12 Best Apps for Solo Travelers
From booking cheap flights and hotels to staying fit on the go and recovering from jet lag, today’s mobile apps can solve a wide range of problems for travelers. They can also make it easier to travel alone, which is good news for the roughly one-third of consumers who take a solo vacation every year, according to a recent Travel Leaders Group consumer travel trends survey.
Here are the 12 best mobile apps for solo travelers. (P.S. We assume you’ve already downloaded our parent company Lonely Planet’s indispensable inspiration and planning apps, Trips and Guides.)
1. SoloTraveller
This widely trusted app lets you make new friends on your trip by connecting you with other solo travelers in your city in real time. It also helps you save money by pairing you people to share taxis, tours, or other travel expenses. You can find a travel mate nearby by searching for people based on age, gender, and interests.
Available on iPhone and Android.
2. Backpackr
Think of Backpackr like Tindr but for solo travelers—the app shows you people with similar interests who are headed to your destination. If you find a match, you can message the person to meet up. The app earns bonus points, in our book, for offering its members deals on hostels, pub crawls, bars, restaurants, and local tours.
Available on iPhone and Android.
3. Eatwith
Just because you’re traveling alone doesn’t mean you have to dine alone. The Eatwith app can connect you with locals in more than 130 countries for truly immersive cuisine. From dinner parties to food tours to cooking classes, the app has a variety of culinary events that let you wine and dine with local hosts at your destination. Users can filter food experiences based on dietary restrictions such as vegetarian, vegan, and Kosher meals.
Available on iPhone and Android.
4. BonAppetour
An alternative to Eatwith, BonAppetour helps travelers find immersive food experiences through in-home meals such as dinner parties, cooking classes, barbecues, and picnics.
Available on iPhone.
5. ChefsFeed
Offering restaurant and bar recommendations from chefs, bartenders, and sommeliers in major North American cities, ChefsFeed shows you how to eat and drink like a pro. Targeting younger travelers, the app bills itself as the "Anti-Yelp" in part because only positive reviews are welcomed.
Available on iPhone and Android.
6. Meetup
Another excellent tool for rubbing shoulders with locals while you’re traveling, this popular app brings like-minded people together in thousands of cities around the world. Use it to discover residents at your destination with specific interests, such as running groups, dance troupes, animal lovers, and more.
Available on iPhone and Android.
7. Travello
A social network for travelers, Travello uses your travel interests to match you with other nomads flying solo. It’s designed for a broad range of travelers, including urban tourists, backpackers, and gap-year adventurers.
Available on iPhone and Android.
8. Tourlina
Exclusively for women, Tourlina helps females find travel companions. Simple plug in your destination and travel dates, and the app will show you potential traveler partners, who you can then message to plan a trip together.
Available on iPhone and Android.
9. Mend
Though it’s not squarely designed for travel, Mend—an app that helps newly single individuals recover from breakups through audio trainings by mental health and wellness experts—offers travel guides for the freshly heartbroken to cities such as Boston, Los Angeles, and London.
Available on iPhone.
10. Couchsurfing
What better way is there to get to know new locals than crashing at their pad? The Couchsurfing app lets travelers search for a place to stay by using filters such as age range, gender, and friends of friends, and users can view references of potential hosts.
Available on iPhone and Android.
11. Chirpey
Focused on building a community for female travelers, Chirpey lets its members link up with other female travelers heading to their destination. Have a small emergency while you’re traveling, such as losing your wallet? Drop a message in the app and women traveling in the area will be notified that you need help.
Available on iPhone and Android.
12. Bumble BFF
Form friendships with locals and other travelers on Bumble BFF, an extension of the dating mobile app. Using your social networks, the app will connect you with friends of your friends in your local area, so you can meet companions at your travel destinations for coffee, city tours, meals, and more.
Available on iPhone and Android.