Finding a Travel Buddy: Expert Advice for Solo Travelers

While traveling alone has advantages, sometimes it’s good to have a travel companion. Whether you start alone and improvise or you decide from the beginning that your trip could benefit from another pair of eyes and ears, a travel companion can deepen your travel experience.

Advantages of Finding a Travel Buddy

Not only can a travel companion give you someone to share your amazing experience with, it can also help you stay safe. Here are the top benefits of finding a travel buddy to share your adventure.

It’s cheaper — In some scenarios, traveling as a duo or even in a group can work out cheaper than traveling alone. Some travel operators may charge a solo traveler more for lodgings. It can be cheaper for a couple of travelers to share a room. You may also find group discounts on accommodation, travel, and visits.

Less lonely! — Even the most hardy, introverted travelers can get lonely from time to time. Spending time with a travel companion, whether for a part of the trip or the entire trip, can make your journey more enjoyable as sharing experiences doubles the pleasure of new destinations and activities.

Safer — Numbeo‘s crowd wisdom confirms that traveling with others at night is much safer. With the right travel companion, you’ll have someone to watch your back and help navigate unfamiliar areas, which could increase your overall safety and peace of mind.

You can get out of your comfort zone — Others can push you to do things you wouldn’t do alone, paving the way for new experiences, new memories, and personal growth. As long as you respect your personal safety, pushing your boundaries could be the best part of your trip.

Travel Companion Safety Tips: How to Safely Find a Travel Buddy

Obviously, finding a travel buddy isn’t just about finding someone heading to the same destination. Here are actions to take before you book your flight or bus tickets or extend/accept an invitation.

Take recommendations from friends and family — The people in your personal network know you, so they’re in the perfect position to match you with a potential travel buddy. As your interests will be of utmost importance to them, they’ll try to match you with someone who’s not only fun but also a good travel companion.

Recruit someone you’ve traveled with — The benefit of asking someone you’ve already traveled with to be your travel companion is that you have a sense of their vibe; besides, you know they’re more or less likely to be trustworthy. If you’ve shared a hostel with someone, been on visits with them, and/or eaten several meals with them, you have an idea of what kind of person they are.

Check out your potential travel companion with Nuwber — Using Nuwber allows you to verify that your travel buddy is really who he or she claims to be. You’ll be able to determine whether or not their name, location, and other details tally with the truth. Additionally, Nuwber will give you information on their social media profiles and other useful information that could help you decide whether they’d make a good and, most importantly, safe travel companion.

Make the first move — This might seem forward, but being proactive about finding a travel partner puts you in control. The situation when someone asks you to be their travel partner increases the risk of you being scammed or otherwise manipulated. Do your research and aim to make the opening move.

Take recommendations from the travel company — If you just want to split the cost of lodgings, your travel firm may well set you up with someone who has used the same firm. This isn’t the most secure way of doing things, but it can be a good option for budget-conscious travelers looking to save money on accommodations.

Where to Find a Travel Companion

So, what is the best place to find a travel companion?

Hostels — The chances of finding like-minded people with similar plans are pretty high in hostels. However, you also have to keep your wits about you. Ensure you follow safe travel best practices and use the earlier mentioned tips to find a reliable travel companion.

Social event or day trips — As well as finding people with similar interests, attending an event or day trip gives you the opportunity to observe and hang out with potential travel partners before committing to swapping numbers and sharing your itinerary.

The travel company — As noted earlier, your travel company might be willing to set you up with a travel partner based on its list of travelers, but a) this is primarily or typically for the purpose of splitting costs on a room or a taxi to another town and b) doesn’t guarantee that the person they choose will be a suitable travel buddy.

Apps and websites — Various apps and websites exist that will match you with people traveling to the same destination. Others facilitate meeting locals, which may then lead to travel opportunities and partners.

Apps and Websites to Find Travel Companions

While apps that can find you a travel companion can make some effort to match you to like-minded people, read between the lines. Prioritize your safety, drawing on all your solo travel instincts.

Here are things to consider when using digital means to find a travel buddy:

• They introduce you to unknown people. The app is most likely going to match you with someone you’ve never met. While this could be exciting, it doesn’t give you an opportunity to get a feel for the person and decide if you really want to travel with them.
• You publicly announce that you’re alone. Using an app to find a travel buddy strongly suggests you are traveling alone. Announcing solo travel in any public forum comes with an element of risk.
• Catfishing. Unfortunately, people look at travel apps and websites like these to manipulate and trick their users. They may do so for money, for kicks, or for other criminal reasons. Fortunately, you’re aware that people like this exist and you’ll look out for them.
• Misunderstandings. Communication via an app is open to misunderstandings. Emoticons can help us unravel the complexities of human communication and emotion, but only to a certain extent. Avoid misunderstandings by rereading everything you read and write. Confirm details. And if you can, use phone calls to clear up any ambiguities and get a feel for who they are.

MeetUp

Established in 2002, Meetup is excellent for helping you to meet people wherever you are in the world. Spend some time looking at the events near your destination and consider joining a friend group to find a potential travel partner in the right part of the world.

Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing has been finding people places to stay and new friends to spend their travels with since 2004. It’s a great website for finding interesting people in pretty much any area you want to visit. Make sure you do due diligence on reviews for peace of mind.

Facebook

Facebook Groups can help you connect with people with similar interests around the world. You can leverage your Facebook friends to see if they would recommend people in their networks. Remember to avoid public messages that overshare your itinerary or other travel details.

Women Welcome Women Worldwide

This is an incredible network connecting women all over the world. Creating an account allows you to connect with registered members willing to invite you to their homes all over the globe, which could lead to joint travel opportunities and will also help you meet locals on your trip.

Travel Buddy

The Travel Buddy app boasts more than a million downloads. It has successfully connected many users with travelers and locals who know their stuff. The app’s negative reviews, of which there are many, appear to be primarily due to poor performance of the app for those users, so it’s worth a try. Their technical issues may not affect you.

GAFFL

With more than 50,000 downloads, GAFFL claims to find you travel buddies across more than 190 countries. Members are verified via the site, and you can share desires and travel plans to find people who want to explore the same region as you.

NomadHer

NomadHer is the number one app for female solo travelers looking for another traveler. It’s dedicated to female travelers wishing to be part of a safe community, whether looking to spend time with locals or in the hope of finding a traveler interested in sharing a trip.

Add Another Traveler for Double the Adventure

Sometimes it’s good to travel light, have your own thoughts and counsel, and do what you want, without compromise. At other moments, it’s fun to have a travel partner to share an experience with or talk over an opinion.

The great thing about exploring the world with savvy travel tips and digital tools is that you can be flexible, maximizing your opportunities to meet new people in a wide variety of cities and countries. Once you’ve taken care of some essential due diligence, you can get on with having the adventure of a lifetime with another traveler who may well become a new friend.

FAQ

How do I find a travel partner?

Often, an opportunity to share all or part of your trip with another traveler comes up naturally. If you want to make it happen, however, good places to look include your hostel, places where you organize day trips and visits, and your lodgings. These allow you to observe your potential travel partner in person. There are also apps and websites that can be useful.

Is there an app to find travel companions?

Various apps exist for finding travel companions. Some of the best dedicated apps include Travel Buddy, GAFFL, and NomadHer. Ensure that the app you use has reviews and a transparent policy for vetting its users.

What is the best website for finding a travel buddy?

Facebook is arguably the best website for finding a travel buddy because you are likely to get recommendations from Facebook pals who know and love you. You may have luck finding fellow travelers in corresponding destinations with Facebook Groups.

Couchsurfing and Meetup can provide a local person to host you, which could lead to making a friend and traveling together.

How do I make sure a trip partner is compatible?

The best way to get a compatible trip partner is to go with a recommendation from friends or family. People you spend time with, such as someone sharing a hostel or a tour, are also candidates because you’ll have seen how they interact with you and others in a travel setting. If you use an app, call the person you’re communicating with before meeting to get a sense of who they are.

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