Choosing someone to travel with is like choosing who you’ll marry: You’re going to be spending a lot of time with this person, and you might end up hating them by the end of it. Travelling can reinforce the bond you have with your best friend or significant other, but it can also be the downfall of your relationship. When I travelled to Europe this past summer with my best friend, we both mutually agreed that we would stay travel partners ‘til death do us part. When people ask us if we ever got sick of each other we tell them no, we only wish that we had more time. So to my perfect travel partner – thank you. Thank you for making our days exciting, for laughing at the inevitable embarrassing moments and for making every day an adventure to look forward to. Whether we were in the Frankfurt red light district by accident, or on a boat in Italy with a bunch of strangers drinking bottomless wine, we embraced the journey ahead of us. To find a great friend is lucky, to find the perfect travel partner is rare. I only hope that everyone has the same experience as I did, so follow these tips to avoid choosing the wrong partner to explore the world with!
Do you have similar interests?
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Different countries offer many different attractions and activities, and what you want to do might be very different than what your friend wants to do. If you’re going to be saving a lot of money for your trip, you want to make sure you’re getting the most out of it. Make a list of everything you want to see and do, you probably won’t be able to do everything but at least you and your travel partner can get a sense of what you’re looking to experience. If you love history and art, museums are what you’ll be looking for. If your friend is uninterested by the idea of 16th century Renaissance paintings, there might need to be a compromise. With that being said, don’t be afraid to go outside your comfort zone. Don’t go into an experience thinking you’ll hate it, you’ll be surprised by what you can learn and end up enjoying.
How much are you willing to spend?
It is so important to get on the same page about how much you’re budgeting for the trip. If you’re thinking of going all out on hotels, meals and shopping, tell your friend first. Make sure you get a sense of how much each activity will cost and factor in other expenses such as transportation to and from everything you do. There are definitely ways to cut corners when it comes to spending money while travelling; you can stay in hostels which are significantly cheaper than a hotel, but the idea of staying in a room with other people may be a turn off for some. Communicate with your partner to ensure that you’re both on the same page when it comes to costs, or you may end up spending more than what you envisioned.
Do you actually like this person?
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This is a big one. You may be thinking, why in good judgement would you ever travel with someone you don’t like? Well, maybe you don’t know you don’t like this person! Maybe all it takes is a few weeks attached at the hip for you to realize that maybe this is an insufferable human being. You’re going to be attached to this person for however many days in a different country. You won’t know anyone else, there will be long flights/train rides and there’s no leaving them once you’re off that plane. You’re stuck. Have you spent a lot of time with this person? Could you see yourself getting annoyed at them as time goes on? If you think you might end up wanting them to fall off the face of the earth then maybe you should consider not travelling with them. From my experience, if you’ve spent many days with this person and basically live together, you probably have a good sense of what they would be like abroad.
There you have it! Travelling should be a fun experience that you can cherish for the rest of your life, you don’t want it to be memorable for the wrong reasons. Plan ahead, and enjoy your time exploring new places with a loved one that you (hopefully) will get along with.