7 Travel Bloggers Share Random Acts of Kindness

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I’m forever coming across the “Bad thing happens to traveler in X” kind of stories. It seems like they’re everywhere. Sure, the world can be a scary place sometimes, but I have also found some of the most amazing people while traveling. I just knew there must be people out there with wonderful stories from their travels. Tales to show how people can surprise you, help you when you need it the most, and show genuine kindness to strangers. That’s why I wanted to compile some of these personal stories in one place in this collaboration post of random acts of kindness from other travel bloggers. Looking for a reason to travel? Here are 25 reasons why travel is good for you

What are random acts of kindness to me?

I think of kindness as showing compassion to someone else, or helping them when you could have just carried on walking. I see so many people who just walk past the person who looks lost in the street needing directions, or the person who has fallen over or is upset.

Who hasn’t been lost when traveling? I have, dozens of times. Just check out my blog name! I have been lucky to have people reach out to help me find my way, showing me random acts of kindness on my travels. When traveling, I find that the small acts of kindness can mean so much more. You’re often far from somewhere you know well and the familiar things are nowhere near.

Then there are the language barriers. A potentially huge problem if you need to ask for help. So when someone who doesn’t speak your language offers to help you, you realize that kindness goes beyond verbal communication. I can understand someone is trying to help me even if we don’t speak the same language, and that is pretty amazing. Today I wanted to celebrate the kindness in the world of travel bloggers.

Remember to take a reusable water bottle with you on your travels, like this one from FastTech

Random acts of kindness shown to me while traveling

When I think back to nice things that people have done for me while traveling I can’t help recalling my experience in Thailand. It was my first full day in Bangkok. Day one of a three month round the world trip. I had never been to Thailand before and didn’t speak a word of Thai. It was a hot day and I was wearing sandals. I’d found a beautiful park and was enjoying the sunshine, walking around a lake. All of a sudden I felt the most intense pain in my foot. An ant had bitten me and because it became stuck in my shoe, it just kept biting me.

With a great amount of yelling and some unsavory words, I managed to wriggle my foot out of my shoe. I sat myself down on a bench in the shade. My foot was on fire and I was almost crying in pain. An older gentleman saw my distress and came rushing over. I tried to indicate what had happened. He spoke no English, and I spoke no Thai but after pointing to other ants he understood. The man worked in the park area I was visiting and rushed off, indicating he would be right back.

When he returned he gave me a little glass jar of what I would later discover was Tiger Balm. He showed me I should put it on the bite to numb the pain. I felt instant relief as the ice cold sensation took over from where the bite had been. He stayed with me while I calmed down, and seemed like he was reassuring me it would be better. He even tried to make me laugh. You wouldn’t believe how grateful I was, and couldn’t stop thanking him. I immediately stocked up on Tiger Balm and have sworn by it ever since.

Or from My Path in the World

After an incredible one-week road trip through Andalusia (a region in southern Spain), we had to return our car in Malaga. Although we had the address and could see the car rental company’s sign, we just couldn’t find the entrance to the parking itself. Instead of wasting more time, we asked for help from a guy on the street and asked him to get into the car and guide us (in exchange for a few Euros). Surprisingly, he did, but he wouldn’t accept our money.

After leading us to the right place, he also invited us to one of his favorite bars. He bought us orange juice, beers, and a plate of mini-sandwiches that were so delicious I still remember their taste.
I think overall he spent about two hours with us when clearly he had other important things to do. I’ve had many positive encounters with Spaniards, but this was a whole other level of kindness I would never forget.

Kay from The Awkward Traveller

I am not at all a backpacker. But for some wild reason, I thought it would be fun to just – out of the blue – go on a trek. Specifically, Havasupai Falls, on the Havasupai Reservation in Arizona. No training, no gear, and honestly no clue what I was getting myself into. I picked up a backpack from the nearest clearance rack, stuffed a tent and a swimsuit inside and headed out. This was my first mistake. My second mistake was getting to the trail head late, so I would be hiking 12 miles to the campground during the hottest part of the day. My third mistake, and unfortunately not the last, was only having a glass of orange juice for breakfast. 

In short, the hike in killed me. I twisted an ankle, had like 5 sticks of beef jerky to eat, lost my glasses and bugs raided my tent at night. So I was working on about 3 hours of sleep when I needed to hike out. And by hike out, that meant another 12 miles and 5 hours in the blazing sun. AND I had exclusive dinner reservations in Las Vegas at 8:00pm, and was about a 3 hour drive away from the trail head.

But right before I set out, I saw a helicopter landing in the village. I hobbled over so I could snag a ride out of the canyon, but I learned they only take cash or money order. So then I had to hobble over to the post office. But I didn’t have a debit card and they couldn’t charge a credit card for a money order. I thought all hope was lost.

Then on my way out, I saw another young woman trying to get a helicopter ride out and she did have a debit card! The post office was about to close, so I rushed her over so that she could get a money order. Bless her young financially responsible heart – she had enough in her bank account to cover a ride for me as well! AND she trusted me enough to send her the money via an app once we got WiFi. 
It was literally the nicest thing any stranger had ever done for me. If I ever win a Nobel Prize, she is the first person I am thanking. 

Martin from Intrepid Road

In 2018 during a trip to Mongolia, my friend and I caught a train into the middle of nowhere. Our mission: to hike where no man had hiked before.
Due to the remoteness of the region, we could only plot our route via satellite. When we arrived into the countryside, the rolling greens hills and crystal clear rivers that we’d envisioned turned out to be knee high marshlands and mosquito infested floodplains. Nevertheless, we pressed on, walking 110km over 6 days. We were completely self-sufficient and carried our own food, purified the water, and slept under the stars.

We had no exit strategy when we got to our final destination, Amarbayasgalant Monastery. There were no buses, taxis or remnants of the English language to be found. Luckily, we met a lovely Mongolian family on a pilgrimage of their own, who took us under their wing. They fed us lunch and drove us back to their home town, stopping at points of interest along the way.  The family fed us again at their home, then drove us 3 hours to the capital, Ulaanbaatar. 

We were incredibly humbled by the friendliness of this family. By their willingness to open their home to us, and help out two hikers who had no where to go. If it wasn’t for them, we may still be stuck at the monastery today! 

Albina from Ginger Around the Globe

I might have something completely different. The most overwhelming thing that happened to me was in Sri Lanka. I timed my vacation there for three weeks, exactly on time so I wouldn’t get my period. Well, things went wrong, maybe the stress from my first solo trip. Anyway, I felt that known feeling that I get a day before my period starts.

I started to panic, since Sri Lanka is not necessarily known for the best hygienic utilities. Or for having all the products every woman needs. When I asked the family that hosted me, they look at me like a fool that I would even admit that I will have period soon. So I decided to find help somewhere else.

In the hotel next door I saw a young girl. I have no idea where she was from, but I told her about my problem. I asked if maybe she has a pad or something. Turned out, she was there with another 20 girls. She told them about my problem and all of the sudden I got a whole box of Tampax. They didn’t want any money or anything. They just said that they get it and I should take it, that they have enough. I never felt so grateful during traveling like that night. And every since then I bring my hygienic facilities with me, just so I can help another woman out in case she will also have emergency like I had.

Alyssa from Like Where You’re Going

It was my first trip overseas and I was flying solo from Canada to Bali (via Taipei) to meet up with my best friend who had been living in Australia for the last 2 years. I was nervous, but thankful for the nice gentleman, Paul, that I met on my flight. He was originally from Cambodia and was headed home for a visit. When I told him Cambodia was part of our 5-week itinerary, he graciously extended an invitation to tour us around the city of Phnom Penh and have dinner at his family home.

3 weeks later, my friend and I took an overnight bus from Siem Reap. We arrived at Phnom Penh in the early morning hours. In the chaotic scramble to exit the bus, grab our bags and get a tuk tuk, my friend realized she didn’t have her phone. Sure enough, as soon as I was connected to the Wifi, I had an email waiting from my friend Paul welcoming us to his hometown. I apologized that we wouldn’t be able to spend the day with him as we now had to track down my friend’s phone. To my surprise, he offered to help and met us at our hotel within an hour.

The 3 of us grabbed a tuk tuk and Paul made all the phone calls to the bus depot. He spoke Khmer and translated for us and was eventually able to find the exact bus that we were on. The only free day he had to show us around his hometown was spent on a wild goose chase around the city and convincing people to let us search random buses! My friend eventually found her phone and the 3 weeks of photos from our bucket list trip. And all thanks to Paul–a man I met on a plane in Canada.

Rachelle from Adventure Is Never Far Away

On my second day in Krakow, Poland, I ventured out and decided to take a bike tour. I didn’t know too much about the city and wanted to learn more about the culture and history of the area. My group consisted of myself, 2 small families from Ireland, and our Polish tour guide…the makings of a merry little group. And we were. We cycled around the old town square, headed towards the historical Kazimierz district and some of the sights where the movie “Schindler’s List” was filmed. We ducked into a cute little cafe in the middle of a housing block, hoping that the random precipitation wouldn’t turn into a torrential downpour.

This was my first exposure to how wonderful people all over the world are. How caring. Giving. Selfless.

I was still at the front end of my pre-study abroad travel and pinching my pennies. So I was going to settle for a piece of fruit and a granola bar that I still had from the States. Before I knew it, one of my new Irish friends set down the most delicious cup of hot chocolate in front of me. I couldn’t believe how wonderful it felt to have someone, a literal stranger, looking out for me, a solo female traveler on the other side of the world.

I’m not sure if my friend’s sweet gesture had anything (or everything) to do with it, but that was the best cup of hot cocoa that I’d ever had.

Larissa from Life With Larissa

If you’ve been to Milan you probably know the Duomo is a massive cathedral that is nearly impossible to miss. Using this logic, I decided it was a bright idea to use it as a landmark while exploring the nearby streets and shops. However, after several twists and turns I looked up to find the Duomo was no longer in sight. HOW DOES ONE LOSE A BUILDING THAT BIG?! My initial reaction was okay, let me just backtrack. Not a problem – I got this. Well, it was a problem and I did not have it because I just ended up even more lost.

I stumbled across what I thought was an art gallery, and I was like, this is great. I’ll just go in and ask for directions. Well, I walk in and apparently it’s not an art gallery. It’s a government building with metal detectors and security guards at the doors, and no one speaks English. As I’m trying to ask for directions [and it’s not going well], a gentlemen is on his way out. He hears my English, immediately stepped over, learned where I was trying to go, and offered to walk me there. Now, the little voice in my head is telling me that going somewhere with a stranger in a foreign country is not a good idea, but I did need to get back to the Duomo so…I went with this middle-aged man.

Not only did he walk me back to the Duomo, he also took time to walk me around and show me areas that I missed. He bought me delicious food to sample, showed me fabulous shops, and shared some of Milan’s history with me. Of course as a solo female traveler, I was initially hesitant to go with this man, but I’m glad I just accepted the kindness of a stranger wanting to share the beauty of their city with someone.

Random acts of kindness towards others

Kindness is free and it could be the difference between someone having the best day or their worst day. I know that while traveling I have injured myself, lost things, been lost, been pick-pocketed, missed my bus and much more. We all know things like this can unfortunately sometimes happen. There is no doubt that they suck at the time. But the thing that makes me laugh about them now and think back to those trips fondly, are the people there who helped me. A complete stranger, usually in a foreign country. And random acts of kindness that I will remember for years to come.

These stories of random acts of kindness that these other travel bloggers shared make me feel good. They make me feel good about travel, about humanity and about the generous spirit of random strangers. How many of these stories could have ended a very different way if it wasn’t for the wonderful human beings who helped them out? So point the person with the map in the right direction, take the extra time to see if someone is OK, and give the nervous solo traveler you see a smile and a few kind words.

Thank you so much to all of the amazing bloggers who contributed to this random acts of kindness post. For sharing your personal stories, and providing hope to other travelers.

If you’ve enjoyed this post please leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. Have you encountered help from a stranfer while traveling? Have you been able to help someone? Let me know your random acts of kindness stories!