I love travelling solo. And I don’t mind exploring a city on my own or enjoying a nice meal with myself at a restaurant. But from time to time it is nice to enjoy some company, to go out for drinks together and share your greatest stories and pictures. So here are a few ways how you get to know other travelers as well as locals:
Try Couchsurfing
And that doesn’t mean that you have to stay the night on someone’s couch. Couchsurfing has this cool option to “hang out”. So, if you are in a city all by yourself, you can just hit this option and see who else is willing to hang out. You can explore the city together, eat or go out to a party. Some may say that this is like dating, but I assure you that you can hang out and just become friends. I’ve done it a few times, I always mark in my profile that I have a boyfriend and have never gotten in any trouble. Sometimes you even have Couchsurfing events, where you can directly meet with a whole bunch of other travelers.
(Day tour to Sintra)
Go on a free walking tour
Let’s admit it: Most travelers need to watch every penny they spent. That is probably the reason why free walking tours are so popular among them (But remember that you should give a tip at the end of the tour, even if it’s for free). If you want to meet other travelers and explore a city at once, this is your perfect choice! Free walking tours exist in nearly every city and I have to say they are mostly really good as they are often guided by locals. You will have to say a few words about yourself and usually end up with a bunch of other travelers, who have the same interests then you, to explore the places you liked the most during the tour.
(Day tour to Sintra, loved that group!)
Book a day tour
Day tours normally consists of small groups of people. In the beginning you start with an introduction of yourselves, so you get to know who your co-travelers are. This makes it easy to get to know each other and to have something to talk about. I’ve done a few day tours and we always ended up to go out together later or have dinner or whatever. Only negative point is that it can get very expensive if you are doing a lot of tours.
(Party at the hostel, always nice to meet some crazy people!)
Stay at a hostel
Everyone who has already stayed at a good hostel, will know why: You just have to sit in the common area and read a book and 20 minutes later you are friends with at least 5 other travelers. The great thing about hostels is, that you are with like-minded people and a lot of other solo-travelers will stay there too. Plus, they often throw parties, pub-crawls and all kind of other funny evenings, which makes it super easy to connect with others. I’ve met a lot of people in hostels with whom I still stay in contact or who even came to Luxembourg for a visit.
(Montenegro people: The man on my right side came down all the way from Germany with his motorcycle!!)
In the end, you will meet people one way or another while travelling solo. At first it may seem odd talking to strangers you don’t know, but after a few days it becomes as natural as anything else.
(Boka bay. Who needs a disco anyway?)
A special thank you to all the wonderful people I’ve met so far! Even if I can’t remember all the names, you made my travels even greater!
Jess from Singapore
Yes, I even got my first tattoo with a stranger, thanks Dom xD
(Nights in Lisbon)
Hannah and Carina, probably the most athletic people I’ve met! Celebrated her birthday in an Irish pub in Croatia!
Vezna and her family were my first Couchsurfing hosts
Cesar and Carlos, the craziest people from Chile who love metal and football
Visiting a castle is more fun together!
Dale is the best musician ever! I looooved his music, bought a CD and took a selfie with him 😀
Exploring Montenegro on a day tour
Sometimes you just need to be silly!
Stefan is by far the craziest person and the best hostel keeper I met. Made everyone feel like kings and queens!
Another party in Montenegro
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