I signed up... to give back.

Published: Sun, 07/28/19

Yes, after using Greeters a number of times in my travels I am now a Toronto Greeter. I went through the training last weekend and I'm excited to share my city with visitors.

Greeters are locals who love their city and volunteer to show visitors around for a few hours. I've had the pleasure of meeting Greeters in Paris, New York, Chicago and Tokyo. While you can request a Greeter to cover a specific interest such as food or history, my choice is always for them to show me their neighborhood. This way I learn how locals live, shop, and socialize.

There are Greeters in about 140 countries around the world. There are two international greeter networks, The Global Greeter Network and the International Greeter Association. From their sites you just might find a greeter in your destination. Just make sure that you make contact at least a few weeks before your arrival. Greeters are not tour guides that operate on a daily basis. They are individuals with busy lives who are matched with visitors. This takes a bit of time to coordinate.

Upcoming Travels
Have you read Tracey's posts on the river cruise she took with Vantage Travel? The first, Paris to Normandy: A River Cruise in Photos, was published last week. Check out her second post about this post on the blog today.

In just a couple of weeks I'm going north again, this time with Adventure Canada on their High Arctic Explorer trip. I have a thing for northern destinations. Winnipeg, Iceland and now the Arctic, all this year. I'll be writing about that trip shortly after returning.

Well, that's it for now! Happy travels,

Janice

P.S. If you're traveling soon, don't forget...

The Wits & Wonder Travel Course The reviews are in. Solo travelers have given the course 4.4 stars out of 5 and 79% say they are likely to recommend it to a friend. Many already have!
Going Alone? Travel Insurance is a Must - why I never travel without insurance, how I've used it to recover losses, and how to buy it.
VPN for Travel: What, Why and an Easy Setup Guide - it will protect your identity on public WiFi and let's you browse the net in English even if you're in a foreign country.
Bare Minimum Packing: Here’s Your Packing List - our ultimate packing check list which I continue to use for every trip.
Solo Female Travel - for a list of posts that are especially for women.
Best Solo Travel Destinations: All Solo Traveler Tested - if you're looking for a little inspiration.

P.P.S. Tracey and I are developing a new project and we're excited! Don't worry. Solo Traveler will continue but we have other interests as well. This project will be about issues we don't understand. They could be on just about any topic. As with Solo Traveler, our goal will be to inform, inspire and advocate for readers. It will take a few months to get off the ground but if you want to be notified of its launch you can sign up here. And, of course, you will be able to unsubscribe at any time.