A lot of people are a little anxious about hitting the road on their own. Understandably, they are worried about safety, loneliness, extra costs, or would just like someone to share their traveling experience with. It isn’t always possible to travel with friends from home, as everyone has their own obligations, schedules, interests, and budgets. So, what can you do if you really want to travel, but don’t want to embark on the journey alone, and don’t have any friends to travel with?

Find a “travel buddy”! Luckily, the traveling community, in general, is an extremely open crowd, always looking to make new friends! You can very easily take advantage of this openness, to find new people with similar travel plans and interests to travel with. The following are the 3 best ways to find a travel buddy, once you’ve exhausted all of your options at home (friends, networking, etc.)

1. Find Someone Online: Like pretty much everything else these days, the internet holds solutions to this problem. They are in the form of online travel communities. There are a number of forums online where you can post and browse listings for travel partners, and it is relatively easy to find people interested in traveling to popular destinations like Europe, Japan, SE Asia, and the United States.

Pros:

• You can start your search from home, meaning you don’t waste travel time looking for a travel buddy.
• Usually have a high number of people to consider

Cons:

• Harder to actually get to know someone over the internet.
• Can be difficult finding responses for less mainstream travel destinations

Recommendations:

1. Post your own listings as opposed to only browsing listings made by others. Other users often open their travels up to anyone interested. With your own posting YOU can control exactly how many people you travel with, and who you travel with.
2. Give yourself plenty of time to find a travel partner online. Do NOT wait until the week before your trip to start looking. You do not want to be desperate, accepting any wacko that writes back as your new travel partner. It will take time to find someone who is a good fit.

Websites and Online Forums for finding a Travel Partner

• Thorntree - Travel Companions
• Gumtree - Travel Partners
• Rough Guides - Travel Partners
• BootsnAll - Travel Buddies
• Soul Escape
• Travel Chums

*The above links will take you to the actual “travel partner” forum in each online community. However, I would also advise posting your search in the appropriate destination(s) specific forum(s) as well.

2. Meet People on the Road: The next option is the old-fashioned method of just meeting people along the way. If you have the time, I would say this is the best way to find a travel buddy that you really enjoy being with. As far as finding someone, the idea is simple. Spend a lot of time where other travelers tend to hang out. This means backpacker hostels, internet cafes, British Pubs, traveler clubhouses, etc. Research ahead of time to find out if your travel destination has any kind of Travelers Club or Organization, as they usually post listings of fellow journey men and women looking for traveling partners.

Pros:

• Have the opportunity to get to know your potential travel buddies in person
• Forces you to meet new people, and be proactive about your search

Cons:

• Requires using your travel time to search for a travel buddy
• There’s no guarantee you will actually find someone to travel with

Recommendations

• Be flexible in your travel plans. Don’t try to make your new friends conform to one specific travel itinerary. If they already have a travel plan, go along with them (you can always split off at a later date), and if they don’t, work together to come up with something you are both interested in.

3. Couchsurf: The last option is a kind of mix between solo travel, and travel with a partner, and involves utilizing Hospitality Exchanges (click here if for more information about hospitality exchanges). By using hospitality exchanges, you can hop from place to place on your own, but will have a local buddy (and place to stay) in each new city/town you visit. This option is fundamentally different from the previous two, as it doesn’t involve one full-time travel partner, but rather a different partner in each new place that you visit.

Pros:

• Allows time for solo travel as well as travel with a partner
• Accommodation is provided by your buddy in each new town
• Meet lots of new people
• Usually your hospitality exchange is with a local, which means insider tips and advice
• Can be organized weeks or months before your visit

Cons:

• Don’t have one full time travel partner that you can really get to know, and share all aspects of your travel experience with
• Hospitality exchange partners don’t always have the time or interest to spend all day with travelers
• Locals aren’t always interested in doing the types of things first-timers are interested in.
• Still have to make it from A to B on your own

Recommendations:

• This option is best used by a traveler who enjoys and is comfortable with solo travel, but just wants the safety net of a friend in each new area that can provide advise, an insider’s look, and company on occasion (not to mention a free place to stay).

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