General AFAR Info:

Q. I have a question about AFAR magazine subscriptions.
A. Click Here to get information on print and digital subscriptions, back issues, and more.  You can also access our online Magazine Customer Service 24/7, or call us toll-free 1-888-403-9001.

Q. How do I contact someone from AFAR?
A. Visit our contact page.

Q. Is AFAR hiring?
A. Visit our jobs page.

Q. I’m having a problem that’s not on this list. What should I do?
A. Don’t worry, there’s always someone here to help you! Contact community@afar.com if you have a question that’s not answered here.

AFAR Magazine:

Q. How do I find magazine content online?
A. You can find content from the magazine and web-only bonus content updated daily at afar.com/afar. The full magazine is available for your tablet and online reading from Zinio.com. However Zinio has its own subscription fee, which is unrelated to the printed version of AFAR Magazine.

Q. How can I be published in AFAR Magazine?
A. There are two ways to get your work published in AFAR Magazine; by sharing your trip Highlights on AFAR.com and by making a formal submission.

Highlights are a great way to share your experiences with like-minded travelers. AFAR editors pay close attention to the content on AFAR.com and often use the most amazing Highlights in the magazine. We look for well-composed, interesting images, intriguing titles, and meaningful descriptions. Highlights should share your personal experience as well as offer tips or ways other travelers can experience something similar in that location. If your Highlight is selected we will email you. Upload your Highlight here.

If you are a journalist interested in submitting content for any section of the magazine, follow our submission guidelines.

AFAR.com:

Sign Up/Sign In:
Q. How do I sign up for AFAR.com?
A. Go to the Sign Up page. We’ll ask you to provide your name, email, a password, and current city, or you can choose “Connect with Facebook.”

Q. What happens if I “Connect with Facebook”?
A. If you click the blue “Connect with Facebook” button you won’t need to enter your email or password to log in. If you are just joining AFAR, we’ll use the same email as your Facebook account for your AFAR login, but you’ll be able to set a new password if you’d like. Connecting with Facebook does not automatically share anything other than your login information with AFAR.

Dashboard:

Q. What is the Dashboard?
A. When you log in, the first page you will see is your Dashboard, where you’ll find an overview of what’s happening on AFAR.com. This page shows recent activity on topics you’re following and lets you filter what you see—just Questions, just Highlights, or both. You can also see all activity across the site by selecting the “All AFAR Activity” tab. On the right side of the page you can see and edit what you’re following to change what appears in your feed.

Following:

Q. What does it mean when I “follow” something?
A. When you follow a topic, location, question, or AFAR user you will see posts about them (or by them) on your Dashboard. You will also receive notifications (or emails, depending on your preferences) when questions are asked about these topics or there is new activity relating to them.

Q. How do I follow locations and topics I’m interested in?
A. You can follow anything you find interesting by hitting the purple “Follow” button. Mouse over a location, topic, question, or user and the Follow button will appear. On the right side of your Dashboard you can also type in new topics, locations, users, and questions you want to follow.

Q. How do I see/edit what I’m following?
A. On the right side of your Dashboard you will see everything you’re following in one place. To un-follow something, mouse over it and click the X that appears.

Profile:

Q. What can I do on my profile?
A. Tell the AFAR community about yourself! Let us know your areas of expertise, where you’ve been, and where you’re planning to go.

Q. Can I update/change my profile information after I’ve registered?
A. Yes. We encourage all users to keep their profiles up to date. When you’re logged in, hover over your name at the top of the page, choose Profile from the drop-down menu and then click Edit. You can change your photo, Current Info, Knowledge & Experience, History, Places, and Personal Info all from this page.

Q. How does AFAR use my information to connect me with other members?
A. We do the sorting for you by using information such as your locations, interests, and Travel Personality to find travelers who are similar to you. You will see questions and suggestions based on the profile information you share, the questions you answer, and the items you’re following.

Q. How do I add locations to the map on my profile page?
A. Edit your profile to include more locations, and it should automatically add these locations to your profile map. To do this, log in, hover over your name at the top of the page, select Profile from the menu, and then select Edit. If you don’t see the icons on your map right away, don’t worry. They should appear soon.

Highlights:

Q. What is a Highlight?
A. Highlights are a great way to share special moments, experiences, details, and tips from your travels.

Q. How do I upload a Highlight?
A. At the top right of the navigation bar click Share a Trip. Select one of your existing Trips (or create a new one by clicking the arrow) and add a location. Type an exact address in the location field or the title of a well-known place (i.e., Golden Gate Bridge) and select the corresponding map. Then upload your photo, give it a title, and provide a description. Click Post this Highlight and you’re done!

Q. What do I write in the description of my Highlight?
A. Writing about your Highlight is your opportunity to share your experiences and inspire other AFAR travelers. Think of the Highlights as a mini-journal from your travels where you save great experiences. Also think of Highlights as a guide and inspiration for other AFAR travelers. So include personal stories with practical details that will help others experience something similar in that location.

Q. How much can I write in my Highlight?
A. Our Highlight tool allows you to enter up to 1,500 characters (and a minimum of one character). That’s the technical range, but the possibilities are endless. The more personal insights and actionable details you share, the richer your AFAR experience will be. If you run out of space, you can always create multiple highlights within a trip.

Q. What is a Trip?
A. A Trip is a way to organize your Highlights, much like an album of your best travel memories. After you’ve created a Trip, you can edit your Trip name, upload more Highlights, or create a new Trip at anytime.

Q. Who sees my Highlights?
A. Everyone on our network of like-minded travelers on AFAR can see the Highlights you post. AFAR editors also regularly look at Highlights for potential inclusion in the magazine. If they see something they want to publish, they will message you. Upload a Highlight now!

Travel Personalities:

Q. Why do I have an AFAR Travel Personality? What is it?
A. There are many different kinds of travelers. We describe what sort of traveler you are through our Travel Personality quiz (based on the methodology of Stanley Plog). Even though your Travel Personality can depend on a lot of changing factors, we try to quickly find a base that allows you to connect with community members who may have a travel style similar to yours. The type of activities you like to do determines your icon and your traveler type will determine its color. Learn more about the personalities here.

Q. What if I feel my Travel Personality doesn’t describe me?
A. We understand that your Travel Personality is fluid and depends on your current mood, finances, and destination you’re visiting, so you can retake the quiz at any time. Go to your profile, click on Your Travel Personality next to your profile photo, and hit the orange “Retake the Quiz” button.

Questions/Messages:

Q. How do I ask a question?
A. Click the blue “Ask A Question” link at top right on the page.

Q. How do I answer someone’s question?
A. Click the blue “View/Answer Question” link at the bottom right of every question.

Q. How do you pick the suggested questions “For You” (on my profile, Dashboard, and Weekly Digest email)?
A. The “For You” questions are suggested based on your profile content (where you live, your Travel Personality, locations you’re following, and so on). If you change your profile it will affect the questions you see. So we suggest you update your profile regularly with places you’ve been or want to go. Your input will fine-tune the range of questions you receive.

Q. The questions I’m receiving seem unrelated to my travel experiences. Why am I getting these?
A. The questions are suggested to you based on your profile content as well as questions you’ve answered in the past. We are working on refining this process and apologize if you receive questions about locations outside your area of expertise. If you continue to receive questions that don’t apply, send us feedback at community@afar.com.

Q. How do I send a private message?
A. Go to the user’s profile page, At the top left, near the profile photo, click the blue button “Ask a Private Question.”

Q. How do I see my private message inbox?
A. Go to your profile page and click on Questions. Here you’ll see questions in the categories “For You,” “You Asked,” “You Answered,” and “Private.” Just click on the Private tab to view your inbox.

Q. I’ve gotten some great responses to my questions, and I would love to thank people who answered. How do I do this?
A. We highly encourage AFAR members to engage with each other and say thank you when they receive advice. You can message the user directly, or go to your original question and under their answer hit the blue “Add/View Replies” link. Here you can thank the person or ask a follow-up question. You can also hit the green “Good Answer!” button to signal to other readers that you liked someone’s response.

Email:

Q. What is the Weekly Digest email?
A. The AFAR.com Weekly Digest email features a compilation of questions you may be able to answer, activity in your feed, and people you may want to meet. If you prefer not to receive it, change your email preferences.

Q. How do I change my email preferences?
A. Under your name on the navigation bar at the top, you’ll find a drop-down menu. Click on your name and select Preferences. Click on Email Notifications to select/deselect items on the list.

Invite friends to join AFAR.com:

Q. How do I invite my friends to join AFAR.com?
A. At the bottom of every page is the link “Invite a Friend.” With this you can invite friends via Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Windows Live Mail; import a CSV file; or share the invite on Facebook and Twitter. You can also simply type in email addresses.

Q. What happens when I decided to “share” AFAR on Facebook?
A. The link to AFAR.com will be posted on your wall, so other friends can follow our link to join. If you see that a friend on Facebook is posting to or talking about AFAR, enter their name in our search bar and subscribe to their feed!

Q. After I’ve invited my friends to join AFAR, how do I find them?
A. If you invite friends via our email invite you’ll get an email notification alerting you that they’re now on AFAR. You can connect with any user by entering their name into our search bar and following their profile.