One of the finest ways to improve your experiences and get to know yourself is to travel alone. However, except for the experiences on your own you probably also want people to hang out with every now and then. This thought can be quite intimidating and can make you anxious. That is why we want to give you a few tips on how to meet people while traveling in a non awkward way :). Whether you are traveling for a short vacation or a longer period, here are some ways to meet other people.
Hostels can be a good asset for social meet ups. Rooming up with strangers can break social borders you would normally have and make contacting a lot easier. But not everyone is comfortable sleeping with strangers. However, you can still stay in a hostel and choose a singular room. Because except for socialising with your roommates, hostels have communal spaces where it is easy to contact other travellers. Apart from this most hostels also arrange events like pub quizzes. This way you have a big chance at meeting other single travellers.
Even though most of us probably like to put on headphones, watch series or read a book during those long train or bus rides, it can also be the perfect place to meet new people. You will likely be going to the same place, which is an easy subject to start the conversation with. From this point you can ask them to do something together later on as you will probably both be new to the place you are going.
This is especially for people that are traveling for a longer period of time and have the time to work or volunteer somewhere for a while. Wou will notice that while working together, it is much easier to get in contact with the other workers and socialise with them. It is easier to build a connection with people that you have already spent some time with. It can give you friends for a lifetime.
With the digital world we live in now, there are so many possibilities to connect with people online. Some of these are Facebook groups or posting a video on TikTok about your travel plans. But there are also apps built especially for meeting people while traveling. Some examples are: Backpackr, Tourlina and Meetup. Besides this there are people that use dating apps to find a fun person to have dinner with or possibly a holiday romance. But exercise caution and take safety measures with all of these.
Walking tours are most of the time offered in cities and can also be free of charge a lot of the time. This is a great way to meet people while taking the tour. The group mostly differs a lot between age, which makes sure that there are a lot of different people to meet. When the group is small the tour guide will probably ask everyone to introduce themselves, which makes it easier to start conversations during the walk.
Not everyone is a fan of nightlife but it can be an easy way to get in contact with people. You can go to a pub crawl or a boat party for example. People in nightlife are just generally more open for conversations and meeting new people, so take advantage of this. For example, the boat parties in Split will take you to a bar first where you can talk with new people and after that party together on the boat.
And lastly, say yes. Say yes to more things than you would normally do in your regular life. If someone from your hostel asks you to come to a party tonight, try to not stress it and just say yes. The familiar can be very comforting and easy but traveling is a time to not only cross country borders but also cross your own borders and try new things! 🙂
Find out more about travelling and Croatia on our blog!
