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Whether you’re on the road for business or pleasure—provided you’re not traveling by canoe in the Amazon jungle or dog sled in the arctic—there’s probably a way to stay in touch by e‑mail. With a little knowledge and advance planning, it’s easy to check your e‑mail from the road. Here are some tips to help you remain in contact with friends, family, and colleagues while you’re on the go.

1. Use web mail and travel light

If you use a web-based e‑mail service such as Windows Live Hotmail, you can send and receive e‑mail using someone else’s computer, without the need to carry around your own mobile PC while you travel.
2. Carry a laptop and use your own e‑mail program

If you’re traveling on business, chances are you’ll have your own mobile PC with you. In this case, you can use a more full-featured e‑mail program such as Windows Live Mail or Windows Mail.
3. Try doing e‑mail offline

Write messages when you’re inspired, not when you’re connected. If you have a laptop with you, take advantage of offline time to read messages you have already downloaded and compose replies and other new messages.
4. Hone your skills at finding Internet cafés

If you’re traveling without a mobile PC, train yourself to watch for Internet cafés and other places where you can rent a computer for a short period of time to check your e‑mail.
5. Look up Internet café locations before you go

If you want to be sure you can check your e‑mail from the road, make a list in advance of Internet cafés where you will be traveling. This can be important if you will be traveling in areas where Internet access is less likely to be available.

6. Find local wireless hotspots

Many cafés, coffee houses, and airports have wireless networks called hotspots where you can access the Internet.
7. Stay at hotels that offer Internet access

This is becoming less of an issue as more hotels and motels offer Internet access. But if you really want to be able to do e‑mail from your room, you might want to skip that charming bed-and-breakfast or quaint country inn, where guest Internet access is probably not on the list of amenities.
8. Leave your laptop at home when traveling to places where it’s hard to get an Internet connection

Even if you have a laptop, it may be easier in some places to check your e‑mail from an Internet café than to try and find a connection for your own computer.
9. E‑mail important documents to yourself before you leave

E‑mail is for more than just communicating with people. If you’re not bringing a laptop with you, you can use e‑mail to send important documents to yourself that you want to read or work on while traveling. Then you can access them from an Internet café or Internet kiosk. Another option is to put files on a web-based storage service, although this will require you to find a service you like and sign up for an account there.

10. Take advantage of flying time

Time spent on planes is often time wasted. But there’s no reason to be unproductive just because you can’t get an Internet connection while cruising at 30,000 feet. Take advantage of the downtime to use your mobile PC to do offline e‑mail and other work when you are flying (see No. 3).