As James A. Michener beautifully put it and summed it up:

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay at home. 

And that’s what travel is all about, what differentiates a traveller from a tourist is; meeting with locals, learning their culture, religion, traditions, & respecting them even if none makes sense, eating their food, enjoying their local tunes, and above all going off-the-beaten-track. As we want you to become a traveller -and not a tourist- we will give you a list of 7 websites & apps that would make it possible to easily hang out with locals, and do all of that!

COUCHSURFING

You don’t really need to stay at someone’s place in order to make use of Couchsurfing. Besides the fact that you could ask public questions, and send private messages to members, you could also ask someone to show you around. Couchsurfing had also introduced a new tool on their mobile app which identifies your location and accordingly lets you know which couch-surfers are around and ready to hang out.

EATWITH

Another way yet an authentic one to meet with locals but this time while cooking you a meal, not only but also, you will be joined by other travellers or locals who are keen to meet with foreigners from all over the world while sharing a meal from the local cuisine.

BLABLACAR

That’s more of a paid & organized “hitchhiking”, and one of the coolest ways to get around Europe and get insights from your mostly local driver, even better if joined by other riders. Your ride will never be boring, or costly, all you need is to put your fun mode on, and you will be good to go. Rdvouz is the American version.

MEETUP

What if you are a traveller with special interests, and want to enjoy them with random people who share those same preferences? Whether a hiker, a football fanatic, an art buff, or a party animal, you will more than likely find a meetup for people who fit into your kind of things.

SHOWAROUND

Want to go off-the-beaten-path, and have a purely local experience? ShowAround will allow you to communicate with people like you and me who are interested in showing people around for free or for a certain fee.

VAYABLE

Similar to ShowAround -even some tours are offered for free- but with a cool twist, as you can find tours such as; food crawling, night photography, walking, running, design, cycling, hiking, sailing, you name it! The only drawback is that it doesn’t cover as many countries & cities -just yet.

TRIPTRIBE

Are you a Yogi or a Fitness Fanatic?! Want to go on a wellness retreat yet you have no one who shows interest in your plan? How about joining a group of travellers within the same age group who share those exact same interests?  With TripTribe you can join pre-arranged Yoga & Fitness Retreats, not only but also if you are good enough to lead a retreat, you can create one and have people join you from all corners of the universe.

Have we got you excited to travel the world, and meet with locals?!!

Your trip starts right here!..#BookNow

About the Author

Passainte Assem

A former lawyer, travel junkie and adventurer from head to toe. Whether broke or out of vacation time, always on the lookout for the next destination. Keen to share her travel stories, planning tips and photographs to give you a real sense of place.