A Family Traveler’s Guide to Making Friends on the Road

While there are times when you want to enjoy your own families company, it’s easy to socialize with others when you’re on the road. Whatever your destination or budget, try these suggestions for making new friends on your next trip and staying in touch after you return home.

Planning Your Trip

Skip Chain Hotels

Major hotels make sense for business travelers who need efficiency, but you’ll probably meet a wider range of personalities if you choose alternative accommodations. Try Airbnb, hostels, and family inns.

Study The Language

You can learn basic phrases even if you lack the time to become fluent. Try your local library for free books and audiobooks for listening on the go. If this isn’t an option- use my link for

Audible here

& grab 1-2 free audiobooks or:

click here to grab 60 days of Scribd FREE!

(They have a ton of language ebooks and audiobooks you can read or listen to. You’ll also be able to download them for offline use)

Most, if not all locals will appreciate you making the extra effort & not acting like your average American (most Americans expect everyone to speak english smh).

Use an App

A growing number of apps will let you use your phone to find a travel companion and coordinate arrangements. A few popular options include Backpackr, Travello, and Tourlina, which is exclusively for women (yay. please tell me I’m not the only paranoid female here?!).

Google used to have one called google trips or at least I think that’s what it was called, it was amaze-balls but for some reason, they discontinued the app. So, now another option that most people won’t consider is google maps. I know right? It isn’t just an app to provide directions. You can see ALLLLL the nearby entertainments, restaurants or anything else you may need.

Volunteer Your Time

Create an instant community by signing up for a group service project. Browse the listings at sites like Workaway that often provide free board in return for your time or contact a charity you already support to discuss their programs.

Contact a Local

You might feel more secure having someone ready to greet you when you arrive. Ask family and friends if they know anyone at your destination or check for local members of organizations to which you belong (start at your local church, school, etc.). Set up a lunch or coffee date if they’re available.

Post on Facebook

Share your itinerary with your social media friends. Now, I understand that most of the time, our FB “friends” aren’t exactly close friends in real life, haha BUT, people LOVE to talk, help and share information. So, you can be certain that once you share your travel plans, they’ll flood you with suggestions for who to meet or things to do.

Taking Your Trip

Be Flexible

Get comfortable speaking with strangers and trying new activities. Be prepared to change your daily schedule if someone suggests something interesting or if THAT THING you wanted to do so dearly doesn’t work out. (Side note: I remember taking a trip to one of the touristy cities in Italy, can’t remember which one, thoroughly excited to visit ALL the museums my friends and family could take BUT it landed on a Monday and most attractions were closed. Whomp whomp, cue the waterworks! I wasn’t prepared so make sure you are!)

Eat Out

Sharing food encourages conversation.

Ask to be seated at the bar instead of at a private table.

Invite others to join you for meals or buy street food you can take to a park bench.

Remember though, eat street food with caution. Be mindful of WHERE you are and native customs like food regulations and whatnot. You may have to do a bit of research or ask around. But, it’s worth it, especially when you factor in your children. Kids’ immune systems and digestive systems can’t always handle and stomach what we can. Also good to remember that any drastic change in diet can mess with anyone’s insides.

Pursue Your Interests

Meet others who share your passions. Look up local Meetup groups or check community calendars for wine tastings or scuba diving lessons.

Play a Game

This is one of my favorites. Bring along a deck of cards, a miniature magnetic board game, or a printable game you can play with your children on the go.

Your fellow travelers may be grateful for the entertainment on long train and bus rides.

True story, no matter what language barriers may be present, body language is THE universal language. And nothing will ever trump kids’ laughter.

It’s seriously one of the easiest ways to stir up conversations without actually having to do it. lol #introvertproblems

Click here to grab some pocket-friendly fun printable games in our shop.

And use code: pocketgames10 to save even more!

Ask Questions

It’s natural to be curious when you’re visiting an unfamiliar place. Ask locals or more seasoned travelers for their recommendations. Invite others to talk about themselves and their experiences.

Now, for my introverts, here’s a tip: walk into a hotel and sit in the lobby for a few minutes (no one will notice I promise) and once you’ve gathered yourself, walk up to the friendliest employee behind the desk and ask for their recommendations.

If you’d rather not speak to anyone, look around the front counter or the walls, especially surrounding the restaurant area, for any leaflets, pamphlets or flyers. You will almost always find discounted deals there!

Take a Tour

If you still have more solitary time than you like or you’re tired of arranging your own itinerary, let a tour guide take over for a while. Most cities will have walking tours for various museums, monuments, and neighborhoods.

And the bonus here is that most walking tours are free! Of course, if ever visit NYC hit me up 😉

It’s my hometown and I love meeting bloggers & readers in real life.

Collect Contact Information

When you meet someone that you want to stay in touch with, be sure to ask for their details before you move on. You might continue an online relationship or show them around if they come to visit where you live.

At the very least, be sure to “follow” each other on social media, so the connection isn’t completely lost.

Stay Safe

While many fellow travelers and locals will be sincere and helpful, it’s important to stay alert when you’re far from home. Protect your valuables, meet in public spaces, and leave if anything makes you feel uncomfortable, and I mean ANYTHING.

I grew up in some of the roughest poverty-stricken neighborhoods in NYC, so yes, although I do have some “street smarts” my intuition has saved my behind many more times than I can count. Please listen to yours.

If you keep an open mind, you’ll discover plenty of opportunities to make new travel buddies anywhere you go.

Connecting with others will enrich your travel experience whether your paths cross briefly or you become lasting friends.

Manchester With Kids

Manchester has so much to offer your family! & Definitely worth a visit if you’re looking for a smaller (better) version of London.

Whether you prefer bright city lights, the countryside, local history, shopping, theatre, or dining out, everything is accessible with excellent transport links.

Manchester and the surrounding area is easy to get around once you are here thanks to the choice of buses trams and trains that are available. Walking (especially to the city center) is one of the best options to as the city is compact.

Use the transport for greater Manchester TFGM for planning your journey as a wealth of information and journey planning tools to take the stress out of traveling throughout the city.

Manchester City center has a free bus service (called “metro shuttles”) and it provides free hop-on hop-off service that links to all the main rail stations shopping districts and business areas.

There are also plenty of commercial buses that run through Greater Manchester to help you get around too.

You can also use the Metrolink tram to transport across the city region and if you’re planning on sightseeing “travel cards” offer unlimited travel across all transports so be sure to purchase a ticket from the one stop ticket machines before boarding!

The train rail can connect you to the neighboring towns and districts of Greater Manchester as well.

Manchester’s Transportation System Is Called: System One

If you want to travel on any bus or combination of bus train and tram you can purchase a “system one travel card” as they’re accepted by most bus train and trail companies running through Manchester.

This gives you and your family the opportunity to travel and transfer seamlessly from bus to bus or from one transport to another as many times as you like.

Parking In Manchester

NPC

It has over 30 locations across the city center. They have a pre-booking service in Manchester so you can guarantee a parking space before your journey begins.

APCOA

They have five car parks in Manchester including Manchester Piccadilly station car park they offer long and short stays.

Bus Tours Around Manchester

Manchester bus tour has a quote-unquote secrets of the city with a live guide and you can experience the famous sites while discovering its rich heritage as a world city of firsts. The birthplace of new ideas and innovations discoveries and inventions. The 90-minute tour feature is over 100 unusual facts about Manchester’s history music football industry culture politics and residents live guided tours run every Saturday at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

Sightseeing

With the hop on-hop off bus, you can discover the city’s heritage on a 90-minute hop on hop off bus tour with 14 stops in Manchester’s key areas and attractions, including the town hall, Manchester national football museum, science, and industry museum, and Manchester United football club.

Walking In Manchester City Centre

The City center is easily explored by foot with most areas within a 20 minute walk.

You can look out for a city host who are dotted around the city central district to help you with directions public transport information and details on events or attractions.

Maps of The City

Visitors can pick up a free large version Manchester map in the visitor information center, located right inside Manchester Central Library or at city center museums galleries and attractions.

Manchester is a great city with tons of interesting activities and attractions for the entire family.

Here are a few below:

Play Factor

Play factor houses the tallest standing indoor slide in the UK as well as a full indoor laser tag arena go-kart track exhilarating zip wire and stimulating virtual reality environment!

Legoland Discovery Center

Side Note: Center is actually spelled: Centre, in the UK

If your children are age 3 to 10 and like Lego then they’ll love this the ultimate indoor Lego playground see all of Manchester’s top attractions made from Lego in mini land and enjoy the new Lego Ninjago City adventure plays feature.

Smith Hills Open Farm

This farm is set in the vast open countryside of smithers country Park next to the historic middles Hall children and families will love visiting to see over 25 different types of animals.

East Lancashire Railway

An ideal day out for kids is heritage railways run steam and diesel trains through beautiful the pennine Lancashire scenery. There are lots of special events throughout the year including the popular Santa specials so check out what’s on in advance.

Chester Zoo

For all the animal lovers Chester zoo’s brand new walkthrough lemur experience will transport you to the forest of Madagascar as you come face to face with the best wildlife the island has to offer plus the new treetop challenge is a great way to burn off some energy after a delicious lunch and the recently refurbished Oakland pub.

CBBC Tour at Media City UK

Media City UK is the home of CBBC where many favorite children’s programs are made such as blue Peter and newsround Kids can have a go at being a CBBC presenter or find out how it feels to present the news and weather they’ll also discover what goes on behind the scenes

Tatton Park

Experience tudor life at tatton Park
located in the beautiful 1000 acre deer Park the former Edgerton family home is open for you to explore uncover centuries of history at the two-door old hall and ad wander at leisure through huge glorious gardens where the children can meet very special rare breed animals at the working farm.

Manchester City Center Neighborhoods:

Ancoats
Filled with independent cafes and bars and new restaurants

Castlefield
The Roman heart of the city. Escape from the city hustle has an array of waterside restaurant pubs and bars.

Chinatown
The second-largest Chinatown in the UK. A wide variety of Asian restaurants, bakeries, and shops.

Worth A Visit:

• Manchester Art Gallery

Civic quarter
Home City Ionic listed buildings such as Town Hall and Central Library. Essential library host walk daily walking tours at 11:00 a.m.

Worth A Visit:

• Manchester Central Library
• St Mary’s Church

1st Street
One of Manchester’s cultural districts. It’s home to the multi-art center HOME, bars restaurants and accommodation.

Greengate
This is in the heart of Manchester filled with culture heritage commercial spaces and residential buildings with a waterfront view.

Medieval quarter
This is home to some of the city’s oldest building such as Chatham’s Library and Manchester’s cathedral

Worth A Visit:

• National football museum
• Chatham School of music
• Cathedral Gardens
• Manchester cathedral

New Bailey
The vibrant canal side area of the city and it mixes commercial space with accommodation restaurant pubs and bars.

NOMA
In the heart of this area is Sadler’s Yard. Public space surrounded by shots restaurants homes and offices. It’s home to many year-round events.

Northern Quarter
a creative neighborhood filled with independent retailers of vintage music fashion art and more.

Worth A Visit:

• Center for contemporary Chinese art
• Manchester craft and design center
• Greater Manchester Police museum

Petersfield
The city’s conference district including Manchester Central convention complex great northern and the Bridgewater Hall.

Piccadilly
This is the main gateway into the city where there’s many shops bars hotels pubs and more.

Retail District
This area is exactly as it sounds it’ll fulfill all your shopping needs from high end to high street fashion and it’s a popular area for street artists.

Worth A Visit:

• St Ann’s Church
• Royal exchange theater

Spinningfields
Vibrant area with luxury international fashion brands and many restaurants & bars.

Worth A Visit:

• John Ryland’s Library(the library in Hardy Potter!!!)
• People’s History Museum
• Manchester Opera House

St John’s
This is home for the science and industry museum.

Worth A Visit:

• Science and Industry Museum
• Air and space hall
• Castlefield Bowl

The gay village
One of the world’s leading LGBT+ cities. A thriving area with hubs clubs restaurants and green space supporting this community.

Regional center neighborhoods
Located outside of the city center, they have a unique sense of culture and community.

Etihad campus
This is a sports district that’s home to the city football club stadium and training facilities.

Oxford road corridor
South of the city center…It runs from St Peter’s square to Whitworth Park. Surrounded by world-class medical and educational institutions alongside many cultural amenities.

Worth A Visit:

• UoM Manchester museum
• Pankhurst center
• Elizabeth gaskell’s house
• the whitworth
• whitworth Park
• college of music

Media City UK and The Quays
Greater Manchester’s contemporary waterfront is packing everything you can do in a big city into one square mile. The shopping sports arts drama and world-class architecture. You name it, you’ll find it here. It’s also an international hub for technology and creativity, and it’s a host to a wide variety of leisure activities. (Were you may even spot celebrities!)

Worth A Visit:

• Imperial war museum
• the Lowry
• Lowry outlet Mall
• Ordsall Hall