Friendship, hobbies and travel for families the world over

Getting started

Friends in Places makes it easier than ever to meet new friends all over the world. It’s a website for all, whether you are a family or maybe a couple or just you! All types of groups – sporting, musical or other. You can find people who share your interests, no matter where they live. And if you have a holiday planned, why not arrange to meet people who live at your destination? The possibilities really are endless.

To get started, you just need a valid email address. Got one? Great. Now click the big "Join Here" button at the top-right of the screen to register with us. We’ll ask you for a few details about yourself, and the kinds of people you want to make friends with. You can then write as much as you like about you and your family. This will be your Friends in Places profile for other users to read - and it's completely free!

Your profile is there for you all the time, so you don’t ever need to create another one. Using the "Sign In" button in the top-right corner of the website, you can access the secure areas of the site quickly and safely to update your profile with information and pictures about you and your family and find new friends all over the world.

Updating your profile

Your intial profile won’t say much about you, so it’s worth updating it as soon as possible with more details about yourself. To do this, log into the site with the "Sign In" button. You’ll be taken to My Homepage, which is your own personal area of Friends in Places. There are five tabs here - they’ll help you to find your way around quickly and easily. If you’re ever unsure, click the first tab, marked My Homepage, and you’ll return to the start.

The second tab is Update Profile; click here and you can add all sorts of new information to your profile. The colour-coded buttons offer different options.

Basic Info (blue) covers the basics of your profile: the email address registered with us, your name, that sort of thing.

About Us (dark blue) lets you talk about yourself in your own words, so other people will get to know you better.

Photo Album (light blue) allows you to upload photos of yourself and your friends. You can upload as many pictures as you want, as well as an avatar (the main picture of yourself that appears in profile listings).

Finally, Travel Log (orange) lets you list all the places you’ve been, so people who see your profile will know where you’ve been and the things you have in common.

Searching for new friends

Making new friends is easy. Type a search term into the box at the top-right of the screen. It could be anything - the name of a city, your hobby, or maybe your favourite band. If we find anyone with those terms in their profile, we’ll let you know who they are, so you can get in touch with people who share your interests.

In the same way, other users will be searching for things that interest them - so the more information that’s in your profile, the more people we can put you in touch with. That’s why it’s important to tell us as much as possible about who you are and how you spend your time.

Getting in touch with other users

Security and privacy are important on Friends in Places, and that’s why we only allow users to contact each other after they’ve both agreed to it. If you’d like to get in touch with someone, click the "Request Friendship" button on their profile page. Write a short message, press "Send", and that's it! We'll let them know that you're interested in contacting them, they'll take a look at your profile, and if they agree to the friendship, we'll give you their email address, so you can contact them independently. Once you have made friends, you can contact them on the site either through the "My Contacts" tab or by pressing "Contact this user" on their profile page.

If someone wants to get in touch with you, we'll let you know by email and you have the chance to look at their profile before they're able to contact you directly. A message will also appear in the green contacts box stating "1 people would like to make contact". You can view all your contacts (people who want to contact you, people you've requested a friendship with, and your confirmed friends) by clicking the "My Contacts" tab.

Using the Travel Planner

Friends in Places is all about broadening your horizons, and the Travel Planner lets you tell the world about trips you’re going on in the future. Other visitors on the site can see where you’re heading: if they’re going to the same place at the same time, why not get in touch with them and arrange to meet?

Adding your travel plans is easy. Click the Travel Planner tab to see your existing travel plans (orange) and to add a new destination (light orange). Choose a country, add a city, and let us know the dates. We’ll find people who will be travelling to the same place at the same time, or who live at your destination. You’ll find them listed under the Find New Friends tab. They’ll be able to find you in the same way - so you can see just how easy it is to make new Friends in Places!