VanLife Connect Help Guide 11

Travel Mates Guide

Stay connected with people you meet on the road and see when your existing Travel Mates are nearby.

About 4 minutes Updated August 2026

Reconnect with people you meet while travelling

Travel Mates is designed to help you stay connected with people you have already met or chosen to connect with on the road. Once you are Travel Mates, VanLife Connect can make it easier to reconnect when your travels bring you near each other again.

Travel Mates is for reconnection, not stranger discovery In the current version of VanLife Connect, Travel Mates is not a people-discovery or dating feature. You connect with people you already know or have chosen to add, rather than browsing unknown travellers nearby.

1. How Travel Mates works

Travel Mates creates a connection between two VanLife Connect users so they can stay in touch and recognise when their travels cross paths again.

1

Connect with someone you know

Add someone you have met or already know as a Travel Mate through the available Travel Mates invitation process.

2

Stay connected in VanLife Connect

Once connected, the person appears in your Travel Mates area so you can find them again without having to exchange public contact details.

3

Reconnect when your travels overlap

When location and check-in information makes an existing Travel Mate relevant nearby, VanLife Connect can help you see that you are in the same area.

2. Add a Travel Mate

Use the Travel Mates area to invite or connect with someone you have met and want to stay connected with.

1

Open Travel Mates

Go to the Travel Mates area in VanLife Connect and use the available option to add or invite a Travel Mate.

2

Send the invitation

Follow the in-app invitation process so the other person can connect their VanLife Connect account with yours.

3

Confirm the connection

Once the invitation is accepted, the person becomes one of your Travel Mates and can appear in your Travel Mates list and relevant map views.

Only add people you want to stay connected with Travel Mates is intended to reflect genuine connections made while travelling, rather than building the largest possible contact list.

3. See when Travel Mates are nearby

Travel Mates becomes particularly useful when people you have previously met arrive in the same area as you.

1

Check in to your location

Smart Arrival or manual check-in gives VanLife Connect the location context needed to make nearby information relevant.

2

Open Travel Mates

Use the Travel Mates list or map to see your existing connections and whether any are shown nearby.

3

Reconnect if you want to

If you notice that a Travel Mate is nearby, use VanLife Connect chat to say hello and decide whether you want to catch up.

Nearby does not mean live tracking Travel Mates is designed to help existing connections recognise when they are in the same area. It is not intended to provide continuous, precise real-time tracking of another person.

4. Chat with a Travel Mate

Use VanLife Connect’s in-app chat to contact a Travel Mate without making your mobile number or email address publicly visible.

1

Open their profile

Select the Travel Mate you want to contact from your list or relevant map view.

2

Select Chat Now

Use the Chat Now option to start or continue your conversation inside VanLife Connect.

3

Arrange a catch-up if it suits you both

Being nearby does not create any obligation to meet. Use chat to decide whether, when and where you would like to catch up.

5. Remove a Travel Mate

You can remove an existing Travel Mate if you no longer want that connection to remain in your Travel Mates list.

1

Open the Travel Mate’s profile

Select the person from your Travel Mates list and open their profile.

2

Select Remove Travel Mate

When the person is already one of your Travel Mates, use the Remove Travel Mate option shown on their profile.

3

Confirm the removal

Follow the confirmation prompt to remove the Travel Mate connection.

Removing and reporting are different actions Remove a Travel Mate when you simply no longer want the connection. Use Report if you have a genuine concern about inappropriate behaviour, safety or a breach of VanLife Connect’s rules.

6. Privacy and safety

Travel Mates uses profile, location and check-in information to make reconnection useful. Use the feature with the same judgement you would apply when deciding who to stay in contact with offline.

  • Only connect with people you are comfortable adding as Travel Mates.
  • Your mobile number and email address are not displayed to other users through Travel Mates.
  • Use in-app chat rather than posting private contact information publicly.
  • Location information can depend on check-in status, device permissions and the way the app is being used.
  • Travel Mates should not be relied on as a safety, emergency or real-time tracking service.
  • Remove a Travel Mate if you no longer want to maintain the connection.
  • Report inappropriate or concerning behaviour through the available Report option.
For immediate safety concerns If you or someone else is in immediate danger, contact the appropriate emergency service. Do not rely on Travel Mates, chat or location information for emergency assistance.

Travel Mates will grow with your travels

The value of Travel Mates builds naturally as you meet people on the road. Add the travellers you genuinely want to stay connected with and VanLife Connect can help make those chance reconnections easier as your journeys cross again.

Getting Started with VanLife Connect

Return to the Getting Started guide for an overview of your account, profile, Smart Arrival, Services, Community and Travel Mates.

Getting Started with VanLife Connect

Related guides

Getting Started with VanLife Connect Smart Arrival & Check-In Guide Account, Profile & Privacy Settings Community Noticeboard Guide

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