VoyageForum is back!

Hello, how are you all? To be honest, this isn't really a "deep" topic—just a quick note to say I'm really happy VoyageForum is finally back up. I hope everyone who contributed to this site is still around, still traveling, and in good health. For my part, travel didn’t really stop despite the COVID crisis. Looking forward to sharing photos, travel stories, and discussions with all of you again. Jacques And I’ll share a photo right away—taken last year in the Vichada region of Colombia, where I’m heading back in 2 weeks.

Welcome back to VF!

Yes, I feel the same way, Jacques—I really enjoy coming back to this forum, it’s so rich and varied. Some won’t return, too disappointed by how things ended in 2020, but I hope others will keep the discussions going. I actually have a few travel journals to share, but I’m waiting to see what the new vibe is like 😊. See you soon

Hey,

Life being what it is, we’ve inevitably lost a few along the way. Unfortunately, not the worst ones—because as they say, it’s always the best who leave first. All we can do now is hope our friends have improved their text and photo game 😛 It’s great to see your youthful enthusiasm, and we get it. Starting fresh is always exciting, especially when you loved the years before the shutdown.

We’ll have to wait until hundreds of thousands of people receive the VF emails because after 4 years, many had stopped believing. What a surprise, in a way! When you get back from vacation, you might have 25,000 replies...

Anyway, I didn’t get an email from VF to let me know the site was reopening… I only found out because I still checked in at least once a month :/

They mentioned on the VF site that the email rollout will be spread over several weeks.

Hi everyone! Yeah, it’s back open, but there’s not exactly a stampede at the gates either. Still, I guess it’ll pick up again.

I guess a lot of people switched to Facebook. Still, it remains to be seen whether they’ll keep up the momentum of the last four years or come back to VF.

In other words: has Covid changed travelers’ online habits?

It's not the same on Facebook. Everything gets lost in the feed so quickly. It's not very practical for finding information.

Yeah, it's back, and thank goodness... I had to fall back on the GDR forum and it's a mess....

🙂Hello And long live VoyageForum for many more years to come!

Alain

Great news, there’s nothing like it! 👍🏾

So happy to be back on this forum—I really missed it! 😎

Honestly, I couldn’t find anything to replace it while it was down, so this is THE best news! !

There are replacements, but they're pathetic.

Hey Herik

We should post some travel journals to help get the forum going again. I’ve got 1 or 2 on hand. I’ll check... What about you?

Apart from the Routard forum site, I haven't found any others... in French, at least.

In the meantime, we were on Routard, but the interface isn't as nice.

The backpacker forum scene is pretty bare-bones these days.

Yeah, there are others out there—some easier to find than others, and a few even invite-only. Some of them have had their share of weird moments... None quite match up to VF’s strengths, but when it comes to flaws, they’ve got plenty.

We should post travel journals to help the forum bounce back.

"In the meantime," we can reread a selection of past travel journals highlighted by the community. 😇 And in the same spirit, what about reviving the photo contest? 🏴‍☠️

And in the same vein, what about the revival of the photo contest? 🏴‍☠️

Good call ending your message with that emoji! You’ve never taken part in the contests. On the other hand, the word game is 😇

And in the same spirit, what about reviving the photo contest? 🏴‍☠️

Good call ending your message with that emoji! You’ve never entered the contests.

Okay, I see the 45 MAD couscous didn’t go over well...😏

You're jealous about the couscous, and I get it—you tracked me down just to tease me 🏴‍☠️

Aww no way... I was just passing by and thought I’d drop in to say hi... uh, no, *coucou*! 😉😏

Hello everyone on the team, it’s truly a pleasure to be back on this forum—I’ve been a member since 2003 and never really understood what happened, but that’s behind us now! I’m returning with great excitement and can’t wait for our next exchanges! Long live the real VoyageForum! 🙂

Anyway, I didn’t get an email from VF to let me know the site was reopening.... It’s only because I still visited at least once a month that I found out about the reopening :/

Yeah, I didn’t get an email either—found out about the reopening on Facebook.

Personally, I ended up on the Routard forum too, but I couldn’t find the same kind of sharing we have here. I’m really hoping to get that back...

A little late for my two upcoming trips, but I’ve already started typing again for a travel journal (Iceland trip in 2023 with my daughter).

One of the messages mentioned that emails are sent over several weeks.

Hi there! 🙂

I’m not really used to travel journals, and I’ve been a bit limited since Covid really slowed us down. So nothing very recent... except for Crete earlier this month, but I’ll think about it.

Hi Perju, great to see you here again. Awesome news about the reopening. We’ll be able to share and create new adventures together.

Hey Thierry! So, this car—better than two wheels? Getting all fancy on us, huh? 😄

Yeah, kinda. The camper is almost ready to hit the road far away, comfort-wise. The bike’s never too far behind... What about you, what are you planning?

Hello everyone! So happy to be back on my favorite forum, hoping the "vibe" takes off 🤗🤗 Chantal

Hi everyone,

So glad this forum’s back up and running. Hope it’ll be as active as it used to be! 🙂

Anne-Claire

To my surprise, I’m rediscovering forgotten profiles, and happily, I’m finding others that were tucked away in a corner of my mind. And then there are those I used to see in places I’ve visited a few times...

It’s a pleasure to be here, maybe to write a bit, but definitely to read all of you! 🙂

A much-anticipated return! You mention sharing in your post—let’s hope some folks finally get the idea to do just that, because so far, they haven’t quite caught on.

Good evening, yes, seeing familiar usernames is great. I’m happy to be back in this sharing space.

A much-anticipated return! You mention sharing in your post—let’s hope people take the hint and actually start doing it, because so far, that idea hasn’t crossed their minds.

And then there are those who ask questions and never return to their thread, even after members have replied. I’ve already got 3 or 4 examples... 😕

Thousands, yes. Some people are inconsistent. Others may have changed their minds, and who knows if something didn’t happen to them.

I was talking about recent discussions.

Is there a subtlety, a riddle, a joke? On Members' Reflections, there isn’t much activity yet, and what’s moving is being followed—so what’s the deal?

Is there a subtlety, a riddle, a joke?

I'm picking it back up... Like in the past, before 2020, members come here to ask a practical question and then disappear right away. No thank you, no follow-up... I take what I need and I'm gone. An example here: https://voyageforum.com/v.f?post=10554347;a=10554347

Is there a subtlety, a riddle, a joke?

Let me try again...

I’m also wondering how VF could’ve shut down its site while Le Routard kept going... VF was so much more lively... Well, it was, but it’ll bounce back little by little! :)

Because it’s no longer dependent on advertising. The GDR, on the other hand, generates substantial revenue from its guidebook sales. Having been around longer, they probably had a small financial cushion.

I don’t know if that was the case for them, but many French companies benefited from the "whatever it takes" policy. Whatever it costs us.

No longer as dependent on advertising. The GDR, on the other hand, generates substantial revenue from its guidebook sales. Having been around longer, they probably had a small financial cushion.

I don’t know if that was the case for them, but many French companies benefited from the "whatever it takes" policy. Whatever it costs us.

The site is Québécois, so I don’t know if they benefited from a "Whatever it takes, Tabarnak!"

Yes, exactly—my last comment was referring specifically to the GDRoutard.

hello everyone! what a pleasure to be back on my favorite forum... and to see some of you who’ve become friends! It’s also nice to know that some have moved on (old-timers like me). For now, I’m still traveling! I just got back from a month in southern Morocco, where I was lucky enough to discover lakes in the desert! This year, I celebrated my 70th birthday in a bolong in the Saloum Delta with the best guide possible: Pierre Diouf. And most of all, I took a magnificent cruise on the Bou el Mogdab along the Senegal River, from Saint-Louis to Podor! So happy to be back with you all! francia