You know, I think the most important benefit about traveling is not the city or country that is discovered, but the friends with whom you share these moments. These are the people around us that make the experience better or sometimes worse. But what if you travel alone?
Of course, the obvious answer is to make friends
The problem is that for many people it is very difficult to make friends only once on the road, and out of their little comfort zone. The trips have taught me to become much more open and sociable in everyday life and to go towards other people. I got through it meet lots of great people and live totally unexpected. Some of these meetings were even transformed into lasting friendships. Today I would like to give you some tips on how to meet people and make friends when traveling alone. I will list you specifically a couple of lessons I’ve learned during my travels.
- Forget all your preconceived ideas
This is the best advice I can give you. Many people start with countless false reasons by which they could not do certain things. They feel too old (or too young, too timid, etc.) to try and do this or that. I have often heard this phrase: “I’ll never go to a hostel because it’s filled with teenagers”. Many of the tips I am about to enumerate here appear also perhaps for the younger of you but I’m used to making friends from 18 to 70 years! So do not put a barrier of this type in your friendships. You can always learn something from everyone you meet, whatever their age is.
- Stay in a hostel
When traveling alone, hostels are undoubtedly the best place to meet people. I can assure you they are filled with people of very different ages. You always fall naturally on the cliché of the young fighter in full world tour . But you will also come across families who choose to go traveling on a budget. The little secret to remember about hostels is that they often offer single rooms. This way you are staying as in the hotel while enjoying the benefits of living in the community clean hostels. Now, we must also learn a little upstream before booking. I remember during my trip to Dublin I was going through the Hostel Bookers website to see what people thought of a particular place. The one that had received the best critics was in a place I never knew and whose atmosphere was really great. Generally, you will find very detailed reviews and true to life.
- Use your favorite hobby to meet people
A site like MeetUp can be a very good tool. You will find many groups formed around a single passion, a sport or other activity. So if you’re a fan of trekking you can easily find a local group for the practice. One of the fastest ways to meet new people is to share the same passion.