9 Reasons to Travel With A GoPro

A GoPro is one of the best cameras to take traveling with you for many reasons. They’re small, adaptable, generally high-quality and an all-around great asset.

When you’re planning for long-term travel, or even just a fun trip, here are 9 reasons you should take a GoPro in your bag.

1. GoPros are incredibly versatile cameras

With modes for photos, videos, hyperlapse and more, GoPros can fit into a number of different spots in your arsenal.

2. GoPros are small and easy to pack

No matter where you’re traveling or what you’re doing, space is probably an issue. The awesome thing about a GoPro is how small it is. It’s easy to pack in your day bag – you’re not going to feel it at the end of the day like you might a DSLR.

The best camera is always the one you have with you – so having something small and easy to take makes it fun to get the pictures you want.

3. Different mounts and cases really do let you take your GoPro everywhere

Looking to take awesome selfies? Between the angles of the GoPro 3-way mount and the tripod in the bottom, you can get amazing selfies.

If you’re looking to take awesome underwater pictures, an underwater case and some filters will let you have sweet underwater shots (depending on how deep it is!).

Or if you’re having a beach vacation and want some epic under/over water shots, grab a GoPro dome.

If you are doing sports or other things, the suction cup mount gloms on to just about anything and lets you film yourself in the action.

4. GoPro images and video are high-quality

If you’re worried that using a GoPro means you’re going to get low-quality photos and videos, don’t worry about that! GoPro’s videos and photos are generally gorgeous – especially with the new HyperSmooth stabilization on the GoPro Hero 7 Black.

I’ve printed a GoPro picture at 16×20 to frame and it looked fabulous! (From a GoPro Hero4… and they’ve only gotten better!)

5. Using a GoPro saves your phone battery and storage space

Yep, you might have been reading this thinking “well I can just take my phone for photos and videos!” And you can. But depending on your phone, you might want to save the battery so you can navigate where you’re headed, and you don’t want to run out of space on it. Using a GoPro saves your phone battery and puts your photos and videos on a microSD card. (And microSD cards are super cheap these days!)

6. GoPros are relatively affordable travel cameras

Yes, GoPros, especially if you don’t buy a knock-off, can be expensive. But if you’re willing to buy a lower-end model, or the last year’s model, you can easily get a brand new one for $200 or less.

And truthfully – if you don’t have the $400 for a top-end new GoPro, you’ll probably be fine. My general rule is that if you can’t easily state WHY you need the higher-end model, you don’t actually need it.

7. GoPros are not going to have trouble at customs or border crossings

This one is specific to comparisons with drones and some high-end DSLRs. But, especially with drones, you can get into some issues at border crossings. Different countries have different legal requirements for them, so you can end up having issues. High-end DSLRs (I’ve heard) can also raise issues. Granted, this is not the case if you’re traveling through Europe, but if you’re going by bus through the developing world, it’s worth thinking about.

8. GoPros storage space is cheap

GoPros use MicroSD cards to store photos and videos on – and these have gotten super cheap. I’m a big advocate for buying multiple cards and a card holder so that you can change them out by day or week of your vacation. Even if they’re not full, this gives me some peace of mind so if I lose the camera I’m not losing ALL my photos.

I’m a big fan of buying something like 5 64GB cards instead of one or two 256GB cards.

9. It’s a great primary or backup camera

If you suddenly lose your camera on a trip, it can be heartbreaking. Having your GoPro + a phone, or GoPro + DSLR lets you have some redundancy – so if you lose one, you’re not losing all your means of recording travel memories.

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