I have used several Linux distributions (Arch, Debian, Ubuntu) over the years and I would consider myself not an expert but certainly an experienced user. It happened now for the 3rd time that I was travelling and had major trouble getting my wifi to work whereas my girlfriend who is using Mac didn't even have the slightest trouble. For example, the most recent issue was that my laptop has a Intel Ultimate-N 6300 and the linux driver leads to trouble with some wifi connections (modprobe iwlwifi 11n_disable=1 did the job), however at home it works flawless! Since this was extremely inconvenient and I sometimes rely on internet access for my job I guess my question is: is there a way to ensure such things do not happen or have a at least a backup for the worst case scenario?
How do I get a bulletproof wifi?
linux;drivers;wifi
Simple answer: you really can't. There will always be cases when the wireless  subsystem may fail (for example because of misconfiguration f the network).You can minimize the chance by thoroughly researching what hardware seems to have the best support (IMHO those with drivers open sourced or even maintained by the manufacturer have a bit of advantage). Note that Apple really only has one hardware configuration (any color you like as long as it is black) which minimizes troubles with having to deal with various drivers.3G/4G mobile broadband might be viable solution for backup (depending on your location) - the infrastructure you are connecting to is usually much better organized and redundant than a small WLAN and the connection as such can be abstracted by the AT commands.