Where is somewhere you travelled where you were blown away by kindness? I need some inspiration on where you went
When I was 17 my friend and I travelled to
Cuba. We decided to leave the resort town to really explore and rented a moped. We arrived in a small town and a sudden torrential downpour forced us to pull over as the streets were flooding.
A family saw us pull over and ushered us into their home. We didn't speak Spanish and they didn't speak English.
Somehow we found a way to communicate well enough to share a few laughs together as we waited out the storm.
It stopped raining, we thanked thanked them and were on our way by foot to explore.
Upon returning we couldn't find our moped and we began thinking the worst. Just as the severity of the situation was setting in the family we met came out smiling and pointed us to our moped which they moved behind their fence to keep safe.
A moment of kindness that will stay with me forever.

Cuba

Shannon The staff at the Hotel Be LIve Experience Turquesa in Varadero are amazing! They make friends very easily with guests and treat them as such. We've even been into their homes for dinner. In addition, it's a wonderful property with only 350 guests maximum in 2-story villas, a great patch of beach, and much better food than most resorts in Cuba. They have a pasta and pizza bar at lunch and dinner, not to mention breads and desserts made by a great baker.

Portugal -
Wonderful locals helped us when we were lost in the car and led us all the way to the hotel

Jennifer thank you!! I’ve heard such wonderful things about the people in Portugal.
That’s so sweet, and so humbling

New Zealand

Dominican Republic
Scotland
Montalcino, Italy

Hayley oooo Montalcino! Never been or heard of it, googling now.

Claire The owner of our stay was so sweet and genuine. She spoke no English but her employee translated for us. When I mentioned we forgot our phone chargers, she insisted on driving home to bring me hers. She was just lovely!!

Claire highly recommend Montalcino!!

Please feel free to share any nice stories from your travels too

Definitely Cuba

Greece, Rhodes Island, around 7 years ago, never heard in my life someone replying to thank you with "I thank you".....much respect, second probably Bali (we tried to buy weed but we were given grass instead, when confronted they brought us mushroom, the magic ones, polite, honest, will never forget)

Cuba, Halifax, Portugal

Bali

Ireland. I was travelling alone and the people there were so kind, helpful and welcoming

Newfoundland! The kindest and friendliest people by far. And I’m saying this as someone who lived there for many years.

Adnan

Adnan The totally Opposite of Toronto!

Aruba!

Kenya

Jennifer that is somewhere that I’ve always felt drawn to. I will go one day
What was your travel experience like? Did you travel there on your own etc?

Navigating the train system in Greece. We were met with so much kindness.

Peru

Nova Scotia and New Zealand.

Bangladesh

Victoria, British Columbia has the nicest ppl I’ve ever met! You ask for directions and end up having casual chats! Order a meal, have a chat etc Everyone was SUPER FRIENDLY

Uganda... wonderful people

Four senior sisters travelling in Scotland. As soon as someone saw us pull a map out, they were asking if they could direct us !

Philippines has lovely people!

Copenhagen, Norway and Sweden.

Netherlands. They are wonderful friendly helpful people. If you are a beginner traveller or trying to get your barings travelling alone the majority of the population speaks English and there’s a lot of resources provided in English. They are approachable and several times I’ve had people come up to me to help when they have seen im struggling with directions etc. I found it a great place to start my travels, gain confidence in approaching people for help and found this helped with my confidence in communicating as I moved on and travelled around the rest of my European destinations.

I actually found the opposite in Amsterdam when there in 2019 with my almost 3 year old (but have not travelled anywhere else in the Netherlands).

Copenhagen Denmark

For me it was Poland, met really nice accomodating people everywhere we went

Cuba

Cuba for sure!

Naples, Italy
- we traveled with our then 3 month old. People were so kind, offering us umbrellas because our broke. Helping calming the baby on the subway when the loud noise startled her and staff at the hotel even provided us with a bed for baby and staff checked in on her daily … it was the best time experiencing Amalfi coast with our baby

Syria. Damascus
( before the war ) the warmest and kindest people I met.

Bahamas

GRENADA

Hands down Vietnam. We traveled the whole country for 3 weeks from north to south and such welcoming kind people.
We crashed our motorcycles up in the mountains, literally nothing around. A man stopped with his daughter, worked on our bikes on the side of the road until we got them rideable enough to get to a mechanic.
We stayed at a home stay one night ($4/night) they fed us breakfast and dinner, and got us drunk on "happy juice" while we all took turns playing bad guitar lol. Such an amazing trip

Newfoundland.

East Africa. Kenya and Tanzania (& Zanzibar)

The same scenario, where a family invited us into their house during a downpour, happened to my family in Nicaragua.
So many similar stories like that from our trip to Nicaragua.

Newfoundland

Cappadocia Turkey… here now!!

Laos. The people are so humble and kind.

Thea Hauck - absolutely!I travelled there after being in Vietnam where I was always asked to ‘buy something’. when I got to loas and people were calling out ‘sab-a-dee’ (spelling unknown but essentially means Hello) - I thought they were saying ‘buy something’. I felt very embarrassed that I kept ignoring them or shaking my head and running away as quickly as I could.

Taiwan

Japan.... and Chicago suprisingly, I told them we were visiting from TO and the waitress gave us free appetizers. The uber driver took the scenic route and was telling us about the city. I was looking around and some old man stopped and asked if I needed directions. Great time!

Bali

Newfoundland. It’s their trademark. If you haven’t seen the Broadway show which I now believe is available on Netflix, it’s a very good portrayal of our people. “Come from away”

New Zealand!

Sam x2 for nz

We had a fantastic trip to Colombia
Stayed with some locals. Everyone was so excited to show others that their country is not a bad place.

Definitely Japan. Thoughtfulness is a part of their culture.

Aruba, people are amazing and you can drink the water too

Tokyo, Japan
I was trying to find my way to the airport and a woman who couldn’t speak English found someone who could speak English to help me out.

Ireland

Venice!

Bhutan

India, numerous wonderful, magical moments shared with lovely, kind people.

sadly it also matters what race the traveller is. travelling while black, for example, is an extremely different experience in some parts of the world

Sagal Lina

Sagal Lina very good point, thank you for shedding light to this aspect
.
I realize I have quite the privilege, I try to use it for good every chance I can.

Sagal Lina, while this is mostly true and as a black traveller myself I actually experienced kindness in Costa Rica (Caribbean side), Colombia and Japan , Dubai (only after they found out I was Jamaican and their Icon is Bob Marley and usain bolt)

Lizzi I saw some of the worst racism in my in Australia, sadly it’s really everywhere
The hostel owners were just saying the my had so many beds to fill. Then a car of people of asian decent pulled up. I heard one owner tell the other to tell people inquiring they were full.
I left an honest review hoping it would stop business from going there. I was young and that moment changed a lot for me.Being white I hadn’t experienced racism toward myself but I saw just how prevalent racism is and reflect on how I want to live my life/what I can do.
I’m so happy you had many positive experiences

Lizzi totally! I certainly wasn’t implying that we are met with racism everywhere we go

Sagal Lina yes!!!!!!!! And add in the intersectionality of being a woman. Some places just aren’t safe for women of colour.

Newfoundland. India. Netherlands.

Vietnam. Everyone was so friendly.
When I sprained my ankle our hotel owner came to my rescue. Paid for the cab to take me to the hospital and stayed with me and my husband while I got care and X-rays. She then opened a lower room for us to I didn’t have to climb the stairs. Made us food the next morning so I didn’t need to hobble to a restaurant to eat

Costa Rica, I stayed in a small town called Cartago for a few months in 2008 and made amazing friends who I still am in contact with. Off the beaten path is often the best!

Brooke I went there in the 90’s and they were all after your dollars.

Barbados

Cuba, very similar experience we had. A farmer showed us around his property and was so proud to show us. We didn't understand each other but smiles all around. Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Hawaii

Salem ma

Wafa Masri
Philippines

New Orleans, Louisiana

Thailand

For me it’s a split between Ariba and Newfoundland

Italy

I find in the Netherlands I am always greeted with incredible warmth.

Thailand

Armenia has the most generous people I have ever met. They have so little and wanted to give us so much.

Thailand

Barb For sure.

Philippines! The shuttle bus to the airport didn’t show up so all the locals called friends/family give them a ride from the bus station for their flight. One family noticed I didnt have a way to get there and invited me in their car for the two hour trip! They had no idea how much they helped me that day!

Aruba

Literally any "out of the way" (slightly touristy) town/village!! But also go live in hostels. You are always amongst like-minded people who are generally there because their heart brought them there and not money.

Cuba for sure. Also in small towns in China. I think small town people are pretty uniformly generous around the world.

Italy

St. Martin (French side), my rental car had a flat tire and I managed to hobble to a nearby gas station. The woman manning the till wouldn’t let me use the phone to call the rental company. Outside, the young security guard helped me find the air compressor and refilled the tire for me so I could get the car back to my villa. He refused the euros I offered him and said (roughly translated) « God will give me my reward ».

Japan

Matthew yes so true

Slovenia, Croatia, Basque region of Spain, Iceland, Portugal, Maritimes, Milan, South of France, Turkey

Curaćao

In the late eighties when I was a teenager I travelled to Europe in the Middle East with my boyfriend. We bought a car and toured around and often slept in the car. We were in turkey and we ended up lost in the mountains. There was no snow but we were running out of gas and had no food and had no idea where we were going. A Turkish family that lived out in the middle of nowhere and where sheepherders took us in gave us gas from their own car, and and washed our clothing. They fed us several home cooked meals while we rest it up 14 hours being lost. In return we took photos of the family and mailed it back to them they were absolutely thrilled. They could speak no English and we could not speak Turkish which made the supper-table very awkward but it was so kind and so endearing. They were so happy we came along and they could show us Hospitality. I will never forget them

Sue wow! That is so wonderful. What an experience to have.
Just reading about it filled me with warmth
.
When people ask why I love travelling.
It’s something about the universal human experience and finding kindness in the most unexpected places.

India, Colombia, Philippines

Jamaica. You can't beat the people, or the food

Katie one place I’ve never been but have always wanted to go
.
Any places in particular I can’t miss?

Claire oh my gosh yes! You must hit 9 Mile beach in Negril, for the fresh seaside lobster lunch and incredible glass bottom boat ride out to the best snorkeling I have ever experienced! Climbing Dunn's River Falls was one of the coolest experiences I've ever had also...but way colder than you would think! Shaw park Botanical Gardens in Ocho Rios is incredible. And finally, driving through the Fern Gully, just outside Ocho Rios was really something to see when we were there in 2014. I understand there are good years and bad years for this area but when we were there it's hard to believe it would ever not be captivating! I am going to say though, I'm glad that we had a local driver because driving etiquette in Jamaica is very different than it is in Canada, lol!

Oman! someone drove us back to or hotel after we were on a snorkling tour because it was a bit far and we were walking (no taxis available). It wasn't a scam or to get money..just kindness.

Cuba- we were there when hurricane sandy and had the best meal of our lives at the resort lifeguards home.

Moncton, New Brunswick and
Iceland

Poland. An elderly man spotted us, (in our early twenties at the time) struggling with a map, without a word of English he got us where we needed to go. It was so heartwarming
and everywhere we went we found service to be exceptional

1) China: I was looking for my hostel at night after arriving from the airport. This elder couple witnessed that I was walking back and forth along the street while looking at the map on my phone. They approached me (even though they didn’t speak a single English and I didn’t speak a single mandarin), and helped me find my hostel.
2) Taiwan: I tried to ask the bus driver which bus stop I need to get off at, but he couldn’t understand what I was saying due to language barrier. A lady got up from her seat and translated for me. She also made sure I got off at the right bus stop by getting up from her seat again to tell me my stop was coming up.
3) Singapore: The lady Grab driver was so impressed that I travel solo that she didn’t let me pay for the ride (you pay cash for Grab there)! Although she ended up dropping me off at the wrong entrance of the building, she ended up coming back to pick me up, then dropped me off at the proper entrance!
4) South Korea: A local man witnessed that I was having trouble reading the map, so he then guided me to find my hostel.

Albania

Helsinki. We got off of our tour bus. Stopped for a second on a corner to get out bearings and a businessman on his way to work walks over, noticing we were tourists and says ‘Hi, welcome to Helsinki. How can I help? Within one minute of being in the city we were approached with unsolicited kindness. Definitely a great first impression!

Italy. Most friendly people

Indonesia. Everyone approached me to practice their English and several times paid for my next bus ticket, helped explain to a cab driver where I was going, gave me a place to sleep or invited me to supper!

Burma

Thailand

Bali Indonesia..the kindest people ever!!!

So many places come to mind, Santa Marta, Colombia, New Orleans, anywhere in the Balkans, but my favorite is always Italy. Of all the amazing stories of human kindness, one of my favorite was when my mom and I were exploring Sicily and were looking for some beach. We asked an older man on the bus stop in our broken Italian. He told us, but because he had to get off before us, he consulted with everybody on the bus, so that they wouldnt forget to tell us. The memory of a sunny morning, arriving at the a beautiful beach and a bus full of elderly Italians waving us goodbye is so dear to me.

Denmark stands out. We must have looked very lost as we were approached on two different occasions by two older folks who offered us directions, and one kind lady even gave us a map to use

Philippines everywhere, Barbados, Goa

Turkey!!!!! The kindest and most generous people I've met so far. I've had an incredible experience as a solo female traveller. Made tons of local friends .. everyone was so hospitable.

San Pedro Belize

Iceland and French Polynesian islands!

Turkey

Uganda, especially in Bwindi. Even afterwards, the coffee we had at the hotel was some of the best we ever had so I emailed the hotel hoping it was a company I could order from, instead the hotel shipped me two bags at no charge.

Cuba and Bali for sure

Nepal, Vietnam, Bali and Costa Rica

I have travelled alot but hands down Costa Rica

Florence - we travelled with our 14 month old son. We went out for dinner and we were telling our server how concerned we were because he hasn’t been eating well. He came back out with fries and vanilla gelato for some “protein”. We were so touched.
We felt that the people in Florence overall were so accommodating and friendly, especially to families.

Melly
agree!

I have been blown away by kindness in many countries - Israel, Turkey, Cambodia, Nicaragua, France to name a few. There will be rude people and hustlers everywhere. BUT if you make yourself aware of local customs, proper greetings and treat people with kindness and respect for the culture you will find the world full of kind people eager to share with you.

Hawaii!

Colombia

Portugal!

Scotland (my hometown b4 I came to Canada) its so Beautiful there especially churches and castle's and the people are super friendly

Rwanda!

More of these posts please!!!!!!

Laos!

Istanbul

Malaysia

Developing and third world countries
Everywhere
Absolutely everywhere

Met some lovely people in the Azores, San Miguel Island

Thailand.
The people I met there are so generous and warm. Especially off the beaten track.

Jennifer Thailand - the land of smiles. It’s so true.

Costa Rica
Portugal

Cambodia

I wish this post was shareable...

Spain
I walked the Camino Primitivo a few years back, and on the way I met the most remarkable people.
So here's the story: my foot started to develop extensor tendinitis towards the end of the first week, which meant I was having trouble walking. So the following morning, while everyone left to begin their day's journey, I had to hang back. The last people to leave, a German couple, noticed me feeling sorry for myself in a corner. They approached, asked what was wrong, and then sat down with me for a few minutes. The man offered me his foot cream (can't put into words how valuable this stuff was) and the women asked permission to pray for my foot. She literally took my appendage in her lap, placed her hands around my not-so-pleasant looking/smelling foot, and said a prayer. When she was done, she looked up and asked if it felt better. I kind've shrugged, not sure what to say, so she said the prayer all over again.
At the end of each attempt, she looked at me with such a genuine expression of hope. The beauty of her faith in that moment changed the way I saw Christianity. So much love, so much care. It's easy to get caught in an ecochamber of negativity with regards to religion, so this meant a lot to me.
Anyways, she didn't heal my foot, but she did heal my spirit. I ended up trying to hitch-hike, but the first car to pass by was the police! They understood and gave me a lift to the next albergue.
Oh I forgot to mention: the day before when my foot officially developed said tendinitis, we were walking a long 20+km day over a some high terrain. About halfway through, when my flippers were hurting so much, there was a Spanish man just waiting with coffee and biscuits near a mountain pass. I collapsed at his post and without speaking English, he immidiately realized when was wrong. He poured me a drink, gave me some food, took off my shoe, and BEGAN MASSAGING MY FOOT. I stg, to this day I'm not sure if this man was real or if I imagined it.
Moral of the story: the camino can't be beat. Do it.

Thailand, Japan, Spain, Malawi. Tbh, all of the places I have been around the world I have met with positivity other than a few occasion.

Howard agree … about 75 countries, met nice folks everywhere!

Barbados, we ordered some locally made rum punch and mike who we bought it from said if we provided the condo info it would be waiting in the fridge for us, now that is service.

Ireland

Malawi. The warm heart of Africa. The official language is English so most often you can get by except in some very rural areas. There were so many acts of kindness I can even count - from being welcomed to a hotel via song, to special cultural presentations, to people returning a dropped 100$ US bill, to never being lost because someone will always come up and talk to you and often guide you to where you need to go.

Cubans are some of the kindest people I know. Newfoundlanders are also amazing people. They are very kind and welcoming!

Mexico City

Bruges, Prague and, believe it or not, Paris.

Cuba and Morocco! In Cuba my friend and I had our bus fare paid by locals each time we took it, for some reason they would see us looking at our map, help us with directions and pay for our fare to get there. It was so heartwarming. In Morocco my boyfriend and I were hitchhiking the Atlas Mountains and dusk was nearing. A man at a cafe earlier in the day gave us his number in the case that no one picked us up to continue on to Marrakech. No one did and we gave him a call. He came picked us up, had his son make us a home cooked meal, invited neighbours for a party and we ended the evening drinking French wine with Ali and his neighbour the sheep herder. We left the next day after Ali dropped us off at a better spot. We’ll both never forget his kindness and we let everyone we know can of the kindness in these countries.

Anywhere in the UK.

Tokyo in the late 70’s, I was in a nightclub dancing, and the heel of my shoe broke. I sat down and instantly a young lady came up to me not speaking any English and she took off with my shoe. I looked at my companions and
said wonder what she’s doing. She came back a little while later and brought my shoe back all fixed…I believe she took it to a shoemaker….I was just floored! Such random kindness….everyone I met there was lovely.

South Africa! Krueger National Park

Istanbul

Hey I go by ClaireBear sometimes

Rwanda - Rwandan people were very resilient after the genocide. Today, there's a huge emphasis on reconciliation and reunification, and it makes for a real "love thy neighbour" vibe.

Japan!!

portugal

Korea, Bali, the Maritimes

Most people everywhere are kind. It's unfair to rate level of kindness based on superficial encounters as a tourist. Kindness can be expressed in very different ways. Different cultures will rank differently in your "kindness gauge." If you go to China, you may feel people are obnoxiously loud and rude, but these are the people that will fight you to make sure you don't pay the bill and make sure you are well taken care of.
Just go to new places and build your own experiences. They'll be different from everyone responding here.

Many times. So many lovely people in the world
i found amalfi coast in Italy so very hospitable - like an effervescent community spirit all around

Many times. When my husband and I were lost in Taiwan, a kind couple put us on a bus, paid our fare, and had the driver deliver us to our intended location:)

Also Cuba. I can’t remember an episode specifically but there are now people there who are like family to me.

In Cuba, Newfoundland & Portugal, incredibly kind people we crossed paths with welcomed us like family, shared what they had, fed us, took us out to see the sights, made us feel at home.

Vietnam, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia.

Malaysia

CUBA, hands down...

Japan

Morocco - we were in the middle of nowhere, our group of 12, and we stopped at a tiny little shop and we wanted to buy some bread to make sandwiches. They had no bread, but the owner sent his young son all over the village to ask for the locals to provide a their own homemade loaves of bread. He then set out tables for us, and brought bus soft drinks. We didn’t speak each other’s languages, but their friendliness and kindness was very heartwarming. We found that kind of hospitality all over Morocco.

Angela Love Morocco, have been twice

Paris, every time I go I am amazed of their good manners and how helpful they are. They greet you and smile, they help you carry your luggage when you have to go up the subway stairs, if they ask for an information they don’t just say thanks but they also say how nice you are. They ask if you want their seat in a bus or the subway. It really shows how dedicated parents are to creating well-mannered humans.

Going back home to Darjeeling/ Nepal.. 2012 .. moved back to the UK.. 2014, came back in 2019.. wanted to back but Covid did me favour.. empty your mind just enjoy your surroundings

Cambodian ppl are the NICEST...and I remember having good experiences in some parts of Italy.

Right here in the Maritimes

Laos

St. John's, Newfoundland

Go to Iran, and you will see whats beyond hospitality.

I was in Puerto Vallarta and totally lost. I was walking the wrong way back to my hostel. It was getting dark so I saw a guy fixing his car with his wife outside watching. I went to them for help. They spoke no English, and did not recognize the hostel address. I speak little Spanish but was able to say beside Oxxo. The lady took me on the bus to my hostel not wanting any money. I will never forget her generosity of spirit.

Maui!! Within an hour of arriving to the island a stranger handed us an $100 USD bill because we “looked like poor students”

Wales and Indonesia

Honesty you’ll find lovely people anywhere, but I’ve found that places a bit more off the usual radar for tourists tend to be the most welcoming. Most recently (although pre pandemic so not that recent) I went with a friend to the Balkans and the people there were so lovely and welcoming. They really love showing their country to visitors and we felt treated like guests and not tourists. I would highly recommend! Plus that area of the world is just so stunningly beautiful, it’s a very underrated place to visit.

In Thailand we were travelling from Phuket north to our next hotel. The truck driver dropped us off in the middle of nowhere because he wasn't allowed onto the road leading to the resort. For several hours we waited for a ride but the guys on scooters wanted too much $. Finally a man in a car arrived, took us to the hotel and refused payment. He also came to take us to the airport and again refused payment. That kind man restored our faith in the kindness shown by most of the Thai people.

This is a kindness that is commonly found in Cuba.

Newfoundland without a doubt!

Ireland!

Cuba! The Cuban people have restored my faith in humanity. Also some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are in Cuba. Win/Win!

I love the overwhelming kindness of Cubans! Colombia was a very similar experience

India - Lived there for many years and Indians are so giving, helpful and loving. Made many lifelong friends there that I can't wait to reunite with one day!
Lisbon, Portugal - A gentleman helped us at the subway station after overhearing our conversation. We found that people in Lisbon were in general very kind and helpful. It was shocking to see as Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and a very busy city. People in big cities are usually too busy to stop and help out strangers.
Los Cabos, Mexico - People in Mexico are also very kind, caring and helpful. Had a really good experience there too interacting with people.
Both countries have very genuine people.

Hands down, Ghana. You can’t pass someone on the road without saying “fine” (they skip the “hi, how are you?” Part and just jump to “fine” as a greeting). I’ve never felt safer than when I travelled there.

Turkey

Vancouver!

Japan
and Portugal
Solo traveller here. Was lost in Osaka trying to get to Hoshino Bridge; was given a ride to and from by two separate groups of people when I only asked for directions. Very risky I know, but it worked out, lol. Was even invited for tea into an old lady's house. In Portugal, I used two local tour services, 1:1 tour, just excellent. Even though I obviously paid for the service, they were so genuine and enthusiastic about their city, it was more like having a friend there instead of a paid tour. (Ended up exchanging instas so def more friendly now
Took me to local restaurants and introduced me to local people. Felt like home.

What part of portugal

Ireland

Prince Edward Island

Glasgow, Scotland. Maui.

New Orleans- my grown children commented a number of times that they really forgot we were in a US city that has had so much hardship because everyone was so friendly including the unhoused population.

Curaçao