Group of travellers looking out in rural Chiang Mai, Thailand

How Do I Make Friends When I'm Travelling?

Making friends while travelling is easy, so long as you make the effort! Whether you are travelling on your own, with friends, or in a tour group, all it takes is a smile and a hello to start making new travel buddies!

Here are our top tips for making friends while travelling:

Don't be shy!

As soon as you step on the plane, it’s time to throw your inhibitions out of the window! Start saying hello to people, asking them where they’re from, where they’re going etc. This is the only way you’ll make friends while travelling. Don’t worry, it’ll soon become natural. Remember, lots of people are probably travelling for the first time too and are feeling just as nervous as you are! You'll be surprised how friendly the travel community is and how quickly bonds are formed!

Speak to people in your accommodation

Hostels can be a particularly good place to make friends. You can strike up a conversation with someone in your dorm, the communal kitchen, hostel bar or while checking your emails. Mealtimes at hostels are often a fun opportunity for socializing, and a great place to make friends while travelling.

Top conversation starters

As you travel around the world and meet people for the first time, you will soon realise that everyone starts with the same initial conversation, which includes some or all of the following questions:

  • What's your name?
  • Where are you from?
  • When did you get here?
  • Have you been to any countries before here?
  • Where are you planning on travelling to next?
  • How long have you been travelling for?

From these initial questions, you can easily extend the conversation to other topics that you have in common. For example someone might say they have just come from Thailand, which just happens to be your next destination. You can then say 'I'm going there next, can you recommend a good hostel for me to stay in Bangkok?' They will give you some recommendations followed, no doubt, by stories about the mad nights out and how you'll just have to visit a certain bar or place.

It's not all about picking up tips and recommendations of great new destinations. You may find that you have discovered someone to go to the beach or share a few beers with, or if you are heading in the same direction, you may decide to go on there together to share the travel costs. They may suggest hooking up with a mate of theirs in Sydney who they think you'd get along well with and could show you around the city. Networking opportunities are endless and is part of what makes travel so exciting.

Get recommendations!

Chatting to other travellers isn't just a way to make friends. It's also a great way to get travel recommendations from people who have actually done it! Find out what's hot and what's not in each place you're going to, and make travelling friends in the process

Friends for life

By the end of your trip, you are bound to have added many new friends on social media and will probably have invitations to stay with people in the UK and around the world. You never know, you may even meet the love of your life!

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