Counting Down to Your Next Trip (and Sharing It with Friends)

Updated October 20, 2026 · 5 min read

Part of the fun of a trip happens before you leave. A countdown on your Home Screen keeps that feeling going, and it doubles as a nudge to get the practical things done in time. Here's how to set one up in Left, share it with the people you're traveling with, and what to do with it once you're home.

Step 1: create the trip as an Ahead date

1. Open Ahead and tap Add a date ahead (or +).
2. Type the trip's name, for example "Lisbon", and choose New date. If your flight is already in Apple Calendar, pick From calendar to import it instead.
3. Set Starts to your departure date and time.
4. Set Until to the day you come home, so the date covers the whole trip, not just the moment you leave.
5. Leave Repeat on Never, unless it's a trip you take every year.

Step 2: make it look and feel like the trip

Open More options and add a background photo: one of your own from My photos, or one from Unsplash. Pick a symbol and a color.

Use Show as... to choose the unit. Months or weeks feel right when the trip is far off, days is the classic, and hours is fun for the final day.

Turn on Get a reminder and choose when: 1 month, 2 weeks, 1 week, 2 days or 1 day before, at a time you pick.

Step 3: put it on your Home Screen or Lock Screen

1. Touch and hold an empty part of the Home Screen, add a widget and search for Left. The Home Screen widget guide has the full steps.
2. Pick a widget and a size.
3. Touch and hold the new widget, tap Edit Widget and choose your trip.

Which widget to use:

• Ahead (small, medium or large) shows the photo and the count. It also works on the Lock Screen as a circular or rectangular widget.
• Ahead Bars or Ahead Circle show progress toward the date.
• Time Ahead list (medium or large) holds up to 3 dates (medium) or 7 (large) if you have several trips or events coming up.

More layouts are on the countdown widget page.

Step 4: turn on Live Activities for travel days

In the date's reminders section there are two toggles:

• Get ready for the start shows a Live Activity before you leave, on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.
• Get the final countdown shows one before the trip ends, which helps on the last day with checkout and getting to the airport.

Each Live Activity stays for 4 hours unless you dismiss it.

Step 5: share the countdown with your travel friends

Shared countdowns are called Joint Ahead dates, and they're part of Left Premium. Friends need a Left account, so everyone signs in first.

Add your friends

1. Open Friends. If you aren't signed in, tap Sign in with Apple.
2. Tap + to open Add a friend.
3. Share Your invite link in Messages or any other app, or tap Search by @username, type their exact username and tap Invite.
4. Once they accept, they're on your friends list. The add friends guide covers requests in more detail.

Invite them to the trip

1. Open the trip and edit it.
2. Turn on Friends, tap Add a friend and choose one or more people.
3. Save the date. Each person shows as Invited until they accept.

Your friends see a bell badge in Friends. In Requests, under Joint Ahead dates, they accept with the checkmark, and the trip appears in their Ahead so everyone counts down to the same departure.

You stay the admin: you can update the details, add more friends, remove pending invites or remove participants. Anyone who joined can tap Leave date, which removes it for them only. The full flow is in the Joint Ahead guide.

Get the trip countdown widget

Use the countdown as a planning checklist

Your reminders are a good prompt for the practical side of a trip. Some general ideas:

• A month or more out: check that passports and IDs are valid for the whole trip, look up entry and visa rules on your government's travel advice site, and book accommodation and transport.
• Two weeks out: confirm bookings, sort out travel insurance, and check your cards and phone plan work where you're going.
• One week out: plan how you'll get to and from the airport, download tickets and offline maps, and arrange care for pets or plants.
• Two days to one day out: check in online, pack, charge everything, and share your itinerary with someone at home.

If you just want a quick number without setting anything up, the vacation countdown tool works in your browser.

After the trip

When you're home, open the date and tap Archive. Archived dates are hidden from Ahead and widgets until you restore them. On the free plan, keep in mind that the 2 Ahead dates count every date you've created, so deleting or archiving one doesn't free a slot.

If you'd like to keep counting the other way, go to Since and create a Streak with Started on... set to the day you got back. It counts up automatically, so you'll always know how long it's been since Lisbon.

Questions

What's the difference between Starts and Until?

Starts is when the trip begins, usually your departure. Until is when it ends, usually the day you get home. Setting both lets the final countdown Live Activity fire before the trip ends.

Can my friends see the trip countdown on their phones?

Yes, with Left Premium. Turn on Friends in the date, tap Add a friend and invite them. Once they accept, the date appears in their Ahead. Adding someone as a friend doesn't share your other dates.

Can I see the countdown on the Lock Screen on travel day?

Yes. Turn on Get ready for the start in the date's reminders section for a Live Activity before departure, on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. You can also add the Ahead widget to the Lock Screen.

What should I do with the countdown after the trip?

Archive it to hide it from Ahead and your widgets until you restore it. To count the days since you got back, create a streak in Since with its start date set to your return.