How To Make Friends When Traveling Solo

Having nobody to travel with shouldn’t stop you from visiting the destinations you dream of going to. In fact, meeting others on the road is a lot easier than people think. To help you make friends while traveling solo, use the tips below.

Eat Alone At The Bar

It may sound strange, but eating alone at a bar is actually a great way to meet others. While eating alone at a table may not help you make connections, eating by yourself at the bar makes you approachable. Additionally, you’re more likely to encounter other solo travelers doing the same. And if all else fails, you’ll still have the bartender to talk to.Make Use Of CouchSurfing And Meetup

When I travel solo, CouchSurfing is my bible. I don’t use it to stay on people’s couches, but instead to connect with locals and other travelers. There are forums where you can tell people when you’re arriving in a city, see what other people have planned and browse events in the area. Likewise, Meetup allows you to find like-minded people and attend activities that match your interests, like hiking, meditation, philosophy or spicy food.

Stay In Hostels

While obvious to some, there are still many who are apprehensive about staying in hostels. They picture the movie “Hostel,” with dirty, dingy rooms and creepy guests and murderers lurking the halls. In reality, hostels are usually clean, with friendly staff and myriad activities to help you get to know the city. Look for properties with common areas like kitchens, TV rooms, bars and BBQ areas.

Take Walking Tours

Many cities offer free or affordable walking tours. When going on one, it’s almost impossible not to strike up conversations with other travelers. You can discuss how interesting the sites are, and then segue into what other tours they plan on taking. From there, making conjoined travel plans is simple.

Strike Up Conversations On Transportation

Taking public transportation is a great way to meet other travelers and locals. You can ask the person next to you about where they’re going, and about where they came from. For example, on a train journey through Germany, I met a young artist from Holland who was traveling the world indefinitely. Not only did he tell entertaining stories about being arrested for doing graffiti in New York, but we also ended up exploring Munich together.

Use The Currency Exchange

All travelers need money, so what better place to meet people than a currency exchange? This is where I met one of my closest friends from traveling. The line was long, and when he saw I was wearing a backpack like he was, he struck up a conversation. We ended up traveling together for two weeks, and still visit each other in our home cities.

Volunteer

Volunteering is a worthwhile way to spend your time in any city. Not only will you be helping a community in need, you’ll also be immersing yourself in a culture and getting to know locals and volunteers. A good idea is to do a homestay, as this helps you get an authentic experience of a place while becoming close with the people you’re living with.

Book Organized Trips

While doing excursions on your own will save you money, booking an organized tour will help you meet others. You’ll not only be interacting with the travelers on the tour, but also the local guide. Many times I’ll ask the guide about interesting places to see and fun places to go out, which leads to groups of people making plans to explore together.

Ask Questions

When traveling, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Ask other travelers about their trips, a local baker about how they bake fresh bread, a cab driver about the types of people they encounter or a hotel owner about what inspired them to begin a business. Every person you encounter is an opportunity to learn something new, and make a new connection.

Be Open To New Experiences

If a stranger invites you to go dancing, if a local wants to bring you as a guest to a wedding or if you get invited to dinner at someone’s home, take the opportunity. Again, it’s a great way to have an authentic experience while getting to know locals. That being said, always trust your gut. If you get a bad feeling about someone, get away immediately.

Use Social Media

Social media isn’t just for sharing funny pictures and telling the world how you’re feeling; it can also be used to meet other people when traveling. A lot of times when I’m going on a trip, I’ll put a tweet or Facebook status out telling others my plans. Even if nobody else will be in the city I’m traveling to, they may have a friend or family member who will be.

Host A Party Or Get Together

You don’t need to wait to hear about an event from someone else. Instead, plan one yourself. It doesn’t need to be anything lavish. Even having people get together at a karaoke bar or advertising a language exchange can get people excited. When in Mendoza, I was traveling solo and didn’t know anyone in the city. My birthday was coming up, so I decided to plan an event that included going to an asado restaurant and then out dancing. I posted a message on CouchSurfing, as well as put a note up in my hostel, and ended up having a group of about 12 people come along.

Picnic

This is especially effective in Europe, where picnicking is popular. Go to the market and pickup some cheese, bread, fruit, cold meat, wine and a blanket, and head to the nearest park or square. You can offer to share food with other people, or find other picnickers to share with.

Hangout In Parks

Not only are parks great for picnicking, they’re also the place where people go to do all kinds of activities. Hangout with people playing live music, get in on a game of frisbee or play some chess with a stranger. When I was at a park in China, a group of girls saw me watching them do traditional dance, and they asked me if I wanted to learn. I had a great time trying something new, and got to meet some really nice locals.

Pub Crawls

It’s almost impossible not to make friends on a pub crawl, especially since the alcohol will make you less nervous about going up to strangers. Moreover, the extremely social setting and outgoing guides help to get people mingling.

[images via ms.margie, Jessie on a Journey, Michael de’Oz, Jessie on a Journey, Jessie on a Journey, Jessie on a Journey, aherrero]

Legends And Myths In The World’s Highest Forest

“Ladies, be careful,” warns Juan, our guide for Cajas National Park in Ecuador. “This forest is known to have evil elves.”

We are currently in the Quinoa Forest, which we are told, at 13,124 feet high, is the highest forest in the world. Because I’m from New York and don’t believe in elves, the warning does not scare me. However, there are various legends revolving around the forest that stem from Incan beliefs.

For one, elves, or chuzalungu in Cachua, the native Inca language, live in the forest and kidnap women and children. In my opinion, this may have stemmed from the highlanders being short, and if anything bad happened to a woman or child, the wrongdoer may have been mistaken as being an elf.

It’s not surprising so many mystical legends exist here. Walking through the Quinoa Forest, you’ll feel like you’re hiking through some kind of bizarre fairy tale, as you climb over twisted trees and tangled roots. In reality, the jungle gym-like terrain is due to the three feet of soil.Another legend is the Quinoa Forest is home to talking animals. This also stems from the Incas, probably because at that time they didn’t understand the talking macaw. To the Incas, a talking bird would have been preposterous. However, it created a belief that the forest was full of animals that could speak their language.

Finally, there is the legend – or possibly fact – that spirits roam the forest. The reason I say “possibly fact” is that many people have actually died here, from altitude sickness, getting lost, starving or freezing. According to Juan, 20 tourists have died since the boundaries of the park were created in 1979. Furthermore, many locals, including a 10-year-old boy whose skull was later found in a nearby lake, have lost their lives among the dark shadows of the Quinoa Forest trees.

For those who want to learn more about the Quinoa Forest and its many myths and legends, there is currently an Ecuadorian movie being made at the location. I’m not sure of all the details, but the premise has to do with a tourist getting lost in the woods and running into elves, spirits and other mythical characters.

The Future Looks Hopeful For New York’s Proposed Underground Park


Back in September, we told you about New York’s proposed Delancey Underground, or “Low Line.” While we were unsure of its future at that time, it now looks as if the city’s first underground park will become a reality.

The park, which was inspired by New York’s “High Line,” an abandoned elevated railway, also makes use of the concept of disregarded spaces. In fact, the project’s founders, Dan Barasch and James Ramsey, are planning to build the park in an abandoned subway station. People obviously love outlandish ideas, as the pair was able to surpass their Kickstarter goal by $50,000, raising $155,000 of crowd-sourced funding. For the Low Line to work, special technology will need to be used, and the pair will now be able to show people exactly how this will work.

For a better idea of what helped the proposed park’s success, check out the Kickstarter video above.

What are your thoughts on an underground park?

Travel Channel, National Parks Join For Summer Promo

Summer can mean a trip to one of America’s national parks for many. These adventure-packed and history-rich destinations offer travelers a wide variety of vacation options at hundreds of locations. To promote America’s national parks and help with planning a summer park vacation, the Travel Channel has joined with the National Park Foundation (NPF) in a summer-long partnership of initiatives.

“Through this summer partnership, the National Park Foundation and Travel Channel, will provide the Network’s passionate viewers with the best tools and information to plan the perfect national park adventures,” said Neil Mulholland, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks.

Inspiring viewers to visit our 397 national parks as well as encourage volunteerism and monetary donations to NPF, the Travel Channel will support the NPF partnership via the network’s “Destination Summer” campaign.

Thirty hours of programming on America’s national parks will include celebrating “Get Outdoors Day” on Saturday, June 9.”Travel and tourism are big drivers of the U.S. economy, and this is one important way Travel Channel can make a very positive impact,” said Laureen Ong, president of Travel Channel. “We know our viewers are ready to lean in and experience life, and this partnership with the National Park Foundation will touch consumers on a very personal level, encouraging them to explore and appreciate the best destinations America has to offer.”

Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks, 84 million acres of the world’s most treasured landscapes, ecosystems and historic sites.

Flickr photo by jurvetson

A US National Park Ranger Tells All

Memorial Day is fast approaching, kicking off the beginning of the busiest time for America’s national parks – the summer season. Budget Travel has just published some confessions from a national park ranger (stationed at the Grand Canyon, judging from his anecdotes). Think Americans are the most reverent about our national treasures? Think again. It’s more likely to be a foreigner who knows better than to ask where the bridge across the Grand Canyon is, or be genuinely interested in the history behind the parks. But if you show some real interest and respect, a park ranger is likely to help make your experience in the park even more memorable.

If you’re headed to a park this summer, you may want to check out the Park Advocate, the official blog of the National Parks Conservation Association. They post helpful tools for hikers, interesting lesser-known stories about the parks and other multimedia and news for visitors.

Read the full confessions at BudgetTravel.com.

[Photo courtesy Grand Canyon NPS‘ Flickr photostream.]