When solo travelling, it can be hard sometimes to find the right people for you or to find friends in general.
At times, you might feel a bit lonely, and that’s what you have to learn to be okay with, but it is great to have some people around you that it is fun spending time with.
These are some ways you can meet people and make friends on your travels

1. join backpacker Facebook groups

In Australia, there are backpacker groups for every region that get used a fair bit.
You can post that you are looking for friends in the area, or ask if someone wants to join your plans of visiting a place.
A lot of friends I have also made through my road trips.
I searched for people for road trips on Facebook and went together with some and made good friends through that.
Both of the times I shared an Airbnb with those people in the city after our road trip, as they stayed in the area for a few more days as well.
It is always a leap in the dark, as you wouldn’t see the people beforehand, but most of them are solo travellers too and are looking for people to connect with.

2. use dating sites

That might not seem like the best place to look for friends, but it’s my favourite and it is the easiest option.
On bumble you can not only find dates, but there is also a feature called bumble BFF on the app, where you can find people of your sex in the area to meet up with.
I use both of the features, for dates and for friends, and I had a great time with everybody I’ve met on there.
A lot of the people are also travellers and are looking for friends, so you can chat with people and find out what they are looking for.
Oftentimes I don’t end up meeting them, but some of the people I have, turned into really good friends and were making my travels much more exciting.

3. go to events in your city

In some cities you might find free concerts, markets or I for example went to a beach volleyball meet up where there were a lot of other young backpacker and locals.
You will have to go up to people and start conversations, but it is easier than you might think to just talk to strangers at events.
They are also there to have fun and possibly meet new people.
I usually like to go up to people that are also on their own, but it is also great to join groups.

4. stay in hostels

At hostels, you can stay in shared bedrooms and oftentimes the people are also fairly young and solo travellers and want to meet people as well.
I just always find it hard talking to people at hostels, because everybody is doing their own thing.
That is why I like hostels that engage in social interactions, that have game or movie nights.
It is easier to meet people there, but if you don’t have a problem with going up to people and talking to them, you will have many opportunities in hostels to make friends.

5. talk to people your age

If it is on an aeroplane, a bus or in nightclubs.
You can make friends everywhere when you just engage in a conversation with strangers.
You can exchange contacts and meet up again at a later stage.
I made friends with my seat neighbour on a plane, and we were around the same age and met up again.
I have made friends at nightclubs when I went there with other friends, and they introduced me to their friends, or we met new people together.
Young people are often open to meet new people, so start a conversation, and you could make a new good friend.
Even if they are not your age, it is interesting to get to know people and hear their stories.

6. sign up for a class

I took some group surfing lessons during my Au pair and there were always people my age that often were travellers too.
You could do any other class though and can talk about that.
It might be something both of you enjoy doing, and you might be able to do some more lessons together.
It sounds awesome to have a friend that shares the same hobby with you, and you can do it together.

I am happy I started off in a place for a longer time during my Au pair and was able to make so many good friends, but also now, that I am travelling from place to place I met a lot of wonderful people.
I like spending time with just any new person, getting to know them and doing a nice activity together, so I am not alone every day.

My favourite thing about getting to know new people is that you can learn so much new from everyone.
Everyone is good at something else and might be able to tell you about new things, and the amount of interesting and helpful things I have learned on my travels is nothing compared to what I learned at home.
Those are life lessons, that can help you in your further life.
So go out there and meet new people!
It is so exciting!