How To Make Friends While Travelling Solo: Tips For Meeting People When Backpacking

Concerned about how to make friends while travelling solo? As a veteran solo traveller with over 18 years of experience behind me, this is one of the things I get asked most by people before they set off on their travels.

The nature of moving from place to place relatively quickly whilst travelling doesn’t sound like it lends itself to being the easiest environment in which to make friends. In reality it’s a lot easier than making friends at home, but it can be nerve wracking, especially if you are travelling solo or consider yourself to be an introvert.

I have been lucky to meet new friends everywhere from on a hike to the queue for a restaurant whilst travelling. One of the first steps is being open, but there’s a bit more to it than that, and this guide will share tried and tested tips on how to make friends whilst travelling from someone who has been travelling solo for half her life.

How to Make Friends While Travelling Solo

Striking up conversation with strangers can be a bit daunting at first, but after you’ve broached chatting to people a few times it will become second nature.

There is a very standard conversation formula for backpackers; you’ll actually get sick of it after months on the road, but it’s fail safe and everyone uses it:

• Say hi
• “Where are you from?”
• “Where have you just come from?”
• “How long have you been travelling?”
• Where are you going next?

This line of question and answering can quite naturally lead into making plans to grab some food or a drink in the hostel bar later, or signing up for one of the hostel activities together. It flows pretty naturally, and in no time you’ll meet people you click with and be wondering why you thought it would be so hard! 

Is It Normal to Feel Lonely While Travelling Solo?

Unfortunately it is very normal to feel lonely sometimes when travelling solo, if you’re travelling for long enough. Everyone is different, it takes me a long time to feel lonely as I really enjoy my own company, but after a while of not meeting anyone I properly click with, I’ll start to feel it. It’s a very normal part of solo travel, much like getting frustrated with a travel partner is when not travelling by yourself. 

The trick is to recognise it and know what helps you to get past it. When I’m feeling a bit lonely, I’m tempted to go more insular, but I’m an extrovert so it doesn’t take long for me to remember I get my energy from other people after I’ve had a five minute chat with someone.

If you’re struggling, book onto a hostel event, a walking tour or another activity like a cooking class and make a real effort to get talking to other people. Worst case is you’ll be able to chat to the tour guide or teacher if not other backpackers.

It will pass, but actively seeking out more ways to meet people is the best thing to help move past it.

Why It’s Easier to Make Friends While Travelling Than at Home

There is a difference in the intensity of friendships you make on the road, which can be hard to understand until you’re in it. Living in such close quarters, sharing a bathroom and tackling long travel days together allows you to form firm friendships quickly, and you often feel like you’ve known each other a lot longer than you have in reality.

The Easiest Ways To Meet People While Travelling

Staying in Hostels

Staying in hostels is the number one easiest way to make friends whilst travelling. Sharing dorm rooms, cooking in the same kitchen, hanging in the common area – there are plenty of opportunities to strike up conversation with a fellow backpacker, and that’s before you consider that many hostels will have their own bar, host welcome drinks, walking tours and event nights.

Even if you’re travelling in a couple or are craving some privacy after weeks of shared dorms, many hostels offer private rooms, which allows you the best of both worlds: your own space with shared common areas and a social environment in which to meet people.

book An Activity, Tour or Day Trip

Booking onto a walking tour, cooking class, hike or day trip is a great way to meet and get chatting to new people. Many hostels will make it easy for you by running their own tours, but you can also check Get Your Guide for local experiences.

As in most situations, it’s luck of the draw if you’ll meet people you really click with, but either way you’ll be able to chat to someone else for an hour or two – something that does wonders for beating the loneliness than can sometimes set in whilst travelling solo.

Choose A Popular Route or Destination

The popular backpacking routes are popular for a reason, and I highly recommend choosing one of them if you’re solo travelling, especially if it’s your first time. There is comfort in other backpackers being around, both from a safety perspective and the opportunity to make friends.

The Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam route is South East Asia’s well trodden 3 month route on which you will bump into the same people all the time in different cities and countries. Latin America has the same running each way from one end to the other, as is the East Coast of Australia.

Activities That Make It Easy To Meet People While Travelling

Diving

Getting a PADI Open Water diving licence is something on many people’s bucket list when they go backpacking, and the great news is that diving is not only one of the most magical experiences, it’s also one of the best ways to make friends whilst travelling.

If you’re completely new to diving, you’ll have three days with other students whilst you study and learn all about scuba, followed by the inevitable night out once you’ve completed the course. If you’re a qualified diver, you’ll already know how easy it is to get to know other people on your dive trips, and there is more often than not someone who wants to grab a sunset beer after a day of diving.

The diving community is very social and booking onto a day of diving can be a brilliant way to meet people. If in any doubt, talk about your obvious shared interest!

Surfing

Taking some surf classes are a great way to get know other people whether you’re a beginner or more intermediate. If you have enough experience to head out to catch some waves by yourself you’ll easily meet other surfers in this chilled, laid back community.

If you’re interested in trying out surfing, there are fantastic surf beaches in Sri Lanka, Mexico and across Central America in countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Yoga

Whilst yoga classes tend to be a quiet, calm time, before and after class is a good way to get chatting to other people with the same shared interest. If you really love yoga you may want to do your yoga teacher training: a popular way to spend a couple of months whilst travelling and meet other likeminded people. India is a popular place to do your training, but you can find yoga classes across most backpacker routes very easily.  

Best Apps To Meet People While Travelling

Whilst I believe that picking the right hostel is the best way to meet people while travelling solo, there are a couple of apps that can help you get to know people before you’ve even arrived in a place.

Hostelworld App

The Hostelworld app isn’t just for searching and booking accommodation. There is a great meet up section where you can connect with other travellers booked into the same city as you. Solo travellers especially often use this to find other backpackers who want to meet up for a drink, grab a bite to eat, see a local sports game or even hire a car and do a bit of a road trip together.

You can change the settings on your Hostelworld profile to see who else is staying at the hostel you’ve booked into in advance. This great to see if there are any familiar faces from somewhere else in your travels you can arrange to meet up with, and you can choose a ‘wants to hang out’ badge so people know you’re open to being approached. You can also see the age range of people booked in to stay at the same hostel, which can be really helpful as a backpacker in your 30s – if everyone is 18, the hostel is maybe more of a party hostel than you expected, and you may want to change accommodation unless you’re up for a rowdy one.

Bumble For Friends

The popular dating app evolved with a friend version which can be great to use whilst travelling! The benefit of Bumble is you’ll capture locals rather than only other backpackers with the Hostelworld app, giving you the option to make friends native to the country you’re travelling in, get a real insight for the place through local eyes and the chance to practice the language.

How To Make Friends While Travelling Solo If You’re Shy

The great thing about backpacking is it forces you to get out of your comfort zone – especially true if you’re travelling solo, and even more so if you’re a shy person. This can be scary at first but the confidence it gives you, the people skills you build, the resilience – these are all excellent skills for life.

Chances are more often that not you’ll find that an extrovert like myself will strike up conversation with you and practically force you to become their friend, but if you’re feeling stuck when it comes to meeting people, joining the activities and events that hostels plan like walking tours and quiz nights are one of the easiest, low pressure ways to meet new people.

Common Mistakes That Make It Harder To Meet People Whilst Travelling

Always Choosing Hotels Over Hostels

Staying in hostels is often one of the biggest concern of people in their 30s swapping their career for the backpacker life, and it does take some adjusting to at first. But staying in hostels is by far the easiest way to meet people, especially when you are solo travelling.

Staying in hostels doesn’t have to mean sharing a room with 20 other people, dealing with gross bathrooms or noise until 2am. There are hostels for everyone now; it’s just about choosing the right one. The added bonus of staying in dorms means you’ll save money; private rooms can add up a lot if you’re travelling solo. That said, many hostels have private rooms as an option, so if you’re really craving your own space, consider booking a private room in a hostel instead of a hotel in order to benefit from the social aspect hostels are known for.

Not Putting Yourself Out There

Sometimes you do just have to force yourself to get out of your comfort zone and get involved in a hostel event, sign up for an activity, or strike up conversation with someone when you don’t necessarily feel like it.

I’m an extrovert but I like my own company a lot, so I can go a few days by myself without too much issue. After a few days I may start to feel a bit down or lonely, but the more I feel like that the less I want to put myself out there and make an effort with people. As soon as I do force myself to talk to people and have a nice chat, I come away feeling entirely rejuvenated and so much happier for having done so. Fake it until you make it!

Final Thoughts: Backpacking Is A Community

Backpacking is a community, and in my experience the vast majority of backpackers are kind, look out for each other and ultimately – everyone is in the same boat and wants to make friends. Once you’ve settled into the first week or two of travelling you’ll realise how easy it is to get chatting to people, especially in a hostel. Before long you may end up finding you don’t actually get any time by yourself at all and end up craving a some solo time!

You may find that the friendships you make whilst on the road stick around for much longer than you’d expected, extending across continents and time zones long after you parted ways. These ones are special. The chances of you being in the same place at the same time? Catching the same bus, being put in the same dorm room or choosing the same diving course and striking up a friendship that lasts long after you’ve returned from backpacking is one of the great joys of travelling.

FAQs: How To Make Friends While Travelling Solo

What Is The Easiest Way To Meet People While Travelling Solo?

Hostels are the easiest way to make friends while backpacking. You can quite easily get chatting in dorms, kitchens, other shared spaces and if none of that works, lots of hostels run events and activities that make it easy to break the ice with other travellers.

How Can I Meet People If I’m Not Staying In Hostels?

If you’re having a break from hostels, signing up to walking tours day trips and activities like surfing and diving are all good ways to meet people without being in a dorm room.

What Are The Best Apps To Meet Travellers?

The Hostelworld app is more than just a tool to find your next accommodation – there are features that backpackers can use to link up and connect prior to getting to your next destination. Bumble For Friends is also a great option and will open the door to meeting locals, not just other backpackers.

How Do Introverts Make Friends While Travelling?

Take advantage of hostel activities and events; volunteers working at the hostel will help you break the ice and get to know other people. Sometimes you need to force yourself out of your comfort zone, but it will become easier the more you do it, and the fail safe backpacker line of questioning of asking where people are from and where they are going will rescue you from panic.

Pin For Later: