How To Meet People While Traveling (From An Introvert!)
If you’re wondering how to meet people while traveling and make friends as an introvert, you have come to the right place!
I know exactly how you feel as you embark on your first solo trip not knowing how to strike up a conversation with strangers and make friends traveling alone.
Before my first solo backpacking trip, I was terrified I was going to spend the whole trip by myself.
Luckily, with the right strategies, making friends while traveling alone is easier than it sounds!
In this guide, I will share all my best tips on how to meet people and make friends while traveling!
Let’s get started!
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!
How to make friends when traveling alone?
Making friends is not a science, but for some of us, it does not come naturally.
Pair that with the stress of being alone in a new country, and we could all use a step-by-step guide on how to meet people while traveling.
Traveling with friends or traveling alone is so different!
However, you can still travel and make friends even if none of your friends want to travel with you!
1. Staying In Hostels Is how to meet other backpackers
Staying in a hostel is the easiest way to meet people and make friends while traveling.
However, as I quickly learned on my first solo trip, to make friends in a hostel it is not always enough to simply book a bed in a dorm room and wait for friends to come up.
While it certainly happens in some types of hostels, party hostels I am looking at you, in some other hostels you could easily spend a week without talking to anyone!
My number one tip is to stay in hostels that advertise as backpackers’ hostels, social hostels, and party hostels.
Check out my hostel guide for everything you need to know about different types of hostels and staying in hostels.
Those types of hostels pay great attention to the social aspect of traveling, and the impact the accommodation can have on your trip.
I’ve stayed in some amazing hostels where I met almost everybody who was staying there, and I’ve stayed in some hostels where it was just people coming to sleep not talking to anyone.
TIP: How to meet other solo female travelers in hostels?
If you want to meet other solo female travelers, the foolproof method is to book a female-only dorm room. That way you will share a room with other women who might also be travelling alone!
Also, female-only dorms are great if you feel like you’re too old for hostels as you don’t want to endure party backpackers.
If hostels are just not your thing, and you prefer the luxury of having your own room, it is still possible to meet people and make friends while traveling.
It does not matter why you do not want to stay in a hostel, since they are obviously not for everyone.
2. Join free walking tours to meet people while traveling
Free walking tours are my favorite way to discover a new city. They are also a fantastic place to meet other travelers!
How to make friends on free walking tours?
Most tour guides will ask everybody to introduce themselves before starting a tour.
That is a great opportunity to learn a little bit about other people on the tour, see where everybody’s from, and who else is traveling alone.
As you walk around the city for an hour, you will have many opportunities to strike up a conversation with other solo female travelers on the tour!
🚶 See if there’s a free walking tour at your destination here!
3. Sign up for a class or an activity
You are on holiday, and it is a perfect opportunity to join a class and learn something new. It can be a cooking class, a painting class, or whatever you find interesting.
You don’t need to go out of your comfort zone, it can also be something you already know you like, maybe a Yoga class or a Muay Thai class.
You can meet other travelers by joining one of these classes as they are usually geared towards tourists. It is a great alternative to free walking tours if the group size makes you uncomfortable.
In addition, you already have something in common with the people there as you joined the same class!
4. Go on an organized day trip
Similarly, as with joining a class, you can also join an organized day trip. It can be anything, I have joined an organized hike, kayaking in Laos, a day trip to the waterfalls, and many others.
You will spend a whole day with other travelers and have plenty of opportunities to connect with someone.
Organized day trips are a great way to meet people and make friends as a solo female traveler since you are in a safe space with a guide and a group.
5. Go on a pub crawl
Another fun way how to make friends while traveling solo is to go for a night out.
If you want to enjoy the nightlife at your new destination but have no friends to go out with, join a pub crawl!
You’ll find pub crawls in many of the best places to party in Europe and worldwide.
The most common way a pub crawl works is that you will join a group, go to 3-4 bars, and then to a club. Everybody is there to have a good time, and people tend to be very friendly when alcohol is involved.
However, while this is a great way to discover nightlife as a solo female traveler, stay alert and do not do anything unreasonable.
6. Offer to take photos of other solo travelers
You will easily recognize other solo travelers since they will be the ones taking selfies. Use this opportunity and offer to take a photo of them.
There are multiple benefits to this. Once you suggest taking someone’s photo, they will almost certainly offer to take one of you. That way you get some photos of yourself, alongside making a friend!
7. Initiate a conversation while waiting in line
If you are backpacking Europe in the summer or any other destination in the high season, you will definitely wait in line a lot at some point.
Regardless of whether you are waiting to enter a bus going to the city from the airport or to enter a museum, you can strike up a conversation with people standing next to you.
If you do not know what to talk about, ask them for advice or help. For example, if you are waiting for transportation, ask if they know the best way to reach your destination.
8. Use Facebook meet-up groups
Facebook ex-pat groups exist so people can meet other ex-pats and travelers. If there is a local ex-pat group in the city you are visiting, take advantage of it to join some of the activities they organize.
I am in a “Girl Gone International” city group for the city I currently live in. I often see travelers asking members if anyone wants to meet up and show them around. It works every time!
9. Join a group trip
Even if you travel solo, that does not mean you can not join an organized group trip once you are at your destination.
One of the tours I joined on my solo travels was a 3-day desert trip in Morocco. I was in a small group of 9 people, and we spent 3 days together.
Other ideas might be a multiple-day trekking trip, an island expedition, and many others.
Also, many travel influencers host group trips these days, so you get to travel with your favorite travel content creators and other people who like them too!
Here are some of the best group trip agencies for solo female travelers:
- Contiki – They specialize in adventure travel for 18-35-year-olds, with tour options worldwide.
- Trutravels – They organize adventure travel types of trips, popular with solo backpackers.
- 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.
10. Say Yes when somebody invites you to do something
To make sure that the above-suggested activities lead to making friends if somebody invites you to do something afterwards or suggests another activity, say yes!
Of course, only if you feel like you clicked with a person, and feel comfortable doing so.
Even if you already planned your itinerary, it’s always fun to stay flexible and add more adventures.
How to make friends with locals while traveling?
Maybe you want to meet locals and make some local friends in your new destination. I usually find it very hard to make friends with locals while traveling. That does not mean that most locals are friendly and helpful because they are!
One way to meet locals is to join Local Facebook meet-up groups. As I previously mentioned, I am in our local international girls’ group, and people traveling through the city often join the events.
Some people also suggest Couchsurfing. I never tried that, so I can not speak from the experience. Yet, if you are more adventurous than me, it sounds like a great idea!
Another idea is to join a Worldpackers program. You get free accommodation and food from a local host in exchange for helping with minor tasks around the property.
How to say safe When You meet people traveling?
As a solo female traveler, I had my fair share of unwanted friendship attempts. It is ok to say that you are not interested in talking to someone or that you do not want to join them in an activity.
You do not have to feel guilty for being rude if it comes to that! Protect your peace.
If you’re meeting up with somebody you meet on an app or in a Facebook group, do it in a public space – preferably a cafe during the day.
Final thoughts: how to meet people and make friends while traveling
That concludes my top tricks on how to meet friends when traveling alone, even as an introvert who doesn’t feel comfortable talking to strangers.
Meeting people while solo traveling and making new friends is one of the reasons why I love solo traveling so much.
I hope you liked these ideas on how to meet people while traveling so you can still travel alone without being lonely.
If you are getting ready for your first solo backpacking trip, read everything you need to know in my solo female travel guide!
Now that you know that you won’t be alone on your trip, where are you going next?
- 11 Best Places to Backpack in Europe: Winter 2022 Edition
- 11 Best Places For New Year’s in Europe: Backpackers and Solo Travellers
- The Ultimate Winter in Europe Bucket List
- Backpacking Europe Winter Itinerary: 10 Epic Routes
