Staying connected with close friends during your travels can be difficult. Long distances, language barriers, and different time zones make it hard to keep in contact. Thankfully, there are some great tools and apps that make it easy to stay in touch and share your travel adventures! Here are seven ways to stay connected with friends when traveling.
Why Is It Important To Stay Connected To Folks Back Home?
Before we get into ways that you can stay connected, some of you may be wondering, "why bother?" Staying in touch with the people close to you while you're away is important. This can help you feel less homesick and allow your friends and family to be a part of your journey. Plus, being able to share stories, photos, and experiences can make remembering your travels much more enjoyable when you get home!
No matter how you communicate and share your adventure, you must realize that this is more than simply posting random stuff on snapchat or Instagram stories. People love to follow stories of people doing incredible things and now that's you. This is your opportunity to share your story with your friends and family. However, when done correctly, it is more than that.
These are the people that will help sustain you and provide inspiration as your adventure continues. Whether it is asking you to check out a park they saw photos of or to try a delicacy they learned about on Tiktok, these people are engaged with your journey.
They can also be invaluable support when you need to overcome a challenge.
A friend of mine from the Philippines travels all over the world and is a legend among her friends. I'm constantly amazed at how well-connected she is since she can be in almost any city worldwide and find a friend who wants to invite her over to enjoy a home-cooked meal.
How You Can Stay Connected During Your Journey
The following is a list of methods to stay in touch but it is equally important to focus on what you want to communicate and how often. The short answer here is that you should look for a balance of content that inspires people to ask questions and to answer your questions.
In this way they will feel like they are part of your journey and not just an observer sitting back at home.
Postcards and Letters
Sending postcards and letters may seem old-fashioned but it’s still a fantastic way of staying connected while traveling as they give recipients something tangible they can hold onto even after you’ve gone home from your trip!
The fun part about letters is that, unlike emails that can be very informal, letters are a great way to recap your adventure ... not just share a few observations or notes.
This can be tough for some folks since it requires that you spend time to make the wording concise and organized but there are writing services out there that can help take your rough drafts and turn them into something special that your friends and family will look forward to receiving.
Social Media
Staying connected on social media allows you to quickly share photos and videos of your travels as well as comment on each others posts. Again though, just like with writing letters, this can take a bit of time to produce if you want to get fancy but if you start from a basic level and create a group like "James's Big Adventure" and share photos, videos, and interesting observations there it can be super easy to stay in touch.
Video Chats
With apps like Skype, Zoom, or Google Hangouts you can easily video chat with your friends no matter where you are. This is a great way to catch up face-to-face without taking a long flight back home. They can be quick updates that you share to public social media or they can be more personal group chats that you schedule out on a weekly basis to stay in touch with your family and friends.
In fact, having video chats like this can even be a way of them to travel virtually with you, something they will enjoy as much as you enjoy sharing.
Email is a reliable way to send messages (both long & short) without relying on a strong, reliable internet connection or worrying about time zones. For instance, even if you are traveling through some backwater region of the world with limited technology, you can write these emails offline and queue them up to send once your phone finally connects to wifi or a cell phone signal again.
Shared Photo Albums
Creating shared photo albums on platforms like Google Photos or Apple Photos allows all members of the group the ability to add photos and videos of their travels so everyone can stay updated on each other’s adventures without needing daily check-ins or phone calls.
In fact, I can update the screensaver on my TV at home when traveling by simply tagging certain photos that I upload. This allows my wife to see updates of my travels when I'm gone, without her having to search for updates on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
Group Messaging Apps
Group messaging apps like WhatsApp or GroupMe make it super easy to stay connected. You can create group chats with a single message and all members will be able to read it simultaneously. It’s perfect for keeping everyone in the loop on your travels, sending quick notes back and forth, and making sure everyone knows where you are at any given time.
No matter how far away you are from your family and friends, staying connected while traveling is easy with the right tools. From sending postcards to video chats, there’s something for everyone when it comes to keeping in touch on-the-go. Whether you prefer a more traditional method of communication like emails or shared photo albums, or want something faster like group messaging apps, these seven ways will help make sure that no one misses out on your travels! So don't forget to stay connected while exploring new places – they'll be glad you did!
