How I got a float plane ride on Tinder.

That’s not code for something dirty; I promise.

I’m not really a fan of Tinder at all. In my experience, the majority of Tinder users fall into two categories:

  1. Want to hookup
  2. Want to talk on Tinder forever and never meet in real life

I don’t fall into either of those categories.

Nevertheless, Tinder can be a great way to meet locals when traveling. Solo travel time is when I’m most likely to open Tinder, especially in places less geared toward tourism (i.e. Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada) or more geared toward having fun in a group setting (i.e. skiing in Colorado). I had Travel Tindered before with little success, and my trip to Yellowknife was shaping up to be the same (can’t you just take a girl out fishing?!), but 24 hours before my scheduled departure I got a message that I subsequently ignored… until I got another message that said “… I’ll be flying floats tomorrow morning if you’re interested in coming along.” HELL TO THE YES was my response, more or less. That was at least the response going on in my head.

Despite being up until about 4 am that night enjoying the midnight sun, it was more than worth it to get up at 7 am for a float plane ride. It was their morning test run before taking some fishermen out to a remote lake, and they’re used the taking the plane up empty. I had never been on a float plane before and it was a pretty fantastic experience! I even felt a little bad that my flight out was that afternoon.

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Lesson: The best travel experience can come from the weirdest of places, and it’s all about keeping an open mind (while also considering safety).