With all the joys that life on the road brings, there are also downfalls, like maintaining relationships with family and friends back home. Luckily, today’s tech-centric world means there are myriad alternatives to the once expensive long distance calls you had to make to hear the voices of loved ones. We asked top travel bloggers to share their top tips.
1. Rease Kirchner of Indecisive Traveler: I actually find that Snapchat is incredible for keeping in touch. I have so many friends and family members that suck at writing emails, but they will happily send me a quick snap of their face or show me what they are doing. I also find that hearing their voice in a video or just seeing them go about their daily life makes me feel so much more connected to them than long emails anyway. We can share inside jokes, or show each other something that might not be worth a phone call or email, but would be something we'd both enjoy. Honestly, before Snapchat, I would go almost a year without seeing my brother's face. Now I can occasionally get him to pay attention to his little sister!
2. Sucheta Rawal of Go Eat Give: I am on the road at least two weeks a month, sometimes longer. I use a device called Withings Home to stay in touch with what’s happening at home. I can connect to the camera device that monitors activity 24x7 from my smartphone through Wi-Fi anywhere in the world, so I know exactly when and who is coming and leaving the house. It’s a good way to check on sitters. Also, I can speak directly into the microphone using the app and my voice magically fills the room at home. It is really cool to watch if, say, my husband sneaked into the refrigerator and I say something aloud when he thinks he’s alone! I can also monitor my pets and speak to them without them having to answer a phone call! And best of all using the app is free. You just need to buy the device for $200.
3. Jeremy Scott Foster of travelFREAK: Keeping in touch with friends and family while you're on the move can be hard. Maintaining a relationship is even harder. Whenever I'm in a new country, if I'm getting a SIM card, I never ask about minutes or text messages — all I care about is data because, luckily, there are some travel apps that make staying in touch a little easier. I have a group chat on WhatsApp just for my family, so we can text each other and share moments from our week, plus I use their Wi-Fi calling to make free phone calls to my mother and sister from anywhere in the world. Though WhatsApp doesn't have video, Facebook Messenger has a surprisingly capable video chat option, which makes it easier, though never easy, to be apart from the one you love.
4. Amanda Williams of A Dangerous Business: Many people will tell you to buy local SIM cards for your phone when you travel, so you can easily use data and apps no matter where you are; but if you're based in the U.S. and spend any amount of time in-country each year, there's an even easier way. I have my phone plan through T-Mobile and use their Simple Choice Plan. It only costs about $50 per month, and includes unlimited data and texting when you travel in more than 140 countries around the world. It saves you having to buy new SIM cards — and getting a new phone number — in every country you visit, and is pretty easy on the wallet.
5. Dave and Deb of ThePlanetD: It can be difficult keeping in touch with family and friends when you travel a lot, but things have certainly gotten a lot easier since our first long trip abroad in 2000. We're still huge fans of Skype. We pay for an account so we can make long distance phone calls but we also talk a lot with friends and family over video Skype, too. There's something more personal about seeing a person's face. Lately we rarely feel out of touch with regular updates through Facebook, and texting. Our family and friends that are not in the (industry) still like to do things the more personal way of talking directly. Things like Snapchat and WhatsApp may be popular among avid social media followers and bloggers, but our friends and family communicate with us through Skype, phone calls, Facebook and messaging. Who knows what the future holds?
6. Karen Dawkins of Family Travels on a Budget: To keep in touch with my daughter, we keep a paper journal and write back and forth. The night before travel, I write her a note — if there's a test coming up I tell her I know she will do well, or if I am missing a field trip I tell her to remember it well so we can swap stories when I get home. During the trip, she writes back, recording the news of the days at home. When I get home, she reads the journal to me and fills in the details. I tell her about my trip. We don't miss much at all and have come to love this special time together.
I bought her a key ring my first solo blogging trip, something small that's easy to pack. It instantly became tradition. Every trip I take, she gets a key ring. When I get home, the first thing I do is give her the key ring and tell her why I picked that particular one for that destination. She hangs the newest one at the top of the chain of key rings — so she knows my travel history better than I do. She remembers each key ring and the story behind it.
7. Anthony Bianco of The Travel Tart: In regards to using apps/technology to keep in touch while on the road, I'm arguing that you can afford to take a break from all of this digital overload for a little while and not use it at all. I'm not what you would call a “perpetual nomad” and currently focus on the odd short trip here in there. Hence, I actually enjoy a digital detox and to be not contactable. It feels great when you do it.
A couple of years ago, I visited Lord Howe Island, which is a World Heritage Area off the east coast of Australia. The island has limited Internet facilities and no mobile phone coverage whatsoever. When the phone companies tried to bring the towers to this lost paradise, the residents said no. They said they didn’t want it, or need it. After a few days of being disconnected from the rest of the world, I felt great. That’s because I was liberated from the emotional ball and chain that was my mobile phone and computer. I didn’t miss these gadgets one single bit. In fact, my anxiety levels peaked when I arrived back home and turned on the phone at the airport, waiting for the barrage of messages to light up my screen.
