collecting countries

[+ByronForestPreserve]

I realized the day before leaving to visit my parents in Michigan that Sault Ste Marie (Ontario, Canada) was but a couple hours of travel time from their house. I asked if they had any interest in driving me there (they don't really geocache, but my dad likes finding them with me). They not only agreed, but suggested we go the next day since we'd have the best weather.

 

Turned out to be a great trip. The town wasn't exactly touristy despite the Soo Locks and waterfront, but I read reviews of places to eat and we had the BEST "fusion" barbecue for lunch! I had the poutine with brisket and it was awesome.

 

So...yep. I made my parents drive five hours round trip so I could get the Ontario souvenir. I will say that because I did a virtual and an Earthcache that we learned a lot along the way--the write-ups were great.

[+Andromeda321]

Got Slovenia at the beginning of the month! #37, not too shabby. But when 2/3 of those are in Europe, it's starting to get more difficult to easily pick up new ones, particularly as I have a thesis demanding more and more of my attention.

 

I will get Arizona next month though, so that'll be nice for a new state- last visited there a decade ago, well before I began geocaching. The annoying thing though is I'm spending virtually all the time on a mountaintop in an Indian reserve observing, but I'm sure some opportunity or another will present itself at some point!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I realized the day before leaving to visit my parents in Michigan that Sault Ste Marie (Ontario, Canada) was but a couple hours of travel time from their house. I asked if they had any interest in driving me there (they don't really geocache, but my dad likes finding them with me). They not only agreed, but suggested we go the next day since we'd have the best weather.

 

Turned out to be a great trip. The town wasn't exactly touristy despite the Soo Locks and waterfront, but I read reviews of places to eat and we had the BEST "fusion" barbecue for lunch! I had the poutine with brisket and it was awesome.

 

So...yep. I made my parents drive five hours round trip so I could get the Ontario souvenir. I will say that because I did a virtual and an Earthcache that we learned a lot along the way--the write-ups were great.

 

A few months ago I thought I was going to be in Ottawa for a conference this week but it turned out that that my specific area of interest wasn't going to be covered as much as I expected so I couldn't justify spending the travel funds even though it would have been comparatively inexpensive to other business trips I've taken. What I didn't know about Ottawa before looking at map was that the border between Ontario and Quebec provinces runs right through the middle of it. If I had gone I could have added two new souvenirs and added Canada to my countries list. It's been a real downer of a year for collecting countries for me and I don't have anything specifically planned for the rest of the year. That could change though as the 3 year grant funded project I'm working has travel money specifically allocated for me to travel somewhere in Africa this year.

 

 

[Glory Hunters]

Added 5 new countries last Friday on my way to Giga in Mainz. Also, done 8 countries in one day on that trip. Started at 0:15 in Croatia and ended at 23:45 in Belgium. Those 8 countries were: Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Belgium.

 

Well done we should have met in Mainz.

 

My next trip will be probably to a conference in Mexico DF. Since I already have Mexico on my visited list (though not the capital, but Riviera Maya), I will try to stop in Colombia, since there is an airline which flies from Madrid to DF over Bogotá. We'll see

[GCEdo]

Well done we should have met in Mainz.

 

My next trip will be probably to a conference in Mexico DF. Since I already have Mexico on my visited list (though not the capital, but Riviera Maya), I will try to stop in Colombia, since there is an airline which flies from Madrid to DF over Bogotá. We'll see

 

Would be nice

 

I booked flight to London and picked one with stop in Zurich so I can add Switzerland with airport webcam cache. The same day I booked my flight, the webcam cache become archived

Webcam still works, so it will be very tempting to log it anyhow even it is archived.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Well done we should have met in Mainz.

 

My next trip will be probably to a conference in Mexico DF. Since I already have Mexico on my visited list (though not the capital, but Riviera Maya), I will try to stop in Colombia, since there is an airline which flies from Madrid to DF over Bogotá. We'll see

 

Would be nice

 

I booked flight to London and picked one with stop in Zurich so I can add Switzerland with airport webcam cache. The same day I booked my flight, the webcam cache become archived

Webcam still works, so it will be very tempting to log it anyhow even it is archived.

 

If you can book an overnight layover in Zurich you can stay in an airport hotel near and take the train into the city for some geocaching. That's what I did and had one of my best days of geocaching ever. The webcam cache was in the international terminal (which requires a shuttle) so if you were flying from another country within Europe it might have been difficult to get over to it.

 

I just got an invitation this morning to participate in a 2 day workshop in Paris in September. I don't know if I'll be able to get funding for travel but if so I'm looking at a possible layover in Dublin or Reykjavick. I've been to Paris before but only had a 7 hour layover there.

[+Ibar]

Right now writing from Timisoara (Romania) where I just collected my 22nd Country

 

My next country should be Switzerland in a couple of weeks. This one I'm "forcing" it a bit, I planned a extra-long layover at ZRH to FINALLY log a cache there.

 

It's frustrating being time after time in ZRH but always as a hub between home (BRU) and somewhere else in this planet. A 6 hours layover .. should certainly do it. And indeed I was planning as well the webcam .. but apparently 1 month too late

 

Btw, I fully understand the reason why the cache was archived, if you look at the log photo's you'll find everything (selfies, landscapes, hands) except what the webcam is supposed to be, a snapshot from an internet site with your picture on it, so it's a pity, but fully understandable

Edited May 26, 2015 by Ibar

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Right now writing from Timisoara (Romania) where I just collected my 22nd Country

 

My next country should be Switzerland in a couple of weeks. This one I'm "forcing" it a bit, I planned a extra-long layover at ZRH to FINALLY log a cache there.

 

It's frustrating being time after time in ZRH but always as a hub between home (BRU) and somewhere else in this planet. A 6 hours layover .. should certainly do it. And indeed I was planning as well the webcam .. but apparently 1 month too late

 

I know what you mean. I've had a layover 4 times at Nairobi airport in Kenya but never long enough to get out of the airport and find a cache. However, it's not exactly on the way between my home airport (or other nearby airports) and anywhere else I travel frequently. Six hours should give you plenty of time to do some geocaching in Zurich. If I recall, it takes about 20 minutes to get from the airport to the central train station and there are also a few caches closer to the airport. An overnight layover in Brussels would be an option if I go to that conference/workshop in Paris though I've already done that once (on the way home from Rome). About the best airfare I could find would be for me to drive to Toronto (about 4.5 hours away) and fly on Iceland air and I could get a 7.5 hour layover in Reykjavik or book a "multi-city" itinerary and stay an extra night there. That way I could add Iceland *and* Canada as new countries.

 

 

[+VictoryLanes]

Quick question that has probably been asked before, are there souvenirs for every country? I just got my first cache in Romania but didn't get a souvenir for it....

 

Thanks for the help!

[+irisisleuk]

Quick question that has probably been asked before, are there souvenirs for every country? I just got my first cache in Romania but didn't get a souvenir for it....

 

Thanks for the help!

 

No, not yet, you can find the available souvenirs here: link .

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Quick question that has probably been asked before, are there souvenirs for every country? I just got my first cache in Romania but didn't get a souvenir for it....

 

Thanks for the help!

 

No, there isn't a souvenir for Romania. GS started releasing country/region souvenirs with the U.S. States, Canadian provinces, and German Bundesländer (states). Then, using an only feedback forum they asked people to vote for the next country souvenirs and a few more countries were added (Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal...). Only about 6 additional country based souvenirs were released before the release of new country souvenirs was put on the back burner for awhile. They started again with a few more, primarily those countries which had the greatest number of caches in them. At one point they stated that no new country based souvenirs would be released but then about a year ago or so they released about 6 more and one of the lackeys stated that they hoped to release country based souvenirs for *all* countries.

 

Don't worry. If they release a souvenir for Romania you'll get it for retroactively finding a cache in that country. Based on the criteria they've used in the past it would likely be among the next batch of country based souvenirs.

 

The A-Team has an unofficial but very complete page on souvenirs here.

[+VictoryLanes]

Thanks for the quick replies!! I just recently got the Czech, Poland and Hungary so I thought there might have been a glitch or something for Romania.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

I just got an invitation this morning to participate in a 2 day workshop in Paris in September. I don't know if I'll be able to get funding for travel but if so I'm looking at a possible layover in Dublin or Reykjavick. I've been to Paris before but only had a 7 hour layover there.

 

After speaking with the person that would approve my travel today it's looking a bit promising, especially given the price of airfare. I can fly r/t from Toronto to Paris for under $600.

 

Then a few hours ago I was asked if I'd like to go to China (Beijing) for 10 days in November. In this case, it was my bosses boss that was asking and the site I'll be visiting is paying for all travel expenses. I've already got a couple of finds in China but a flight with a layover in Hong Kong or Taiwan is an option. I've heard good things about geocaching in Hong Kong (and Macao) so I'll be leaning in that direction.

[+DarkFlare]

I was also bitten by the travel bug and became a big time Souvenir Hunter! I just wish I had the opportunity to get more countries under my belt. But alas money to travel that far is hard right now. So instead I do road trips from my base of operations just outside Toronto, Canada and have been trying to track down as many provinces and states as possible. Often even just a weekend road trip. It's fun to let the caches shape the adventure.

 

In 2013, I went with my sister to 9 states (plus Washington DC) in a weekend and the caches brought me to spots I had no idea about including a Free mason temple and Benjamin Franklin's Grave. I'm now up to 28/51 Souvenirs in America and 3/13 in Canada.

 

Last year though I was extremely lucky to go on a tour of Great Britain and Ireland. (a trip I will never forget!!) I managed to find a cache in England, Wales and Scotland (just in case they find a way to give unique souvenirs to each of them) as well as 4/5 souvenirs in Ireland!

 

As for this year I have two big road trips planned. One to finally get the Atlantic provinces to the east (I have been dieing to get New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI) and the other will be to the deep south, to finally explore New Orleans and get 5 more (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida) which will give me the entire eastern seaboard of the US

 

...yes I may have a problem. Hopefully soon I will be able to go grab some more countries and really explore this huge amazing world.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

Last year though I was extremely lucky to go on a tour of Great Britain and Ireland. (a trip I will never forget!!) I managed to find a cache in England, Wales and Scotland (just in case they find a way to give unique souvenirs to each of them) as well as 4/5 souvenirs in Ireland!

 

It's unlikely that we'll see souvenirs for England, Wales, and Scotland as they're not listed as distinct countries in the "official" geocaching.com countries/regions list. In order to assign a souvenir for a country/state/province it needs to have a unique countryID or stateID. I thought it would have made more sense to create sub-region souvenirs in the UK and a single country souvenir for Ireland then to have souvenirs for each of the provinces in Ireland (plus Dublin) and only one for the entirety of the UK.

 

So far I have not made it to the UK or Ireland though, if I go to Paris in September one of the travel options includes a long layover in Dublin. It's either that or a layover in Iceland.

 

 

[+DarkFlare]

 

It's unlikely that we'll see souvenirs for England, Wales, and Scotland as they're not listed as distinct countries in the "official" geocaching.com countries/regions list. In order to assign a souvenir for a country/state/province it needs to have a unique countryID or stateID. I thought it would have made more sense to create sub-region souvenirs in the UK and a single country souvenir for Ireland then to have souvenirs for each of the provinces in Ireland (plus Dublin) and only one for the entirety of the UK.

 

So far I have not made it to the UK or Ireland though, if I go to Paris in September one of the travel options includes a long layover in Dublin. It's either that or a layover in Iceland.

 

I understand it's very unlikely but I figured what's the harm in hoping, eh? Besides if you're there anyway you might as well find a cache and possibly get a cool story or pictures from it.

 

I agree that would make a lot of sense because the UK is extremely diverse and has a pretty big geocaching population. I suspect they just didn't have enough time for all the selectable areas that make up the UK. Who knows maybe Groundspeak may decide to change it in the future (probably not until they have set up souvenirs for a lot more countries that are currently go without)

 

That would be really cool! I really hope that you do get to go to Paris! I know from experience Dublin is an awesome city to visit and I have heard very good things about Iceland from a coworker who went. So either would be an interesting place to stop, even if it's only for a couple hours.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

It's unlikely that we'll see souvenirs for England, Wales, and Scotland as they're not listed as distinct countries in the "official" geocaching.com countries/regions list. In order to assign a souvenir for a country/state/province it needs to have a unique countryID or stateID. I thought it would have made more sense to create sub-region souvenirs in the UK and a single country souvenir for Ireland then to have souvenirs for each of the provinces in Ireland (plus Dublin) and only one for the entirety of the UK.

 

So far I have not made it to the UK or Ireland though, if I go to Paris in September one of the travel options includes a long layover in Dublin. It's either that or a layover in Iceland.

 

I understand it's very unlikely but I figured what's the harm in hoping, eh? Besides if you're there anyway you might as well find a cache and possibly get a cool story or pictures from it.

 

I agree that would make a lot of sense because the UK is extremely diverse and has a pretty big geocaching population. I suspect they just didn't have enough time for all the selectable areas that make up the UK. Who knows maybe Groundspeak may decide to change it in the future (probably not until they have set up souvenirs for a lot more countries that are currently go without)

 

The list of sub-regions that GS has listed within the UK is actually fairly short. For countries which are broken down into sub-regions (states/provinces) each sub-region has a "stateID". Here are the sub-regions for the UK that GS uses:

 

East Midlands

Eastern England

London

North Wales

Northeast England

Northern Scotland

Northwest England

South East England

South Wales

South West England

Southern England

Southern Scotland

West Midlands

Yorkshire

 

I don't think it makes sense to create souvenirs for every region of a country that has a stateID (i.e. the 20 regions of Italy), but as you say the UK has a very active and large geocaching population.

 

 

That would be really cool! I really hope that you do get to go to Paris! I know from experience Dublin is an awesome city to visit and I have heard very good things about Iceland from a coworker who went. So either would be an interesting place to stop, even if it's only for a couple hours.

 

From my last conversation with my manager (who would approve the travel) the trip to Paris looks pretty promising. An overnight stopover in either Dublin or Reykjavik is a viable option so it would be for than a couple of hours. I've done some caching during a layover in a bunch of different places but typically like to have at least a 4 hour layover before I'll venture very far from the airport.

 

I was look at the cache maps for Beijing in the area I'll be staying and there are a *lot* more geocaches there than the last time I was there. The Olympic Forest Park (a man-made nature park built for the 2008 Olympics) is fairly close by and is full of geocaches. It looks like a great place to spend a day.

 

 

[+irisisleuk]

 

From my last conversation with my manager (who would approve the travel) the trip to Paris looks pretty promising. An overnight stopover in either Dublin or Reykjavik is a viable option so it would be for than a couple of hours. I've done some caching during a layover in a bunch of different places but typically like to have at least a 4 hour layover before I'll venture very far from the airport.

 

 

Tough choice. If you go to Reykjavik I would recommend to take an "inside the volcano"-tour. It is expensive and only possible from May to September, but an unique experience. There is an earthcache "Þríhnúkar Volcano", check out our log with video to get an impression at: link If you have a full day you should also take a Golden Circle Tour. We did both on one day and in between we found some caches in Reykjavik. If you have only a few hours to spend in between flights the best option to find caches and see a local attraction (tourist trap?) is a visit to the Blue Lagoon.

 

In Dublin there is so much to see and do, one day is really not enough. And of course when you visit Dublin you also have to go to GC43, Europe's First. It's about 45 minutes by DART from Dublin to Bray where the cache is located, if I remember correctly (excluding walking time of course).

[+NYPaddleCacher]

From my last conversation with my manager (who would approve the travel) the trip to Paris looks pretty promising. An overnight stopover in either Dublin or Reykjavik is a viable option so it would be for than a couple of hours. I've done some caching during a layover in a bunch of different places but typically like to have at least a 4 hour layover before I'll venture very far from the airport.

 

 

Tough choice. If you go to Reykjavik I would recommend to take an "inside the volcano"-tour. It is expensive and only possible from May to September, but an unique experience. There is an earthcache "Þríhnúkar Volcano", check out our log with video to get an impression at: link If you have a full day you should also take a Golden Circle Tour. We did both on one day and in between we found some caches in Reykjavik. If you have only a few hours to spend in between flights the best option to find caches and see a local attraction (tourist trap?) is a visit to the Blue Lagoon.

 

In Dublin there is so much to see and do, one day is really not enough. And of course when you visit Dublin you also have to go to GC43, Europe's First. It's about 45 minutes by DART from Dublin to Bray where the cache is located, if I remember correctly (excluding walking time of course).

 

Thanks for this. I got managerial approval to go on the trip and just need to clear it with my direct supervisor.

 

It looks like my best option will be with a layover in Reykjavik. However, considering this trip is for business (and has a budget) I'm limited somewhat in my itinerary and a layover of 26 hours is about the most I'll be able to do. The Blue Lagoon looks pretty amazing but I'm not sure I'd have time for it. I might be able to book flights such that I can stay 2 nights in Reykjavik.

[+Andromeda321]

The Blue Lagoon is right next to Reyjkavik airport- you could visit it even if you had a 4 hour layover IMO! (Plus it has an Earthcache, so that angle is set.) Reykjavik proper is about an hour from the airport.

 

Note, if you're flying with Icelandair and book via their website, there is no additional cost for a layover up to a week in time. So it's not a cost issue really.

 

Anyway, on my front, nearing the summer plans (but hard to tell in a country that's 60 degrees F and rainy/windy...), and should be getting Arizona in a few weeks so that's nice. Also booked a weekend to Nice, France in late July so will spend one of the days heading over to Monaco- country #38 for geocaching, and my 60th country overall!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

The Blue Lagoon is right next to Reyjkavik airport- you could visit it even if you had a 4 hour layover IMO! (Plus it has an Earthcache, so that angle is set.) Reykjavik proper is about an hour from the airport.

 

Note, if you're flying with Icelandair and book via their website, there is no additional cost for a layover up to a week in time. So it's not a cost issue really.

 

I thought that to be the case it's not exactly true. Looking at the dates I want to travel if I fly from Paris to KEF on Saturday, and from KEF back to Toronto on Monday it would cost me $616 r/t. If I want to return on that Sunday instead it would cost $849 r/t. I don't know how new it is but Iceland air has a rather odd booking page that only shows three days around the initial travel dates specified.

 

I not only have to consider cost (I'm been told that the budget is tight for this trip) but how much time I can be away from family and away from my office. I have on more than one occasion not been able to take a business related trip when even though travel funds were available, my boss didn't want me to be away from the office for an extended period of time.

 

In any case, now my wife is talking about joining me for the trip and we're looking at flying out of JFK and a 23 hour layover in Dublin.

 

 

Anyway, on my front, nearing the summer plans (but hard to tell in a country that's 60 degrees F and rainy/windy...), and should be getting Arizona in a few weeks so that's nice. Also booked a weekend to Nice, France in late July so will spend one of the days heading over to Monaco- country #38 for geocaching, and my 60th country overall!

[+The Leprechauns]

Pleased to announce that Israel/Jordan is booked for March. As I said earlier that means Palestine is also a possibility, but I think I'll play that one by ear. It looks like there is one in Jericho, and one near Bethlehem towards the Shepherd's Fields, but I don't want to commit to anything yet until I'm there and can ask around about the situation at hand.

I have never ever had occasion to post in this thread, but I'm excited to be able to do so now. I will be traveling to Istanbul, Israel and Jordan, staying for 13 days in the middle of May plus a a travel day on either end. (It means missing a Geo-Woodstock that's close to home, but them's the breaks.)

 

I expect we'll be finding some of the same caches!

 

I've already eyed those "Palestine" caches in Bethlehem and Jericho, both of which are on my group's itinerary. Our organizer says that we will skip those locations if there is a tense or active security situation, which is why I'm glad to have a tour company who puts a security officer on our bus. If we stop there, I'm definitely finding those caches if they are within walking distance.

 

I will be traveling with a group of about 40 people from my church on an organized tour, but with some windows of free time for "shopping" which I will spend caching. When we are at a major tourist stop, I will either need to find virtuals and earthcaches, or break away quickly to find a physical cache. Any tips on finding caches when with a large group of non-cachers?

I'm now back from my trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed all three countries, felt 100% safe, and found EIGHTEEN caches during my visit -- eight in Israel, six in Turkey and four in Jordan. I think that's a good find count, considering that I was traveling on a tour bus with a large group. By the end of the trip, they all knew about geocaching!

 

I would like to thank participants in this thread for their advice about setting realistic expectations for foreign travel with a tour group. I found four earthcaches and a virtual cache, which are easier to accomplish than having to separate from the group to hunt down and sign the log in a physical cache. Still, I scored 13 traditional caches. Five of them were found during the two days when we were given official "free time" -- in Jerusalem and in Petra.

 

I was also grateful for the technical advice in the forums. I pre-loaded maps and caches on both my Garmin Map 62S and on my iPhone 6 with the Backcountry App, so I never needed cell service. All my gear functioned flawlessly, for once.

 

So, now my Country Count is up to five, which is amateur by the standards of this thread's regular participants. But now that I've gotten a taste of "collecting countries," I'm up for more! I set new personal bests for farthest find from home and easternmost cache, and I can extend those records.

 

I've posted pictures in three threads over in the Photography forum, and will add one more here. This is me at Qumran National Park, home to the "Dead Sea Scrolls" caves and archaeological site. The microcache I found there gave me a new personal best for lowest elevation of a cache find -- 1089 feet below sea level! We also visited Masada on the same day. It was 111 degrees Farenheit (43 degrees Celsius) that day!

 

Edited June 3, 2015 by The Leprechauns

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Pleased to announce that Israel/Jordan is booked for March. As I said earlier that means Palestine is also a possibility, but I think I'll play that one by ear. It looks like there is one in Jericho, and one near Bethlehem towards the Shepherd's Fields, but I don't want to commit to anything yet until I'm there and can ask around about the situation at hand.

I have never ever had occasion to post in this thread, but I'm excited to be able to do so now. I will be traveling to Istanbul, Israel and Jordan, staying for 13 days in the middle of May plus a a travel day on either end. (It means missing a Geo-Woodstock that's close to home, but them's the breaks.)

 

I expect we'll be finding some of the same caches!

 

I've already eyed those "Palestine" caches in Bethlehem and Jericho, both of which are on my group's itinerary. Our organizer says that we will skip those locations if there is a tense or active security situation, which is why I'm glad to have a tour company who puts a security officer on our bus. If we stop there, I'm definitely finding those caches if they are within walking distance.

 

I will be traveling with a group of about 40 people from my church on an organized tour, but with some windows of free time for "shopping" which I will spend caching. When we are at a major tourist stop, I will either need to find virtuals and earthcaches, or break away quickly to find a physical cache. Any tips on finding caches when with a large group of non-cachers?

I'm now back from my trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed all three countries, felt 100% safe, and found EIGHTEEN caches during my visit -- eight in Israel, six in Turkey and four in Jordan. I think that's a good find count, considering that I was traveling on a tour bus with a large group. By the end of the trip, they all knew about geocaching!

 

 

Congrats. It sounds like you had a great time. I agree that finding 18 caches during a multi country trip of that length is just fine. I'm happy if I can find just one when visiting a new country and finding more, as long as they're in location I would likely want to see anyway is just a bonus. I'm also glad that some have been able to help with technology advice. Those kinds of contributions to this thread is one of the reason that I think it's one of the best threads we've got in the forums.

[GCEdo]

I'm now back from my trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed all three countries, felt 100% safe, and found EIGHTEEN caches during my visit -- eight in Israel, six in Turkey and four in Jordan. I think that's a good find count, considering that I was traveling on a tour bus with a large group. By the end of the trip, they all knew about geocaching!

 

Congrats on new countries and new personal records!

[+rich&susie]

WOW , Your post is getting me excited to add geocache finds in other countries! We are going to sea port cities in Turkey and Istambul and Italy. I do not have a Garmin. just use my Android phone app.

Im leaving in 2 weeks and will probably buy a garmin for this activity. Perhaps I will buy the kind of Garmin you have …

In your thread you indicated that you had technical help. how can i access that information?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

WOW , Your post is getting me excited to add geocache finds in other countries! We are going to sea port cities in Turkey and Istambul and Italy. I do not have a Garmin. just use my Android phone app.

Im leaving in 2 weeks and will probably buy a garmin for this activity. Perhaps I will buy the kind of Garmin you have …

In your thread you indicated that you had technical help. how can i access that information?

 

If you're going to get a Garmin then the technical help may just be to use the openstreetmaps for garmin to download the maps you'll need for where you're going. Then just created a few pocket queries to download the caches for those areas. Since you're a PM you can also save those PQs in the official android app so that you have complete listings for all the caches you might want to find.

[+on4bam]

WOW , Your post is getting me excited to add geocache finds in other countries! We are going to sea port cities in Turkey and Istambul and Italy. I do not have a Garmin. just use my Android phone app.

 

Take a look at GDAK, it's like GSAK (light) but it's great for overviews of the area, spoiler pics etc. It's designed for offline use so you don't need roaming data but can use data/WiFi when you want. It also makes use of gc's API.

And BTW, it's free.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

WOW , Your post is getting me excited to add geocache finds in other countries! We are going to sea port cities in Turkey and Istambul and Italy. I do not have a Garmin. just use my Android phone app.

 

Take a look at GDAK, it's like GSAK (light) but it's great for overviews of the area, spoiler pics etc. It's designed for offline use so you don't need roaming data but can use data/WiFi when you want. It also makes use of gc's API.

And BTW, it's free.

 

The GC API requires a data connection. I've got a Garmin handheld and a smart phone. I used to have an iPhone with the official app but I typically turn off data roaming when I get on a plane leaving the U.S. and ONLY use WiFi for the duratioIn of the trip. With the Garmin I can pre-load all the necessary map tiles I'll need as well as results from PQs. I also always have a lap top with me so I can run additional PQs when I'm on a wifi or wired network connection and download directly to my GPS. If I've saved PQs in the mobile app I can leave the phone in Airplane mode and still access *almost* all the data I might need. I never have to worry about cellular signals or data roaming.

 

[+on4bam]

The GC API requires a data connection.

 

I didn't say it didn't. It can be used 100% offline nut if needed will use data/wifi (and it can export to your GPS too).

[+Ibar]

So, as earlier mentioned, today I had a looong layover in ZRH, that allowed me after I don't know how many transits in Switzerland, to finally log a few caches in this country. To be honest I was surprised about how nice Zurich actually is ! And of course thanks to GC I discovered a Botanic garden, the old town, a few nice parks ...

 

Next stop should be Luxembourg, after 23 countries, it's about time to visit the neighbours

[+NYPaddleCacher]

So, as earlier mentioned, today I had a looong layover in ZRH, that allowed me after I don't know how many transits in Switzerland, to finally log a few caches in this country. To be honest I was surprised about how nice Zurich actually is ! And of course thanks to GC I discovered a Botanic garden, the old town, a few nice parks ...

 

Next stop should be Luxembourg, after 23 countries, it's about time to visit the neighbours

 

I also really enjoyed Zurich as well. Yesterday I booked my flights for a trip to Paris in September. I was all set to book flights which gave me an overnight layover in Dublin. I had pretty much settled on which filghts I wanted then checked on a couple of options. When I went ahead and tried to book the airfare had gone up about 65 dollars and I was already at the top of my travel budget. So now I'm going to be transiting through Milan which means I won't be adding any new countries this trip. I'll probably a little more flexibility when I go to China in November and it looks like a layover in Hong Kong is a possibility. I could potentially add three countries (Hong Kong, Macau, and Canada) or none at all, since I've already found caches in China.

 

 

[+TwoNomadicBrits]

I'm now back from my trip of a lifetime. I enjoyed all three countries, felt 100% safe, and found EIGHTEEN caches during my visit <snip>

 

So, now my Country Count is up to five, <snip> But now that I've gotten a taste of "collecting countries," I'm up for more! I set new personal bests for farthest find from home and easternmost cache, and I can extend those records.

 

 

Brilliant! Sounds like a fantastic trip, and congrats on the new countries. I find it really difficult caching on a group tour; I've not been caching very long, and only been away on a group tour once since starting - I ended up with mostly Earthcaches and virtuals except where there was no other option! I quite like those stats too with the most easterly/westerly/northern/southern as they remind me of great trips when I see them on the page

 

WOW , Your post is getting me excited to add geocache finds in other countries! We are going to sea port cities in Turkey and Istambul and Italy. I do not have a Garmin. just use my Android phone app.

Im leaving in 2 weeks and will probably buy a garmin for this activity. <snip> In your thread you indicated that you had technical help. how can i access that information?

 

Hi Rich and Susie which Turkish port cities are you headed to? Just Istanbul or others? I live in one of them!!

 

I have a Garmin Etrex30 and when I first got it I googled 'how to load PQ to garmin' and 'how to get free garmin maps' and there are some great resources on the web for this, including a YouTube video I think! I also did a forum search and that was useful too.

Have a great time on your cruise!

 

I've been very busy since I last posted to this thread at the beginning of April; adding several new countries (Israel, Palestine, Netherlands, Germany, Greece, USA)... although it was not the first time we had visited any of them, it was the first time since becoming geocachers

 

We are now up to having geocached in 20 and been to 70. Most of the 20 have been through work, so we are lucky in that respect. We are just wondering what to do for a summer holiday - we really ought to see a bit more of Turkey but the temptation is always there for us to go somewhere new... although staying in Turkey would be much cheaper! I'm almost wishing I hadn't signed the logs for a few challenging challenge caches (that I *think* I first saw in this thread) when I was in DC last month - it is making me think that I need to go somewhere with a latitude of at least S45 to meet the challenge

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I quite like those stats too with the most easterly/westerly/northern/southern as they remind me of great trips when I see them on the page

 

That's my favorite stat as well, especially since I my most E/W/N/S cache finds are on four different continents.

 

 

WOW , Your post is getting me excited to add geocache finds in other countries! We are going to sea port cities in Turkey and Istambul and Italy. I do not have a Garmin. just use my Android phone app.

Im leaving in 2 weeks and will probably buy a garmin for this activity. <snip> In your thread you indicated that you had technical help. how can i access that information?

 

Hi Rich and Susie which Turkish port cities are you headed to? Just Istanbul or others? I live in one of them!!

 

Over in the All Nations forum there used to a cacher from Turkey that offered anyone that found a cache in Istanbul a "Geocache Istanbul". The offer was made after I had found caches there so it didn't feel right to ask for one but Istanbul frequently comes up as a transit airport when I'm looking at itineraries so I wouldn't be surprised if I got the chance to cache there again.

 

 

We are now up to having geocached in 20 and been to 70. Most of the 20 have been through work, so we are lucky in that respect. We are just wondering what to do for a summer holiday - we really ought to see a bit more of Turkey but the temptation is always there for us to go somewhere new... although staying in Turkey would be much cheaper! I'm almost wishing I hadn't signed the logs for a few challenging challenge caches (that I *think* I first saw in this thread) when I was in DC last month - it is making me think that I need to go somewhere with a latitude of at least S45 to meet the challenge

 

Most of my travel is through work as well and I've got three trips planned before the end of the year but they might not include places where I have not already found a cache. There's still the possibility of adding one when I go to China in November though. I was looking at the cache map for Beijing though and there are a *lot* more cache then the last time I was there (2011).

 

 

[+FunnyNose]

Missed country.

 

I’ve been mulling this over since we made our plans to visit Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina/Brazil. Do I want to make a short trip to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay to get http://coord.info/GC4ZPAD

I have already paid the reciprocity fees for Argentina and Brazil. Paraguay would require another $320US (for 2 people) to cross the border.

From what I’ve heard Ciudad del Este is like the wild west it is where Brazilians go to get cheap items. It is allegedly a very ugly and dangerous city.

So instead of spending a half day getting a new country I’ll be doing some extra hiking around the falls.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Missed country.

 

I've been mulling this over since we made our plans to visit Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina/Brazil. Do I want to make a short trip to Ciudad del Este in Paraguay to get http://coord.info/GC4ZPAD

I have already paid the reciprocity fees for Argentina and Brazil. Paraguay would require another $320US (for 2 people) to cross the border.

From what I've heard Ciudad del Este is like the wild west it is where Brazilians go to get cheap items. It is allegedly a very ugly and dangerous city.

So instead of spending a half day getting a new country I'll be doing some extra hiking around the falls.

 

Sounds wonderful. Finding a cache at Iquazu falls is on my bucket list. $160 per person for a visa is actually a lot less than one for China or Russia. There are some interesting logs on that cache. Some make it sound pretty sketchy and there's even a Found It, Didn't Find it "greetings from Germany" log.

[+funkymunkyzone]

Greetings from Andermatt, Switzerland. On a roadtrip with fellow cacher slieschke. We've already been through 29 countries since may 29 - 30 once Groundspeak recognising kosovo.

 

Trip so far has been about 12000km through: Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Aland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany again for the giga, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania where we were detained by border police for a few hours, Bulgaria, Greece where we were detained by police for 2 hours because someone saw us visit a cemetery, Macedonia, Kosovo where we muggled 3 German KFOR military guys in full uniform and found the cache together, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, San Marino, Vatican where we chanced upon the pope, Switzerland.

 

I've already cached in some of those so my new countries were 24 of those bringing me to 56 once I log everything. We have a few countries to go on our way back to Amsterdam in the next few days but I've cached them all before. By the 20th we'll have cached 33 countries on this roadtrip.

[+irisisleuk]

Greetings from Andermatt, Switzerland. On a roadtrip with fellow cacher slieschke. We've already been through 29 countries since may 29 - 30 once Groundspeak recognising kosovo.

 

Trip so far has been about 12000km through: Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Aland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czech Republic, Germany again for the giga, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Romania where we were detained by border police for a few hours, Bulgaria, Greece where we were detained by police for 2 hours because someone saw us visit a cemetery, Macedonia, Kosovo where we muggled 3 German KFOR military guys in full uniform and found the cache together, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, San Marino, Vatican where we chanced upon the pope, Switzerland.

 

I've already cached in some of those so my new countries were 24 of those bringing me to 56 once I log everything. We have a few countries to go on our way back to Amsterdam in the next few days but I've cached them all before. By the 20th we'll have cached 33 countries on this roadtrip.

 

Do you have specific geocaching goals during this trip, like finding the oldest cache in every country or the cache with the most favorites or having a FTF in all countries? Or other goals like visiting Unesco World Heritage sites or capitals or highest/lowest location in each country etc?

[+funkymunkyzone]

Do you have specific geocaching goals during this trip, like finding the oldest cache in every country or the cache with the most favorites or having a FTF in all countries? Or other goals like visiting Unesco World Heritage sites or capitals or highest/lowest location in each country etc?

 

I don't know about specific goals as such but I guess mostly:

- have a ton of fun

- visit as many new countries as possible (I'm a battle hardened traveler but slieschke is not)

- not get arrested (narrowly avoided 3 times so far)

- fill jasmer grid

- visit some awesome cities like Berlin and Warsaw

- meet up with old friends (event in Munich tonight, be there!)

- find some old or highly favourited or just plain old significant caches

- collect souvenirs including all states of Germany

- get the giga icon (only because a giga happened to be on when we were here)

- get ftfs (always a goal for me but added 3 new ftf countries so far this trip)

- drive the stelvio pass (twice, yusss!)

- drive a bunch of other passes (I love switchbacks and yesterday we did >5 including Gottard twice although that was not actually by choice but due to a road closure)

- drive on snow (ok this wasn't a goal but we found some snow to drive on yesterday hehe)

- not go to work for 3.5 weeks

- remain friends

 

If I can think of any other goals I'll add them later.

 

Cheers

Edited June 17, 2015 by funkymunkyzone

[+hzoi]

I just got back from four sunny weeks in Atropia. Sadly, not a geocache in miles. I'm afraid the same will be true when I have to deploy to Cortina in January.

[+Michaelcycle]

I just got back from four sunny weeks in Atropia. Sadly, not a geocache in miles. I'm afraid the same will be true when I have to deploy to Cortina in January.

 

Unfortunately, the Peoples Republic of Pineland won't have many caches either if you get that assignment. Hundreds of caches have been archived at the behest of a tyrannical government.

[Glory Hunters]

I'm just about to book my trip to Mexico DF for a conference, and luckily I've been able to secure a long layover in Toronto departing from Madrid ) this means that, if everything goes according to the plan, I will be able to geocache in my 21st country (Canada). Mexico is already on my list. This will be in mid-July, cannot wait!

[+funkymunkyzone]

Just got back to work after the big trip. 34 countries 1 of which is not yet recognised by Groundspeak (kosovo). 24 new countries for me. 14500km driven in 23 days. 3 times nearly arrested, 2 times detained for 90 minutes plus, all geocaching related. >600 cache logs yet to write. 3 new ftf countries. 1 new icon - giga. 1 accidental audience with the pope. A lot of BS talked in the car and a heck of a lot of fun had.

 

Some things learnt along the way:

It's no big deal taking a car across non-Eu borders so long as you have the paperwork and in fact all the borders we crossed were easy, quick and with short queues.

Driving in Rome is not for the faint of heart. All lane markings and traffic signals are ignored and it's every man for himself. Glad to get out of there with no panel damage.

Driving in Pristina at night in the rain, very much like Rome except dark and wet.

 

Edit: oops realised I pretty much repeated my last post. Blame it on a cocktail of head cold and jetlag. As you were...

Edited June 24, 2015 by funkymunkyzone

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I got email yesterday morning asking if I could participate in a workshop next Thursday/Friday in Rome. It' a very short notice and all flights/accommodations will be booked for me, but I might be able to do some caching in Instanbul and in Rome. I should find out today whether I'll be going and would leave on Tuesday.

[+TwoNomadicBrits]

Just got back to work after the big trip. 34 countries 1 of which is not yet recognised by Groundspeak (kosovo). 24 new countries for me. 14500km driven in 23 days. 3 times nearly arrested, 2 times detained for 90 minutes plus, all geocaching related. >600 cache logs yet to write. 3 new ftf countries. 1 new icon - giga. 1 accidental audience with the pope. A lot of BS talked in the car and a heck of a lot of fun had.

 

Some things learnt along the way:

It's no big deal taking a car across non-Eu borders so long as you have the paperwork and in fact all the borders we crossed were easy, quick and with short queues.

Driving in Rome is not for the faint of heart. All lane markings and traffic signals are ignored and it's every man for himself. Glad to get out of there with no panel damage.

Driving in Pristina at night in the rain, very much like Rome except dark and wet.

 

Edit: oops realised I pretty much repeated my last post. Blame it on a cocktail of head cold and jetlag. As you were...

 

Sounds like an amazing trip! I know I say this a lot, but I wish we'd been Geocaching when we lived in mainland Europe 1.5 years ago!!

 

We will get the chance to add Poland and Lithuania over the next couple of weeks - we've been to both before but pre caching so they will be new countries on the caching map if not the pin map on the study wall

 

PS. We lived in Rome for a while - totally agree with your comments about driving there. It pretty much prepared me for driving anywhere!

[+raivis_s]

Hello country collectors, if someone needs a Hungary flag on your flag counter give me a reply, i am caching right now in Budapest - many trails and other geocaches, have found also Tisza lake trail and somecaches around in Debrecen, next stop Tatra mountains in Slovakia.

[ChrisA33]

I really enjoy following this trip for quite a while now! Back when I first looked I had just 2 countries to my name, but a lifelong dream came true and I was able to backpack around Asia for almost 8 months and had the absolute time of my life. Of course none of these travels (except possibly the very worthwhile daytrip to Macao) was influenced by wanting to collect another country. All places I would traveled to anyway. On that trip I was able to find a virtual at a tuna fish auction in Osaka/Japan at 5 in the morning, running into into a massive typhoon on the way back. In Korea the hides were usually poorly maintained, but hiking around Seoul was amazing, even if no boxes were found. Thailand had me place my first own cache (and check every single touristic billboard in Bangkok ). In Malaysia it was my first 5/5 ever, an EC on top of Mount Kinabalu at 4500 meters, in the heart of Borneo. In Singapore and Brunei the caches were byproducts of visiting the city. In Indonesia they made me go around the whole island of Lombok on a scooter to find two caches in the very south. And get a FTF off the coast of Flores, just by the amazing Komodo-Dragons...

 

In East-Timor they made me rent a bike and got me to a former ammunitions storage carved into the side of a mountain, from the recent war of liberation. The cache was found by flashlight, hidden inside an actual gunshell pointing out the violent history of the country. Goosebumps right there, one of my most impressing caches ever. Big China had surprisingly few caches, but a virtual at the panda-base in Chengdu and 3 tradis were found in a whole month...

 

I'd just like to appreciate in this post how beautiful geocaching is. What amazing things it makes you go out and do, just as a small reason to go out and embark on adventures. You start going out to find this one cache, and in the end the experiences you make along the way count for so much more that it almost becomes a side remark to say "oh yeah, and that box I was looking for, I also found it".

 

Here's to the next adventures!

[+TwoNomadicBrits]

 

I'd just like to appreciate in this post how beautiful geocaching is. What amazing things it makes you go out and do, just as a small reason to go out and embark on adventures. You start going out to find this one cache, and in the end the experiences you make along the way count for so much more that it almost becomes a side remark to say "oh yeah, and that box I was looking for, I also found it".

 

Here's to the next adventures!

 

Your paragraph above encapsulates my view entirely on geocaching and it's how I know it's a long term hobby for me. It's not just the thrill of the box, but the thrill of the adventure that leads you there. It's what makes my husband tolerate it too, as I'm now willing to climb mountains and ford streams that I would only have done before with a lot of grumbling!

 

Your trip sounds fabulous, and thank you for sharing your story. It makes me want to grab my backpack and head for adventures!

[+Oxford Stone]

Frustration for me - going to Brazil in a few weeks to areas (in Pernambuco) where the only 2 caches (put out by a CO with 7 finds) are 1 disabled 1 (according to logs) missing. Could do a throwdown at the latter but it doesn't seem right - neither does organising an event. Hey-ho. Record slump here we come (12 whole days without geocaching!) unless I can persuade an inlaw to drive us 2 hours along the coast or by some miracle a new cache appears.

[RuideAlmeida]

... neither does organising an event.

 

Why? Go ahead!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I'd just like to appreciate in this post how beautiful geocaching is. What amazing things it makes you go out and do, just as a small reason to go out and embark on adventures. You start going out to find this one cache, and in the end the experiences you make along the way count for so much more that it almost becomes a side remark to say "oh yeah, and that box I was looking for, I also found it".

 

Here's to the next adventures!

 

Your paragraph above encapsulates my view entirely on geocaching and it's how I know it's a long term hobby for me. It's not just the thrill of the box, but the thrill of the adventure that leads you there. It's what makes my husband tolerate it too, as I'm now willing to climb mountains and ford streams that I would only have done before with a lot of grumbling!

 

Your trip sounds fabulous, and thank you for sharing your story. It makes me want to grab my backpack and head for adventures!

 

That does sound like a fabulous trip. I had a bit of a "thrill" in Rome yesterday. I went out to find a few caches and grabbed one near the Colosseum. After signing the log and replacing the cache I saw someone else approach GZ (with what appeared to be a GPS on his belt). It wasn't actually a GPS but it was a radio and he was a plain clothes-ed policeman. I only found that out a few minutes later when I a police car pulled up and questioned me for about 15 minutes about the plastic bag with sheets of papers with names and numbers on it. Neither of the policeman spoke English and I know very little Italian but they had a nearby vendor translate for us. They were eventually able to get onto the geocaching.com web site which described the game well enough that they were able to understand what it was about. They even said that they were going to replace the cache (I think). I wish I would have had a "About Geocaching" flyers, in Italian, to show to them as it took quite awhile before they let me go.