My hope was to meet up with a woman for a drink or a trip to a museum on one of the nights when my sister, who was hosting me, was working. But I matched with Nicole and sparks flew immediately. We had two dates, four sleepovers, and one epic hike together before I flew back to Dayton, Ohio.
When we said goodbye in the airport, we promised to stay in touch, but we never anticipated our whirlwind romance would turn into a long-distance, and then, long-term relationship. No matter what type of companionship you're looking for, Tinder and other dating apps can be a practical way to connect with locals without hitting up a bar. But as I learned when swiping in Boston and while interviewing other dating app users, there are a few ways to make the most of your matches — and your vacation.
From how to chat up locals for restaurant recommendations to tips to avoid catfishing, here are some practical things to know before your next trip. The free version of Tinder only allows you to connect with other users in your current location. But if you pay a little extra, you can check out matches around the world. OKCupid and Hinge are the only free services that allows users to change their location ahead of time. OKCupid has a handy guide that can walk you through how to change your location on the site or app, and changing your location for Hinge is as easy as updating your profile preferences.
Kevin, 30, used Tinder Passport to set up dates during a solo trip to Seoul. He had two dates during his eight days in Seoul — one with a Kazakh college student, and one with a well-traveled Korean translator. If you haven't changed your geolocation ahead of time because you didn't want to splurge on Tinder Passport or you didn't have time, there's one sneaky trick that can help you connect with locals once your vacation has started. The next night, she would swipe in earnest and begin chatting with matches.
Apart from Tinder, Bumble and Grindr are free apps that serve up matches based on your phone's geolocation — though none allow you to change your location ahead of time. She used Tinder regularly when her job took her to small and large cities all over the U. It might depend on your audience, though. Gay Tinder users are often looking for something more long-term, Zach noted. If you live in a city but end up traveling to and swiping in a small town, you may have to adjust the discovery radius in order to find a match.
