The right way to Use Fb Teams to Meet Different Vacationers

Bear in mind Couchsurfing? It was an internet site that allowed you to stick with locals (at no cost) and all the time had a plethora of occasions and meetups you possibly can attend regardless of the place you have been on this planet. It was the most effective methods to satisfy locals and vacationers on the highway. It was one in all my favourite websites.

Just about everybody on the crew right here used it loads over time. My Director of Content material, for instance, was not solely an avid traveler who went on a number of multi-day journeys with strangers due to Couchsurfing, however he was additionally a bunch, and he was even featured in a calendar they made one yr!

I used it to remain in locations like Copenhagen, London, Oxford, Munich, Broome, Paris, Osaka, Athens, and so forth and so forth. I imply, I liked it. I met individuals in cities like Lyon simply to hang around, did meet-ups in NYC, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and so many different locations.

However ever for the reason that website began charging round 2013, after which instituted a paywall through the pandemic, fewer and fewer individuals have used it. Nowadays, it’s a shell of its former self.

Whereas researching the newest version of my book on budget travel (popping out in March 2025!), I rejoined Couchsurfing to see how energetic it was, and even within the largest metropolitan facilities, there have been barely a number of dozen energetic profiles throughout the earlier month. For instance, London confirmed 229,457 complete hosts however solely 896 energetic hosts within the final six months — and solely 496 energetic throughout the final month. That’s a giant, large distinction!

It’s an actual disgrace as Couchsurfing actually modified the best way individuals traveled. It was as ubiquitous as Lonely Planet!

So, with Couchsurfing (and comparable web sites) fairly lifeless, the place does one go to satisfy individuals now?

Reply: Fb — which is truthfully the final place I might have thought, as a result of, nicely, it’s Fb, and most youthful vacationers don’t use it as a lot as TikTok or Instagram. In any case, Fb additionally has a well-deserved status because the place your aunt posts memes or your loopy cousin rants about racist stuff.

However, at any time when I signal into Fb, I maintain seeing posts from all types of teams in my feed, with individuals in search of journey buddies: backpacking Europe, backpacking Australia, digital nomads in (insert vacation spot), discover a journey buddy…the checklist of teams goes on and on.

I used to be skeptical of them at first, as a result of after I took a deeper have a look at the posts, it all the time felt like they have been simply sleazy guys hitting on younger women and AI-generated woman accounts designed lure somebody. “Hello I’m Anna from US trying to journey dm me” doesn’t strike me as one thing an precise individual would say.

Whereas female-only teams have been a authentic solution to meet individuals for a very long time (Girls Love Travel being one of the vital well-known), the mixed-gender ones all the time felt just a little sketchy. However they stored popping up in my feed.

So I appeared into them extra fastidiously to see in the event that they actually have been spammy. Whereas there have been many pretend profiles and creepy dudes (sorry, guys, however it’s the web, and there are tons of these), typically I did come throughout actual individuals who appeared typically serious about assembly others, nevertheless few and much between they have been.

Are these teams actually a great way to satisfy individuals? There was just one solution to discover out.

I used the group Find a Travel Buddy whereas in Europe and posted a few of my tentative plans. I obtained a whole bunch of responses and direct messages, which was fairly overwhelming.

Plenty of it was spam: individuals telling me to return go to them in India (I’m posting about Europe), individuals sending me hellos, a number of marriage proposals, and a few actually inappropriate feedback. (Facet be aware: if I get these sorts of responses, I can solely think about what it’s like for girls, who I usually see edit their posts to ask individuals to cease approaching to them. Fairly unhappy.)

However I waded by way of all of the junk and finally discovered actual individuals to satisfy up with. In the long run, I solely met a number of of them, as both my plans shifted or theirs did. However the interactions I had have been actually nice.

I had an superior night time out in Freiburg, Germany, with a gaggle of oldsters, and one other with an Italian woman and her buddies in Amsterdam. Every time, they took me round to locations I wouldn’t have seen in any other case, and I obtained to satisfy locals. It was a great way to make new buddies and discover individuals to speak to.

Despite the fact that it’s a must to wade by way of a whole lot of rubbish, I feel these teams are nice, particularly in case you are touring alone. Whereas I don’t have the persona to go on a multi-day journey with a stranger, I did love the power to satisfy individuals as I traveled.

If you happen to’re trying to make use of them, listed here are some ideas to attenuate (however not remove) the rubbish replies:

1. Be particular about the place you’re going and when (in any other case, individuals will spam ya with “come go to X!”).
2. Ask individuals who reply to be particular about themselves.
3. Be clear about what you’re in search of (age, sort of journey companion, gender, and so on.)

My present favourite teams are:

From there, for security, I might extremely suggest trying on the profiles of respondents to ensure they’re actual and solely meet in public locations. Past that, have enjoyable! These teams won’t be as straightforward to make use of as Couchsurfing was, however at the very least there’s something today that can assist you meet locals and different vacationers. I’m now a believer in and fan of those teams and will certainly be utilizing them extra on future journeys.