Trackables (Travel Bug® and Geocoin) add a great twist to the Geocaching adventure but there can be some confusion as to what to do with them.  Read below to get your questions answered.

What is a Travel Bug® or Geocoin?

A Travel Bug® is a dog tag that is attached to another item (small stuffed animal, keychain, action figure, etc.) and has a special number assigned to it.  The number is used to prove that a cacher discovered or picked up the tag.  By entering the number here, you will be whisked away to the trackable’s web page where you will be given the following information:

• Name – What the owner has named the tag
• Release Date – When the Travel Bug®was set out on its journey
• Origin – Where the release was made
• Recently Spotted – Which cache the tag is currently in or the name of the Geocacher who has it in their possession.
• Current Goal – This is the mission that the owner has dreamed up for the item.  Some goals are to just travel from cache to the cache, where others are to visit caches with specific criteria (near Major League Baseball parks, the Eiffel Tower, etc.)
• About This Item – Anything the cache owner wants you to know about the traveler.
• Gallery Images – Pictures of the tag’s adventures
• Tracking History – This is where you can see every hop the Travel Bug® has taken.  The really cool feature here is the map that will show you every stop.

Geocoins are exactly like Travel Bugs® except they are a minted coin (like the military challenge coins).  Sometimes you have to look on the edge to find the tracking number.

OK, so now you know what they are.  It’s time to find out what to do with them.  There are several scenarios that are likely.  We’ll cover 4 of them.

How to Log Trackables:

1. You found it in a cache and you picked it up – When you get home to log the caches you found for the day, visit here.  Type in the tracking number.  Read all about it.  Click on Add a Log Entry.  Click the drop down for Type of Log and selected Retrieved from cache name.  Check the date.  The Tracking Number should be filled in for you.  Add a comment and tell the owner about how you found their tag.  Click on Submit Log Entry.  The traveler will show up on your inventory list in the right column of your profile page.  Now, find a cache that matches the bug’s Current Goal and place it there. When you log that cache select the Dropped option for that tag in your inventory.
2. You saw a Travel Bug® in a cache but you left it there – You do the same thing as in option 1 above but you select Discovered It as the Type of Log.
3. You got the tag from another Geocacher – Follow the steps in 1 above but select Grab It From Current Holder: cacher name.  If the person you got it from has not logged it yet, use the Retrieve entry type.  Don’t forget to use the Dropped option on the cache page when you place it in a cache.
4. You take the trackable to a cache but you don’t place it in the cache.  When you log the cache as found select the Visited option for that trackable in your inventory section of the Found It log.

Some things you should know about Travel Bugs® and Geocoins:

• Sometimes Travel Bugs® and Geocoins are NOT in caches as advertised.  This could be for many reasons, the most common is that the cacher who took it out of the container hasn’t logged it yet.
• It is generally considered fair game play to move the tag or coin in a reasonable amount of time which is about 2 weeks.  Send a message to the owner if you will have to keep it longer (we all have life events that may affect when we can cache again)
• Please respect the owner’s wishes and try to take it to somewhere that will get it closer to its Current Goal.
• Don’t keep the tag or coin.  The whole purpose of these game pieces is to travel.  People pay their hard-earned money to watch it trek across the globe not become part of another cacher’s collection.
• Generally tracking codes should not be published online in forums, Facebook, etc.  If you take a picture of a tag or coin hide or blur the tracking code.

The Geocaching.com website will automatically keep track of all your trackable activities and this will add a new dimension to your caching.  Watch as your stats quickly increase as you move trackables on their way.  It is quite amazing how quickly something can travel across the country or across the world when Geocachers are involved!

Travel Bug® is a registered trademark of Groundspeak, Inc.