There are numerous thrills of traveling solo but if you’re lucky enough to find a right companion to experience the joys of traveling as a pair, you will undoubtedly cherish those memories for life.
A good travel companion can turn an average experience into an upward ride by rubbing off their zeal on you. However, a wrong companion who has a few unbearable idiosyncrasies can turn your experience into hell.
Traveling with someone is the fastest and the easiest way of learning about their personality. Sometimes traveling is the best “relationship test” to check your compatibility with your potential life partner.
Just because a person is your close friend, a cousin or a sibling, doesn’t mean he or she will make an excellent travel buddy for your needs. Your potential travel buddy can be anyone – your better half, a friend, or even a stranger that you hit it off with while sharing a taxi. Your travel buddy doesn’t need to be “perfect” but he or she should match your mindset on some basic parameters.
We at Drifter Planet are lucky enough that we put our potential life partners through a travel test. For everyone else, below are those parameters which we recommend you check before considering traveling with anyone:
01 | Budget
This is the most obvious and the most important point. Is your potential travel buddy a resort-kinda person or prefers staying in hostels?
It’s important to discuss the budget at the initial discussion stage so that you don’t end up wasting each other’s time. There are some people who avoid talking about money but it’s better to check expectations at this point to prevent an uncomfortable situation at a later stage.
If you enjoy hiking for a few hours to reach that perfect lagoon that you’ve been hearing about and your buddy wants to lounge around on the beach instead, it may not work out very well. Please pick a travel buddy who can match your physical activity levels so that you both don’t end up leaving each other alone on most occasions to do your thing.
03 | Pace
If your buddy likes taking things easy and is happy exploring only one attraction a day, however, you have an endless list of things that you absolutely don’t want to miss; it may result in a conflict.
Your buddy can end up making you feel restless while he or she spends an unusually long time getting ready for that “one attraction for the day” while you wait at the reception and make a mental note not to travel with that person ever again. Not everyone has the same pace, so it’s a good idea to get a sense of your potential travel buddy’s pace before you travel.
Many people, especially close friends make the mistake of assuming the purpose of travel – please don’t! Be very clear about it from the beginning.
If your purpose is an adventure and your buddy’s purpose is to party, it may just work well together occasionally but not every time. If you’re planning an early morning scuba dive and your buddy wants you to be his or her wingman for a party, it will not end favorably for either one or both of you.
05 | Conversations
You will be spending many long hours in each other’s company while you’re waiting for your flights, sitting next to each other in a bus, eating many meals together and standing in long queues, so please do yourself a favor and pick someone that you enjoy talking to.
If your buddy and you have never had a decent conversation except for some small talk before the trip, don’t expect things to magically change overnight.
06 | Space and Independence
Travel with someone who is independent and who gives you your space. You don’t want a clinger. If you’re flirting with that cutie in a bar that you’ve been eying, but your friend doesn’t let go of your arm, then maybe you’ve made a wrong choice.
Do travel with a friend who doesn’t give you hell for when they have to be alone in certain situations.
07 | Judging
If you’re the kind of person that enjoys trying everything – like joining a really wild party with a bunch of backpackers that you just met in your hostel or not thinking twice before indulging in a funny drunken karaoke performance or trying a variety of goodies at Amsterdam’s amazing coffee shops but your friend glares at you with a disapproving look in his or her eyes, you will not have a good time. Do not bring someone who will judge you when you’re being your wild-vacation-self.
08 | Cribbing
There are some people who inherently have a negative attitude and can suck out joy from EVERYTHING because they end up finding faults with the ferry ride, the beds, the music, the food, the weather, the costs, the people around, etc. A whiner or a cribber WILL spoil your trip, so better pick someone else.
We have listed our “8 point buddy test”, however, a little flexibility and compromise will definitely work well. However, if your potential travel buddy fails most of the above mentioned 8 point, then it may be a good idea to just go solo.
Me and my best buddy after our SkyDive
We are happy to announce that this post was published on Thought Catalog. Check it out here!
Do you agree with our list of things to Check Before Picking a Travel Buddy? Do have any more points to add? If yes, please leave a comment.
Great Post! I would add travel style as well. I travelled with a good friend for 6 weeks, she wanted to book things up and I didn’t, it led to some annoyances and debates between us, and we compromised by just booking some things a couple of days in advance, so we managed to have the flexibility I like, but without her needing to worry about missing out on activities. The right person makes a big difference!
Hi Gemma, thanks for stopping over. Traveling style makes a LOT of difference. Also – flexibility really helps and failing to do so can lead to arguments and what not.
Katie @ The Budget Backpack
on May 13, 2017 at 3:26 pm
I definitely agree with all of those! My first travel buddy was my best friend of 8 years – so it was more like traveling with a sibling than a friend. But I took that for granted and didn’t give much though to my next travel buddy and it was awful – I foolishly thought “well, we’re friends so we’ll definitely have a great time!” She was a #8 for sure and would get upset when I went out for walks while she napped. Lesson learned and every other travel partner since has been amazing!
Namaste, Guten Tag!
I'm Sonal from India, living in Germany and exploring Europe. I've been writing about my travel adventures since 2015. I often travel alone (and sometimes with my husband & our toddler).
I love nature, adventure, hiking to viewpoints, Yoga, and road trips. I love creating itineraries and in-depth travel guides which will help you make the most of your trip.
Great Post! I would add travel style as well. I travelled with a good friend for 6 weeks, she wanted to book things up and I didn’t, it led to some annoyances and debates between us, and we compromised by just booking some things a couple of days in advance, so we managed to have the flexibility I like, but without her needing to worry about missing out on activities. The right person makes a big difference!
Hi Gemma, thanks for stopping over. Traveling style makes a LOT of difference. Also – flexibility really helps and failing to do so can lead to arguments and what not.
I definitely agree with all of those! My first travel buddy was my best friend of 8 years – so it was more like traveling with a sibling than a friend. But I took that for granted and didn’t give much though to my next travel buddy and it was awful – I foolishly thought “well, we’re friends so we’ll definitely have a great time!” She was a #8 for sure and would get upset when I went out for walks while she napped. Lesson learned and every other travel partner since has been amazing!