How To Meet People Traveling – 13 Great Tips for 2024
Unsure how to meet people while traveling?
I am your expert! I have been traveling for over thirty years, mostly solo, and I meet locals and travelers at each destination.
These are my best tips from years of travel on several continents meeting people; both where to find locals and fellow travelers and how to approach them. These tips work for regular travelers, solo travelers and digital nomads.
A few sections point out specific tips, but most of the tips will work for anyone.
Meeting new people and learning about their culture and experiences is the best part of travel for me. I spend lots more time talking to people than seeing the tourist attractions in a destination.
For example, I dearly love Paris and have been to Paris many times, and still I have never been to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
👉 Personal Tidbit – Meeting Locals in Paris: Although I have not been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, I have been to the Jardin de Luxembourg in Paris many times and on my last trip met a wonderful Parisian woman there who invited me to have lunch with her at her nearby home.
13 Great Ways to Meet People While Traveling
This list has tips on how and where to meet locals and fellow travelers, including before you begin your trip
Talking to strangers, especially in a foreign country can put us out of our comfort zone.
In my experience, even in cultures known to be ‘stand off-ish’ (France for example), people are happy to talk to you if you respect the culture and learn at least a few words of the local language.
Let’s get to the list and start with the most important thing: how to start a conversation with someone while travelling.
1. Strike up conversations
Below are tips for everyone on where to meet locals and how to approach them.
👉 Conversation TIPS – Pay attention to whether the person wants to chat or not. Make eye contact and smile. If they engage, then continue with polite questions. Below are things to ask about:
- Ask about the weather
- Ask for recommendations for local restaurants or cafes
- Ask where to find the best coffee!
- Ask what hidden gems they recommend that only locals know about.
- Ask where to find yoga classes, good walking or bike trails, best birdwatching, best museums, beach etc. People love to give recommendations!
- Ask if they have lived there long and what they like or dislike and where they are from originally if not a native. This has sparked very interesting conversations for me over the years.
2. 🍷 Local people – where to find them:
- Small family owned shops, bakeries, cheese shops, clothing stores. If you return they often remember you, at least I found this in France and Italy and Croatia and I became easily friendly with the owners.
👉 Destination Tip: Trieste, Italy is a hidden gem in nothern Italy with a large number of very friendly small family owned cafes, restaurants and shops.
- Parks Especially after work and on weekends
- Dog parks – I love dogs and went to dog parks in Canada to pet dogs and chat with people.
- Beaches, coastline walks
- Coffee shops, local pubs, small local cafes
- Concerts, music events
- Classes (yoga, dance, exercise, painting – check bulletin boards and Airbnb Experiences)
- Tours – small groups tours, walking tours and day trips are led by locals and it’s an opportunity to learn valuable information, including where to meet more locals! Plus you will meet other travelers. Two good tour companies are Viator and GetYourGuide. Also check Airbnb Experiences.
- Open markets – weekly vegetable/shopping markets are usually where locals shop and locals are selling their food/items. I became friendly with two French/African women in Avignon when I got their couscous every week. We laughed often and they called to me when they saw me coming.
- Taxi and Uber drivers – I usually engage with my drivers and have fabulous conversations.
👉 Pro TIP: Talking to Uber and taxi drivers is a great opportunity for conversations with local people. You can ask about inside tips, places to go, local culture and insights you would never hear about otherwise.
If you only go to the tourist attactions you will not find locals!
3. 😎 Fellow Travelers – Where to find them:
- Day tours or small group walking tours – Check Viator, GetYourGuide, Airbnb Experiences. Examples: bike tour, cooking class, local hidden gems tour, ghost tour, foodie tour, wine tour, bar crawl etc.
- Language classes
- Trains/buses
- Hostels – Best place to meet travelers! Book a solo room if you don’t wank bunks. Check Hostelworld for best selection.
👉 PRO TIP – Try an eating with locals or cooking with a local experience and/or a small group or private tour in your city. You will meet a local host and get an inside look at the culture, local hotspots, etc. Do this at the START of your stay to get useful info for the rest of your trip. If you are in Paris, check out these small group wine and cheese tastings.
👉 What about Language Differences?
I honestly have not had a problem in countries where I did not speak the language. My native language is English. English is spoken all over the world and is the standard tourist language in most places.
I have had really fun, and slow, conversations with people who knew only a little English and I knew only a little of their language.
With hand gestures and translator apps it can work! It really depends on how interested someone is in trying.
👉 Personal Example: On a train from Avignon, France to Trieste, Italy, I was in a ‘quiet’ car sitting with an Italian couple They were friendly and didn’t speak English, but one spoke a little French. We managed to talk about where we lived, the mountain views and had good laughs with our simple French, English and a translator app while whispering in the quiet car.
That being said, here are some tips to communicate with language differences:
- Learn at least hello, thank you and good bye in the native language and use those phrases! Don’t be shy! Local people are usually happy when a traveler tries to speak the local language.
- Use a translator app or google translate. I did in Mexico to talk to hotel workers.
4. Airbnb – Guest and Experiences
I have made lifelong new friends from staying at Airbnbs, both in apartments and when staying in private rooms with people in their home.
I have good chats with hosts, learn a lot, get advice on where to go and what to do.
How do you do this? Check the Airbnb listing carefully to see if the host says they like to talk to guests. This is the key!
Read the reviews and see if guests talk about interacting with the host.
One of the best local and unique experiences I have had in Paris was staying a week in a typical Parisian apartment with a Parisian host via Airbnb. I had read the reviews and this host had amazing reviews saying it was like being at home, friendly and relaxed.
Airbnb Experiences: These are classes and workshop and tours hosted by local people. Usually interesting and outside the normal tourist box.
You get to meet the local person running the event and other travellers at the same time. Examples: Pub crawls, walking tours, small group tours, bar crawls, cooking classes, photography, bird watching, traditional crafts and many more, depending on the location.
👉 You don’t have to stay in an Airbnb to sign up for one of the experiences!
5. Meetup Groups and Events
Meetup Groups are in most cities in the US and also many abroad. There are two things to check here, groups and events. There are groups and events for almost any kind of interest and activity you can think of, depending on the location.
Hiking groups are very common and a great way to meet pope
You can sign up for a group with similar interests and see if there are events coming up. This is best for stays of longer than a week or two.
Meetup also has events. Just search for events instead of groups and you will see a list of events that are open.
👉 Meetup Groups – Examples: I am in Nevada City, California now (a small town) and have met people at a Meetup coffee group for women and am going to a pizza and game night next week. In New Orleans I went to two french language group meetups that had been meeting for over 20 years! There are groups for hiking, meditation, games, travel, birdwatching, language exchange and more depending on the location.
6. Hostels and Guesthouses – Community Kitchen
Staying in hostels is the easiest way to meet other travelers, hands down. It used to be only for people in their 20s backpacking, but older adults use them too.
Many hostels have private room options if you don’t want to sleep in a dorm room (like me).
There is often a community kitchen which makes it easy to meet people. I love the community kitchen aspect and have had the best conversations and interactions with all kinds of people around cooking and sharing food.
- Cabins, camping, guesthouses: You can find cabins and guesthouses on Airbnb with community kitchens and/or some community space.
- Hotel and hostel combo: Also in Tulum, I stayed in a hotel room that was connected to a hostel tht had a community kitchen where I meet other travelers and had a great community experience. I found this on Airbnb.
- Co-Living: Co-living compounds are becoming common in popular with younger digital nomads. Check Coliving.com for community stays and single apartments in your city of choice.
👉 Personal Experience: In Tulum, Mexico I stayed in a cabin near the town with a community kitchen and its own private cenote (fresh water pool). I met a wonderful family from Germany there and talked to people most evenings. I spent time looking specifically for this kind of arrangement so I could meet people and cook for myself!
Where to find guesthouses, cabins and hostels in addition to Airbnb:
- Booking.com
- VRBO
- Hostelworld – Bonus: Hostelworld has a feature onsite that connects travelers going to the same hostel.
7. Worldwide Greeters – Free Walking Tour
International greeters slogan is “Come as a guest, leave as a friend!” Local volunteers offer 2-3 hour walking tours of their city or area. You sign up and choose several possible dates. You will see photos and specialties of the greeters in the area.
Greets are in 43 countries and 151 destinations worldwide. To date they have completed over 16,000 greeting walks!
WorldWide Greeters Website: https://internationalgreeter.org/
8. Housesitting and Petsitting – Trusted Housesitters
My friend and her teenage daughter have been travelling throughout Europe for over a year housesitting and they love it! With housesitting you will likely be in a neighborhood and be able to connect naturally with the neighbors of your host.
Where to find housesitting and petsitting gigs:
9. Attend a concert
Music is universally loved. By attending a concert you will have a shared interest with the other attnedees which makes it easy to find common ground for conversation.
👉 Personal Experience: Most recently, I went to a cathedral concert in Paris and met two Canadians sitting next to me and we had a wonderful chat and exchanged concert info. See the photo above.
Standing in line: Standing in line to a concert or tourist attraction is another opportunity to meet other travellers and locals and exchange information and talk about your common interest in the concert and music.
10. Social Media – Facebook Groups
Facebook groups are amazing resources for finding local information, solo travel tips, expat info. Really almost anything you could think to ask about you can find in a group.
To meet people you can use the groups to ask questions about a local destination, e.g. Where are good places to meet people in this city? Are there hiking/dancing/yoga classes, etc.
Also check out the Girls Love Travel or Digital Nomads or Digital Nomads Over 50 facebook pages if these fit you and your travel style to meet other travellers and get input on specific destinations.
- To meet locals, check out these facebook pages: Local City Page; City Events Page; Expat Groups, Hiking Groups or Digital Nomads in the area or city – Ask any questions, find events, meet ups, yoga/dance classes, where expats go, etc. Ask where the good places are to meet people!.
11. Volunteer
Volunteer at animal shelters or clean ups or other local volunteer events. Find out on facebook pages or ask local people.
WorkAway and HelpX. These are websites listing many different kinds of work and cultural exchanges including speaking English, helping with construction, gardening, child care, culture exchange and much more.
Usually room and board is exchanged for a few hours of work.
Families, singles and small communities advertise on Work Away and HelpX. WWOOFING is World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms and the same idea but with small family farms.
- WorkAway – connects hosts with volunteers all over the world
- HelpX – same as above but more focussed on Europe
- WWOOF – connect small family farms with volunteers
12. Language Classes and Language Exchange
Language Classes: Take a week or more of language classes at your destination. This is excellent for meeting local people and travelers, learning about the local activities, culture and area and meeting other students.
For example, if I go to Russia I will sign up with a language school in advance in order to improve my Russian but also to have the connections and support of the school and to meet other people. I have already had several conversations with a school to get info and find out about the support they provide.
Language Exchange Partners: You can start meeting people online for language or culture exchange before going to a place or find people while you are there.
Culture Exchange Parnters: If you don’t have a foreign language you can search for people wanting to practice English or your native language and who want culture exchange.
The Tandem App and the websites below have features to search for people in your area, and the Tandem App has a feature to find people to chat with online immediately.
👉 Personal Experience: I spent two years exchanging English and Russian with a Polish lady on Skype and stayed with her in Poland on my last trip to Europe. We are now great friends and it was a hoot communicating when I stayed with her since both of spoke only beginner English and Russian!
13. Couchsurfing
Couchsurfing is an excellent way to meet locals and have an immersive cultural experience. I have not done this myself, but have several friends of all ages who have done couchsurfing and loved it.
Local people offer a room or couch or sometimes a stand alone apartment in exchange for cultural and language exchange from traveller. Couchsurfing has been around a long time and is a trusted platform with safety protocols in place.
Couchsurfers host local events you can attend without stayting at a home. I belong to a couchsurfing Telegram group that hosts regular meetup events for language exchange in St. Petersburg (although I have never been there yet!).
Check out the website here: Couchsurfing Offical Website
FAQs – How to Meet People Traveling
Can you meet people traveling?
Absolutely!
Is there an app to meet people while traveling?
Tandem App for language and culture exhange with locals. Punta App for digital nomads to connect.
How to find friends when traveling?
To meet people while traveling stay at hostels or guesthouses, take classes, take small group tours and language classes.
To meet locals take small group tours led by locals, check local Facebook pages for events and meetups, volunteer, do a work exchange in a community, take local language lessons, cooking classes, etc. Also try meetup groups and always talk to people and be friendly.
How do I meet solo travelers?
For solo travelers try Facebook groups for digital nomads and solo travelers both in general and in the areas you are going to visit.
Stay at hostels and guesthouses to meet other solo travelers. Check out co-living and digital nomad housing in larger cities.
Final Thoughts on How to Meet People Traveling
It isn’t difficult to meet people while traveling if you are open and friendly with a willingness to connect.
If there is a language barrier, keep trying to find people that speak your language or vice versa and remember translator apps can be very helpful.
If you have the intention to meet locals or other travelers, and make an effort to find out where the hang out, you are almost certainly going to make connections and have wonderful conversations, learn new things and maybe even make a friend.
Happy Travels!
Related Reading:
Parisian Culture Guide: 23 Things To Know Before You Go 2024
29 Hidden Gems in Paris to Feel Like a Local in 2024 (with MAP)
Is Paris Safe for Solo Female Travelers? Safety Guide 2024
Ordering Coffee In Italy: A Beginner’s Guide To Coffee Etiquette 2024
