I used to think traveling alone was all about being alone. I actually thought I did my first solo trip all wrong because, well, I kept making friends! I now know that making friends when traveling alone is a fun perk of solo trips.

Both accidentally and intentionally, I’ve mastered the art after taking solo trips all around the world. So if you’re wondering how to make friends while traveling solo then you’re in the right place, because I’m sharing the surefire ways to do just that.

No matter your level of confidence when it comes to meeting new people, you’ll find an approach in this list that works for your comfort level. Meeting new people when traveling alone is part being in the right place, and part putting yourself out there. Read on for how to do both effectively.

Want the video version of this post instead? Here it is:

How to Make Friends While Traveling Solo

This isn’t just a list of random ideas. These are the real-life ways I’ve met people on my own solo travels:

1. Book shared accommodations

While hostels are the first thought when it comes to shared accommodations, there are other options as well. Here are ideas and key considerations:

Hostels

In my 20s, I frequently stayed in hostels. It was a fun and easy way to meet people. At the time, I found bunking in a room full of a dozen or so fellow travelers exhilarating. Sharing a tiny bathroom wasn’t ideal, but worth it anyway.

Not every hostel is the same, though. You can also find options that offer female-only dorms, rooms of maximum 4-6 people and even private rooms within hostels.

In addition to meeting people in your sleeping room, most hostels organize tours, classes, communal meals or some other way to encourage socialization.

Read reviews carefully and look for hostels that have some sort of a bar or cafeteria onsite, which offers another opportunity for meeting people. I always used hostelworld to research and book hostels.

Room with a local

Once upon a time, I used couchsurfing to stay with locals for free. While I did have some good experiences I also had some iffy ones. This was a decade ago, and I no longer recommend solo female travelers especially to go this route.

Instead, consider booking a room on Airbnb that allows you to stay with a local. The difference is that you’ll have access to Airbnb customer service if needed.

Paying for a room also adds a certain level of formality and professionalism to the exchange that gets lost with something like couchsurfing.

But, this doesn’t have to come at the expense of connection. I booked a room in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica to stay with a local woman (yes, I do prefer and recommend staying with women if you are one for added safety).

Before booking, read reviews carefully to understand whether the accommodations and host are a good fit for you.

If you want the opportunity to socialize with the host, do reviews reflect that they are open to that? Or, if you still want enough space to yourself, do reviews reflect that’s an option?

For me, booking a room to stay with Roxy was a game-changer for how I experienced Costa Rica. I ended up staying with her for about 4 months, and even returned and stayed with her again the following year.

We’re still friends and at a minimum, we send birthday voice notes to each other annually.

Co-living and working spaces

With the rise of digital nomadism and remote work, co-living spaces have been springing up specifically geared toward working professionals. Here, you’ll typically find a slightly older crowd than you would in hostels.

You’re more likely to have a sleeping space, and even bathroom, to yourself. Most people will likely work during the day, and then go exploring together on weekends and evenings.

2. Join the right FB groups

I stopped using Facebook years ago…EXCEPT for the groups on there. I’m in Facebook groups about blogging, traveling, AI, financial wellness and more. There’s so much invaluable information to be found within these groups.

Eventually, I went ahead and compiled my list of the top Facebook groups for solo travelers. Before a trip, you can post questions in these groups as well as invitations to connect.

Simply share where you’ll be and when, and see if any other fellow female solo travelers will be there and interested in grabbing coffee or exploring together.

You can also find and join destination-specific Facebook groups based on where you’re going. Use search terms like: [your destination] + women, [your destination] + expats, [your destination] + digital nomads, [your destination] + travel.

Once you’re in, post an invite to see if anyone would like to connect. The last time I took this approach I was in Florence and met up with 3 Pakistani students who were also visiting Florence at the same time.

3. Tap into your existing network

You never know who you know. When you have a trip coming up, consider sharing it with your network in case they know someone who lives or frequents where you’re visiting.

You could post in any alumni groups you’re a part of, or simply put a call out on Instagram or Facebook. You could also search LinkedIn by location, to see if anyone you have common ground with (think, alum of your undergrad or grad school) is living and working where you’re going.

People are more likely to trust and connect with friends of friends, or others in their shared network. Before visiting Oaxaca city solo, I saw that a fellow travel blogger had posted that she would be happy to connect visitors to her local friends there.

I decided to take her up on that offer and reached out. And that’s how I ended up meeting some friends and going on this great mezcal tour.

4. Bumble BFF

Hear me out, Bumble goes beyond dating and I prefer Bumble BFF to Bumble for dating. While spending several months in Rome, I was able to make friends using Bumble BFF who helped me feel less lonely during an extended stay abroad.

We’d go out for aperitivo or lunch and see the sights together. They even took me out for a farewell dinner before I returned home to Chicago. We’re still connected on social, and I plan to reach out to them the next time I’m in Rome.

After my successful experience on Bumble BFF my sister tried it out locally in Chicago and also ended up meeting a couple great friends. She’s still in touch with them, too. If you haven’t tried it yet, I definitely recommend giving it a go.

5. Attend local events

A great way to meet likeminded friends while traveling solo is by attending local events that align with your interests. You can find these on platforms like Meetup and Eventbrite.

Maybe there’s an interesting lecture going on you can attend. Or, chances are there are some language exchange groups meeting to socialize at a local bar.

While living in Madrid years ago, I attended one of these and it was a great way to meet some new people from all over the world.

6. Add group tours and activities to your itinerary

One of my favorite, most fun ways to make friends when traveling alone is by signing up for group tours and activities.

Since there’s some sort of hands-on adventure going on, it is a low-pressure way to meet people and has built-in conversation starters.

Your tour or activity guide will usually also be good about facilitating conversations and interactions to help you get to know the other participants.

Sometimes, you simply spend the duration of the experience socializing for a bit and that’s it. Other times, you could end up making a friend or two who you then go on to spend more time with after the booked experience is over.

I like to find these experiences, ranging from day trips to cooking classes, on Viator or GetYourGuide. In Oaxaca City, I made a friend on this day trip.

She and I were the two solo travelers on the tour, and we ended up exploring the city together and going out for dinner the next day.

7. Strike up conversations in real life

This one is last for a reason. Making the first move to strike up conversation out ‘in the wild’ can feel really intimidating, I get it. But it can also be so worthwhile.

Not only is it a way to practice stepping out of your comfort zone, it could result in a really fun connection. And if you try and fail, so what? You’ll likely never see that person again.

When I was last visiting Madrid, I went out solo to a cocktail bar. I dared to start a conversation with the woman next to me at the bar, who also appeared be solo and…my first attempt fell flat.

I decided to try once more, and this time something clicked. We hit it off and explored a couple other places in the neighborhood.

Turned out that she was going to be in Frankfurt in a few weeks at the same time I’d be there (she was living there at the time). We made plans to meet again, and followed through on getting coffee in Frankfurt.

We remain connected on social media and she’s another person I’ll reach out to the next time I’m in Madrid (where she frequents).

I also connected with two fellow solo travelers at a food cart in Oaxaca City. We enjoyed dinner together that night, instead of solo as we’d each planned. I met up with one of them the following evening for a drink, too.

We’re not in touch as we didn’t exchange information but it was still a great couple evenings with new friends in the moment.

What’s most important in these situations is being able to pick up on social cues. If someone doesn’t seem interested in engaging, don’t try relentlessly. Be respectful. When you do engage with someone in conversation, be sure to balance how much you speak with how much you listen.

Go into it with no expectations. No one owes us anything, the best we can do is take the first step and then let things play out as they will.

Safety tips for meeting people when traveling alone

While you’re making your new friends, don’t forget to practice standard safety precautions including:

• trust your gut feeling and intuition
• stay mindful of your surroundings
• be intentional about how much and what you share about yourself
• lie about traveling solo if you want to (I usually don’t do this, but many do)
• never share the exact address where you’re staying
• always plan to meet in public places
• watch your alcohol intake, keep your wits about you
• tell someone you trust back home where you’re going and who with

Go ahead, plan your solo trip

If you’re considering taking a solo trip and nervous about being lonely, I hope these specific tips for how to approach meeting new people have helped. Meeting people while traveling solo doesn’t have to be hard or overly awkward. If I can do it, so can you.

Ready to go? Check out my step-by-step guide for planning your solo trip, next.