Short Answer:

Both are outdoor, public treasure hunts with a slight distinction. Geocaching uses coordinates on a GPS (global positioning system) to locate a waterproof container called a cache. Letterboxing uses a series of clues and sometimes a compass to find the letterbox.

Since I recently learned about these hobbies, I’ve been researching them to see if they’d be a good fit for our travels. I kept seeing both terms and wasn’t sure if they were different or interchangeable. As it turns out, while they share similarities, they are distinct activities. Read on to find out more!

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Letterboxing Basics

Letterboxes are hidden in public places like parks and nature trails and can be found by following clues from the letterbox owner. Most letterbox seekers use online forums to access clues for local letterboxes, though some are shared exclusively by word of mouth. The actual letterbox can be any durable, weather-resistant container, such as a metal tin or plastic box.

A unique aspect of letterboxing is the stamping element. Letterboxers carry a personal stamp and ink pad to mark their findings. When you find a letterbox, you’ll discover a logbook and a stamp inside. You stamp your personal logbook with the letterbox’s stamp and leave your own stamp in the letterbox’s logbook. This creates a fun and artistic record of your discoveries.

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Geocaching Basics

Geocaching follows a similar premise—finding a hidden container in a public place—but with a major difference: navigation. Instead of clues, you use GPS coordinates to pinpoint a geocache’s location, entering waypoints into a GPS device or a smartphone app.

Geocache descriptions may also provide helpful hints, sometimes encoded for an extra challenge. A fun feature of geocaching is the potential prizes inside the caches. In addition to a logbook, caches often contain small trinkets or even money. If you take an item from a geocache, the geocaching honor code requires you to leave something of equal or greater value for the next explorer.

Letterbox basics
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Five Key Differences

Both activities involve outdoor treasure hunting, but they have some major distinctions:

  1. Navigation Method: Geocaching relies on GPS coordinates, while letterboxing follows written clues, which may include maps, compass bearings, riddles, puzzles, or ciphers.
  2. Technology: Geocaching requires a GPS device or smartphone app, while letterboxing typically doesn’t require any electronic devices.
  3. Container Contents: Geocaches usually contain a logbook and small tradable items, whereas letterboxes contain a logbook and a unique rubber stamp.
  4. Logging Method: Geocachers sign the logbook with their username and date. Letterboxers use the box’s stamp to mark their personal notebook and leave their own stamp impression in the box’s logbook.
  5. Size Considerations: Geocaches can be tiny (as small as a pill bottle), while letterboxes must be large enough to contain a logbook and a stamp, making them generally bigger than geocaches.

Both activities share the common goal of finding hidden containers in outdoor locations, but they differ in their methods, tools, and traditions. As much as the two have differences, the communities constantly work together, with many geocaches hosting letterboxes in them. The same people who love looking for a cache up a mountain over the weekend can often be found following a long list of clues to leave their stamp in a logbook. While geocaching has a custom of logging where caches are online and with map locations, letterboxing does not. Letterboxers don’t appreciate it when a location is posted online. They want to figure out their own clues.

Geocache basics

Hybrid Letterbox-Geocache

A hybrid version, known as a Letterbox Hybrid, combines elements of both hobbies. This type of cache includes GPS coordinates for those who prefer direct navigation but also offers written clues for those who enjoy a more traditional letterboxing experience. These hybrids, listed on geocaching.com, contain a stamp that should not be removed from the cache—unlike regular geocaching items, the stamp is not a tradeable object. There may not be a tradable item in these because of size limitations.

How to Get Started

 To find a geocache, the most popular online forum is geocaching.com. On this site you will need to create a login to access geocache details. With a free account you can access all the basic information you need to geocache. A couple of helpful features listed in the online geocache description are the difficulty rating, terrain rating, and size of geocache. Also, make sure to check the logged visits section for updates on the cache status and possibly more clues.

There are two main ways of joining the letterboxing community, and both will require that you create online accounts.  The website will actively allow you to print out and save all the required clues you need to find the letterboxes. Atlas Quest is the leading website for letterboxing. Not only is it a great community site but it also gives you lots of information about getting started and other FAQ’s.

The other recommended place to join the letterboxing community is through the letterboxing.com (also known as Letterboxing North America – LbNA) website. Similar to geocaching.com, this is one of the original online sources where you can find information on letterboxes around the world.

Conclusion

While letterboxing and geocaching share the excitement of outdoor treasure hunting, they cater to different interests. If you enjoy using technology and tracking specific locations, geocaching might be for you. If you prefer following clues, solving puzzles, and collecting unique stamps, letterboxing could be a better fit. Both offer a fantastic way to explore new places, engage with a like-minded community, and add adventure to your travels.

We hope to encourage you to find your adventures with information we’ve learned while traveling and now not only do I hope this helps you find a new hobby, but I found one for us when we travel. I wrote a few articles about letterboxing to help give you as much information as possible so that you can decide if this is for you. We hope you will get out and find adventures that make you happy and provide lots of memories. Whichever activity you choose (or if you try both!), you’ll experience the thrill of discovery while making lasting memories. Happy hunting!

By Greg and Peggy

We are two people who love to travel, thrift and play slot machines. We love going to new places, especially if there is a casino! We just want to share our adventures with people and hope to inspire them to explore and have fun!

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