Updated 20.03.2024
Will people still be geocaching in 2024? Oh yes! In fact, a recent statistic shows that there are more caches hidden than ever before: over 83 million (83,720,498)! As you can see from the community, some people who used to go geocaching on vacation or at home with their parents are now going on GPS treasure hunts with their own kids. After all, it’s a near-perfect family activity: out in nature, all you need is your phone, and you can usually start right outside your front door. So it’s not only fun, but also sustainable 😉
Geocaching: How does it work?
To geocache, you first need the geocaching app. The basic version is free and you can start geocaching right away. The premium version costs 6.99 Euro per month. You have to allow the app to access your GPS location, and it will show you caches in your area. Now you go out and instead of a simple walk, you look for a TREASURE! (Pure child motivation: my five-year-old son was immediately excited by this idea).
By the way: Besides the official app, there are other good ones. Maybe you’ve already tried some? Share your experiences in the comments!
How exactly do you find a cache?
There are caches in different difficulty levels from 1 to 5. If you start with the basic version, you will only discover easy caches. Once you landed at the right place via GPS, you can display a “hint” that gives you a hint about the cache.
- An easy hiding place might be attached to a tree or under a park bench.
- Difficult hiding places are under cobblestones, in old pipes, or underwater.
What kind of treasures can be found in geocaching?
Geocaching is not about getting rich. There are the occasional people who hide money or something valuable (then the question is who finds it first), but that is the exception. Do not expect too much! Think about this: Lego brick (only one), bracelet, gum, Play-Doh, pen … In the waterproof cache container, you will also find a list of all the people who have already found this cache. Write your name and the date here.
But that’s not all: to take is to give, and to find is to hide. When you go geocaching, be sure to bring your own “treasures” to leave in the cache.
Tip: Bring gifts of different sizes. The cache may consist of a tiny can as a box.
Discover your holiday destination with a treasure hunt
Geocaching on vacation in the Rhön
How productive and interesting your GPS scavenger hunt will be, depends on how active the local community is. For example, the user “Azra3l” has hidden a cache in the Kaskadenschlucht in the Rhön mountains and embedded the search in a series of questions about the colors of the rocks. Matthias Schulze Dieckhoff of the STURM recommended this “geocaching highlight” in nature. He is always happy to offer treasure hunters an accommodation in his sustainable hotel.
In addition, there is a group of hobby geocachers in the Rhön region called Wildchicken, who also like to search for caches during their vacations. In May 2023 they were in Albania:
“For fun caching (…) exciting caches in interesting places are inviting. So we were able to discover, as we often did on our travels, some exciting places that we would never have visited without a cache”. – Wildchicken
Off the beaten path or right in the middle of the action
The owners of the ECO-APARTHOTEL THE DREAMERS’ CLUB on the Croatian holiday island of Korčula have also noticed that tourists are taking advantage of the “modern treasure hunt” at their holiday destination. “Geocaching is a popular activity on the island,” they tell us. “The caches are hidden on hiking trails, in parks and at landmarks.”
Alexander Thurm from the family-run Hotel Das Rübezahl in Schwangau near Füssen has been searching for hidden treasures in the area himself. He says the GPS treasure hunt is especially interesting for hikers. “There is also a geocache right next to our own mountain hut, the Rohrkopfhütte,” he reveals. The hut is located at an altitude of 1,300 meters against the picturesque backdrop of the Alps and is a popular destination for hikers. Here you can enjoy the panoramic views and a hearty meal of Kässpatzn or Kaiserschmarrn.
Geocaches at Josephskreuz
If you’re staying at the Naturresort Schindelbruch in the southern Harz Mountains, you’ll pass Joseph’s Cross on your way to the forest – and there are two hidden geocaches right there! Of course, we will not tell you where exactly 🙂
Geocaching in numbers
- In May 2000, American Dave Ulmer hid the first cache and posted the coordinates of the treasure (a plastic container filled with knickknacks) to an Internet group.
- In November 2000, Jeremy Irish, Elias Alvord and Bryan Roth founded the company Groundspeak and the website Geocaching.com.
- 2002: GPS devices become more common and the media hypes the new trend.
- 2007: 500,000 hidden caches worldwide
- 2010: 1 million caches
- 2013: Astronaut Rick Mastracchio found the first geocache in space on the International Space Station (ISS).
- 2015: The number of caches hidden worldwide is 83 million.
- In 2019, the hype has died down and there are “only” 67 million.
- In 2022, the geocaching trend gains momentum again. There are now 83,720,498 registered caches.
- In 2023, according to Search Logistics, there are over 200 geocaching organizations, with Geocaching.com being the largest with over 3 million active players. The app is available in 24 languages.
- 2024 is set to be the year of geocaching mega-events.
- 2025 Geocaching will celebrate its 25th anniversary.
Professional geocaching tours from tourism associations
An alternative to the Groundspeak app are GPS tours offered by tourism companies. The advantage is that these are professionally planned routes. You don’t have to descend into lost places and you can be sure to find a cache. (Not all hobbyists maintain their caches on a regular basis, which is especially disappointing when geocaching with children).
7 Geocaching Tours in Bad Herrenalb
The tourist office of Bad Herrenalb in the Black Forest has created 7 geocaching tours and lends out GPS devices. The tours have different themes (e.g. “Monastery Trail”, “4 Seasons Trail”, “City Cache”) and are designed for hiking or biking with a length of about 4 to 12 kilometers. Along the way there are puzzles to solve.
For accommodation in the Black Forest, we recommend the sustainable Hotel SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA. The team there also suggested the geocaching tours.
City rally in Timmendorfer Strand
The company CityHunters from Nuremberg has developed GPS city rallies in different cities in Germany, which you can book for 12.99 Euro per person. The GPS treasure hunt in Timmendorfer Strand on the Baltic Sea, where our Green PearlsⓇ partner Lifestylehotel SAND is located, takes about three hours. The tour takes you through the center of the town and presents you with interactive team tasks. This event is mainly for adults and companies that organize the city rally as an incentive for their employees.
GPS treasure hunt for a children’s birthday party in Ailingen
The tourist information office in Ailingen at Lake Constance offers a GPS treasure hunt that is especially suitable for a children’s birthday party. For the price of 6 Euros, the children receive GPS devices, as well as balloons, pens, certificates and a box of apples.
At the Naturresort Gerbehof, you can also spend a wonderful nature vacation with your children – including pony rides and proximity to Lake Constance.
Update: The geocache that was hidden in the Eco-Hotel Okelmann’s, and for which the owners had called for help in the search, has now been discovered! But don’t give up – new treasures and adventures await!
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*Terms and Conditions
Duration: From the publication of this blog post to the first discovery of the geocache at Hotel Okelmann’s
Organizer: Green Pearls® Unique Places & Hotel Okelmann’s
Description/Participation: There is a geocache hidden at or near Hotel Okelmann’s in Warpe, Lower Saxony, Germany that has not yet been found by its owners. The first person to find it after August 29, 2023, 9:00 a.m. can look forward to an additional small surprise from Kristin and Maren Okelmann after showing a proof photo. After that, the campaign is over. We will be happy to publish the winner’s photo on social media and here on the blog.
Minors may not participate without the consent and presence of a parent or guardian. Legal action is excluded.
