Are you planning a solo trip but worried about feeling lonely? Don’t worry, I’ve been there! As someone who loves to travel solo, I know that meeting new people can be intimidating, but it’s also one of the most rewarding parts of the journey.

So, in this blog post, I’m excited to share with you my top tips for meeting people on your next solo trip. 

Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, these tips will help you connect with locals and fellow travelers, make new friends, and create unforgettable memories.

So, grab your backpack, and let’s dive in!

How To Meet People on a Solo Trip

Tip 1: Stay in a Hostel

Staying in a hostel is one of the best ways to meet people while traveling solo. Not only are hostels usually less expensive than hotels, but they also offer a social atmosphere that’s perfect for making new friends. 

I’ve had many positive experiences of connecting with fellow solo travelers at a hostel and then making plans to sightsee, grab a meal, or go to the beach together. 

Most hostels have communal areas like kitchens, lounges, and outdoor spaces where travelers can hang out and chat with each other. Many hostels also organize activities like pub crawls, movie nights, and city tours, which are great opportunities to meet other people on your trip. 

Plus, if you’re staying in a dorm room, you’ll be sharing a space with other people, making it easy to strike up a conversation and make new friends. 

Read more: 10 Important Safety Tips For Solo Female Travelers

Tip 2: Take a Group Tour

If you’re looking for a stress-free way to meet people while traveling solo, taking a group tour might be just what you need. 

Not only will you have a knowledgeable guide to show you around, but you’ll also be with a group of people who share your passion for travel. This makes it easy to start a conversation and make new friends. 

There are hundreds of group tours to choose from, and you can choose one that fits your interests, such as hiking, snorkeling, or sightseeing. 

There are a few ways you can go about a group tour. You can sign up for a group tour vacation (a full week of pre-planned group travel activities, for example) or book a one-day trip at your destination. There’s no right or wrong here. It just depends on what works best for you!

If you’re feeling anxious about accommodations or transportation, most trips booked through a tour operator have these details taken care of for you, allowing you to focus on having fun and making new connections. 

If you feel comfortable with the logistics yourself and just want a change of pace during your trip, a shorter day trip might be the perfect option to meet some new people.  

Tip 3: Attend a Local Event

Attending a local event is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the local culture and meet new people while traveling solo. 

When I was traveling in Thailand, I stumbled upon a night market in Chiang Mai and decided to check it out. The market was packed with locals as well as tourists, and there were food stalls, crafts, and performances everywhere.

As I was browsing some artwork, a local artist struck up a conversation with me, asking me where I was from and what brought me to Thailand. We chatted for a while, and he even gave me some insider tips on where to find the best street food. It was such a pleasant surprise and made the evening so much more fun!

Attending events like this is a great way to connect with people who share your interests. Whether it’s a music festival, cultural celebration, or food market, attending events can be a fun and memorable way to make connections while traveling solo.

Tip 4: Use Meet-Up Apps like Travel Ladies 

It’s amazing how many doors have opened up with the advance of technology! Using social media and meet-up apps is an excellent way to connect with other travelers and meet new people while traveling solo. 

One app that I recently discovered and have really been enjoying is Travel Ladies. The app provides a safe space for women to travel alone and connect with other female travelers from around the world. 

One of my favorite features of the app is the ability to connect with local women as part of a cultural exchange – a great way to experience a new destination while also making new friends. Some people even offer couchsurfing opportunities if you really want to take a deep dive into local culture. 

All you have to do is post in the app and others can comment and the conversations will start from there. 

Through the app, you can also meet travelers near you, find travel buddies, share travel memories, and discuss travel plans with like-minded women. I definitely love the community-building aspect of the app. 

Read more: Being In A Relationship Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Travel Solo

Tip 5: Volunteer

Volunteering while traveling is a fulfilling and meaningful way to meet new people and make a positive impact in the local community you are visiting. 

I once volunteered in Peru on a community project, and it was an incredible experience. The project involved building a playground for a local school, and we worked alongside the community members to set everything up.

Not only did I learn new skills and immerse myself in the local culture, but I also made some lifelong friends in the process. 

Whether it’s teaching English, working on a conservation project, or helping out in a local community, volunteering provides a unique opportunity to meet new people while giving back to the world. 

So, if you’re looking to make a positive impact and make some new friends while traveling solo, definitely consider volunteering on your next trip!

Read more: Traveling Solo: 7 Important Things I’ve Learned

Tip 6: Join a Meetup Group

Joining a meetup group is an excellent way to make new connections while traveling solo. These groups usually bring people together who share similar interests, from hiking and photography to language exchange and book clubs. 

The benefits of joining a meetup group are numerous: you can make new friends, learn new skills, explore new places, and have a fun and social experience. 

Apps like Travel Ladies are great for this purpose, but you can also check out Facebook or Meetup.com, which has thousands of groups like this. 

On Facebook, you can search for meetup groups by simply typing in keywords related to your interests in the Facebook search bar and filtering the results to “groups.” 

You can also browse the “events” tab on Facebook and see if there are any upcoming events or gatherings that align with your interests. 

Another option is to join Facebook groups dedicated to travel or specific destinations. These groups can provide valuable insights into local events and meetups and connect you with other travelers or locals who share your passion for exploring new places. 

Once you’ve found a group that interests you, introduce yourself and attend one of their events. 

Remember, everyone in the group is there to meet new people, so don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation and make some new friends. Joining a meetup group can be a fantastic way to enrich your solo travel experience and make connections that can last a lifetime.

Tip 7: Be Open and Friendly

Finally, simply having an open and friendly attitude can go a long way when it comes to meeting new people on the road. 

When I first started traveling alone, I was nervous about meeting new people and striking up conversations. But as I traveled more, I realized that being approachable and kind can make all the difference. I’ve met some amazing people on the road, simply by saying hello!

To start a conversation, I usually try to find common ground with the people I meet. I ask them about their travels, their hometown, or their favorite hobbies. The most important thing is to be genuinely interested in their answers and show that you value their perspective. 

Remember to be respectful of cultural differences and social norms, and always be mindful of personal boundaries. 

Traveling solo can be both exciting and intimidating, but with these tips, you’ll be well on your way to meeting new people and having an unforgettable trip. 

With a positive attitude and a willingness to connect with others, I have no doubt that you can create meaningful relationships and enrich your solo travel experience.

So, take a deep breath, pack your bags, and get ready for an adventure you’ll never forget. With these tips in mind, you’ll be well on your way to making the most of your solo journey!

Read more: How To Take Amazing Travel Photos As A Solo Traveler

The post Here’s How To Meet People on Your Next Solo Trip appeared first on Ordinary Traveler.

If you’re just getting started in landscape photography, welcome to the club! You definitely have a lot to learn, but don’t feel intimidated because expanding one’s skills is part of the fun. The tutorial below from an accomplished British landscape photographer is designed to shorten your learning curve, with three simple tips he say’s “every beginner should know.”

This episode from pro Nigel Danson isn’t about camera settings, exposure, focus, and other technical matters. Instead, the 11-minute lesson involves esthetic considerations and how to view subjects differently than when shooting other types of photos. There’s also a healthy dose of advice for composing images with maximum impact.

Danson says his goal is to help you consistently capture better photos, and he kicks off the video with a discussion focal length and the best lenses to use depending upon the scenes you confront. In this regard Danson insists that the key to photographing expansive vistas is simplifying the scene and drawing the viewer into the frame by accentuating one or a just a few eye-catching elements.

In some cases doing this requires setting conventional wisdom aside, leaving your wide-angle lens in the bag, and shooting with a somewhat longer focal length. Taking this approach makes it easy to eliminate extraneous elements, and thereby your imagery will have far greater impact. You can also achieve this goal with careful cropping, depending upon the resolution of your camera.

Danson’s second tip is also somewhat unconventional, as he says. “Don’t put your camera on a tripod as soon as you arrive on location. The tripod should be the very, very last thing you should pull out before starting to shoot.”  Danson prefers to walk around the area with his camera, unencumbered by a heavy tripod, while examining the terrain and taking a few test shots before deciding upon a composition. Then, and only then, is it time to lockdown your camera and get to work.

The last tip has to do with deciphering the quality and direction of prevailing light, and this too may require a bit of experimentation. Danson has some great suggestions in this regard, and they can make all the difference. By combining all three of his tips, better images are sure to follow.

You can find a wide array of landscape photography tips on Danson’s instructional YouTube channel, so be sure to pay a visit and return often.

And if you missed this morning’s tutorial, with great ideas for shooting landscape photos close to home, take a look and discover opportunities you may have overlooked.

For the past couple months we’ve been bringing you weekly installments of an amazing free Lightroom Masterclass from the PHLOG Photography YouTube channel—each devoted to an important tool or technique that can make a huge improvement in your results.

The tutorial below is Part 8 of the series, explaining how to use Lightroom’s versatile Transform tools to easily correct geometric irregularities in images shot outdoors. Whether a photo is spoiled by converging vertical lines, a crooked horizon, or other such anomaly, you’ll learn the quick fix in barely six minutes.

German landscape pro Christian Mohrle is a favorite among Shutterbug readers because of his straightforward tutorials that are illustrated with impactful photos. His demonstration image today is a seaside shot with a few problems, and you can download the Raw file and make the adjustments he recommends while watching the lesson.

Mohrle begins in Lightroom’s Transform panel and explains how it works. Expanding the panel reveals a variety of helpful options for different tasks. These settings can be employed to level a crooked shot, and fix vertical and horizontal lines that don’t appear in the photo like they did with your eyes.

Mohrle explains why these irregularities can be particularly problematic when shooting in the field with a wide-angle lens. The simple rehabilitation process he describes will prove equally valuable when editing architectural and cityscape photos.

You’ll want to start by enabling Lens Corrections with a checkbox in Lightroom’s dedicated panel. Then it’s time to open the Transform tab and get to work, using the various siders and buttons as Mohrle suggests.

Some key Lightroom settings are turned off by default, but you can easily change that so transformations are applied automatically. Of course you can make the necessary adjustments yourself using a manual approach if you prefer. Mohrle’s describes how the different sliders work so you’ll know exactly what to do.

If landscape photography is your thing, be sure to pay a visit to Mohrle’s instructional YouTube channel. There’s plenty there to explore, including previous installments of the Lightroom Masterclass series.

And for another helpful explainer, check out our earlier post with the ultimate guide to bracketing photos for perfect exposure.