Take A Small Group Tour
When you are travelling alone, dont feel that you have to do everything independently. One of the growing trends in solo travel is the growth in the popularity of small group tours.
A small group tour can be convenient, time-efficient and provides you with ready-made travelling companions for the duration.
I have been on a dozen or so small group tours over the last 16 years, largely with Explore! and Exodus Travels, and have formed some lasting friendships with other travellers on these trips.
But not all group tours are created equal and it pays to identify the best group travel company to suit your needs.
Of course, the downside is that it is a complete lottery who your fellow travellers will be.
Group travel requires tolerance, and when you travel with a group there may be someone with whom you wouldnt choose to spend time under different circumstances. Just make sure that pain in the neck isnt you!
Easy Ways To Meet People While Travelling Alone
Why is important to meet people while travelling alone?
After all, we know that solo travel is liberating and has the power to transform your life. But after a while you can get a little tired of your own company, are fed up with eating out alone and long to have someone to share experiences with.
Loneliness can then rear its ugly head.
Meeting other people, be they fellow travellers or locals, means that you do not have to be alone all the time.
But it goes deeper than that. The connections you make when travelling have the potential to change the way you view the world and lasting friendships can arise from these chance encounters.
Paradoxically, solo travel is one of the easiest ways to make friends. But how do you make friends as a solo traveller?
To help you do this, especially if you are about to travel alone for the first time, here are my top tips for meeting people while travelling alone.
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Eat Alone And Enjoy It
While many people don’t understand why, the fact remains, dinner can be one of the more difficult times for the solo traveler. Here’s how to enjoy eating alone.
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How To Meet People When You Travel Alone
As you travel solo you can have as much alone time as you want. But what many people don’t realize is that you can have a lot of really social time as well.
The travel stories I tell most often are about the people I meet on my trips. It’s rarely the iconic building I saw or the museum exhibit I took in that lingers strongly in my memories. It’s the people who I met that stay with me the longest. I can go back to the 80s and tell you about people I have met traveling solo.
There was Cathy from Australia who I went to Budapest with while it was still part of the Soviet Union. I met her at a hostel. There is Ron, an incredibly positive person despite many challenges, who I met on an evening stroll of the harbour in Key West. I could go on. And I do, here.
So, how do you connect with people on your trip? Here are a few tips.
Getting Around A New City Solo
How you move in a city affects your enjoyment of it. Here are a few ideas for when you travel alone some place new.
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Why Is Solo Travel Important
Travelling alone is one of the most enriching experiences you can have. Its empowering and liberating and will challenge your limits. It helps you get out of your comfort zone, gain confidence, and see the world in a unique way. Solo travel also gives you the opportunity to learn about new cultures, gain new skills, and meet like-minded people who might just become lifelong friends.
Find Travelling Companions Using Dedicated Apps
The growing market for apps dedicated to meeting fellow travellers is a sign of our connected times.
Backpackr a bit like Tinder for those travelling alone.
Browse the profiles of other solo travellers and message those you would like to meet. It also has a common room in which to post those burning travel questions.
A great feature for solo female travellers is that it allows you to configure your settings so that only other female travellers can contact you. Maybe not so much like Tinder after all.
Tourlina Going one step further, Tourlina is an app solely for female travellers.
Enter your dates and destination it will search for other women who are travelling alone. You can also specify the age of your potential travel buddy in your profile settings.
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Use Your Facebook Account
For me, one of the best things about Facebook is that it allows me to keep in loose contact with people I have met whilst travelling with a minimum of effort. If you are heading to that persons hometown it is easy to reach out to them with a view to getting together.
Similar to other social media channels, posting an update to let others know what you are up to might result in a response from another traveller to that place. However, your privacy settings will need to accommodate this.
Facebook groups are another way to meet locals with similar interests. For example, a search for Facebook groups for foodies in London generated close on 100 results.
Travel Alone Or With Someone: Shoulda Put A Ring On It
While travelling with a friend may be the dream, solo travel is the real journey. If you find a travel buddy, youre not solo travelling, and that, simply by nature, is restricting.
As a solo traveller, youre living on a whim. Anywhere you go is entirely in your hands. And experiences come a lot more frequently as a result of your solitude.
- Meeting locals is easier.
- Having someone host you is easier.
Thats not to say that this stuff doesnt happen when travelling with someone. Only, its more restrictive.
A pair of exotic foreigners is a lot more daunting to approach than a single dazed soul. And you havent got to hash out decisions with someone either before you do something crazy in the spur of the moment. You do you.
However, you do lose a lot too. Travel isnt about being alone: its about all the people you meet. Its about all the things that they teach you, and all the things that you learn together. Meeting a travel buddy and earning a travel companion is a natural extension of that.
What Im trying to say is that sometimes you just wanna smoke a joint by yourself. I get thatwe all do. But, at the end of the day
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Use The Couchsurfing App
Did you know that you can use the Couchsurfing app to meet others without sleeping on a stranger’s couch? The Couchsurfing app has a ‘hangouts’ function that allows you to view other people in the city who want to hang out & sight-see. It’s a great way to meet locals and travelers alike. I’ve gone to markets in Mexico, strolled the streets of Paris’ Montmartre neighborhood, and eaten bomb Indian food in Berlin using this cool feature!
This Angel hosted me in Paris! The cool thing about Couch-surfing is that you’ve got a built-in local guide!
How To Find A Female Travel Companion
What if you’ve looked at all the obvious potential travel “victims” but no one wants to go with you? Your partner, if you have one, your friends, your relatives – everyone is too busy, too poor or no one happens to want to visit the Galapagos when you do
Don’t give up: you can still find a travel partner.
Here are some suggestions to get you going.
- Some of the best travel forums, such as Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree, have threads dedicated to finding travel partners. Post a message there!
- Ask on Facebook. Someone you know may be planning to travel too, so this is a great place to start looking for someone. Just make sure your privacy settings are accurate – set for Friends and Family, for example – so the whole world isn’t alerted to your departure.
- Of course, there’s Good Ol’ Google. You can try searching for “female travel partner needed” and see what comes up If you’re up for group travel, even for a short while, try looking into companies that don’t charge a single supplement.
These sites specialize in connecting people some are for women specifically, others for travelers more generally:
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How To Meet People As A Solo Traveler
Traveling solo is one of the best ways learn about yourself, but also to meet like-minded travelers. People are open-minded and curious, and often gung-ho to have new and thrilling experiences. However, it can also be a challenge to find fellow adventurers at first.
Here are my tips on how to meet people as a solo traveler!
Tips For Traveling Solo
Solo travel has huge upsides independence, introspection, cultural immersion and is usually easier and more fun than many imagine.
I’ve talked to too many people who put off their travel dreams because they don’t want to do it by themselves: The prospect of going alone sounds either too daunting or just not all that fun. If you want to travel overseas but don’t have a partner, consider gathering the courage to go it alone. You’ll meet plenty of people as you travel: Think of them as a montage of fun, temporary travel partners.
Traveling solo has its pros and cons and for me, the pros far outweigh the cons. When you’re on your own, you’re independent and in control. You can travel at your own pace, do the things that interest you, eat where and when you like, and splurge where you want to splurge. You don’t have to wait for your partner to pack up, and you never need to negotiate where to eat or when to call it a day. You go where you want, when you want, and you can get the heck out of that stuffy museum when all the Monets start to blur together. If ad-libbing, it’s easier for one person to slip between the cracks than two.
Traveling Alone Without Feeling Lonely
For many people contemplating a solo trip, loneliness is their biggest fear. Big cities can be cold and ugly when the only person to talk to is yourself. And being sick and alone in a country where no one knows you can be a sad and miserable experience.
Meeting People
Eating Out
Evenings
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Resources For Planning Your Solo Trip
There are many things you can do before leaving to travel alone that will make your trip one that you love.
Enjoy Your Own Company
Travelling with friends or in a group is fun, but sometimes it is good to spend time on your own. Take a solo hike somewhere, enjoy your surroundings, and learn more about what you like and enjoy. Be your own travel boss. You will learn to enjoy your own company. Once you are comfortable with yourself, you become comfortable in the company of others.
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Sign Up For A Night Event
Missing out on nightlife is one of the worst parts of solo travel. Admittedly, it feels awkward to show up to a bar or party alone. You can sign up for salsa nights, pub crawls, boat parties, etc. in your destination to join a group. Just do a little research beforehand to see what’s offered in the city!
We met on a boat party in Budapest. I showed up alone, but spent my remaining days exploring the city with her and her French friend. We had a blast!
Make Sure Someone Back Home Knows Your Contact Information As Well As The Names Of The Locations You’ll Be Staying
Give a close friend or family member any necessary information regarding your travel tickets, hotels youll be staying in, and any other relevant information ahead of time, even if youre doing something more informal like backpacking and will be selecting your schedule as you go.
It not only gives your loved ones peace of mind, but it also ensures that you have a backup plan in case something goes wrong.
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Contact Friends In Your Destination
It can be extremely rewarding to hang out with old friends in new places. Look them upwhether they are a student studying abroad, or even a friend of a friend, having a connection can help
Meeting for coffee or walking around downtown is a great way to catch up. Theyll have that special local perspective and show you all their favorite haunts that the guidebooks might miss.
Where Is The Best Place To Travel Alone
We love travelling solo in places like Europe, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Japan, but there are dozens of great places to travel solo around the world. If you want to make new friends and experience new things, you’ll love our handcrafted group tours, where youll see and experience the best of each destination, while learning new skills like cooking with local chefs and enjoying dinner and storytelling with local families.
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Find Tours About What You Love
Going on guided tours is a great way to both learn about the culture and meet fellow travelers. And since those travelers on the same tour you are, they probably have similar interests! That makes tours a convenient way to meet people.
Take a food market tour in Taiwan. Or a walking tour of historic Sydney. Or a bike tour around New York City.
Mutual interests are the glue of new friendships.
