As an expat, I travel for my work, and for my pleasure. A smartphone is now essential, to stay in contact with the office, and even for travel.
I found lately that for planning a trip, my phone is so handy, that I don't know how I managed before. You book the hotels, and they pop up on your S Planner on Android. When you arrive in the city, you open planner, and press on the appropriate event for the day, and your hotel appears. press on the hotel link, and it will activate Maps, with directions to the hotel! Brilliant. No need to even save hotel locations in Google Maps anymore.
When I arrive in a new country, I just buy a prepaid simcard at the airport, and start navigating.