Long Distance Best Friend Ideas: 30 Ways to Stay Close

The best way to stay close to a long distance best friend is to build a few small rituals you both actually keep, then add bigger moments on top. A daily voice note, a weekly call or watch party, a care package every couple of months, and a visit you're always planning will do more than any one big gesture.

Below are 30 ideas, sorted by how much time and money they take, plus answers to the questions people ask when a best friend moves away.

How do you stay close to a best friend who lives far away?

Pick a rhythm and protect it. Most long distance friendships don't end in a fight; they fade because nobody owns the next message. Agree on two or three things you'll do on repeat (for example, voice notes on weekdays and a call every Sunday) so staying in touch stops depending on someone remembering.

A few habits that help:

• Share the boring stuff. "The barista spelled my name wrong again" keeps you in each other's everyday life in a way a monthly catch-up can't.
• Keep a running list of things to tell them. Notes app, one line per thing. Your next call will never start with "so... what's new?"
• Put the next visit on the calendar, even if it's months away. Having a date turns "we should hang out" into a countdown.

Daily and weekly ideas (free, low effort)

These are the small, steady things that keep the friendship warm.

1. Voice note diaries. Send a 1-2 minute voice note on your walk home. Hearing their laugh hits different than reading "lol." For prompts, see our voice note ideas for your best friend.
2. A shared photo of the day. One photo each, every day, no caption needed.
3. "This made me think of you." Send the meme, the song, the dog that looks like their ex.
4. Same-time coffee. Video call for 15 minutes while you both have your morning coffee (or their dinner, if you're in different time zones).
5. Parallel errands. Call while you both clean your rooms or fold laundry. It's the closest thing to just hanging out.
6. A shared playlist you both add to every week. Listening to it later feels like a mixtape from them.
7. Weekly "rose, bud, thorn." Every Sunday, one good thing, one thing you're looking forward to, one hard thing.
8. Text them before their big days. Keep their exams, interviews, and dates in your calendar.

Things to do together online with a long distance best friend

Doing an activity together feels more like real hangouts than just talking.

1. Watch party. Start the same show at the same time on a call, or use your streaming app's watch-together feature if it has one.
2. Two-person book club. One chapter a week, one voice note of reactions each.
3. Cook the same recipe on video, then eat "together."
4. Play a game. Online word games, co-op video games, or a chess app you play one move at a time all week.
5. Get ready together before you both go out, separately, in different cities.
6. Virtual museum or zoo livestream. Lots of museums and zoos post free online tours and live cams.
7. Do a challenge together: 30 days of walks, a language streak, or a no-spend month, with daily check-ins.
8. Shared vision board or Pinterest board for a trip you'll take together one day.

Long distance best friend care package and gift ideas

A themed box beats a random one. Pick a theme and fill it with a few small things.

1. "Open when" letters: open when you're sad, can't sleep, got the job, miss me.
2. Hometown box: snacks, a local postcard, a candle that smells like your city.
3. Childhood sweets box of candy from when you were kids.
4. Self-care night: face mask, tea, fuzzy socks, a playlist QR code.
5. Printed photo strip or mini album of your best pictures together.
6. A matching item: same mug, bracelet, or hoodie, so you each have one.
7. A recorded message. Record a short voice message they can play on a bad day.

Want more? Our list of sentimental gifts for your best friend goes deeper.

Bigger ideas for special occasions

Save these for birthdays, your friendship anniversary, or a rough season.

1. Surprise food delivery to their door on a hard day.
2. A group video where mutual friends each record 10 seconds for their birthday.
3. A "year of us" recap: photos, inside jokes, and screenshots from the past year in one slideshow.
4. Plan a meet-in-the-middle trip to a city neither of you lives in.
5. Celebrate your friendiversary (here are friendship anniversary ideas).
6. A handwritten letter. Real paper, real stamp. It gets kept.
7. Show up. If you can swing it, a surprise visit is the ultimate long distance move.

What do you do when you miss your best friend?

Missing them is normal and doesn't mean the friendship is slipping. Tell them you miss them, specifically ("I walked past our taco place and almost cried"). Then do something that feels like them: replay an old voice note, rewatch the show you always watched together, or look at photos from your last visit.

It also helps to keep their voice close. Saving the voice notes they send (their laugh, their "happy birthday," the 3 a.m. rant) means you can hear them anytime, not just when you're both free to call. Here's how to save voice messages so they don't get lost in a chat.

How do you keep a long distance friendship from fading?

Long distance friendships last when both people keep showing up a little, often. If you notice the gaps getting longer, say so without blame: "I miss talking to you, can we do a call this week?" Most of the time, your friend has been feeling the same thing.

Also, accept that the friendship will change shape. You might not know every detail of their week anymore, and that's okay. What matters is that when something big happens, you're one of the first people they want to tell.

Keep their voice in your pocket

When Tucket launches, you'll be able to give your best friend their own pocket: save their voice notes and favorite photos of them in one place, and share it so you can fill it together. Until then, any of the ideas above will keep you close. See more on our page for best friends.