How to Find a Travel Partner
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:
- 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.
- 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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I am looking for a femail partner to travel to Russia and Russia Cruise,I wouldn.t mind to Rome, Hong kong in the age group around 60 up or down next year. If there is someone interested please e-mail me as I live in Brisbane. and I will get back to them as soon as possible Thank You.
well this is useful… (at least for me)
very thanks
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travel directory
I am also looking for a baby boomer travel partner…Have you found one yet Anna? Email if interested…thanks
Looking for someone to just get up and go with. Bare Minimum travelling with just what we can carry. Cross-country U.S. no set destination, except everywhere, and no set date of return.
Hey I’m Nina, 20, from Germany. My friend, Konstanze 20, and me will traveling around california from 29. january till 20. february. It would be great if you are over 21 oder over 25, beacuase of the insuarence. We’ll start in LA (st monica), want to see the landscape (desert, mountains…), national parks, tahoe lake, up to the north, sakramento, san francisco, and on highway 1 back to LA. we are open to suggestions. it willl be great if you join us. pelase write back as soon as possible
Hi
everybody finally i am going to be free i want to travel south america……..i live in new jersey….i prefer to travel with a lady who is nice carefree type, write me when you want to go….and which countries you want to go…………we can talk and figure it out……………i speak a little bit spainish
regg
Hi … I am looking for nice good female to visit thailand with me next May.2011
Hi … I am looking for nice good female to visit thailand with me next May.2011
I visited thailandbefore , it is nice country , it have many magical islands , it is little boring to be alone there .. so if u interested to visit there with me , please contacrt me to : haewis14@hotmail.com
Hi every one .
I’m jony from Italy going to Malaysia for holiday , looking for female partner to travel with me or to meet me there . U can contact me at my email . Jon108325@yahoo.com
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Travel Buddy To Thailand and Cambodia Jan 2012!!!
Hello Amigos
I am a guy in his late twenties from South America, I am currently studying towards my MPhil in Economic Policy, currently living and working in London.
I am traveling to Thailand on the 8th of January for 3 week and then to Cambodia for 1 week, and would love to hear from someone who is traveling to Bangkok around these dates.
About me, I’m really easy going, very friendly, nice to have a conversation with and pretty much relaxed about life and love adventure and always happy to meet new people from different backgrounds of life. I love dancing salsa and also love unexpected holidays.
As I believe this is my only holidays in 2012 cos of my studies I am willing to make the best of my time in Thailand and Cambodia, I don’t have a fixed itinerary, so I am pretty flexible about places and always open to suggestions.
If you are looking for a nice travel buddy, who you can enjoy your holidays with, just drop me a line and we can meet up for a coffee if you are in London, otherwise still we can meet up along the way in Asia. I also a FB account if you would like to add me.
My email: josepachon@hotmail.com
Have a nice day
Hi there everybody,
Easy going girl looking For Easy going people to travelerd with around Asia or South America… Elsewhere …
Pls if u interested contact me….
I cant wait to go!!!!
Hello all, I’m currently very busy to start a travel site that combines finding travel companions, staying with locals and sharing your experience with friends! I’ve made a worldtrip 2 years ago which gave me this idea. Come and chekck it out!
The website to find travel companions!:)
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