Dating Apps for Travelers: Find Your Next Vacationship

Wheels are down and you’ve officially landed in a new city. Now, there are two ways your trip could pan out. Either you pick up a guidebook from a gift shop at the airport and follow in the same tired footsteps of millions of travelers before you, or you whip out your smartphone and connect with your own personal tour guide. Using dating apps for travelers has completely changed the way people experience new cultures. Dating apps allow you to interact with locals and experience a place and culture from their perspective. As an added bonus, you may even find a partner in the process! (Though long distance relationships are a whole different topic.)

Why international dating apps are great for travelers

Online dating sites are often associated with looking for love and matching people with their soul mates. What most people don't realize is that there are more ways to use them. In recent years, these tools have become especially popular among travelers. It offers a fun, new way to get to know the places they are visiting with little intent of finding their next long-term partner. In other words, instead of using dating apps to find their next relationship, travelers are using them to find a vacationship (noun: a relationship that lasts only as long as your vacation).

By using dating apps abroad, you are more likely to meet locals who can show you all the hidden gems you’d never find in a guidebook. If a fling starts up between the two of you, all the more fun! According to Forbes, one in 11 postgraduate millennials met their significant other while traveling internationally, largely due to dating apps for travelers. So who knows, your private tour guide may become bud into a romance you never expected!

Go on a travel date with your new match

The reasons to use online dating on your next trip abroad are countless. For one thing, it’s fun. The idea of being whisked off your feet by some foreign lover is what travel dreams are made of. With the growing popularity of dating travel sites, that dream is becoming a reality for many people. Imagine yourself hand-in-hand with your own personal tour guide, sipping cocktails by the sea, or dancing the night away at some off-the-grid club. Solo travel has become increasingly popular as a dating trend among people hoping to have just these kinds of experiences. Establishing meaningful connections abroad deepens your travel experience. It may even influence you to return to that destination one day in the future.

Even for solo travelers who aren’t looking for romance, using travel dating apps are an easy way to spend time with someone after days alone. Solo travel can be an incredibly rewarding experience, but let’s face it, we all need to socialise sometimes! Dating apps for travelers are also a convenient way to meet language exchange partners. Your match can help introduce you to some key phrases to get by in a foreign place, and you can also offer to help them improve their secondary languages.

Make new friends with dating apps for travelers

If you’re not looking for a holiday fling, dating apps are still a valuable tool to meet people. Though you probably know Match as one of the most esteemed matchmaking sites in the world, it can also be a great resource for people just looking to make friends while abroad. Match regularly hosts meetups for their users to come together and mingle. With 59 million users in 25 countries around the world, the chances of finding someone you vibe with are pretty good. It can be a great opportunity to introduce yourself to like-minded individuals!

Likewise, if you’re feeling a little out of your element or homesick, dating apps for travelers can help you meet other people in a similar situation as you. Diving head-first into a new culture all alone can be overwhelming. Finding someone else who has chosen a similar adventure could spell the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

Best practices for meeting up with your travel date

The key to a successful foreign fling is transparency. Be honest about where you are from and how long you plan to stay in your potential match’s city. You’ll find that many people are open to the idea of a short-term arrangement and are excited at the idea of showing off their home town to a curious traveler. Plus, informing your match that you’ll only be around for so long allows you to cut out the chitchat and formality and get straight to having fun. Just remember to always be clear about what you’re hoping to get out of this new relationship. Whether you’re looking for a tour guide or a fun “vacationship,” being upfront is the only way to avoid disappointment.

Meet in a public place

Naturally, when you’re in a city that’s foreign to you with a person you’ve only ever met online, you should be wary of your surroundings. Let someone know where you’ll be going ahead of time. Make sure that you go out in public spaces and that you feel comfortable and safe. Many women are used to taking these safety precautions. However, it’s worth noting that many men are victims to scammers and catfishing too.

Have a good time, but be on guard

Many travelers are no stranger to tourist scams. Be careful when meeting dates online in a foreign city, as they can occasionally fall victim to scams as well. Trust your gut if something feels off about your date or potential match. On free dating apps for travelers such as Tinder, eager foreigners can sometimes appear to be easy prey. It could serve you well to brush up on these tips for spotting fake dating profiles before agreeing to a date. Catfishing is common on dating apps and travelers are often an easy target.

What are you waiting for?

Paid dating sites like Zoosk and Match are a good alternative to more ubiquitous apps like Tinder or Bumble because their screening services lower the likelihood of being scammed or catfished. Thanks to rigorous identity verification processes, you can be surer of who you’re meeting up with. Next time you’re visiting a new place, don’t neglect the dating apps you’re used to using at home. If you’ve never used one before, your upcoming trip is the perfect time to experiment with online dating. Your next vacationship might be waiting to whisk you away for a delightful adventure!