Backpacker meetups — without the hostel common-room lottery.
Find your bus crew, your dorm friends and your next leg of the trip, wherever you land. Free on iPhone and Android.
Backpacking is built on chance encounters in hostel kitchens and overnight buses. NomadMeet doesn't replace that magic — it adds to it. When you're tired of waiting to see who shows up in your dorm, you can just look at the city chat and find 40 backpackers who are already in town, ready to share a tuk-tuk, a sunset spot or the next bus to the next city.
Why backpackers love NomadMeet
01
Find a bus or train crew
Overnight buses are way better with company. Drop a 'taking the 8pm to Hanoi tomorrow, anyone in?' and you'll have a travel crew before you board.
02
Beyond the hostel common room
Hostels are great, but the community in any city extends way past one building. NomadMeet shows you everyone in town across every hostel — and the locals worth meeting.
03
Truly free
Backpackers don't pay for software. The core NomadMeet experience — joining city chats, messaging, discovering crew — is 100% free forever.
04
Verified, no creeps
Selfie verification means no anonymous lurkers. Just verified backpackers, solo travelers and digital nomads.
How it works for backpackers
Open the chat for your next stop
Krabi tonight, Koh Pha Ngan tomorrow, Bangkok the day after. Join each chat as you go.
See who's there
Verified backpackers, arrival dates, hostel they're staying at if they want to share.
Tag in
'Anyone up for the boat to the islands?' Boom. Crew.
“Did Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos with NomadMeet open every day. Every city had a chat. Every chat had real people. Best six months of my life — and I never had to nervously hang around the hostel bar wondering if I'd make friends.”
Backpacker FAQ
Does NomadMeet work in remote spots?+
If there are backpackers there, there's usually a chat. The biggest ones are SE Asia and Latin America, but you'll find groups for Pai, Vang Vieng, Cocora Valley, San Pedro de Atacama, even Zanzibar.
Is it just digital nomads or do real backpackers use it too?+
Both. The Backpackers Worldwide chat is huge, and every major backpacker hub has its own active group. Plenty of people use it for 3-6 month trips, not just nomading.
How do I find people taking the same bus or boat?+
Post in the city chat — 'taking the 7am bus to Pai tomorrow, anyone in?' You'll usually get replies within an hour.