One of the questions I get asked the most is: “How to make friends while traveling?” And I get it; feeling lonely is one of the things that most people find intimidating about solo travel. But what if I tell you that traveling alone does not necessarily mean being alone or feeling lonely? In fact, I found that when I’m traveling by myself, I’m more prone to meeting people than when I’m with friends or family. I talked before about beating solo travel boredom, but in this read, I’ll tell you how exactly you can make travel friends on the road just like I did. So, if you’re a solo traveler looking for a fellow travel buddy, read along.

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How to Make Friends While Traveling Alone?

After 10+ years of being a solo traveler, these are some of the best ways I managed to make travel friends around the world.

1. Stay in a Hostel

Hostels are a great place to start, especially if you want to meet like-minded people because, most likely, other solo travelers will also be staying in a hostel as well. But don’t just expect to meet your future travel buddy in your dorm room; you have to join hostel activities and show up at communal areas too.

I remember when I was in Florence, I made zero friends at my hostel; my dorm mates just weren’t that fun, and it was a very small hostel so there weren’t any communal spaces. On the other hand, I made plenty of friends at other hostels in many destinations around the world.

In the Algarve, my entire dorm room turned into a group of friends, just because we were all solo travelers attending the same musical festival, Afro Nation. In my Lisbon hostel, I made another group of friends by joining the city’s hostel pub crawl. On the other side, in Beirut, I stayed in a super cool hostel where you could write your travel plans on a mirror in the lobby and leave your contact information for other travelers to get in touch if they wanted to join you. Every day, I’d meet someone new and go on day trips around Lebanon. I’d have to say, being an Arabic speaker was a great perk because that helped us navigate complex travel logistics in Lebanon. In Amman, I made friends with both travelers and locals, also in my hostel, and I ended up going on multiple road trips with different groups; one to Petra and Wadi Rum, and another to Wadi Mujib, the Dead Sea, and more.

So, if you’re wondering how to make friends while traveling alone, staying in a hostel isn’t enough. You have to stay open to opportunities presenting themselves at the hostel, rather than staying there and wishing for the best. For instance, if your hostel organizes excursions or events, join them. I’ve met people on a group hike my hostel in Cape Town organized. If your hostel has communal spaces like a rooftop, a bar, or a pool, spend time there. That’s how and where I met people in Paris, Berlin, Amman, and almost all my international trips.

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Relevant Read:

• Staying in a Hostel: How to Pick and Book

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2. Purchase a Social Pass

Hostels aren’t for everyone, and I get it. I met a lot of people through my online community who wanted to be able to travel solo but without compromising the comfort of a hotel room. But what if I tell you that now, you can have the hostel experience without staying in a hostel?

Hostelworld just introduced a new feature that grants you access to the app’s social benefits and community without having a hostel booking. By purchasing a Social Pass for 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, or 1 year, you can access the community’s local events, chats, traveler profiles, and connect with other solo travelers and like-minded people at ease. I personally believe that this new tool is about to change the travel space as we know it. If you’d like to learn more about Hostelworld’s Social Pass, I go further in depth in this guide.

3. Join Group Activities or Tours

Group activities and tours aren’t limited to those organized by hostels. I’ve booked countless excursions through GetYourGuide and Viator; you can go on hop-on hop-off bus rides, join a food tour, or take a cooking class. You can also look up Airbnb Experiences in your destination. One of my most memorable travel experiences was when I joined a small group to explore the speakeasy scene in Paris. And when I was in Bali, I found Klook super helpful as well; it’s the go-to platform to book excursions in Asia in general. The group trip I joined to hike Mount Batur in Bali was definitely a core memory for me.

4. Post on Facebook Travel Communities

Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you; instead, create them yourself! Join travel communities on Facebook if you’re not already a member of any, and don’t hesitate to ask if there are any other solo travelers nearby. These groups are also a great way to ask for tips about destinations, and trust me, you’d be surprised at the number of people who’d be willing to offer help or meet up.

This solo travel tip came in handy when I first arrived in Beirut, before I met other solo travelers through my hostel, Hamra Urban Gardens. But the time I really raved about this tip was when I was in Bali. I ended up connecting with an American girl who was volunteering in Bali and she let another Portuguese girl she met on the same trip join us. All three of us experienced one of the most spontaneous nights of our lives. We somehow ended up at a drag show in a random bar in Kuta, I was invited to join the queens and dance with them on stage, then we went ahead and commemorated this night when one girl got a tattoo and I got a piercing. We never saw each other again but this night remains a core memory to this day, and it all happened because I wasn’t afraid to post on a Facebook group and ask if there were any other women nearby and wanted to hang.

Here are some of my favorite solo female travel communities on Facebook:

• Female Travel Group | Women Group Travel | GoWonder ®
• The Solo Female Traveler Network
• Solo Female Travelers (FIRST FB group for women who travel solo!)
• Women Who Travel
• BMTM Solo Female Traveler Connect

5. Consider Volunteering

Speaking of volunteering, I haven’t done this myself abroad, but I know a lot of people who have and swear by it. There are tons of volunteering opportunities that’ll not just allow you to make new friends but also add to your life experiences. You can volunteer at a farm, in a school or learning center, or even at a hostel. There are also various volunteering platforms that you can check out, such as Workaway, Worldpackers, WWOOF, and International Volunteer HQ.

6. Download Social Travel Apps

Just like there’s an app for booking stays, comparing modes of transport, joining tours, and even joining intimate dinner parties, there are apps specifically designed to meet other travelers. Here are some of the most popular ones:

• Travello: Available in more than 180 countries, Travello hits two birds with one stone; it doesn’t just allow you to book activities, but it’s also a social network for travelers.
• Tourlina: This is more or less like Tinder but for female solo travelers.
• BumbleBFF: Yes, it’s the same Bumble, the dating app that allows the chicas to make the first move. However, this feature is purely for platonic relationships; it’s a good way to make travel friends, especially if you just moved to a new country. I talk all about my experience with Bumble BFF here.

Final Thoughts

Learning how to make friends while traveling doesn’t happen overnight, but every conversation, hostel stay, tour joined, or café visit is another opportunity to meet someone. Just remember to stay open, be confident, and most importantly, be yourself!

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Don’t Forget Your Travel Insurance!

Travel (solo or not) isn’t always rainbows and butterflies – things might go down south sometimes. You might fall ill or lose your luggage, and that’s when you’ll thank me for having your back covered with travel insurance.

SafetyWing offers different travel insurance packages, tailored to your needs, but their Nomad Insurance is my favorite option.

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Explore SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance Essential and Complete plans now.

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You might also like:

• How to Beat Solo Travel Boredom
• How to Prep for an Adventurous Solo Road Trip
• A Beginners Guide to Traveling Alone for the First Time

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