Has anyone thought of a brilliant way of reconnecting with lost or separated group travellers quickly? Anything is better than meeting at the hotel(which maybe hours away)

Cell phone?

walkie talkies or every hour have a different meeting place scheduled, and everyone has a good map with those locations.

Be aware that you must use walkie-talkies with European frequency, not those from the US. Otherwise, you risk a fine for interrupting their emergency frequency.

Our rule - which, luckily we've never had to resort to - is:
Go back to the last place you saw each other.

How about making sure everyone has a good map of the city, knows how to read it - and is paying attention.

Not all of us have/purchase cell phones that work overseas, so as a last resort we have a designated individual back home that we know is always available (i.e. someone who ALWAYS answers their cell phone). If any of us get seperated we phone back home to that person leaving a message where we will be to meet back up again. This is obviously not the cheapest method but it's better than many wasted hours looking for each other.

don't travel with people whose middle name is "oblivia"

This may not apply to your group or the geographic distance by which you find yourselves separated, but in our family we do this: each person carries a whistle. I keep five beautiful silver whistles on chains in our travel closet. They can be worn inconspicuously under one's clothing. I also have a few whistle/compass combinations from Boy Scout outings, that clip onto one's belt loop, backpack, etc. If we are separated in a crowd, a whistle leads us back to each other.

At the beginning of each 1/2 day time period, set a meeting point and time. For instance, while we are in xxx today, if we are separated everyone return to (pick a town square, fountain, monument, cafe) at Noon. Obviously this necessitates everyone having a map and being able to read it.

Repeat after lunch for your afternoon activities and location.

Last ditch I do think the hotel makes the most sense. But again, you need to make sure each person has a business card from the hotel and fare for a taxi back (or is comfortable with use of public transportation.

Hi Lost,

I would give each member of the group an itinerary with approximate times of arrival and departure (If it's 16:00 it must be the Ponte Vecchio).

Wherever one gets lost, there will always be a cab to take one to XXX.

We have used both walkie talkies and cell phones to stay in contact. It's nice because it gives you more freedom without worrying about staying in lockstep with the group. If this is important to you, it's worth the minor investment for the equipment.

We generally use the "last place we saw each other" if we get separated, otherwise the quadband phone which works all over Europe was the best wireless upgrade I ever made and fairly economical to use as well...but admittedly, not worth it for everyone.

Carta_Pisana, LOL.

lostinspace -- We're going to Paris with our parents (total of 6 of us), and I have yet to figure out how we'd reconnect if/when we lose each other, which is bound to happen somewhere in the Louvre. Given the fact that my siblings will never let me live it down if I lose my Mom...I think each day we'll designate a location that's near our sightseeing where we can meet on the hour if we get lost/lose somebody.

I love your choice of a board name, btw.

Jules

Hi Jules,

>..when we lose each other, which is bound to happen somewhere in the Louvre.<

DO NOT LEAVE THE BUILDING. We will meet at the same place we came in,

There must be someting here that I'm missing.

I've been to europe over 60 times - and have yet to lose anyone I'm traveling with. Nor do I know any of my firends who have misplaced a loved one - except deliberately.

Unless you're re-enacting the D-Day invasion with a cast of thousands - how hard is it really to organize a few people?

When we separate we simply say - we'll meet at where/when - and do.

Now, granted - I'm not talking about small children - but parents simply need to HANG ONTO them. (And we traveled with the beau's daughters from the time they were 12 and 14 - and no one ever got lost - they were never even more than about 15 miutes late at the meeting places - to me a great on-time record for teenagers.)

So unless you're dealing with small children, the mentally handicapped or the very elderly/easily confused - this all seems to be complete overkill.

"oblivia" LOL

We always made a rule that if we got seperated, go to the Entrance!
If it is outdoors, pick a building and meet there at a certain hour.
Fortunately, we have not had to use either of these methods for finding Lost ones..they just won't get lost!

Knowing my mother, I'll just find her at the nearest bar that serves a nice blush chablis.

Jules

"There must be someting here that I'm missing."

A brain? A heart? The ability to respond to a question without being a pompous jacka$$? Clue us in, nyt.

nytraveler
Date: 06/30/2005, 07:53 pm
There must be someting here that I'm missing.

<i> LOL, that is the point nyt! If you have someone missing..</i>