Letters home from wherever you are. They arrive tonight.

A postcard from your phone that gets there before you do, and a letter home for the longer trips: the gap year, the semester abroad, the long way round. Take the photo, write the line on the back, add the trip so far honestly, and record a walk down the street you are on with the sound up. One link, there tonight, and nobody has to find a post office. From $1.29.

Five minutes for you. Theirs to keep.

A link, in their messages
Send it by text, WhatsApp or email, or we’ll email it to them for you.
They tap the seal
It opens in their browser. No app, no account, no password.
Then each piece, one by one
Your letter, a postcard of your photo, and a video of you saying it.

What to put in a letter home

Any mix, up to ten pieces, revealed one at a time in the order you set. Put in one, or all three.

A letter

The trip so far, honestly, or one chapter at a time: where you have been, who you have met, what you have learnt about laundry. What went wrong is always the best bit.

Dear Mum, Day nine. Lost: one sandal. Found: the best noodles of my life.

A postcard

The view, the food, the hostel bunk, the overnight bus, and a line on the back like a real postcard. Up to nine in one envelope.

Wish you were here. No, it’s raining.

A video

A walk down the street you are on right now, with the sound on. Or the hostel roof at sunset, and a hello from whoever you are travelling with.

1:30 · The market, at full volume

What to write on a postcard home

For a week in the sun, a gap year, a semester abroad, and the parent who worries.

Day nine. Lost: one sandal. Found: the best noodles of my life. All fine.
Wish you were here. Then it started raining sideways, so, on reflection, no.
Week six. I can now order another beer in four languages and ask where the bus goes in two.
The hostel has a roof and the roof has a sunset. Here it is, with the sound of someone’s guitar.
Mum: I am eating vegetables. Here is a photo of one as proof.
The overnight bus. Would not recommend. Would do again.
Halfway through, and I miss the small things: your cooking, the dog, a kettle that works.
Home on the 14th. Please have the good biscuits in. That was not a request.

Not sure what to write? Start from one of ours.

Whole letters, written for the occasion and ready to send as they are. Start your envelope with one and make it yours: it’s addressed to whoever you put on the front.

Addressed and signed with the names on your envelope. Change any word you like.

Dear Mum,

Greetings from far away!

We’re having the most wonderful time. The weather’s been kind (mostly), the food’s been incredible, and we’ve walked about a hundred miles. I’ve stopped looking at the step counter. It was getting embarrassing.

Today we got gloriously lost and found the best little café, which is now our favourite place on earth.

I’ll tell you everything when I’m home. Wish you were here.

Love,
Your name

When to send it

From the holiday: on the second or third night, once there is something to say, and it arrives at home that evening rather than three weeks after you are back. From a longer trip: one envelope per chapter, every few weeks, and signing in shows you all of them in one place.

It needs a signal to send, so write it on the bus and send it from the café. The people at home need nothing but a phone.

Your first one’s free

After that, one price for the whole envelope, by what’s inside.

Paid once. No subscription.

First one freeLetters and postcards$1.29Up to ten letters, photo postcards and gifts, in the order you choose. Sealed until the day if you like.

Half price on your firstWith a video$5A video of you saying it, up to 1 GB straight off your phone, plus letters, postcards and gifts. Up to ten pieces.

Letters home questions

Can I send a postcard from my phone?

Yes. Take the photo, add a line on the back, and send the link. It arrives tonight rather than in three weeks, and nobody has to find a post office or a stamp. Postcards cost $1.29 for the whole envelope.

Can I send an update every month from a gap year?

Yes. Each update is its own envelope and link, and signing in shows you all of them in one place, so the whole trip is kept, chapter by chapter.

Is it private?

Only people with the link can open it, and it never shows in search. It is a letter home, not a public blog.

Can I send one to several people?

One link can go to everyone. Or make one each, if Gran deserves her own, which she does.

Does it need good signal?

To send, yes: write it offline and send it when you find wifi. A video up to 1 GB uploads in the background. To open, any phone with a signal will do.

Envelopes that suit the occasion

The first is the one this occasion usually starts on. Each piece inside gets its own paper and type, and you can change the envelope any time before you pay.