How to Survive Traveling with Friends

Traveling with friends – it just seems like the best idea ever doesn’t it?

You get along just fine at home, hanging out regularly and so on. Going on vacation with your friend and being together 24/7 is going to be FREAKING AMAZING right? I know I can’t be the only one, but those trips never seem to go as perfectly as planned. Just like living with someone, traveling with them will reveal the REAL AUTHENTIC THEM. And the real them is not that great sometimes. But no worries, none of us are perfect and traveling can bring out the not-so-good side of all of us. No need to tarnish a friendship with traveling woes.

I’ve been there several times, with some excellent trips and some that were so bad that I was close to choking my friend out in New Orleans and a homeless man had to break us up. Whew, it was real bad. Let me calm done.

Anyhow, with all that being said, I do have to admit that I personally prefer solo travel, but every now and then traveling with friends is a great comfort. *(And I am a good travel companion, she was just crazy!)

But..

Below are some of my tried and trusted methods for traveling with friends.

1. Pay for Everything Before You Leave For The Trip. When people get home, they realize the vacation is over and more than likely they overspent. This can all be a non-issue if you pay for everything before you step foot on a plane. Accommodations, excursions, tours and airport transfers should be paid before hand. The only thing left to worry about on vacation should be food and souvenirs. If you offer to pay for a random excursion that you come across on a trip and a friend is low on funds, be prepared for the outcome. It’s a 50/50 chance you’ll get your money back and its an 85% chance it will be with an attitude or hassle.

2. Plan out your entire itinerary before leaving. We all have different interests and activities we like to do on trips. For example, you’re going on a trip and your friend wants to attend a belly dancing class. You have no interest what so ever in learning how to belly dancing. You two discuss this before your leave for the trip. When the day of belly dancing class start during the trip, your friend already knows that she’s on her own. No arguments or being passive aggressive, it was discussed beforehand. I personally like to throw in a rest day during my trips as well. Sometimes, I just like to enjoy the hotel pools, lay in the plush beds and watching movies and order room service. Be honest about your intentions and what would make the trip best for both of you.

3. Physical Limitations. You are friends, so you should somewhat be aware of their physical standing. Every traveler is different. Some like to walk and take public transportation. Some are into biking. Others prefer hailing cabs or UBER to sightsee without breaking a sweat. Discuss the modes of transportation and make sure no one gets bent out of shape. Nothing sucks more than hearing someone complain all day while you’re taking in the sights and sounds of a new place.

4. Compromise and Know Your Strengths. Compromising is the key to life! This is personally one of the main reasons why I began traveling solo. Having to do all the hard work and stressing out, while friends sit back and relax without lifting a finger can be so frustrating. If you know you’re not the best highway driver, scary eighteen-wheelers and all, offer to buy coffee and snacks. Stay up with friends and keep them company, help with navigation. Don’t just sit there and be on Facebook and texting while one person is doing all the work.

Speaking of coffee and snacks, be willing to compromise on dining options. I’ve had some bad experiences traveling with friends with very picky diets to ones who only wanted to eat at familiar American chain restaurants. Suggest allowing one person to pick the lunch spot and another the dinner, surely its something on the menu that you both enjoy.

5. Be Honest and Know Who You’re Traveling With. We all know what type of friends we are and what type of friends we have. Go ahead, admit it and be honest. If you are on a tight budget, let the other person know how much you’re comfortable spending per day. If you know you’re traveling with a friend who’s cheap back at home, they will likely be cheap on vacation too. Chances are if your friend doesn’t like to hike, bar hopping, window-shopping, gambling and all that good stuff back home they won’t magically change on vacay. There is nothing at all wrong with that, just know and expect it before you leave. You will have a better trip in the end.

6. Get Over The Small Stuff & Let It Go. That’s right. Disagreements and small arguments are going to happen, its just the nature of traveling. When dealing with so many unforeseen incidents and occurrences its completely normal. Learn to look over the snappy attitude and comment in the heat of the moment. We all handle our emotions differently. If something does happen that doesn’t sit right with you after a while, talk about it after things have calmed down. I prefer face to face in a neutral setting, because text messages can often get misconstrued. Try to look at the situation from the other persons viewpoint. Do not get bent out on something small and ruin your vacation. You traveled all those hours, spent all that money, don’t let something small ruin it and leave bad memories.

7. Plan a Free/Relax Day. Sometimes you just need a small break from your traveling companion. Being around each other around the clock can be overwhelming. While traveling mostly like you are bound to come across places and things you’d like to try out. Maybe its something that you did earlier in the week that you would like to do again before leaving. Like circling back around to that store with the cute t-shirts, spend more time on the beach, venture further into the city. Even better, what if you meet someone, get the butterflies in your stomach and want to meet up for lunch one day?
By already having a designated free day, there should be no problem when one person goes of on there on little journey. If you decide not to include a free day at least include a relax day. I touched on it a little earlier, but sometimes you just need an off day while traveling. Waking up early, driving and walking around is tiring. I come back from a lot of trips exhausted, feeling like I had been at my day job! Its good to include a relax day to give yourself a much needed break.

8. Remember to…Have fun, don’t let a few incidents spoil your trip.

Well, those are the only tips I can think of for now! If you have any suggestions or any more to add, please leave some in the comments 🙂

 I can’t wait to read them!