TOP TIPS FOR MEETING PEOPLE WHILE TRAVELING SOLO
How can you improve your experience by meeting people while traveling solo?
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Meeting people while traveling solo may seem daunting, but it can greatly add to your experience of a new place. Exploring alone has many benefits, but on trips of more than three or four days, it can start feeling lonely.
By meeting fellow travelers, you see a place through others’ eyes and learn from their experiences. You may also make friends or have lasting connections.
After enjoying traveling alone for the past couple of years, here are my top tips for meeting people while traveling solo.
Sign Up for a Class
Traveling to new places opens our minds to learning through our experiences. Take this a step further by signing up for a class with a local. You can advance a skill you already have or try something completely new or out of your comfort zone. Just as when we attended school, bonds form easily between people learning together. Conversations then easily flow to where we live and where we are traveling.
The internet offers a wide range of options for finding classes at your destination. Sites that combine travel options, such as Airbnb, Viator, and Get Your Guide, list many choices for various travel destinations. Browser searches for keywords of the type of class and location also lead you to direct websites to book a class.
Language Class
If you plan to revisit a country multiple times, a language class has the double benefit of helping you converse with the local people and meet people that you can spend time with on subsequent visits.
I love visiting Portugal and have been trying to learn Portuguese. I spent three weeks in Lisbon in 2024 and took a language class at Portuguese Connection for two of the weeks. The classes met for four hours Monday through Friday and included eight to ten students ranging from teenagers to seniors. Some lived in Lisbon or were planning to move there, and others visited repeatedly.
As we struggled with pronunciation and comprehension, a camaraderie developed and we laughed often. One of the teachers organized a group event for all the classes once a week to show us parts of the city and practice speaking Portuguese. Each of the students came from different places and had interesting stories about their journeys.
Four of us met up at a game café and spent a very enjoyable evening trying a couple of board games.
Another solo traveler joined me on explorations of the city, and we have become good friends. I contacted other students when I returned to Lisbon and met others through them.
Classes Around Hobbies
Before traveling to Lisbon, I did a Google search for Taiko classes, a type of Japanese drumming that I have been practicing for over ten years. I reached out to the teacher of a local group, and she welcomed me enthusiastically. The class was very fun, and I joined the group for dinner afterwards.
Even though I don’t cook or bake much, when visiting Porto, I sought out a lesson on how to make the Portuguese specialty, pastel de nata. While I haven’t tried to make them at home, this inspired a new appreciation of this incredible pastry.
Many places also have opportunities to learn a new sport or improve your skills, such as skiing and boating. While staying near the beach in Tamarindo, Costa Rica, I watched many instructors spend the morning coaching tourists on how to surf.
Book a Small Group Tour
Booking a small-group tour allows you to explore an area by leveraging your guide’s knowledge and experience. You find special spots and get recommendations for dining and shopping while meeting other travelers.
A tour with 6-8 people is ideal for chatting with your tour-mates and guide. They will be a bit more expensive than large bus groups, but a better experience when traveling solo.
You can find these at tour companies such as The Tour Guy, Get Your Guide, and Viator, or by searching the internet for “small group tours (your destination)”. In many places, you can also find free walking tours in which you tip the guide after the tour. However, these are typically large-group tours and less personal.
I enjoyed a tour in Lisbon with The Tour Guy which included walking through the neighborhoods, riding a boat on the Tagus River to Belem, and then flying above the city in a helicopter. I chatted with the other six participants as we walked, and we shared our fear of going up in the helicopter.
A tour from Lisbon, with Get Your Guide, traveled by van to do wine tasting and visit some scenic sights south of the city. Of the six women on the tour, four of us were solo travelers, and we chatted throughout the day and over lunch in Setubal on the coast.
Recently, I chose tours that involved boarding large buses in Amsterdam, Tuscany, and Sintra, Portugal. I enjoyed the activities but didn’t converse with other participants beyond some pleasantries.
Tour the Resort
Generally, I prefer to stay in neighborhoods, renting an apartment or booking a boutique hotel. In some places, however, I choose a resort with beautiful grounds, restaurants, and other amenities. Spending a few days at a resort can provide opportunities to meet other guests.
While visiting Tamarindo, on Costa Rica’s west coast, I stayed at a resort next to the beach with two pools. While lounging at the pool bar enjoying a drink, I easily fell into conversation with others doing the same.
Signing up for a class or tour at the resort provides an excellent way to chat with other guests. At the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel Hacienda Belen in San Jose, I attended a tour of the historic building which included a great deal of information about local culture. One of the other participants spends the winter in Scottsdale, where I live, and we met for lunch here the next time she was in town.
Visit Game Cafés
If you enjoy board games, a game café provides a perfect place to meet people, both locals and travelers. You can go by yourself or invite someone that you met in a class or on a tour.
A fellow student at the Portuguese language school I attended invited a few others to Defuse in Lisbon. Four of us joined a table with a couple who had recently moved to the city and played Ticket to Ride. We shared stories of where we lived and what sparked our interest in Portugal. We then played a lively card game that invoked much laughter. This was easily one of my most enjoyable evenings traveling.
Strike up a Conversation at a Restaurant or Park
When dining out in a new place, sit at the bar or a shared table and ask for a recommendation of what to eat or what to do in town. Locals can give you great insight into the regional specialties, and other travelers usually love to share their experiences.
While at dinner in Évora, Portugal, a gentleman from England at the table next to me asked the waiter about one of the dishes. I had ordered the same meal and spoke up that it tasted wonderful. This led to a conversation about wine and then our travels.
Strolling or sitting on a park bench or at a tourist destination can also lead to a conversation. In Lisbon, many street musicians set up in green spaces. When you are traveling solo, you can hang out as long as you want to enjoy the music. If another listener has left room on their bench, ask if you can join them. This can lead to a few comments about the music or the weather, or turn into a conversation.
Join a Facebook Group
To find other travelers before your trip, search Facebook or other social media sites for groups focused on your age group or interests. Look based on the country or region to which you want to journey or the specific travel activities you want to do. Follow the group for a few months to determine if the members truly share your interests and seem safe. You can then create a post to find people with whom you can try to meet.
When I planned to be in Lisbon for three weeks, I posted my dates in a Facebook group for solo female travelers over 50. One woman planned to be there for the first week of my trip. We arranged to meet for lunch at an outdoor restaurant in the city’s tourist area on the day after I arrived. We greatly enjoyed our meal together and set up a few more shared activities over the next few days. It turned out she lives about 20 miles from my home, and we have met up periodically since then.
Trade Social Media to Stay in Touch
Although social media often gets a bad rap, I have found it valuable for staying in touch with people I have met while traveling who live all over the world. My main medium for this is Instagram, which lets you stay in contact without much effort. If we had an interesting conversation when we met, we likely enjoy viewing each other’s posts.
While talking with someone with whom I feel a connection, I look up the other person’s Instagram profile and follow them instantly. You can always unfollow or block this person in the future if it turns out that you don’t like what they post or they pursue more contact than you wish.
Because the woman I met in Costa Rica on a tour followed my IG feed, she saw that I was performing with my taiko group in Phoenix while she was visiting. She stopped by to chat, and we arranged to meet for lunch. We talked nonstop for over an hour and plan to meet again when she returns.
Conclusion
Exploring a new area on your own offers a wonderful experience to pursue your interests and go at your own pace. One way to learn more about a location and enjoy your time more is by meeting people while traveling solo. These encounters can range from a few sentences of connection to long-lasting friendships. This takes a little planning, but it is well worth your time and effort.
