Over the last 10+ years of travelling the world solo, I’ve learned that being a digital nomad isn’t just about finding beautiful destinations with good WiFi. It’s about building a toolkit that allows you to work efficiently, stay connected and keep your business running smoothly from anywhere in the world.
Let's be honest, the real reason we become digital nomads is because we value freedom and regaining time to spend doing the things we love. That means finding ways to streamline our work using effective tools to minimise the time we spend at our laptops, and maximise our time exploring the world.
When I first started travelling full-time, the digital nomad landscape looked very different. Remote work wasn’t as common, co-working spaces were rare outside major cities, and many of the digital nomad tools we rely on today simply didn’t exist. Back then, I was learning everything the hard way while building my business on the road and travelling to more than 50 countries. Some of my most productive work days are long travel days and this blog was actually built writing blog posts on overnight buses, it's often when I feel most creative.
These days, I’m more of a part-time digital nomad, but I’m still constantly working on the move – whether that’s answering emails from a beach café in Southeast Asia, writing blog posts on long train journeys across Europe, or jumping on calls in busy airports between flights.
Over the years I’ve tested dozens of apps, platforms and services, and I’ve slowly built a reliable digital nomad toolkit that makes remote work travel much easier. If you’re planning to work while travelling, here are some of the tools every digital nomad needs to stay connected and productive.
Tools every digital nomad needs? Here's your essential digital nomad toolkit:
- 7 Essential Digital Nomad Tools
- Reliable WiFi Tools for Working Anywhere
- Communication Tools for Working Abroad
- Productivity Tools for Running a Business on the Road
- Financial Tools for Managing Money Across Borders
- Travel Planning Tools for Constant Movement
- Community Platforms for Digital Nomads
- Security Tools for Working Online Abroad
- The Reality of the Digital Nomad Toolkit
Get your digital nomad essentials!
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7 Essential Digital Nomad Tools
If you're considering digital nomad life, you may also like to check out my practical guides to 35+ Digital Nomad Jobs to Change Your Life in 2026 and Becoming a Digital Nomad: 25 Useful Tips and the Ultimate Guide To Digital Nomad Visas For UK Citizens.
To help you mentally prepare for your new life, read 5 Lessons From Travelling Full-Time as a Digital Nomad, or check out my interview series covering topics such as How to Have a Positive Impact as a Digital Nomad, Finding Fulfilment as a Digital Nomad and Amy's journey From 9-5 to The Free Life Movement.
1. Reliable WiFi Tools for Working Anywhere
Let’s start with the obvious one: internet access. One of the biggest challenges of working abroad is ensuring you have reliable WiFi, especially if you rely on video calls, uploads, or running an online business. A few remote work travel tips I’ve learned over the years:
- Always check accommodation reviews for WiFi speed
- Download offline work when travelling between destinations
- Carry a local SIM card or eSIM as a backup hotspot
Even with good planning, WiFi can still be unpredictable. I’ve worked from jungle bungalows, mountain guesthouses, airport lounges and tiny cafés – and sometimes you have to get creative. Because of this, I always prioritise tools that work directly through a browser rather than apps that rely heavily on downloads or subscriptions.
I spent years travelling without eSIMs and it made solo travel so much more difficult. It's my number one safety hack for women travelling alone, and means you can feel safe and confident when arriving in a new destination. Did you know you can now get a GLOBAL eSIM which covers 100+ countries and personalise your eSIM so you only pay for what you use? You can use my discount code: ABSOLUTELYLUCY to save 5% on your Global eSIM, or you can use the same code to save 10% every month (for 12 months) on an eSIM plan.
2. Communication Tools for Working Abroad
One of the most overlooked digital nomad tools is communication. When you’re working abroad, staying in touch with clients, accommodation hosts, airlines, banks and other services can quickly become complicated (and exhausting!). Most digital nomads rely heavily on:
- Zoom
- Slack
These work perfectly when both parties use the same platform. But the reality is that many organisations still rely on traditional phone calls, especially banks, customer service lines or smaller accommodation providers. Over the years I’ve had to make calls from everywhere from remote islands in Indonesia to train stations in Eastern Europe. And more often than not, that meant dealing with painful roaming charges abroad.
A simple tool I’ve started using for international calls
A few communication tools make life much easier as a digital nomad, especially when it comes to WiFi travel communication. I recently tried an online dialer, HelloAirDial. It's a browser-based international calling tool that lets you call any landline or mobile from your laptop or phone browser over WiFi. It’s particularly useful when you need to call banks, accommodation hosts or airlines abroad without worrying about roaming charges.
While travelling I’ve often needed to call guesthouses or customer service lines abroad. Instead of paying ridiculous roaming charges, I’ve started using HelloAirDial so I can simply make the call directly from my laptop using WiFi. What I like about it is the simplicity. There’s no complicated setup – it’s essentially a straightforward top-up system, so you only pay when you actually make calls.
I actually had the chance to chat briefly with the founder, Ronak, who explained that the idea came directly from his own experiences travelling.
“On a couple of occasions while travelling, I had to make calls to my home bank or customer service lines, and these institutions generally aren’t available on WhatsApp or other free apps. I looked into existing apps but found them bloated and subscription-based. I wanted something simpler that worked on a top-up model. I also discovered through Reddit that other travellers were looking for the same thing, so I decided to build the tool.”
I love when travel tools are built by people who actually experienced the same problems themselves, because it usually means the solution is simple and genuinely useful. And when you’re trying to avoid roaming charges abroad, tools like this can make a huge difference.
3. Productivity Tools for Running a Business on the Road
Running a business while travelling requires a slightly different approach to productivity. You can’t rely on perfect routines or a fixed office space – one day you might be working in a gorgeous beach cafe with ocean views, but the next might be a grubby airport floor. Yes we all love the idea of spacious co-working spaces, but it's not always the reality when you live life on the road. Instead, you need flexible systems that work wherever you are. Some of the digital nomad tools that keep my business running include:
Project management platforms
I use Notion to organise my entire life and I honestly don't know what I would do without the systems I have built for tracking everything from pitches and negotiations, to content planning to payments, to research, contacts, goal setting and future planning. These tools and structures help me keep track of tasks (and my sanity!) even when I’m juggling travel days and changing time zones.
Cloud storage
Having access to documents anywhere in the world is essential. Losing a laptop doesn’t mean losing your entire business if everything is backed up. Trust me, I've had laptops, cameras and phones all die on me at times, and I've been so grateful to have iCloud and automatic back-ups set up so that I didn't lose everything. If you're also working with multiple team members or external clients – it also makes it much easier to have a centralised system where everyone can access important documents – often I'll use Salesforce to manage larger projects.
Scheduling tools
Time zones can quickly become confusing when you’re travelling regularly. Scheduling software such as Calendly makes it easier to organise calls with clients across different countries. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from working remotely for over a decade is that organisation is everything. When your location constantly changes, your systems need to be incredibly reliable and it needs to be able to cope with the changing timezones so you never miss a call.
4. Financial Tools for Managing Money Across Borders
Money management is another area where having the right digital nomad tools makes life dramatically easier. When I first started travelling, international banking could be frustrating – it was before a lot of the travel-friendly digital banks existed. Fees added up quickly, and accessing money abroad wasn’t always straightforward. Now there are far more tools designed specifically for travellers and remote workers.
A few things I always recommend:
- Travel-friendly bank accounts (look for ones that give you points when you spend!)
- Multi-currency cards
- Budget tracking apps
These tools help simplify working abroad communication with banks and financial services, which is something you’ll inevitably deal with while travelling. And as I mentioned earlier, this is also where tools like HelloAirDial can be helpful, because banks often require phone calls rather than chat apps. I'd also recommend having separate business and personal accounts to make it easier to track your income and outgoings.
5. Travel Planning Tools for Constant Movement
One of the biggest differences between regular travellers and digital nomads is that we’re constantly planning the next destination while still working. Over the years I’ve developed a system for planning travel while keeping work commitments under control.
My go-to planning tools usually include:
- flight comparison websites
- accommodation booking platforms
- transport apps for trains and buses
- offline maps
When you’re balancing work deadlines and travel logistics, having everything organised in one place can save hours of stress. Make sure you check out my Digital Travel Toolkit for all my go-to brands and booking platforms.
6. Community Platforms for Digital Nomads
One thing I wish I’d discovered earlier in my travels is the importance of community. When I first started travelling solo, digital nomad communities were much smaller. Now there are entire networks of remote workers sharing advice, opportunities and travel tips.
Some of the best places to connect include:
- co-working spaces
- digital nomad forums
- travel communities
- local networking events
These spaces are fantastic for sharing remote work travel tips, discovering new destinations and finding solutions to common problems. Interestingly, the founder of HelloAirDial mentioned that his first users actually came from Reddit, which shows how powerful these communities can be when it comes to discovering useful tools.
You might find it interesting to read Building a Remote Life as a Digital Nomad – an interview with remote community founder, Han Talbot.
7. Security Tools for Working Online Abroad
Another often overlooked part of the digital nomad toolkit is online security. When you’re frequently using public WiFi in cafés, airports or co-working spaces, protecting your data becomes incredibly important.
A few simple steps can make a big difference:
- using a VPN when working on public WiFi
- enabling two-factor authentication
- keeping regular backups of important files
After more than a decade working remotely around the world, I’ve learned that prevention is far easier than dealing with a security issue while travelling. I have been a long-time customer of Surfshark and highly rate the VPN service, I've also used it to save a lot of money on booking flights and travel globally. >> Get Surfshark now
The Reality of the Digital Nomad Toolkit
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from 10+ years of remote work travel, it’s that being a digital nomad isn’t about having hundreds of apps. In fact, the best systems are usually simple, reliable and easy to use. The real goal is building a toolkit that allows you to:
- work efficiently
- communicate easily
- manage your business
- travel with minimal stress
Sometimes that means using well-known platforms, and sometimes it means discovering smaller tools built by travellers who experienced the same challenges themselves, like HelloAirDial. Because when you’re working abroad and travelling constantly, even small conveniences – like being able to make a quick international call without worrying about roaming charges – can make life much easier.
Every digital nomad eventually develops their own toolkit. What works for someone running a tech startup from Bali might look completely different from someone writing a travel blog while exploring Europe.
For me, the key has always been flexibility. After visiting 50+ countries and spending more than a decade travelling solo while building my business, I’ve realised that the best digital nomad tools are simply the ones that allow you to keep exploring and working without unnecessary friction. Because ultimately, the whole point of this lifestyle is freedom. The freedom to build a business, explore the world and create a career that works from anywhere.
