WhatsApp can be used on both mobile data and Wi-Fi. If you are planning to not have a data plan while you travel, that's ok, you can still use WhatsApp on Wi-Fi only and it will not cost you anything.

It is our hope that all couples/individuals will be in the chat. This means we can rely on it to share additional tour content like photos, maps, and more without excluding anyone. If you are a couple and you are planning on sharing a single mobile device while traveling, having WhatsApp on just the one shared device will work fine.
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Useful Tips

If you type the @ symbol you can choose a name from the group and tag that person in your message (but the message still goes out to the whole group). You can use this feature to tag multiple people in the same message. It's the best way to speak directly to someone within a larger group chat. 

If you place an asterisk * on either side of a word or phrase it will bold it. If place an underscore _ on either side of a word or phrase it will italicize it.

If you touch and hold a particular message, it will become highlighted; you can then respond with a quick thumbs up or smile, etc, or you can select from the menu that appears for more options: selecting the left arrow allows you to Reply directly to that message, rather than replying in the form of a completely new message. This is the ideal way to chat back and forth within a larger group chat.

Of course at any time you can break away from the group and send someone a completely separate and private message by beginning a new chat directly with that person, using the New Chat button.

During the tour, we encourage you to share your photos. It's nice to see ourselves in other people's shots, and everyone will have a slightly different perspective on things in their pictures. The variety is great.

If you are looking for additional help with WhatsApp, the first 3:00 minutes of this video are very good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjVlDYu6erU .

We are also happy to offer guidance while we are on tour.
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Should you decide you are going to join the chat, and you do not already have WhatsApp on your phone, note that you need to install it before you leave Canada. When you install it, you will be asked to have a confirmation code sent to your phone either by SMS or by a voice call. The SMS option often does not work, hence, you should ask to have the code sent to you by a voice call (have a pen ready to take down your code). For this reason, you will want to be in Canada when setting this up.

Finally ... a common question is this: what if I use a foreign SIM card or eSIM while traveling, will WhatsApp stop working? The answer is no! WhatsApp keeps on working, no matter what SIM or eSIM you are using. Once the app is installed and registered to your phone, you can install a European physical SIM card, or an eSIM, and WhatsApp will continue to function just like normal.