Find out how to Use Fb Teams to Meet Different Vacationers

Bear in mind Couchsurfing? It was an internet site that allowed you to stick with locals (free of charge) and at all times had a plethora of occasions and meetups you could possibly attend irrespective of the place you had been on the earth. It was among the finest methods to satisfy locals and vacationers on the highway. It was one in every of my favourite websites.

Just about everybody on the crew right here used it lots 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 because of Couchsurfing, however he was additionally a bunch, and he was even featured in a calendar they made one 12 months!

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 beloved it. I met folks in cities like Lyon simply to hang around, did meet-ups in NYC, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and so many different locations.

However ever because the website began charging round 2013, after which instituted a paywall through the pandemic, fewer and fewer folks have used it. Today, it’s a shell of its former self.

Whereas researching the most recent version of my e-book on funds journey (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 just a few dozen energetic profiles inside 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 inside the final month. That’s an enormous, huge distinction!

It’s an actual disgrace as Couchsurfing actually modified the way in which folks traveled. It was as ubiquitous as Lonely Planet!

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

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

However, every time I signal into Fb, I maintain seeing posts from all kinds of teams in my feed, with folks 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 at all times felt like they had been simply sleazy guys hitting on younger ladies 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 particular person would say.

Whereas female-only teams have been a authentic solution to meet folks for a very long time (Women Love Journey being one of the well-known), the mixed-gender ones at all times felt a bit of sketchy. However they stored popping up in my feed.

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

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

I used the group Discover a Journey Buddy whereas in Europe and posted a few of my tentative plans. I bought a whole lot of responses and direct messages, which was fairly overwhelming.

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

However I waded by all of the junk and finally discovered actual folks to satisfy up with. Ultimately, I solely met just a few of them, as both my plans shifted or theirs did. However the interactions I had had been actually nice.

I had an superior evening out in Freiburg, Germany, with a bunch of parents, and one other with an Italian woman and her pals in Amsterdam. Every time, they took me round to locations I wouldn’t have seen in any other case, and I bought to satisfy locals. It was a great way to make new pals and discover folks to speak to.

Despite the fact that you need to wade by numerous 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 folks as I traveled.

In case you’re wanting to make use of them, listed below are some ideas to attenuate (however not get rid of) the rubbish replies:

1. Be particular about the place you’re going and when (in any other case, folks 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 accomplice, gender, and many others.)

My present favourite teams are:

From there, for security, I might extremely advocate wanting on the profiles of respondents to verify 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 not less than there’s something as of late 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.