What can you do together in a long-distance relationship?

Plenty: watch films in sync, cook the same recipe over video, play online games, read the same book, send letters or parcels, and plan trips for when you meet. The key is doing things together rather than just talking about your day.

How do you keep a long-distance friendship alive?

Make it regular and make it specific. A standing monthly call, a shared project or a list of things to do together gives you something to talk about beyond catching up, and something to look forward to.

What is a long-distance bucket list?

A shared list of experiences you want to have together, some that you can do remotely and some saved for when you are in the same place. It gives a long-distance relationship or friendship a shared direction.

How often should long-distance couples video call?

There is no right number. What matters is that the rhythm works for both of you and doesn't feel like an obligation. Many people find a few planned calls a week, plus casual messages in between, is plenty.

Can you share a bucket list with someone in another country?

Yes. With Buckist you can share your bucket list with others, so you can both add ideas and see what's been ticked off, no matter where you are in the world.

A Long-Distance Bucket List: 25 Things to Do Together When You're Far Apart

Distance is hard in a very specific way. It’s not that you don’t care. It’s that most relationships run on small shared moments, the offhand dinner, the walk, the sitting in the same room doing nothing, and distance takes those away.

So you end up with calls that feel like status updates. “How was your day?” “Fine. Yours?” Nobody’s fault. There’s just nothing happening.

One fix is to give the relationship something to do. A shared list is a surprisingly effective way to do it. This works for long-distance partners, but also for best friends who moved abroad, siblings in different cities and grandparents on the other side of the world.

Here are 25 ideas, grouped by how you can do them.

Things You Can Do Together Online

1. Cook the same meal on a video call

Pick a recipe, shop separately, cook at the same time. You’ll laugh at each other’s mistakes, and you end up eating “together.”

2. Watch a whole series in sync

Pick one you’ve both never seen. A weekly episode becomes a standing date.

3. Read the same book

Choose something short enough to finish and chatty enough to discuss. A two-person book club is lovely.

4. Learn something new at the same time

A language, an instrument, drawing. It’s a good use of adult learning energy, and you can compare progress.

5. Play an online game or do a virtual escape room

Anything that needs both of you to cooperate. It’s far more connecting than chatting.

6. Take a virtual museum or city tour

Plenty of museums offer free online tours. Pick a place neither of you has been.

7. Do a “walk together” call

Both go outside, phone in pocket or earbud in, and describe what you see. It’s strangely intimate.

8. Start a shared photo album

One photo a day each. Over a year, it becomes a record of the life you’re living apart and together.

Things You Can Do by Post

9. Swap handwritten letters

Slow, special and increasingly rare. A letter you can reread beats a text.

10. Send a “open when…” box

Little envelopes labelled “open when you miss me”, “open when you’ve had a bad day” and so on.

11. Mail the same snack or tea

Then drink it together on a call.

12. Write letters to your future selves

This is the sort of thing that’s more meaningful with someone else. Here’s how to write a letter to yourself five years from now, then swap and seal them.

Things to Plan for When You Meet

13. Pick a destination neither of you has visited

Meeting halfway is fun. Meeting somewhere new is better. Browse travel bucket list destinations for ideas.

14. Do the touristy thing in each other’s hometowns

Show each other where you grew up, your old school, your favourite bakery.

15. Cook a big meal together in a real kitchen

After months of cooking on a screen, it feels wonderful.

16. Take an actual road trip

No itinerary, just a playlist and a rough direction.

17. Do something a bit scary together

Hiking a proper mountain, a first skydive, a cold-water swim. Shared adrenaline bonds people.

18. Attend a concert or festival

A shared event gives you a memory neither of you could make alone.

19. Plan a “normal day” together

Groceries, laundry, a walk, a film. It sounds boring, but it’s what distance steals, so treasure it.

Things for the Long Game

20. Make a shared five-year list

Where would you like to be? Together? What needs to happen first? It makes the distance feel like a chapter rather than a permanent state. If you’re a couple, the couples bucket list guide has more prompts.

21. Choose a yearly tradition

A call at midnight on New Year’s, a postcard every birthday, a trip every autumn.

22. Learn each other’s families

A video call with parents and siblings goes a long way.

23. Save for one big trip

A shared goal, with a shared pot, is surprisingly bonding. These tips on saving for your bucket list can help.

24. Build a “first time we meet again” plan

A tiny countdown and a list of things you’ll do on day one.

25. Keep a “done together” list

Tick off the things you’ve done, even the remote ones. When you’re feeling low about the distance, it’s evidence of how much you’ve shared. It’s the same idea as keeping a done list.

Making It Work in Practice

A few things I’ve seen make a shared list stick:

Let both people add. A list one person writes is a to-do list. A list two people write is a shared story.
Mix sizes. Some tiny and doable this week, some big and years away.
Review it together. Once a month, tick things off and pick the next one.
Don’t treat it as homework. If it starts to feel like an obligation, simplify.

There’s some interesting psychology behind this, too. Research suggests that sharing your goals with others can make you more likely to follow through.

Keep It in One Place

Buckist lets you build a bucket list and share it with someone else, so you can both add ideas, see what’s been done and plan the next thing wherever you are. Not a bad way to turn “I miss you” into “I can’t wait to do this with you.”

Start your shared list today. Download Buckist on iOS or get it on Android, add your first idea and send it to someone you miss.