1 Volunteer: You will be helping a community in
need and also get the opportunity to meet people from diverse walks of life.
Try doing a home-stay and experience the local life as well.
2 Take Initiative: When you meet a bunch of people at a
hostel, or a tour, or at your hotel, suggest that you all grab a drink
together. A drink or two will loosen inhibitions sufficiently for interaction
and perhaps friendship.
3 Carry Games With You: A portable video game, a deck
of cards, a game of chess – pull them out and soon you’ll have someone wanting
to play with you. A bit of friendly banter over a game is a great way to make
friends.
4 Try Something Region-Specific: Kite-flying is
a favorite activity in many eastern nations. Playing the Flamenco guitar is
dear to the Spaniard’s heart. Look for regional languages, sports and
activities and participate in them. Like in south India Kite-flying is a great activity.
5 Be Spontaneous: If a local invites you to a meal at
his house, accept it. If someone suggests a safe activity, go with them. Be
safe and use caution, but don’t hide behind tourist guidebooks that say don’t
speak to strangers.
6 Forget Why You Can’t Make Friends: Do
you feel you’re too introverted, too young or too old to make friends? Or do
you feel you cannot trust strangers? Drop those hang-ups if you want to make
friends.
7 Stay At Hostels: Hostels attract a medley of mixed-age
individuals, who mingle freely in the common kitchen, living and dining areas.
Get a private room to enjoy solitude but join the others for after dinner
talks.
8 Explore Couchsurfing: Couchsurfing
allows you to meet people, stay at their homes and get to know them. If you
look for potential hosts with like-minded interests, it’s a good way to make
long-standing friendships.
9 Explore Common Interests: Find groups or
individuals who share your interest in the same hobby or activity. Use websites
for travelers such as meetup.com to
look for like-minded people at your travel destinations.
10 Find A Travel Buddy: Look for a virtual travel buddy
on the internet, who’ll share their travel experiences with you. You can also
find local people at your destinations whom you can meet when you arrive. Or even sometimes online destinations experts can do the trick.
11 Hit The Pub: If you like the occasional drink, the
pub is a great place to meet people. Pub-goers are usually relaxed and looking
to make friends and interact. Look up the most popular joints in a town when
you arrive.
12 Go On A Package Tour: Instead of doing
everything on your own, chance a package tour. By the end of the tour you would
definitely have made several friends.
13 Ask Questions: Strike up a
conversation with locals, other tourists, co-passengers and so on. Ask them
questions about the places they visited and what they found interesting. Don’t
get too personal.
14Show Interest In People: Everyone loves
the chance to do a little bragging and talk about themselves. If you find
someone sitting alone, ask them open-ended questions about themselves.
15Get People’s Numbers: If you are not willing to be
spontaneous, at least get people’s numbers and get to know them better over
phone. This is a safer option and you won’t lose out on friendship
opportunities.
16 Join Facebook: Share updates, travel pics and your tales with your
friends. Also share your travel itinerary; if other travelers are visiting the
same place, you might just get some company.
17 Meet Your Friends’ Friends: Ask your existing friends to introduce you to their
friends, both online and offline. Check if these people know any interesting
people in your travel destinations.
18 Visit Your Currency Exchange Counter: Everyone likes sharing their
currency exchange woes. Try to meet other travelers who’re exchanging their
money and start talking about loss and profit in points!
Visakha Tourism offers some great advice and holidays tips. Visakha Tourism is based in South India's Visakhapatnam(Vizag) City. Find Vizag Tourism's Holiday Deals.
