Which way to do things for international travel?

I'll be traveling outside of the country for the first time in April - I'll be going to Scotland. I'm definitely taking pictures!

I want to make sure that I do not lose any pictures I take, but I am not sure which route I want to take.

I could take my laptop, but I really don't want to carry around the extra weight or have to worry about it.

I could take something to store photos, such as an Epson P-2000 or one of the Wolverines, but I have no experience with them, don't know how well they work, and don't want to have to worry about an accidental drop and ruining the hard drive.

Finally, just take extra memory cards, but this won't guarantee that I won't lose anything.

What have the rest of you done? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance!

I keep two copies one on a reader the other on a laptop or external harddrive. Not a sure method by any means.

A more secure method would be an online storage service and a copy (DVD/harddrive) for yourself to carry.

I normally go with a laptop + DVD burner. A bit of added weight, but it normally stays at the hotel, or wherever else I may be staying. You also get the bonus of added functionality- media player on a flight, email & IM if you can find a connection, a couple of games for when you're sitting around waiting for something, etc.

That, and the laptop I travel with is about 6 yrs old, so it works for what it has to, but it's essentially old and beat up enough for me not to worry about breaking it or losing it. Maybe look on ebay for a cheap old laptop? They can be had for a couple hundred dollars. The only recommendation would be that it might be necessary to upgrade the hard drive, since laptops that old normally come with only about 20 gigs.

[edit] In case it wasn't clear- I backup all my photos to DVD, and be sure to carry them separately from the laptop, in case you lose the bag the laptop is in and not the one the DVDs are in, or vice versa. [/edit]

I have tried both. I have traveled with a laptop for downloads and DVD backups, and I have traveled with a P-2000. Both were sometimes in difficult environments.

From my experience, if I was going for an extended trip, I'd take the laptop. If I am only going for a couple weeks or so, I would just take the P-2000. As far as durability is concerned, the P-2000 is at least as robust as a laptop hard drive. The only benefit you get from a laptop is larger screen for review (and some basic processing if the screen is good enough) and the ability to burn CD/DVD backups.

This would also change if I was going to stay mostly in one secure place, or if I was moving regularly. My last trip -- 10 days in Peru -- I took just my P-2000 and was thrilled not to have the extra weight. My photo gear alone exceeded 20 pounds.

You could take a P-2000 and enough memory cards to cover likely use. Then you can keep two copies until things are safely recorded back home. A number of pros I've read use this method.

Thanks everyone!