One of the best things about travel is the people you meet along the way — and one of the most common questions we get is how to actually make it happen. We have been traveling together for years, and some of our closest friendships started with a stranger at a bar, a trivia night at a hostel, or a pub crawl we joined on a whim. Here is everything we know about how to meet other travelers in Europe — and it is all based on things that have actually worked for us.
WHY IT CAN FEEL SO HARD (AND WHY IT ISN’T)
If you are traveling as a couple or solo and wondering why making friends on the road feels awkward, you are not alone. The truth is most people are waiting for someone else to make the first move. Once you accept that you might get rejected — and that is completely fine — everything gets easier. We have been shot down before. We have also ended up spending entire nights exploring cities with complete strangers who became genuine friends. The ratio is very much in your favor.
GO TO A HOSTEL BAR (EVEN IF YOU AREN’T STAYING THERE)
This is our number one tip for how to meet other travelers in Europe and it works every single time. Hostel bars are specifically designed for exactly this — people sitting alone or in small groups, all hoping to connect with someone. You do not need to be staying at the hostel to walk in and order a drink.
In Bruges, we walked into a hostel bar for a trivia night and ended up becoming friends with a girl we had never met before. We spent the entire night out exploring the city together — wandering canals, finding late-night bars, one of those spontaneous nights that you genuinely could not have planned. That is a hostel bar working exactly as intended.
Pro Tip: Look for hostels running events — trivia nights, pub crawls, pub quizzes, movie nights. These give you a built-in excuse to talk to people without it feeling forced.
JOIN A PUB CRAWL
Pub crawls get a bad reputation as a tourist trap, but they are genuinely one of the best ways to meet other travelers in Europe — especially if you are somewhere new and do not know the bar scene yet. You are put into a group with people who are already in the mindset of having a good time and meeting strangers. The social work is done for you.
We joined a pub crawl in Sofia and still have an active group chat from that night. Occasionally someone sends a photo of themselves drinking and everyone reacts. We got lunch with two Italians from that crawl the next day, spent the entire afternoon together, and then met up with the larger group in the evening to watch the Euro Cup. That was supposed to be one night out. It turned into a full day and a half with people we genuinely liked.
Our friendship in Split actually started through a pub crawl too — Seth used to travel there for work and partnered with a local crawl. He and the owner became close friends. Now whenever we visit Split, we have dinner with him, his wife, and his kids. He owns a couple of bars and restaurants there now. That is the long game version of a pub crawl friendship.
We also run our own boutique sailing trip called Voyage — and a huge part of what makes those trips special is that eight strangers get on a boat together and get off as genuine friends. The format forces connection in the best possible way.
SIT AT THE BAR OR AT OUTDOOR TABLES
If you are wondering how to meet other travelers in Europe, seating matters more than most people realize. If you are at a table tucked in the corner, you are invisible. If you are sitting at the bar itself or at an outdoor patio table with chairs facing the street, you are accessible. Bartenders introduce people. Strangers lean over and comment on your drink. Someone asks where you are from. It sounds simple because it is.
In Florence, we are always making friends with visitors who end up at the same bars we go to. We have taken more impromptu nightlife tours with strangers than we can count — walking people through our favorite spots, introducing them to bartenders we know by name. Going back to visit Pippo, Gianfranco, Edo, and the rest of the crew there never gets old. Those friendships started because we were sitting at the bar, not at a booth in the back.
JUST JOIN THE CONVERSATION
The most direct answer to how to meet other travelers in Europe is also the simplest: just join the conversation. If people are sitting near you and having a conversation that sounds interesting, just join it. Comment on something you overheard. Ask where they are headed next. Make a joke about the menu. The worst case is they smile politely and turn back to each other. The best case is you end up in Chiang Mai at a random bar, hit it off with four travelers, go out for ten hours, and then spend the next day together too — which is exactly what happened to us.
You just have to be okay with the rejection if it comes. Most of the time it does not.
APPS AND ONLINE COMMUNITIES TO MEET OTHER TRAVELERS IN EUROPE
Apps have gotten better for this. Meetup is solid for finding local events and group activities in most major European cities. Couchsurfing still runs meetups in a lot of cities even if the hosting side has changed. Facebook travel groups for specific cities or regions can surface spontaneous meetups and people looking for travel companions.
The gap that none of these platforms fill particularly well is connecting travelers who are heading to the same places at the same time — which is the whole reason we are building Join The Journey. The idea came directly from our own experience of wishing there was a dedicated place to find other travelers moving through the same cities on the same timeline. It does not fully exist yet, but it is coming — and we would love for you to be part of it when it launches.
TAKE TOURS AND ACTIVITIES TO MEET OTHER TRAVELERS IN EUROPE
Free walking tours are one of the most underrated ways to meet other travelers in Europe. You spend two to three hours walking around with a small group, you hear the same stories, you laugh at the same things, and by the end you have a natural excuse to suggest grabbing lunch or a drink together. Food tours work the same way. Cooking classes. Day trips to nearby towns.
The key is choosing activities where you are moving with a group rather than just observing alongside one. A bus tour to a castle does not create connection. A walking tour where the guide asks questions and the group interacts does.
STAY LONGER IN FEWER PLACES
This one is counterintuitive but it is probably the most important structural change you can make. When you spend two nights somewhere and move on, you meet people and immediately scatter. When you spend a week or two in the same city, you start seeing the same faces at the same coffee shop, the same bar, the same market. Relationships form because you have time to run into each other again.
Slow travel is how most of our lasting friendships have started. It is also just a better way to actually experience a place. Our guide to working remotely while traveling Europe goes into how we structure longer stays — it applies even if you are not working remotely, just taking a longer trip.
Pro Tip: Bratislava is one of the best cities in Europe for this. It is small, the bar scene is tight, and locals are genuinely welcoming to travelers. We have made more lasting friendships there than almost anywhere else.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FIND YOUR PEOPLE
When you click with someone, make the next move immediately. Do not wait until the end of the night and hope it works out. Suggest the next bar while you are still at the first one. Propose lunch the next day while you are saying goodnight. Exchange numbers or Instagram handles right then. The window closes fast when everyone is traveling on different schedules.
And keep the group chat alive. Even the Sofia pub crawl group chat — years later, someone sends a photo and it brings everyone back for a moment. Those little threads of connection are worth maintaining.
PLAN YOUR EUROPE TRIP
Before you go, grab an eSIM so you have data the moment you land. Saily is our go-to — use code THEJETLAGJOURNEY25 for 25% off. We also love Airalo (code JLJ10 for 10% off) as a great alternative.
From Q4 2026, American travelers will need ETIAS before visiting Europe. It takes 10 minutes and costs €20. Read our complete ETIAS guide.
For trip planning, our complete guide to planning a trip to Europe covers everything from budgeting to building your itinerary. And our 50 Europe travel tips will fill in all the gaps.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do you meet other travelers in Europe?
The most reliable methods are hostel bars (even if you are not staying there), pub crawls, sitting at the bar rather than a table, and joining free walking tours or group activities. The common thread is putting yourself in spaces where people are already open to meeting strangers.
Is it hard to make friends while traveling in Europe as a couple?
Not as hard as you might think. Traveling as a couple can actually make approaching strangers easier — you already have a built-in social unit and people often find couples approachable. The key is being willing to invite others in rather than staying in your own bubble.
What are the best cities in Europe to meet other travelers?
Bratislava, Sofia, Split, Florence, and Chiang Mai (Southeast Asia but worth mentioning) have been our best cities for spontaneous connections. Smaller cities where travelers congregate but the scene is not overwhelming tend to produce better connections than mega-destinations like Paris or Amsterdam.
Do pub crawls actually help you meet people?
Yes, genuinely. Pub crawls are structured around exactly this goal — you are placed in a group with people who are already in the mindset of meeting strangers. We have made lasting friendships from pub crawls in Sofia and Split that we still maintain years later.
What apps can I use to meet travelers in Europe?
Meetup works well for finding local events and group activities. Couchsurfing still hosts meetups in many cities. Facebook travel groups can surface spontaneous connections. We are also building Join The Journey specifically to connect travelers heading to the same places at the same time — sign up to be notified when it launches.
How do you keep in touch with people you meet while traveling?
Exchange numbers or Instagram handles the same night — do not wait. Create a group chat if there are a few of you. Even a low-maintenance group chat that goes quiet for months and then comes alive when someone sends a photo keeps those friendships real. We still have an active chat from a Sofia pub crawl that is years old.
