One of the joys of travel is to connect with and meet other people. One of the interesting facets of traveling on your own is the fact that it becomes necessary to meet people. This blog is going to discuss meeting others while traveling  as well as aspects of connecting to the new country that you are in.

Meeting others while traveling 

– First and foremost if you want to meet people stay in a hostel. Hostels are amazingly friendly places that bring together international people, often of similar mind sets, who want to meet each other. Even if you are shy meeting people in a hostel is never difficult. There already is a built in ice breaker – “where are you from?”, or “ Where have you just come from?”

– Use couch surfing to either stay with locals – which may give you the greatest chance to connect with a place – or take advantage of meet up events.

– Go to a cozy looking bar, sit at the front stools and strike up a conversation with the bar tender. Bar tenders often know a lot about what is fun to do in town. Also, they might connect you to one of the locals sitting at the bar that you can talk to.

– As much as possible always share information with other travelers. Information that comes from other travelers about places to see and go, and, even more importantly, about good accommodations are priceless and far better than what you will get in guide books or online.

Connecting to a new country/city

– First things first, get out on the streets as much as possible. Walk around the streets, first with a map… then without, and constantly explore new areas by foot. Learn a few words and expressions of the language as soon as possible. Consider taking a language course if you are going to be there for awhile.

– Talk to the front desk staff at the hostel you are staying at. These people are probably expats, and if they are not they can empathise with travelers, and will have lots of practical advice for you.

– Best way to connect to a city and a place is meet the locals. If you’re going to be staying try to get a room in a shared house with locals.

– If you are on a working Holiday visa, you have a leg up in terms of connecting to the culture. Find yourself a job and you will immediately be able to connect through all of the colleagues you will meet.