After being a couch potato during the pandemic, everyone is planning their vacation to exotic locales. To breathe some fresh air, soothe the vision, and fulfill the needs of the vagabond within. While many countries have opened their gates to foreign tourists, some have kept the travel restrictions on. So, before you book the flight tickets, make sure you are allowed to travel to that country, as it is highly dependent on the country of your residence. Also, you won’t need a companion if you are traveling with your family. But what if you are all alone and wish to find travel buddies?
Well, here is your solution. You may find many online routes and offline routes to find travel buddies. Additionally, you may also have to take some precautionary measures while traveling with unknown people.
Let’s go step by step and look into the details of every travel aspect to find travel buddies.
The Online Route
1. Intrepid Travel
It is an Australian-based tour company that deals in group-adventure travel. They have various travel groups that include women solo travelers, solo travelers, and senior citizens groups as well.
The groups are already formed; all you have to do is register and join. Yippee! It’s that easy. Also, before you travel with them, you can look for the reviews online and see if you can find like-minded people.
2. Tourlina App
This app is solely developed for women. If you are a solo woman traveler, then you can join several other solo women travelers through this app. It is easy to find other women with similar interests related to travel locations.
Many women in their 20s and 30s love traveling cross-continent to enjoy the festival seasons. If you love enjoying different cultures across the globe, then you must team up with such women through this app.
3. Flip The Trip
It’s one of the most useful apps to find travel buddies. You need to register and log in to see who is traveling when and where. For instance, if you are traveling to Amsterdam, then you only need to mention the day, time, and location to discover who else is traveling to Amsterdam that same day.
That way, you can connect with other travelers on the journey and travel with them if you want to. There are other similar apps as well, namely, Travel Pal, Backpackr, and Solo Traveller. But I prefer using Flip The Trip to enjoy with a diverse crowd.
4. Couchsurfing
It is one of the oldest and reliable travel apps and to find travel buddies. Ideally, it is used to seek accommodation and to connect with the locals. Many women also prefer using this app as it helps to connect only with trustworthy locals.
Many people avoid registering with this app because it charges a membership fee. But I believe that’s for your safety as they get the users’ information verified. The app charges a nominal fee to add a layer of security.
5. GAFFL (Get a Friend for Life)
After Couchsurfing, GAFFL is the most preferred app by solo travelers. It’s a similar platform to Intrepid, which helps you to connect with other travelers. You can create a group and invite others to join the trip.
It’s the easiest way to share travel expenses and accommodations. You can enjoy the trip with new people and plan trips again with a similar group in the future. Hitchhikers, mountaineers, and solo women travelers love using this app. They look at it as the best source to find travel buddies.
The Offline Route
6. Talk to the Visitors in Museums or Exhibitions and Photographers
It may sound weird to you, but you will find many travel enthusiasts if you visit museums or exhibitions. Those who visit different countries to explore cultural diversity are the most open-minded and warm people.
They love talking about their expeditions and excursions to remote locations. So, it is unlikely that you won’t find people who enjoy traveling with unknown people. All you need to do is greet them, speak to them in their native language if you can.
Interact with them about your travel plans and short vacations. I believe it is one of the best tips to find travel buddies.
7. The Airport Lounge
I have found many solo travelers interacting with other fellow travelers and getting along in an instance at the waiting lounge. That’s because it is easy to spot frequent travelers. They hardly have any luggage. All they carry is a rucksack, a camera with a tripod, and a cell phone.
It is easy to start a conversation with backpackers while waiting to board a flight. What do you do at the airport waiting area? Sit, watch videos on paid Wi-Fi, or read a book, that’s it, right? Then why not strike up a conversation with fellow travelers? Spot the hippies or nomads and get them talking. That’s how you find travel buddies.
8. Use Local Transport or Join Group Tours
First and foremost, when you use local transport- a bus, a ferry, or a train, you will have many opportunities to talk to the locals. Also, some travelers prefer using a local bus to learn more about the location they are visiting. Secondly, you save money as well.
Other than using local transport services, you can also learn about group tours from the locals themselves. They can guide you on which places you must visit and how you can reach there. The locals also help in introducing you to the other travelers.
If you successfully manage to impress the travelers, you get to join their group as well. Once you get friendly with them, you can ask them if they would like to be your travel buddies.
9. Join Private Parties/ Night Parties in Hostels or Dorms
One of the effortless jobs to find travel buddies is to stay in a hostel or dorm. You will see many travelers booking the hostels in advance for straight three or six months. That’s because hostels and dorms are cheap and you also get to work there.
So, you also get to earn some money while you travel. A majority of the locations do not allow tourists to work. So, before you take up any job, make sure you have a valid visa. Also, when you stay in hostels and dorms, you get invited to private pool parties. There you can find many travel enthusiasts. Befriend them, and ask them to be your travel buddies.
10. Pick Up a Volunteering Job
Have you heard of Worldpackers and Workaway? They are the best platforms to pick up a volunteering job anywhere abroad. You can choose your work from multiple programs and join it to be a part of other travelers and local people.
Visit their websites and check the reviews before applying for any job. I believe this is another unique way to find travel friends.
Now, to answer your question about whether it is safe to travel with strangers- the answer is NO. It is never safe because you never know how the strangers will turn out, friendly, unfriendly, or misleading. But yes, you can follow some precautionary measures when you are traveling with unknown people.
Let’s check out the precautions you should be taking while traveling with strangers.
Once you find travel buddies do not share any personal information
It is obvious that you shouldn’t be sharing any personal details with strangers. But there are other things as well that you shouldn’t be sharing. For instance, if you find some travel buddies pretentious or having ulterior motives, then you should try to maintain a safe distance from them.
Do not give away any further travel details. Like where you are going to stay, how long you’ll be in the city, who else will be joining you, etc. Also, if you are a travel blogger or vlogger, do not promise any joint work with them. Avoid sharing your ideas as well.
Do not let them (strangers) handle your phone
It may happen that you would be keen to take some quick pictures, but since you would be busy carrying a camera, you may hand over your phone to strangers; to get some lovely clicks. But beware, some strangers can misuse your phone or transfer your data discreetly.
You can watch many such theft videos on YouTube, where a fellow traveler uses other traveler’s credit card details to pay bills just by using a cell phone. It’s rare, but people do take advantage of your friendly behavior. So, just be alert and careful.
Find travel buddies but do not accept to take care of their (fellow traveler’s) belongings in their absence
It’s a cruel world, and you cannot trust someone immediately. Or rather, you should never lay your trust in someone you just met. People these days are involved in illegal activities. They may be carrying illicit products that can put you in trouble.
Nobody discloses what they carry in their luggage. And some people are chirpy & have an over-friendly nature that may trick you into trusting them in no time. But avoid falling to their kind words and do not say yes to take care of their bags. Make some excuses and get away from them.
Be friendly and polite but do not eat anything your fellow travelers offer
In many cases, your gut will give the signs. That you shouldn’t be accepting any meal offers from your fellow travelers. If you are going with your travel buddy to a restaurant, then that’s fine. Hanging out in the open and consuming snacks in public is okay. But avoid going to their rooms to eat.
Just make sure you do all the fun activities in public. Let the other people also be around. Eventually, it’s your call; you can take your decision. If you find the travel buddies friendly and trustworthy enough, then go ahead and eat with them. But make sure you have emergency contact numbers handy.
Do not share your room or bed after the first meeting right away
This tip is especially for boys. They often get tempted to travel with solo female travelers. Many times, boys offer to share the rooms with female travelers. But that may land you in the soup if you share the space with some tricksters.
Never trust anyone blindly. Also, even women fall prey to conniving men. So, before you jump to any conclusion about whether to help or not, give some time to know your travel buddies well.
Conclusion
Traveling will make you independent. It will give you the opportunity to meet new people and explore places. Solo traveling is fun and soul-soothing. However, if you need a company, you may want to follow the above steps and precautions mentioned in this post.
Seek assistance from other frequent travelers and vagabonds. You will get insight into how to deal with strangers and befriend them. Life is all about taking risks and without that you won’t find fun. So set yourself free and travel to find more travel buddies.
