Lolo Pass’ Tips for Solo Travelers

Travelling solo is thrilling, bold, sometime lonely, but above all opens a world of possibilities - Will you meet an extraordinary stranger who will become a lifelong friend? Will you look internally and get to know and love yourself more?

Hostels (and Lolo Pass specifically) are perfect environment for solo travelers. There’s plenty of opportunity to meet fellow adventurers in the communal kitchen, the bar, or even the bunk right below you.

Top Tips for Solo Travelers

·         Make Friends in Your Sleep – opt to stay at a hostel to maximize your chances of interacting with and making meaningful connections with other travelers.  Hostels have a much more open vibe than hotels and guests and staff are looking to foster meaningful connections.  Hostel amenities (shared kitchens, hang out spaces) and their guest programming are designed to lead to interaction.  Lolo Pass has a large guest kitchen where guests can mingle while preparing meals for themselves.   If you’re leery about sharing sleeping space, most hostels have private rooms available.  Lolo Pass offers gender-specific (as well as all-gender) dormitories.

·         Share Your Itinerary – make sure someone back home is aware of your whereabouts.  There are plenty of travel apps that make it very easy to craft an itinerary just by forwarding confirmation emails to a central address.  We use TripIt and always share our itinerary before departing.  If someone needs to find you, they’ll know where you’re staying and if not, they can live vicariously through your plans.  If you want to be extra-cautious, you can share your location on your phone.

·         Bring a Physical Book – there might be situations like a solo meal or drink where you wish you had a companion.  Of course, you can occupy yourself with your phone but that’s not conducive to striking up a conversation with a stranger.  A physical book is easier to disengage from and, depending on the book, could be a conversation starter in and of itself.

·         Get Tickets to a Public Event  - scope out festivals, concerts, or meet ups that are happening that you’d likely go to if they were held in your home town.  You’ll be surrounded by people with similar interests and the opportunities to connect are boundless.  On a recent solo trip to Paris, one of the baristas from our sister hostel, The Local, got tickets to a Miel de Montagne (French musician who he loves) concert.  His trip took a complete 180 when he recognized a former guest from the hostel among the crowd!  He was introduced to his friends and ended up having an unforgettable night out with other concert goers.

·         Work it Out – workout classes or gyms are always an easy way to make friends.  Check out local workout apps (like MindBody in the US) to see which gyms, classes, or programs are of interest and near where you’re staying.

·         Check Your Social Network – Facebook and LinkedIn aren’t necessarily the hippest of the social media channels but they both have search functions that allow you to find your contacts (and even contacts of your contacts) in a specific city.  Before you travel to a city on your own, check your networks because you might already know someone there.  If not, maybe a close friend of yours does.  Do be respectful of these loose connections’ time.  A person in a major metropolis might have some fatigue when it comes to out of town drop ins but it doesn’t hurt to at least ask for a couple of city-specific recommendations.