to supply a monitor, be that a portable USB-C display or hooking up to a TV at a hotel.
Raspberry Pi devices take up far less room than a laptop and are also far lighter, making them ideal for traveling. Plus, you’re able to even pick up a Pi 5 16GB for $120 (board only) or around $200 for a full kit with a microSD card. This is a fraction of the cost that a laptop would run you in many instances, making it a budget-focused option too.
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B
With the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, you may create all kinds of fun projects, and upgrade gadgets around your home. Alternatively, install a full desktop OS and use it like a regular computer.
3Build a Personal Photo Backup Hub for Your Camera
If your travel plans include taking lots of photos, then you should consider how you’re going to back those photos up. The worst thing is when you shoot hundreds (or thousands) of photos and then have an SD card failure.
Instead of worrying about that, use a Raspberry Pi to keep your photos backed up. A 2TB microSD card (or even anexternal SSDor HDD) is more than enough to store even weeks of photos in most scenarios.
To achieve this, just plug aUSB SD card readerinto the Pi and then copy the files over. you’re able to usersyncfor this or plug into an external display to drag-and-drop the files from the SD card to your storage.
2Turn It Into a Minimalist Travel Blog That Syncs When Online
Something I’ve always wanted to do is go on an international trip to somewhere like Iceland tosee the aurora borealis. If I took a trip like that, there’s a chance I’d be overlanding and might not have a great internet connection while out there.
If you have dreams similar to mine (or maybe you’re actually doing it! I’m jealous!) then you should totally build out a Raspberry Pi travel blog setup. UtilizingGitHub Pagesas the front-end, andHugoas the backend, you could run an entire blog offline. Simply write the blog posts inMarkdownand let Hugo translate the pages to HTML.
From there,build a cron jobthat syncs that folder with GitHub pages once you have internet again. Doing this would allow you to write one, two, or even dozens of blog posts entirely offline, with everything syncing up to the internet once you have a connection again.
1Build a Pocket-Sized Retro Gaming Console
Quite a few years ago, I was at a hotel that had a game console in the room. This was great, until I realized that the hotel charged for each game played—and that could get expensive fast.
Instead of being surprised like I was, you could simply build a Raspberry Pi retro gaming console to bring with you on trips. Using something likeRetroPie, you’d be able to have dozens or even hundreds of games offline and ready to play anywhere you go. RetroPie iseasy to install as an operating system on your Pi, and turns it into quite the capable gaming system.
The great part of this is these days you canpick up Bluetooth-enabled retro-style arcade controllers, allowing you to kick back, relax, and enjoy your favorite arcade games on any hotel TV that has an HDMI plug, so long as you have your Raspberry Pi with you.
Alongside your Raspberry Pi, there are definitely other pieces of tech that should always be in your travel bag. From noise-cancelling headphones to your favorite e-reader, here arenine pieces of tech that should always travel with you.
Oh, and if you need to remotely access your computer while traveling, a Raspberry Pi is actually the perfect tool for the task. You canrun remote desktop software on your home PC, and then use a Raspberry Pi to access it while traveling, making it an even more versatile piece of tech in your kit.
