Connection with Other Travellers with You’re Not a Backpacker

This post is presented in conjunction with Wendy Wu tours, and written by us.

When people start travelling in their youth, often their only option for international travel is backpacking, due to the cost. As people age, they often start travelling with a significant other. In most places, a hotel room costs the same or not substantially different from two dorm beds. Therefore, people tend to naturally move up a notch in their travel style when they start travelling as a pair. When people travel more, they tend to get savvy about using services like Priceline, to get 4* hotels at 2* prices. All of these are natural evolutions in travel style. Moving up to more expensive accommodations and out of hostels can leave people feeling a bit more disconnected from other travellers. This sense of disconnection can also happen when people start renting cars and taking budget flights, as opposed to getting between cities using public transport or ultra cheap bus companies popular with backpackers.

There are some options people have for greater connection with other travellers. One is tours. Some countries are a bit more intimidating to do as an independent traveller, and sometimes people choose group tours e.g., China holidays from the UK that provide some relief from having to plan everything yourself. Another option is cruises. As my Stepdad said recently, cruises seem to be coming back into fashion. Folks we know who have kids LOVE them. Why? Because they can drop their kids off at the ship’s kids’ club and enjoy free babysitting for their entire trip. And, let’s face it, most little kids would rather be at a playground or doing other kids’ club type activities than most travel activities. For families, the buffet meals on cruises are also often appealing for families where everyone has different food preferences, or the kids really just want weetbix for breakfast everyday! In other words, things that people wouldn’t have dreamed of doing when they were backpackers in their 20s, start seeming appealing in their 30s. Cruises are also easy places to make friends during your travels. One key is to pick a cruise that is aiming at the demographic you’re in unless you’re open to friendships with people in different age groups. You can even do cruises that have a specific theme e.g., Broadway cruises where Broadway actors do performances on the cruise. Obviously this type of cruise will attract Broadway super fans!

Another option for people wanting to keep things social when they travel is group tours where the group is linked in some way. For example, last time I was at the airport, I encountered a bunch of Texans travellers were all travelling together as part of a Christian singles groups. There are quite a few different types of holidays marketed to singles. If you’re not wanting to do international travel, then a walking group might be more of your cup of tea. All of these are different options if you’re wanting to try out some different types of travel style, and if connection with other travellers is as important to you as connection with locals.