The fastest way to meet a local when you travel is to pay one for a few hours of their time; the most reliable free way is to join something locals already do, a class or a language exchange. Everything else, from friendship apps to hostel bars, mostly produces other travellers. Here are the seven ways, ranked by how often they put you in front of a person who actually lives there, with the catch of each. Roavi, which runs this site, is one of them, and we say so where it comes up.
1. Pay a local for a few hours#
A Local Friend is a resident who spends a few hours with you for an hourly rate they set: a market, a neighbourhood, a night out, a first day in a city you do not know. It is not a tour (no route, no group, no script) and not a date (platonic, in public, by rule).
On Roavi you browse Local Friends by city and message them free; the only money is the person's own rate, paid to them directly, and Roavi takes no commission. Every profile is read by a person before it goes live, everyone is 18 or over, and profiles show languages, rate and what the person likes doing. Counted on 28 October 2026: 293 Local Friends in 128 cities, median US$25 an hour. The list is live at rent a friend, by city and the dated numbers are on the statistics page.
The catch: it costs money, and it only works where there are people. Roavi is strongest in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico, Japan, Thailand and India, with a thinner list in US cities; check your city before you count on it. The older names in the category are covered in hire a local guide.
2. Free greeters#
The International Greeter Association coordinates volunteers in more than a hundred cities who walk visitors around their neighbourhood for free, two or three hours, booked a week or two ahead. Greeters are residents, usually retired or semi-retired, and the walks are personal rather than polished. How free greeters work.
The catch: you book ahead and take the slot you are given, there is no choosing the person, and many cities have no programme at all.
3. Friendship apps#
Bumble BFF, Timeleft (a dinner with five strangers, matched by the app) and Meetup (groups and events by interest) are free and legitimate. Meetup is the one that reliably puts you in a room with residents, because the groups exist for them, not for you: a hiking group, a board-game night, a language exchange.
The catch: Bumble BFF is slow (days of chat per meeting) and most people on it in a big city moved there recently themselves. Timeleft is a one-night format. Meetup needs you to be there on the group's night, not yours. Meetup alternatives and Bumble BFF alternatives go through the trade-offs.
4. Couchsurfing Hangouts and hostel common rooms#
Both work for company tonight. Couchsurfing Hangouts shows who nearby wants to meet now; a hostel common room does the same without an app.
The catch: nearly everyone you meet this way is also travelling. Good for a drink, not for a local. Couchsurfing alternatives covers what replaced the free version.
5. Classes and language exchanges#
The most reliable free way to meet locals, because the room is full of them. A language exchange (search the city name plus "language exchange" or "intercambio") gives you an hour of conversation with people who want to practise your language and are curious about you. A cooking, dance, surf or pottery class gives you two hours beside residents who chose the same hobby. Football in the cheap seats does the same for ninety minutes.
The catch: it takes planning, and it is weeknights. Book it before you land.
6. Reddit and Facebook groups#
Every big city has a subreddit and several Facebook groups. The ones that work are the city's own (r/MexicoCity, not r/travel), and the post that works is a specific question: "I'll be in Roma Norte on Thursday, where do people actually go for mezcal?" gets answers from residents; "anyone want to hang out?" gets nothing or the wrong kind of reply.
The catch: you get advice more than company, and the travel-group side is other travellers. The best Facebook travel groups explains which kind is which.
7. Dating apps set to friends#
People do it. Hinge and Tinder show you residents, and some will happily show you around. The catch: the app is for dating, most people on it are there for dating, and "just friends" is read as a line. If what you want is company and local knowledge, say so somewhere built for it.
What to say to a local#
Three first messages that get answers, on any of the above:
- "I'm in Bogotá Thursday to Sunday and I'd rather eat where you eat than where TripAdvisor sends me. Would you have two hours one evening? Happy to pay your rate." (A Local Friend.)
- "I'm visiting for a week and want to practise my Spanish. Is this exchange open to visitors, and does anyone mind a beginner?" (A language exchange.)
- "I'll be near La Candelaria on Saturday afternoon. Where do people from the neighbourhood actually have coffee?" (A subreddit.)
Say when you are there, what you like, and what you are asking for. The vague message ("hey, want to show me your city?") is the one nobody answers.
How to stay safe meeting a stranger abroad#
- Public place, first time. A café, a plaza, a market. Not a hotel room, not a pickup in a car.
- The plan in writing, in the platform's chat, before you meet: where, when, roughly how long.
- Someone at home knows where you are and when you expect to be back.
- No money in advance. Not a deposit, not a gift card, not "to hold the time". You pay the person when you meet them, for the hours agreed.
- Trust the first ten minutes. If it feels wrong, say you have to go, and go.
Platforms that review every profile and keep the whole thing platonic by rule take most of the risk out, not all of it. Is rent a friend safe? goes through the specific cases.
The cities where this works best#
Cities where residents live near the centre and are used to visitors: Mexico City, Bogotá, Santo Domingo, Lima, Cali and Marrakech each have their own guide. The apps, compared side by side: apps to meet locals while traveling.
Browse local guides in your next city, message free, pay only the person's own rate.
Meet local guidesEvery city with a Local Friend today, with the live count: rent a friend, by city.
Roavi is the company behind this page. Where it is recommended above, that is us recommending ourselves; the numbers are counted and dated so you can check them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best app to meet locals while traveling?
It depends on what you mean by meet. To spend a few hours with a resident who shows you their city, Roavi: you browse Local Friends by city free, message free, and pay the person directly by the hour (we run it, so check the city you are visiting has people listed). For free meetups with a mix of locals and newcomers, Meetup. For one-to-one friendship over weeks, Bumble BFF or Timeleft. None of the three is good at the other two jobs.How do I meet locals as a solo traveller?
Book something with a fixed time and other people in it on your first day: a cooking or dance class, a language exchange, a free greeter walk, or a few hours with a Local Friend. Solo travellers who wait for it to happen in a bar mostly meet other solo travellers. Fix one meeting in the calendar before you land and the rest follows from it.Is it weird to pay a local to hang out?
It is the same transaction as hiring a private guide, minus the script: you pay for someone's time and knowledge, they choose the plan with you. Japan has had rental-friend agencies for over a decade. The rules that make it not weird are the ones that make it work: platonic, in public, a rate agreed beforehand, paid to the person.How do I meet locals, not other tourists?
Go where locals have a reason to be and tourists do not: a weeknight class, a neighbourhood market at opening time, a language exchange, a football match in the cheap seats, or a resident's own plan through a Local Friend. Hostel bars, walking tours and travel Facebook groups are full of people exactly like you.Is it safe to meet a local from an app?
It is as safe as the rules you keep: a public, busy place for the first meeting; the plan agreed in writing in the app's chat; someone at home knows where you are and when you are back; no money sent in advance to anyone, for anything; and you leave in the first ten minutes if it feels wrong. Platforms that review profiles and keep everything platonic by rule remove most of the risk, not all of it.Can I meet locals for free?
Yes. The most reliable free ways are classes and language exchanges (the room is locals), free greeter programmes in the cities that have them (volunteers, booked ahead), and specific questions on a city's subreddit. Friendship apps are free too, but slow, and most of the people answering just moved there themselves.