I Want To Travel, But Have No Friends To Travel With
You found this article because you want to travel, but have no one to go with. I know exactly how it feels because I spent YEARS thinking: “I want to travel, but I have no friends to travel with.”
I felt stuck just repeating over and over again how I want to travel, but not alone! Why none of my friends want to travel?
Turns out, there are so many different ways to travel when your friends are not really into it, and going solo is not the only option!
In this solo female travel guide, I will show you exactly how to travel when your friends do not want to travel.
Keep reading to find out what to do when you want to travel, but no one to go with.
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. I hope you find the information here helpful!
You Want To Travel but have no one to travel with
1. Think about how to find friends to travel with
If your friends don’t want to travel, think about whether you’re in the right friend group. If the answer is no, where can you find people who want to travel?
Your friend group might be great, despite them not wanting to travel. This does not mean that you need to get rid of all of your friends and find new ones. You just need to enrich your social circle.
If you stay in the same friend group and never step outside of your comfort zone you are missing out on potential friendships with people who share your interests.
2. Try making new friends in your town
If you are still in high school or the early years of university, this is your sign to be yourself.
Join the clubs that interest you without thinking about what other people would say. That way you can meet people who share your interests, including travel.
Try to expand your friend group.
Be open to making connections with people you do not usually talk to at school or university. These are the most effortless years to make friends because lots of people constantly surround you.
Do not be embarrassed to start talking about your interests with other people. That way you can see if somebody will agree with you, and you can find out that people share your interests, but they were uncomfortable talking about them!
3. Sign up for a study abroad semester
Study abroad programs are an amazing opportunity to find travel friends!
Do you know why? Because all of the people you’ll meet already stepped out of their comfort zone and traveled to a new country to spend one semester, or a year, at their exchange university!
Again, people from different backgrounds have different opinions on traveling.
While people in your home country might find it interesting, others will!
When went backpacking Thailand for 2 months, I met just one other Croatian traveler and hundreds and hundreds of British and Dutch travelers!
If you are still in University, inquire about your study abroad options!
European students can apply for study abroad with Erasmus +. The program also covers traineeships!
American universities probably have a similar program as well, but from my understanding, it depends on your university.
I studied for 5 months in Leuven, Belgium on the Erasmus+ exchange program. And that is exactly where I found my future travel buddy! So this one comes from personal experience.
4. Join a work exchange program
If you are no longer in school and studying abroad is not an option, working abroad might be!
There are so many different work abroad programs out there!
Work and Travel USA is a hugely popular way to visit the United States, and actually earn some money to enjoy your trip along the way.
If you are lucky enough that your country is eligible for a Work and Holiday Visa in Australia, it allows you to work and travel Australia for 12 months.
If you’re not eligible for none of the above-mentioned programs (hello friends with weak passports) you can look into work exchange programs!
Worldpackers is one of the best platforms out there to find reliable volunteer abroad opportunities.
Browse their offers, read the reviews, and apply for the ones that accept multiple volunteers so you make some friends along the way!
5. Join Group Tours If You Have No Friends To Travel With
If it is your first time traveling, and you are scared to go alone or overwhelmed by having to plan the whole trip – How about somebody else who does all the hard work for you?
That is what group tours are for!
They connect solo travelers from all over the world who want to visit the same destination and give them an organized trip and instant friends.
Group tours came a long way from bus tours rushing retirees from one hot spot to another.
Nowadays, many group travel companies are geared toward young travelers looking for active adventures!
You can find almost every destination you would be interested in visiting as a group tour. You can even travel with your favorite Instagram Content Creators!
There are many advantages to booking a group tour!
- Your trip will be organized, and all you have to do is enjoy it.
- You do not need to worry about the logistics.
- You do not need to worry about missing out on important landmarks or creating your travel itinerary
- Finally, the biggest advantage is that you will not be alone!
You will be grouped with like-minded people who love traveling and want to explore the world.
It is a fantastic opportunity to make great friendships with people that you can later plan solo trips with!
What tour company to pick as a solo traveler?
Some of the best Group tour companies for young people that I found are:
- Contiki – They specialize in social travel for 18-35-year-olds, and they have tour options worldwide.
- Trutravels – They take pride in creating life-changing experiences. And that is exactly what their trips look like! They have options for different types of travellers, while all share the same social adventure vibe.
- G Adventures – They have tour options for all types of travelers. They have a wide selection of trips for people under 30 years old and others geared towards travelers looking for Wellness and relaxation, trekking, and family tours.
Whichever company you choose to go for, read through reviews and pick a trip for your style of travel.
There are fantastic tour companies, and there are bad companies.
If you have had a bad experience before, do not let that deter you from trying one of the companies recommended above!
6. Look For Travel Buddies Online
If you can’t find a group tour suited to your needs, or you’re trying to stay on a budget – you can look for a travel buddy online!
There are a lot of sites online to look for travel buddies, and they are excellent places to meet people to travel with!
You can join female travel buddies’ Facebook groups, or there might be a local website that connects travelers in your region. I met some wonderful girls in France using Facebook expat and travel groups!
For example, in Croatia, we have a website Putoholicari which has a travel buddies section that works pretty well! There is probably a similar concept in your country as well.
What you need to do is post that you’re looking for friends to travel with, and see who answers your query.
As far as Facebook groups go, I saw a lot of success stories in Host a sister and Female travel buddies groups. But there are many others!
You can look for the groups in your region. That way you can meet up with your new travel buddy before the trip.
Please be safe and use common sense when using these options. I like to be positive, but the world is a scary place.
Make sure that you are confident about who you are talking to, and Facetime your potential travel buddy.
7. Try Solo Travel
Finally, the best thing you can do when your friends are not interested in traveling is to travel alone!
Solo traveling might seem intimidating at first. However, just because you are starting solo does not mean that you will be alone all the time!
There are some challenges you will face as a solo traveler. You will be the only one responsible for your trip, and you will have to learn to depend on yourself and take responsibility for yourself.
At the same time, there will be so many advantages!
You are the one who decides what are you going to do and when. Because you are alone, you can easily join other people you meet if you like their plans.
Also, if you do not like what your new friends are doing, there will be no hard feelings if you decide to leave.
You do not have to wait on other people or visit sights you are not interested in, you are in complete control of your whole trip.
- If you are planning your first solo trip, check out my Solo female travel guide for an in-depth step-by-step approach to planning your first solo trip.
How to make friends on the road?
If you want to make friends when traveling, first research if your destination is a popular backpacking destination.
Why?
Because many people backpacking are solo travelers, and usually there is a beaten path to follow!
If you are backpacking in Europe, there are many different backpacking Europe routes. On the other hand, most people backpacking SE Asia, follow the same route!
When everybody around you is also a solo traveler it is easy to make friends. Especially once you notice you keep running into the same people.
One of the best things about solo travel is all the people you will meet along the way! Some people you meet might become your future travel buddies.
The easiest way to make new friends is to stay in hostels and join the activities they organize.
Making friends in hostels is the most common way people make friends when traveling solo.
Most hostels also have private rooms if sharing a dorm room does not appeal to you. That way you can still enjoy the social aspect of a hostel while keeping your privacy.
Staying in hostels is also a great way to save money on your trip as well!
Summary: Want to travel but no one to go with
And that is it, girls! I felt like I had no one to travel with for years.
However, once I left my hometown and made friends with similar interests I finally found my travel buddies.
Also, I found out I love solo travel. You can compare solo travel and travel with friends, and see which one is for you!
Even as a complete introvert, I made so many friends traveling solo who I could travel with.
Now that you know exactly what steps to take to find people who want to travel, here are the best winter experiences in Europe to add to your Europe travel bucket list to inspire your next adventure!
