Travel Dating: Using Dating Apps to Find Travel Hookups

Before you start your journey, research and choose dating apps that are popular in the locations you’ll be visiting. You wouldn’t want to use an app that’s popular at home and barely used in your destination. 

Consider apps that cater to travelers or have features like location filters to make your quest for travel hookups more efficient. Changing your location earlier can even help you get a view of your flings, hookups and any cultural dating differences or lingo on the bios of the people living or traveling to your destination. 

1. Figure Out What Kind of Travel Hookup You Want

Swiping around on the apps before you get there can help the process of figuring out what you want to get out of your trips in terms of experiences with people you’ll connect with on the apps. 

While doing this ask yourself: 

• If you’re looking to spend time with these people and you want to spend it. 
• Are you looking for spontaneous hookups only? 
• Do you want to do cultural activities or go to parties together? 
• Are you searching for one night stands or maybe the opportunity to hook up a couple times during your stay? What type of travel hookups are you looking for?
• Would you consider bringing them to where you’re staying or prefer to go home to their place? Would a neutral location work best for hooking up? 
• And, are you going to start chatting with people before your arrival and make plans, or are you looking for more of the moment, spontaneity to meet people in the immediate area once you arrive? 
• Should you bring protection since you won’t be familiar with the surrounding areas and what’s available or open to buy it?

These are all things you should decide for yourself and have some awareness of what you’re open to, looking for or completely against. 

2. Check Out Guides & Reviews For Where You’re Traveling

Granted, you can’t be expected to completely know the best places to meet your travel hookups from a quick Google search, but doing your research beforehand – whether that’s on travel sites or social media accounts – will not only prepare you for your travels, help you choose where to stay and what hot spots to visit, but it will also give you something to talk about with your potential dates. 

It would be annoying to expect a total stranger to lead you blindly. Show up with questions and curiosity, and let the people you meet while travel dating add to the experience rather than provide the entire thing for you. 

3. Find Dating Apps With The Right Features

Some dating apps are decidedly not built for the casual and short lived nature of travel dating. Do a bit of research and prioritize apps that let you filter by location or change the location of your profile to find matches. 

You’ll also want to make sure it’s popular among both locals and travelers to keep your options for a diverse set of experiences open. Beware apps that only have a user base in certain countries if it’s not one you’re traveling to.

Lastly, you’ll want something less like Match.com or Hinge, as they’re targeting users who are looking for partners or something more long term, and you’ll want to explore apps like instabang.com for your hookup travel. 

4. Decide If You Want To Find a Travel Hookup Ahead of Time

First and foremost, you need to decide how big of a priority finding a travel hookup is for you, and then you can decide how you want to go about finding them. There are pros and cons of doing this beforehand. 

The positives for locking in a travel date before you arrive at your destination can be getting recommendations early. Connecting with locals beforehand allows you to receive insider tips on the best places to visit, eat, and explore, enhancing your overall travel experience. You can establish a bit of a built in social circle which allows you to plan activities and outings with someone who knows the area well, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable trip. It can also afford you a little more time to get to know someone, and for those open to romantic relationships, connecting before traveling allows the possibility of building a deeper connection that can evolve during your time in the destination.

There are, however, potential negatives to spending the time connecting with someone before your arrival. It could lead to unrealistic expectations, and the person you connect with may not live up to the image created online. Pre-planning interactions might limit the spontaneity of your trip, as you may feel obligated to stick to a predetermined schedule or set of activities, especially as you’re unfamiliar with the area and the unfamiliarity doesn’t always lend for realistic expectations for how long travel takes or how you’ll be feeling once you’re there. You can’t just call an Uber everywhere. 

Also, relying solely on one connection may limit your social interactions with a variety of people. If the connection doesn’t work out, you might find yourself without alternative plans. Hookup travel can be treated like regular dating at home where you talk to multiple people. 

5. Get Your Dating Profile Updated & Enticing

In order to create an engaging dating profile, consider sprucing it up and making sure it’s up to date:

• Showcase your adventurous side in your profile pictures and bio. 
• Be clear about your travel plans, mention if you’re open to meeting locals or fellow travelers. 
• Be transparent about whether you’re looking for a travel buddy, a local guide, or just someone to hook up with for a night.
• Make sure all your “about me” information is updated, like your smoking/drinking preferences. 
• Add your travel dates and goals for the trip. If there are specific sights you want to see or activities you want to do, include them. 
• Include how you like to spend your time. Is it aimlessly wandering or a more well planned itinerary? Do you want to focus on street food or high end restaurants? Let them know more about you by sharing how you like to travel. 

Make your profile work for you. Lastly, be genuine and show curiosity about the other person’s experiences and perspectives as well as the area you’re traveling to while you’re chatting with people on the apps. Your limited time traveling is as precious as others and you should respect that.