by Sarah Donaghy

Created on: January 28, 2009

One of the best parts of any vacation is having the chance to meet new people in new places. Vacation is a time for relaxing, letting our hair down, and soaking up enough good experiences to last us through the working months. It may feel difficult to forge new friendships over two weeks, but you can easily make friends while on vacation if you keep a couple of things in mind.

The most important thing is to remain open to meeting new people. Keep it clear in your mind that one thing you would like to get out of your vacation is a group of new friends. See chance encounters and chit chat when you are standing in line for the opportunities that they are- new friends waiting to be made.

It will also help you to make friends easily if you are willing to initiate conversation. Seize the opportunity when it presents itself- introduce yourself to the folks at the next table during dinner, chat to the couple sitting behind you in the tour bus, and make an effort to introduce yourself to your neighbors at the hotel. Try to remember names so that you can use them the next time you meet.

Another sure fire way to make friends easily while on vacation is to travel alone. It can be a daunting task, and you wont have the assured company of family or close friends. However, it is exactly the absence of people you already know which can be a huge motivation to put yourself out there and meet new people. If you are traveling alone, and you remain open and start conversations with others, you will find yourself making new friends in no time.

Another way to make friends on vacation, whether traveling in a group or alone, is to invite your new acquaintances along to different activities. This is the best way to move from the first step of meeting people to the stage where actual friendships are forged. Remember the couple from the tour bus? Why not ask them to join you for dinner? Or, why not invite your neighbors at the hotel to go with you to karaoke at the local pub you're just itching to visit? Cliche as it may be, the more often makes for the merrier, so not only will you be building friendships, but you stand to have even more fun!

Finally, and this is a crucial bit, to easily make friends on vacation and keep those friends, you will want to take contact details. Your new friends may be from the state next door or from a country miles away, but the physical distance wont matter if you take the time to keep in touch. Exchange business cards if you have them, and if you don't, make sure to pack your address book. Before know it, you will find yourself making and keeping friends easily the next time you are on vacation.

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