How to Use Walkie Talkies When You Travel

Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.

travel with kids

Walkie Talikes—or two-way radios, if you want to be “technical”—offer a variety of uses when traveling. While many regard these little beauties as relics from the 90s, walkie talkies actually still possess great relevance for today. 

1. Children 

Do you remember being a kid? You didn’t have a cell phone. Maybe your parents were strict. Maybe it wasn’t in the budget. Maybe mobiles didn’t even exist! But for whatever reason, if your family was using the internet, you had only 3 methods of communicating with your friends. 

There was: the fake telephone, A.K.A. two cans on a string; running to their front door; and of course your handy dandy walkie talkies. 

Now obviously many kids today have cell phones, but what happens when your family is hiking in the woods and little Timmy takes a wrong turn? 10 times out of 10 there will be no service. Why? Because your service is spotty? No. Because service ALWAYS disappears whenever you need it most. Remember Murphy’s Law. 

The invariable solution to this potential issue is the walkie talkie. Not only are these items battery powered, but their functionality is not relegated to clear skies or corporate efficiency. Since walkie talkies are their own little entity, you have much more control over how you stay in contact with your children while you’re traveling—whether they forget their phone, you’re in the woods, or the labyrinth of a resort is just so stinking huge. 

2. Abroad 

The second greatest use for walkie talkies while traveling is if you’re going abroad. Whether you’re backpacking across Europe or lounging on the Japanese coastline, walkie talkies are the ideal way to avoid expensive roaming costs. 

Walkie talkies are an excellent way for you to stay in contact with your traveling partners. Keep in mind though, these little devices do not offer a way to stay in contact with authorities or other entities abroad. Walkies are best used in hiking or site seeing 

3. Road trips 

Lastly, walkie talkies are the perfect traveling companion for taking long-distance road trips with a caravan (or more than one car). Walkie Talkies provide a quick, easy access way to contact your traveling companions in the other car to coordinate directions, warn of accidents, ask questions, and of course, hold car-to-car competitions of the Alphabet game. Using walkie talkies also keeps you from fumbling with a touch screen on your phone while you’re driving. This promotes safety and security for you and your passengers. And of course, it sets a better example for your children. 


Walkie talkies offer a variety of influential ways to enhance your travel experience. While walkie talkies cannot replace cell phones entirely in their functionality, walkie talkies do provide several advantages to cell phones in short-range travel. The convenience of reliable service alone makes them the ideal addition to any travel pack. Ultimately, having walkie talkies in your travel arsenal provides you with safety, convenience and a fun way to stay in contact with your travel companions.

Speak Your Mind

*