Five Of The Best Ways To Meet People While Traveling
Quick Resource Guide Included Below
1) TOUR GROUPS: You can join paid or free tour groups in almost every major city. These can give you a lot of time to walk and talk with, potentially, similar people also traveling. The atmosphere is quiet, you’re sharing an experience, and if you’re both solo, you can help each other capture those real photos and eliminate the abundance of selfies. You will have ample time to chat with someone, and plenty of opportunities to extend an invite for something else at a later time.
2) ONLINE: There are infinite possibilities of online networking these days. No matter your age you can find a companion. As for traveling, there are several influential places you can check. Facebook is an outlet that most age groups have. Inside Facebook, you’ll want to focus on groups. You can go two ways here. You can attempt to make local friends, maybe traveling groups, school alumni groups, religious groups, athletic groups, etc. From there you can reach out to see if anyone is interested in traveling with you. Don’t be afraid to request addition to some groups, you’ll likely be glad you did. From here, you can choose to jump right in or screen the person a bit. This is one of the play-it-safer methods. The other is to search foreign groups. You can usually find groups of native speakers in foreign countries and they’re usually more than happy to meet new, fellow natives. You can look for interest groups that may follow music you’re into, your school’s study abroad program, theme parks, food, learning the language, tours, etc. Once you’re in the groups, you can simply post your intentions and reach out for responses or private message anyone that looks like friend material. Many friends are made this way. You can also try using alternative apps such as TripAdvisor which is a great way to learn local facts, gain knowledge through the forums, and even meet people that know the ropes and are looking for someone just like you to join them. In a broader sense, you can use popular social apps ranging from the more subtle approach to the further extent of dating. Bumble, or Bumble BFF the friendship derivative, is an app that is more popular and better suited at allowing conversations to build relationships before encounters. Tinder, another example like Bumble, is a popular dating app with partial focus on friendships as well, but this may also push the limits of what you may be looking for. Couchsurfing is a known website that links travelers with affordable places to stay and also the ability to integrate directly with locals. It is quite safe, and review based, and it is a great way to get a more privatized tour of the area, as well as make a friend or two. Backpackr is a recommended app that allows filters to keep you safe, such as women searching for women only, however, it has numerous technical difficulties and about a 50% success rate, according to reviewers. Airbnb is a very popular app for finding housing. However, it is also an outlet to make friends, albeit, not as straight forward. You can choose a shared accommodation with travelers such as yourself, and in rare instances, your host is a potential new friend as well. It is not unheard of. Finally, Instagram is the app taking the world by storm. It may be a place to post pictures, but it is also well integrated to socialize on. You can search hashtags, such as #travel, or specific places you wish to see. There have been many occasions of people becoming friends, or more, from simply reaching out through the app. While we have covered several prominent online examples, the easiest method for meeting people with the least amount of effort would still have to be Facebook groups. However, don’t forget that anything is possible with any of these suggestions and it only takes a chance to make that life changing friend. The world is your oyster.
3) STAY AT A HOSTEL: For many travelers, the ultimate way, and in our opinion the easiest, is to stay at a hostel. This may seem daunting to some, but if you do your research you will have a far more impactful trip than if you stayed at a drab hotel. Hostelworld is our go to app for this. You can spend minimal time finding a hostel near you. Look for good reviews, nice photos, and good locations. Hostels usually have social events to bring their clientele together, and for people traveling solo, or even in pairs, this is a huge advantage. You may simply meet someone in your room or you may venture downstairs to a daily gathering and share a glass of local wine with a group of potential new friends. The other outstanding benefit is the activites that hostels plan. If you don’t know what a pub crawl is, you will. There typically daytime events as well, for the more conservative bunch. However, staying at a hostel generally guarantees a better, safer crowd. You travel in packs, and you have a leader to take you to many places, sometimes hidden gems, of the cities you are in. This is a tried and true method of making quality friends, several of us have made lifelong friends this way.
4) TRAVEL TOGETHER: In many foreign places, you will take local or intercountry transportation. This can range from planes, trains, buses, ferries, and even car rideshares. While the chances are more subjective here, there are plenty of success stories of strangers swapping conversations in settings where they travel together. This is another possible outlet to get out of your comfort zone and approach someone that may look appealing to you. The worst that can happen is you move on to the next, but you may meet another life long friend this way.
5) FIND AN EVENT: There are many options for events in most areas of the world. There are, as previously mentioned, bus or walking tours. There are full blown concerts or less drastic live local bands. You can probably find a sporting event quite easily. Attend an art gallery or museum. There are many others just like you in these tourist hopping attractions. Join a wine tasting or brewery experience for a more subtle night out. You may even find photography groups that take nature walks, jogs, or hikes.
QUICK RESOURCE GUIDE SUMMARY:
Tips to Improve Your Chances:
1) Get out of your comfort zone / Expand your thinking
2) Be extroverted, but don’t be too forward
3) Don’t worry about outcomes / Don’t fear rejection
4) Curiosity is the key
5) Stay positive
6) Strike up a conversation (and ask them on a man date 🤣)
7) Listen as much as you speak (stay proactive in conversations)
8) Always remember, you’re there to have fun!
Tips to Meet Friends:
1) Tour groups (bus, walking, museum, venue)
2) Online
I. Facebook (Travel Groups, Event Groups, School Groups, Interest Groups, Language Learning Groups)
II. Couchsurfing (Make local friends)
III. TripAdvisor (Forums)
IV. Tinder (Focused on dates / Also has a friendship only aspect)
V. Bumble BFF / Bumble - Dating (Aimed at friendship / Not always successful)
VI. Backpackr (Can be successful / People drop off after meeting locals / Has lots of technical issues)
VII. Airbnb (Certain shared listings can be similar to hostels)
VIII. Instagram (A potential to DM and meet someone abroad)
3) Stay at a Hostel (Best bet)
4) Meet someone in transit (Train, bus, plane, ferry, rideshare)
5) Local Events (Seasonal events, local venues, concerts)
