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How We Actively Meet People On Our Travels

Open Travel Diary · May 13, 2014

This post may contain compensated links. See our Terms of Use for full disclosure.

So much of travel is the people we meet, the conversations we have and the friends we make along the way.

Here's how we go about actively meeting new people on the road.

Stay local

With the diversification of the accommodation market in recent years, it’s now easier than ever to stay with locals.

Before rushing to make that hotel booking, try searching for an Airbnb or couchsurfing host, arranging a homestay, or doing a housesitting assignment. Not only will you likely save money (or not have to pay for accommodation at all), but you’ll gain invaluable insight into a country and culture, all while making amazing friends.

By staying local, we’ve shared meals, explored new places and learned what really makes a place tick with new friends who know where it’s at.

For example, our German host, Michael, took us to a favourite local burger joint.

Burger night with Michael - Berlin, Germany

And our Turkish hosts, Özden and Cemre, taught us about Turkish food and culture, and showed us their Istanbul.

New friends - Istanbul, Turkey

Participate in events and gatherings

You may go to regular meetups at home, like dinner with friends or your monthly book club, but have you ever thought about participating in these kinds of gatherings while travelling?

Websites like Meetup.com make it easy to see what’s happening in a city and join events without the commitment of joining a group for the long-term. If you’re going to go out for dinner, attend a festival or explore a new place, why not do it with some new faces and open doors to learning something new?

Even participating in one-off events or joining a regular meetup just once can start some wonderful friendships.

In Warsaw, we attended a photo walk with Polish photographers who showed us some of the most interesting places in the city and told us stories that really put Polish history into context for us. We're now all friends on Facebook and continue to share and comment on each others' photography.

500px Photography Meetup - Warsaw, Poland

And in Berlin, we joined an international group of locals, expats and travellers for a fun night of bowling.

Bowling meetup - Berlin, Germany

When you spend longer in a place, there comes the opportunity to join the same groups on multiple occasions and really cement friendships over several meetings.

During our most recent 6-week stint in London, we got really involved with the local Instagram group, Igers London. With several events happening every week, we were never short of friends to hang out with on the weekends. We went on photo walks, had drinks and attended festivals together, all while taking fun pics and sharing them on Instagram, a medium that keeps us connected even though we are no longer in London.

Igers London Meetup - UK

We even spent a week photographing Turkey with Instagrammers from around the world in another event we discovered on Meetup.

Tip: There are Instagram communities in cities around the world, some more active than others, but all very welcoming to visiting Instagrammers, whether to join scheduled events or just meet up for a coffee. Search for ‘Igers [insert city name]' or an ‘Instameet'.

Instameet - Turkey

Talk to people

Now I’m not suggesting trying to accost every random person on the street into a conversation, but we are continually placed into situations with new people on our travels in which we have the choice to either engage or stick our headphones in and block the world out. Scenarios like sharing a cabin on a train or taking the same tour give us an easy “in”. Introduce yourself and find out a bit about the people around you. Sure, sometimes the conversation might not really go anywhere, but at least you’ve made the effort. On the flip-side, you might end up meeting some awesome new friends who you really hit if off with.

Had we not taken the time to chat with the owners of a café in Vietnam, we wouldn’t have had the experiences we did in the Mekong Delta, and we wouldn't have been here at their house after a wonderful home-cooked lunch. Click here to read about how they effectively adopted us and became our extended Vietnamese family.

Vietnamese Family - Cai Be

If we didn’t talk to Katha on our Kinabatangan River cruise in Malaysian Borneo, we wouldn’t have exchanged contact details and been able to meet again in her hometown of Stuttgart when we travelled to Germany. Or share a traditional German Christmas with her and her family. Or meet her parents for dinner again just a few nights ago here in Turkey!

At the Christmas markets with Katha - Stuttgart, Germany

How do you meet people on your travels? What experiences have you had that you wouldn't have had otherwise by engaging with locals and other travellers?

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Filed Under: Open Travel Diary

Jessica Korteman

Jessica Korteman is an Australian travel writer, based in Tokyo, Japan. Never without a pen and paper, you'll most often find her delving into the world of festivals and culture.

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  1. Grace Buchele Mineta says

    May 26, 2014 at 9:12 pm

    I like the idea of using Meetup.com
    I’ve used it to meet people in Tokyo (since I just moved here) and it’s been wonderful – since it’s not exactly easy to go up and start a random conversation with someone busy in Tokyo.

    My husband and I met this really great Peruvian guy while waiting for a tour of Lima – he ended up showing us a couple of GREAT restaurants and some “can’t miss” spots of the city!

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 26, 2014 at 10:43 pm

      We’ve really enjoyed using Meetup. It certainly helps to break the ice when you’re in a situation where other people are there to socialize and meet others too. We ended up organising our own monthly events in Tokyo – photo walks mainly. We’d love to do that again whenever we return.

      Love the informal tour guide friend you made in Lima. When these random encounters happen, they’re wonderful!

      Reply
  2. Heather says

    May 24, 2014 at 2:39 am

    Great tips, Jessica! I hope to employ many of these once we get to Latvia. I really want to make some local friends while we’re there!

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 24, 2014 at 2:45 am

      Thanks Heather! I have no doubt you’ll make the most of your time there! Living as an expat, I’m sure there will be lots of opportunities to make lasting friendships. Can’t wait for your Latvian adventures! :)

      Reply
  3. Nick says

    May 18, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    I used Meetup at home (in Sydney) but never thought to use it while I’m away, thanks for the great idea.
    In India I’ve found the easiest way to meet locals has been the chai stalls and street food stalls, there’s always people hanging around these and I’ve struck up many conversations over a samosa.
    Otherwise simply asking someone on the street for directions or a restaurant recommendation is enough of an in to start a conversation.

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 19, 2014 at 2:00 am

      Hi Nick,

      We too hadn’t thought about using Meetup on our travels in the past. But now we are, we’ve been loving it! I’m sure you’ll find some great meetups to join too.

      Yes, heading to where the locals hang out, especially if you’re obviously “not from around here” is a great way to initiate conversation. Bet you’ve got some great stories from those chai stalls!

      Thanks for stopping by. Now we’ve discovered your blog, we’re looking forward to following :)

      Reply
  4. Mindi says

    May 18, 2014 at 10:58 am

    Great tips. I’m glad I got to meet you both in Dublin!

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 19, 2014 at 1:48 am

      Thanks Mindi! It was awesome to meet you too! How are things with you?

      Reply
  5. Matthew @ FreakyFlier.com says

    May 14, 2014 at 2:00 pm

    I have met some fascinating people on my travel.. once met a fellow in Bangkok who who would collect lost property from hotels and take them to the infamous Bang Kwang prison for expatriate prisoners and I went along with him one day.. that was an eye opener! But most recently I have become a fan or Airbnb when I travelled to South Korea and was shown all sorts of wonderful places only locals would go – local places and knowledge can bring a place alive!

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 15, 2014 at 12:13 am

      Wow, what an experience that must have been! What sort of things did he bring them? I bet you could write a book from that one day alone! haha

      And yes, totally agree, local knowledge is where it’s at!

      Reply
  6. Les Petits Pas de Juls says

    May 14, 2014 at 8:42 am

    Besides the fact that we travel to discover places, PEOPLE we meet are the reason we enjoy them so much! Because they share what they like about it, why they’ve chosen to live there, why it makes it such a great place to be at…

    that’s why Raul and I love couchsurfing so much. Every time we host or have the chance to be hosted, we’ve gained a huge insight on many different places and most importantly, gained interesting and strong friendships.

    you reminded me of Meet-up, I’ll give it another go when we are in Mendoza, Argentina. Even if we’re at our friends’, it’ll be fun to meet yet other people along different activities.

    Happy meetings!

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 15, 2014 at 12:01 am

      You’re right, it’s all this little information that your host can share that really helps you to better understand a place and its people.

      It’s so cool that you’ve been a couchsurfer and a couchsurfing host. With all the people who have helped us out over our trip, Hai and I have been saying that we’ll need to open a hostel wherever our next base will be to repay and accommodate them all! haha

      Reply
      • Les Petits Pas de Juls says

        May 16, 2014 at 7:25 am

        Opening your own hostel would be quite the idea to host back everyone! But otherwise, you can just open your house to more visitors and meet up new frieds still! that’s what we like about couchsurfing in general when we are in Mexico (or in France) and “unable” to travel physically – we have travels come to us!

        the idea of a hostel also is in our minds, because it’s one of the best way to encounter travellers from all around the world, always.

        meanwhile, we’ll be happy to be hosts as often as we can; and keep on surfing too… to make our lives richer!

        Happy meetings!
        Jul’

        Reply
  7. Britt Skrabanek says

    May 14, 2014 at 2:14 am

    We are WAY into AirBnb over hotels any day. Great way to live like a local. It seems that we always get tips we would never get in a hotel. Also, sitting at a bar is something we do often to strike up casual conversations.

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 14, 2014 at 11:52 pm

      Airbnb is great. It’s saved us more than a few times when traditional accommodation has been booked out too.

      Ah, the classic waiting for strangers at the bar trick ;) I’d talk to you :)

      Reply
  8. Oliver says

    May 13, 2014 at 11:15 pm

    I think travelling figuratively “with your arms wide open” will almost inevitably make you run into serendipity and life will embrace you… :)
    Lovely images and impressions from some of your encounters around the globe and I really like the adaptation story from Vietnam… marvellous!!

    Reply
    • Oliver says

      May 13, 2014 at 11:17 pm

      “adoption” of course, sorry for the wee typo… :S

      Reply
      • Jessica Korteman says

        May 14, 2014 at 3:16 pm

        No worries, we all do them from time to time :) That’s one of my favourite stories too.

        You’re right, so much of it is about attitude. When you allow yourself to be open to such encounters, they will almost certainly come your way. :)

        Reply
  9. Sam says

    May 13, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    Oh wow, you guys really get stuck in, don’t you?! It’s true, the experiences we have travelling are so much defined by the people you meet, so it’s worth investing the time into trying to meet some really cool people, right?! I’m rather more an introvert than you guys seem to be, so I find it rather exhausting to be constantly meeting new people, but getting involved in a local community (like the Igers in London you mention) where I’m based for a while is definitely something I could get behind!

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 14, 2014 at 3:04 pm

      Haha We try to put ourselves out there as much as possible. ;) Talking to people is definitely something that I have worked on over the years. I don’t think it really comes naturally to me either. But travelling lots and the fact that Hai is a real people person has made me much more confident in initiating conversation with people I don’t know.

      Reply
  10. Juliann says

    May 13, 2014 at 7:40 pm

    I like joining tours so that I can meet people. I’m often very shy, but make the effort to meet people when I can. I’m also happy when people make the effort to meet me- like you did in Ireland. :)

    Reply
    • Jessica Korteman says

      May 14, 2014 at 2:51 pm

      Thanks, Julie. It was SO lovely to finally meet you in person in Dublin! :)

      Tours are great for helping to initiate conversation, whether beginning from asking if a seat is free on the bus or if someone can take a photo for you. A “Where are you from?” tends to come naturally from there.

      Reply

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