A Travel Bug is a type of item used in Geocaching. Produced by Groundspeak, the bugs can be moved from cache to cache, with unique tracking numbers allowing their movements to be tracked through the company's geocaching website. Some tags are fastened to an object, known as a "hitchhiker", before they are released into a cache. Travel bugs have been used in advertising, such as to promote Jeep products or to increase diabetes awareness. A free service known as Geokrety is also available but is not affiliated to Groundspeak.
Travel Bugs usually look similar to a dog tag. The tag is stamped with a tracking number and the Geocaching.com website address. A travel bug can be attached to another item by use of the chain. Examples of such items include teddy bears, toy cars, or golf balls. These attached items are called "hitchhikers". During the registration of the travel bug, the owner may create and assign a name, as well as creating a purpose or mission for the bug. These missions can be as simple as "to travel as far as possible" or to travel to a specific cache or location. On Geocaching.com, each travel bug has an individual page which tracks its movement and calculates the distance travelled.
Travel bugs move from cache to cache by Geocachers picking up the bug and physically moving them. There is no obligation to pick up a bug from a cache as Geocachers can simply "discover" the bug on the Geocaching website. The geocacher can then search the bug up using it's tracking code and can the log it as "dropped" in a specific geocache. Travel bugs have been promoted for their use in education, and also in Scouting.
Travel Bugs can also be used in travel bug racing, where a group of geocachers will release bugs on the same day with the objective to either travel the longest distance or to score points by achieving specific objectives.
Similar to a travel bug, a geocoin is a coin printed with a tracking number, which allows its movement to be logged online.
From 2004 to 2007, Jeep sponsored a contest, known as "the Jeep 4ÃÂ4 Geocaching Challenge", which featured different series of special Jeep travel bugs every year. The travel bugs were released throughout the United States with no specific mission in mind, and every finder was entered into a drawing for a new Jeep and other prizes. There was a separate contest for photo entries for each Jeep travel bug series. In 2004, five thousand yellow Jeep Wrangler travel bugs were released, followed by five thousand white Jeep Wrangler Rubicon travel bugs in 2005, six thousand green Jeep Rescue concept vehicle travel bugs in 2006, and eight thousand red Jeep Commander travel bugs in 2007. An advertising campaign promoting the Jeep travel bug contest featured adverts in such magazines like Women's Health. Each year, the Jeep travel bugs have followed a different naming convention. The first series of yellow Jeeps were simply numbered, and the 2005 white Jeeps were given first names. 2006 Jeeps were named after different peaks in the United States, and 2007 Jeeps were named after different rivers in the United States.
In late 2006, to promote diabetes awareness and to gather support for a United Nations resolution, the International Diabetes Federation disseminated "Unite for Diabetes" travel bugs to be released by volunteers around the world. Unlike the Jeep travel bugs, each Unite for Diabetes travel bug has a specific mission. Every individual bug is assigned to one of 20,000 target cities around the world (for example, Guben, Germany). The bug's mission is to travel to, then around, its target city, collecting geocaching logs and photos along the way. Like the Jeep series, the Unite for Diabetes series was tied to a contest. Specially made geocoins were also created for release in 2007.