How to use a Travel Bug
The page is broken out into three sections, picking up a Travel Bug, dropping off Travel Bugs, and troubleshooting. The web site tries to mimic the adventures in the real world. Cache listings work like virtual containers for each Travel Bug listing.
Picking up a Travel Bug
A Travel Bug is usually a dog tag that is attached to a "hitchhiker," or an item that travels from place to place. If you found a Travel Bug the first thing you need to do is "grab" it online so you can add your own story to its journey. Refer to the FAQ for answers to other questions not covered on this page.
Step 1. Get the Tracking Number
In order to log your find and "grab" the bug. You first need to locate the Bug's tracking number. The number is normally on the dog tag that is attached to the item, with exception of USA and Moun10bike geocoins which are stamped on the coins. Make sure to write this number down before dropping the item in another cache. You'll need it to locate and "grab" the bug online.
Step 2. Visit the Travel Bug's Page
Each Travel Bug has its own web page. To visit the page, either visit the cache listing where you found the cache, or visit the Travel Bug home page and use the search tool in the upper right hand corner of the page. If you use the search tool, enter in the tracking number in the supplied box and click the search button to reach the Bug's page.
Step 3. Found it? Log it!
Once you reach the Travel Bug listing, you will need to write a log to let the owner know you found it. By logging the find you are also "grabbing" the Travel Bug and putting it in your account's online inventory. This will ultimately allow you to drop off the Travel Bug in another cache.
If the Travel Bug is listed as being in a cache, you will have two options, retrieving it from the cache or grabbing the Travel Bug. If you took it from the cache listed, use that option. Otherwise choose to grab the Travel Bug. Both logs require the tracking number, so keep the tracking number handy for the Bug you plan to log.
Once you have successfully grabbed or picked up the travel bug, it will remain in your online inventory until someone else grabs it from you or you place it in a cache.
Dropping off a Travel Bug
Once you log that you have either picked up a Travel Bug or grabbed it, you can drop it off into a cache. Like the real world, the cache listing acts as a virtual container allowing you to drop off a Travel Bug.
If the Travel Bug has a goal, please try and follow the goal as best as you can. If the goal is to move the Travel Bug to the west coast, don't put the travel bug in a cache farther east.
Step 1. Visit the Cache Listing
Since you found a cache, you might as well kill two birds with one stone! Visit the cache listing for the cache you found and placed the Travel Bug.
If you already logged your find, don't panic! You can still post another log note.
Step 2. Visit the "log a cache" Page
As you normally log a find, click on the link to log the cache. You will need to log in first.
Step 3. Select the travel bugs to drop off
After entering any text for your find, below the text box is a list of Travel Bugs in your inventory. You can either select one Travel Bug or hold down Ctrl on your keyboard and select all the Bugs you want to drop off in the cache. Once you are ready, click the button to submit your log.
The Travel Bugs will transfer from your inventory to the online cache listing.
Troubleshooting
There were no travel bugs listed on my "log a cache" page!
There are two possible reasons why the Travel Bugs were not listed on your "log a cache" page.
- Some caches, like Locationless caches, cannot act as containers for Travel Bugs. This option will not show up for these kinds of cache listings.
- Someone grabbed the Travel Bug from you before you were able to log it. Revisit the Travel Bug page to see if it was grabbed by someone else. If so, contact the user and see if you can grab it back to add your story to the Travel Bug's page. If you wait too long you may be unable to log your find if it has moved too far.
The Tracking Number doesn't work!
Is the tracking number you used the one that was stamped on the dog tag or geocoin?
Often, the travel bug reference number (aka "TB number") is confused with the tracking number. The "TB Number" is the reference code on each travel bug's page, which is the "safe" number to help users reference each travel bug without giving out the bug's actual tracking number. This will not work when picking up and grabbing Travel Bugs.
Also, if you send a request to contact@geocaching.com for the tracking number and receive an automated response, the tracking number for the email message will not work as the Bug's tracking number.
If you lose the tracking number...
Try and contact the Travel Bug owner and ask them for the tracking number. As a policy, geocaching.com does not give out the tracking number to users who request it. The Travel Bug owner can ultimately decide whether to give it to you.
