Easy methods to Use Fb Teams to Meet Different Vacationers

Keep in mind Couchsurfing? It was a web site that allowed you to stick with locals (without cost) and at all times had a plethora of occasions and meetups you can attend irrespective of the place you had been on the earth. It was top-of-the-line methods to fulfill locals and vacationers on the street. It was considered one 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 due to Couchsurfing, however he was additionally a number, 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 beloved 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 in the course of the pandemic, fewer and fewer individuals have used it. Lately, it’s a shell of its former self.

Whereas researching the newest version of my guide on finances 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 a couple of dozen energetic profiles inside the earlier month. For instance, London confirmed 229,457 whole hosts however solely 896 energetic hosts within the final six months — and solely 496 energetic inside 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 related web sites) fairly useless, the place does one go to fulfill individuals now?

Reply: Fb — which is truthfully the final place I’d 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 spite of everything, Fb additionally has a well-deserved popularity 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 kinds of teams in my feed, with individuals searching for journey buddies: backpacking Europe, backpacking Australia, digital nomads in (insert vacation spot), discover a journey buddy…the record 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 entice 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 respectable technique to meet individuals for a very long time (Women Love Journey being one of the crucial well-known), the mixed-gender ones at all times felt a little bit sketchy. However they stored popping up in my feed.

So I seemed 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, but it surely’s the web, and there are tons of these), typically I did come throughout actual individuals who appeared usually eager about assembly others, nevertheless few and much between they had been.

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

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

Numerous it was spam: individuals telling me to come back go to them in India (I’m posting about Europe), individuals sending me hellos, a couple of marriage proposals, and a few actually inappropriate feedback. (Facet notice: 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 via all of the junk and finally discovered actual individuals to fulfill up with. Ultimately, I solely met a couple of 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 gaggle of parents, and one other with an Italian woman and her mates in Amsterdam. Every time, they took me round to locations I wouldn’t have seen in any other case, and I acquired to fulfill locals. It was a great way to make new mates and discover individuals to speak to.

Despite the fact that it’s important to wade via a whole lot of rubbish, I believe 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 fulfill individuals as I traveled.

Should you’re trying to make use of them, listed below are some options to reduce (however not eradicate) 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 searching for (age, type of journey accomplice, gender, and so on.)

My present favourite teams are:

From there, for security, I’d extremely advocate 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 least there’s something as of late that will help 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.