How to Meet New People While Traveling

Picture: Guilherme Stecanella 

Meeting new people in today’s advanced digital age isn’t always easy. Not everyone is comfortable walking into their local café and conversing with a stranger or exchanging small talk in a park. However, meeting new people while traveling can often be much easier, especially if you do some of the following things:

Join Group Tours

Whether you’re traveling alone or with friends, you might put yourself in an excellent position to meet new people and make potential lifelong friends by joining a group activity like Hunter Valley wine tours.

While wine tours, for example, can be organized for a private group of friends and family, several smaller groups can also form part of a much larger one. The more people there are in a group activity, the greater your chances of meeting like-minded people might be.

Stay In Hostels

Accommodation can be one of the most significant travel expenses, with many travelers spending hundreds of dollars each night for quality lodgings. By staying in hostels, you often save money and have an opportunity to meet new people.

Hostels are low-cost, sociable accommodations where you rent a bed in a dormitory and share rooms with other travelers. While not everyone is comfortable sharing their space with a stranger, it can be ideal if you’re trying to save money and meet people from all walks of life.

Join Online Travel Groups

Travelers help other travelers. If you need something in a foreign city, want to be shown the best sights, or have a question about a new country, you’ll likely find a traveler on an online travel group willing to help.

Sign up to online groups on websites and social media before you embark on your travel adventure. By the time you land in an exciting new location, you might have the contact details of various people willing to share their extensive travel advice with you.

Volunteer

If you plan to be in a particular country or city for an extended period, consider dividing your time between sightseeing and volunteering at local charities and organizations. Not only can you get a taste of what life for a local is really like, but you might also meet wonderful people who turn into lifelong friends. There are many international volunteer programs to choose from, and you might be able to organize a position in your chosen country before you even arrive.

Be Flexible

There’s nothing wrong with having a detailed itinerary for when you go traveling, but don’t let it stop you from meeting new people. When you make too many commitments in a row, you risk missing out on valuable social opportunities because you lack flexibility.

Avoid making too many set-in-stone plans and consider adopting a more ‘go with the flow’ approach. Sometimes, it’s also a good idea to check out business cancellation and rescheduling terms and conditions so you can confidently shuffle around your plans without too much hassle.

Meeting new people can be challenging, but there are ample opportunities while you travel. Be flexible with your plans, volunteer your time, and join groups. You might be amazed by how many connections you can make in a short space of time.