Choosing Travel Partners

It's the plane ride home. As you're counting the hours until you land, you ask yourself, "How did what was supposed to be the perfect get-away turn into the vacation from hell?" Then you realize that the answer is sitting right next you! Yeah that's it, your friend or group of friends you decided to take along with you have totally ruined your trip. How did this happen? You started the trip as friends but now you can't wait to get off the plane and get far away them! What went wrong?

Rule#1: Just because you're friends with someone, does not mean you should travel together

Everybody travels differently. Some like to wake up early and spend the entire day sightseeing. Others want to sleep till 11 and then come back for a three hour afternoon nap. So first you need to figure out how you like to travel then find friends who travel like you. Start out by doing short simple trips with them just to make sure this is the group of people you want to travel around the world with.

Rule #2: Talk about your budget

Are you the penny pincher who is on a $10 a day budget and happy going to the beach because it's free? Then don't travel with your friend who is a 5 star luxury package, "this is my only vacation for the past 5 years" kind of guy (unless they don't mind paying for you!!) Talking about things you're going to do and about how much you want to spend is important to do BEFORE you leave. There is nothing worse than planning to spend $7 for dinner and being forced to go to a 3 star restaurant with 5 star prices. You know that you can't afford to go scuba diving, so don't be afraid to tell your friends that you just don't have the money to do it. You don't want to go home thinking "I wish I had not wasted all of that money". Don't be ashamed to stick to your budget.

Rule#3: It's OK if you don't do everything together  

You and your friends are not glued together. If they want to sleep in and not start their day until noon, let them! This is your get-away, do what you want to do and let them do the same. Do not force others to do things that they do not want to do and don't let others force you to do things you can't afford.  As a group, discuss what you guys would like to do. If there are things that you don't want to see or that you can't afford to do, don't go! You will only regret doing it, resulting in you being aggravated and having a horrible trip. Some of your best moments will be at the end of the day when everybody is sitting around discussing the different things they did.

Choosing your travel partners is not always easy. All seasoned travelers have made the mistake of opening their big mouth and inviting the wrong person with them! Learn from our mistakes! Just because a person looks cool doesn't make them the ideal travel buddy. No matter your budget, you want to have a great time. The best way to do this: choose your travel partners wisely!!