How to Meet People While Traveling: The Introvert's and Extrovert's Guide

Solo travel is one of the most liberating things you can do — but eating dinner alone every night gets old fast. The people you meet abroad often become the best part of the story. Former strangers become lifelong friends, travel partners, and the reason you end up extending your trip by a week.

Here's how to actually meet people while traveling, whether you're an introvert who'd rather read on the bus or an extrovert who's already talking to everyone at the airport.

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Why Meeting People Is Easier Than You Think

Most solo travelers assume everyone else is traveling in groups. They're not. A huge percentage of people on the road are flying solo — especially in hostels, on free walking tours, and at coworking spaces. Everyone's looking for connection; the trick is simply showing up in the right places.

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1. Stay in Social Hostels (The Single Best Move)

Nothing accelerates friendships faster than a good hostel. The right hostel isn't just a cheap bed — it's a built-in social scene.

What to look for:

• Communal kitchen and dining area
• Bar or rooftop chill zone
• Hosted events (pub crawls, city tours, cooking nights)
• Mixed dorms of 6–10 beds (smaller dorms = more intimate)

Top social hostel brands worldwide:

Brand	Best For	Avg Price/Night
Generator	Euro city-hopping	$25–$45
The Social Hub	Digital nomads + social scene	$35–$65
Selina	Co-working + community	$30–$60
Tribal Hostels	Southeast Asia	$10–$20
Naked Tiger	Party + backpacker	$15–$25

The breakfast move: Sit at a communal table instead of taking a corner seat. A simple "Where are you headed next?" opens almost any conversation.

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2. Join a Free Walking Tour

Free walking tours are one of the best networking events disguised as tourism. You walk with 10–30 strangers for 2–3 hours, hear the same stories, laugh at the same things, and naturally split off to grab lunch together afterward.

How they work: Tours are free upfront; you tip the guide at the end (€5–15 is standard). Find them on:

• Freetour.com
• SANDEMANs New Europe
• Hostel boards and city tourist offices

The pro move: after the tour ends, ask "Is anyone going for food?" At least three people will say yes.

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3. Use Apps Designed for Traveler Connection

Several apps exist specifically for this:

Meetup.com — Not just for locals. Search any city and you'll find language exchanges, hiking groups, board game nights, and photography walks. Meetup events in big cities can have 20–50 attendees.

Couchsurfing Hangouts — Even if you're not couchsurfing for accommodation, the Hangouts feature lets you post or browse casual meetups ("anyone up for exploring the old town?"). Free to use.

Bumble BFF — Better known for dating, but the BFF mode is genuinely used by travelers and expats. Switch to BFF mode and match with people in the city you're visiting.

Tourlina — Specifically for solo female travelers, matches you with other women for activities or companionship.

Fairytrail — Designed for finding travel companions, friends, and partners who share your travel plans.

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4. Book Group Activities and Day Trips

Group tours force social interaction. You're in a minivan for 3 hours with 6 strangers — something's going to happen.

Best group activities for meeting people:

• Cooking classes (Airbnb Experiences, local schools)
• Surf lessons — 1.5-hour lessons in Bali cost $15–25 and you'll laugh together trying to stand up
• Wine tours in Tuscany, Mendoza, or the Douro Valley
• Kayaking and multi-day hiking trips
• Boat day trips (Halong Bay, Greek island hopping, Thai islands)

Airbnb Experiences specifically attracts solo travelers and tends to cap groups at 10–12 people, making it more intimate than bus tours.

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5. Eat at Communal Tables

Seek out restaurants with long communal tables — they're becoming standard at trendy casual spots, food halls, and tavernas. The setup forces you to sit next to a stranger.

Places where this works particularly well:

• Night markets (Bangkok's Chatuchak, Taipei's Shilin, Marrakech's Jemaa el-Fna)
• Izakayas in Japan — the counter seat culture practically demands conversation with your neighbor
• Beer halls in Munich — sharing a bench is mandatory, sharing a liter is implied
• Food halls in London, NYC, and Melbourne

Ordering something unusual often triggers conversation — "What's that?" is a universal icebreaker.

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6. Take Classes and Workshops

Language classes, pottery workshops, salsa lessons, meditation retreats — any skill-based activity with ongoing sessions creates natural bonds. You see the same people repeatedly, share the awkwardness of being a beginner, and conversation flows from the shared experience.

Ideas by destination:

Destination	Workshop Idea	Cost
Oaxaca, Mexico	Mezcal tasting + production tour	$25–40
Chiang Mai, Thailand	Muay Thai training camp	$15–30/day
Bali, Indonesia	Balinese cooking class	$30–45
Barcelona, Spain	Flamenco dance intro lesson	$20–35
Tokyo, Japan	Ramen or sushi making class	$50–80
Medellín, Colombia	Salsa dancing class	$10–20

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7. Co-Working Spaces for Digital Nomads

If you work remotely or have a few hours to kill with a laptop, co-working spaces are goldmines. The social dynamic is relaxed — everyone's heads-down but open to a lunch break, a coffee, or a "what are you working on?"

Networks with locations worldwide:

• Selina CoWork — Built into Selina hostels, you can buy day passes (~$15–25) even if you're not staying
• WeWork — Day passes available in most major cities ($30–50)
• Outsite — Community-focused, mix of accommodation + co-work
• Nomad List Slack — The community has city-specific channels where members organize in-person meetups

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8. Language Exchange Meetups

Conversation exchange events are win-win: you speak English with someone who wants to practice, they speak Spanish (or Thai, or Italian) with you. These happen in cafés, bars, and community centers in almost every city.

Find them via:

• Tandem — language exchange app with local meetup feature
• Conversation Exchange
• Meetup.com "language exchange" search
• Flyers at universities and language schools

In cities with large expat communities (Chiang Mai, Lisbon, Medellín, Berlin), these meetups can have 30–50 people and happen weekly.

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9. The Introvert's Playbook

If crowds and small talk drain you, you don't need to force it. Here's what works for introverts:

Go smaller: A 4-bed dorm feels more manageable than a 20-bed party dorm. Book a smaller hostel — 30 beds total beats 300.

Use "structured" activities: Cooking classes, walking tours, and day trips do the social work for you. You don't have to initiate; the activity creates a natural script.

The quiet corner trick: At a hostel common room, find a comfortable spot and simply be present. You don't need to perform. People will come to you. Bring a book or a laptop, look approachable (no headphones), and let conversations come organically.

Travel slower: Spending 7–10 days somewhere instead of 2–3 means you'll see the same people at the hostel breakfast twice, run into folks from your walking tour again, become a regular at the corner café. Familiarity builds naturally without forced socializing.

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10. Use Faroway to Plan a Social-First Trip

The destination you choose shapes how easy meeting people will be. Some cities are notorious for solo travel communities — Chiang Mai, Medellín, Lisbon, and Bali all have massive nomad and backpacker scenes. Others are notoriously hard to crack socially.

Faroway builds personalized itineraries that can factor in your travel style — including solo-friendly activities, recommended social hostels, and co-working destinations. If you tell Faroway you're traveling solo and want to meet people, it'll point you toward the areas, activities, and accommodations that make that happen, rather than just filling your schedule with monuments.

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Quick Reference: Where to Meet People by Situation

Situation	Best Option
First night in a new city	Free walking tour
Want to meet locals	Couchsurfing Hangouts, language exchange
Working remotely	Co-working space, Selina
Activity-based	Airbnb Experience, cooking class
Late night social	Hostel bar/rooftop event
Introverted	Small hostel, slow travel, café regulars
Budget tight	Meetup.com free events

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The One Rule That Covers Everything

Say yes more than you normally would. Accept the invite to the rooftop party you're too tired for. Agree to that day trip when you'd originally planned to sleep in. Sit at the communal table instead of ordering room service.

The best travel stories — and the people you actually remember — almost always come from the unplanned moments when you said yes.

Plan your next solo adventure with Faroway and let it handle the logistics while you focus on the people.