When discussing the subject of travelling with a friend, I
can’t help but think about the scene from Friends
when Joey and Chandler are touring London together:
As you can see in the video, these two are not the most
compatible travel partners. Traveling with someone is about compatibility and interests. Even if you are best friends, you may not be the most compatible travel partners.
Here are some backpacker stats about who backpackers are
travelling with :
- 49% of females and 52% of males travel with friends or siblings.
- 28 % of females and 11 % of males travel with a partner.
- 23% females and 37% of males travel alone.
Therefore, the majority of backpackers travel with another
person (or several). Travelling with another person is great. You will share so
many amazing memories that will last for life. But, travel can be stressful,
and the stress and frustration from travel can be taken out on those you are
travelling with. If you’re not travelling with the right person, you may not
have a positive experience. Some things to keep in mind when considering travel with another person:
- Interests
- Eating styles
- Morning/ night person
- Travel speed styles (leisurely pace vs. seeing as much as possible)
Additionally, some tips to ease the stress of travel and
help everyone get along:
- Take some alone time
- Communicate
- Be flexible and compromise
- Don’t sweat the small stuff
You can also look at these 10 ways to be a less annoying travel companion.
Hopefully by keeping some of these tips in mind your travels will
be less awkward and more enjoyable than Chandler and Joey’s.
What a great blog topic and I loved that clip from Friends! I always wanted to go backpacking somewhere, and I think it would be a cool experience to do it on my own, but I know when the time actually came I would be terrified.. thanks for the tips Michael, keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Michael! I love Friends and have seen that episode many times, but I have never related myself to their situation before. My friend went backpacking this past summer and unfortunately experienced some days of Chandler and Joey moments. These are great tips and something I will definitely consider the day I backpack!
ReplyDeleteAwesome tips! It so true about morning/night person. Because of this minor thing my vacation was spoiled once and since that time I prefer travelling alone.
ReplyDeleteHey Michael, solid blog topic. The clip from friends was great and really illustrated your points perfectly. You provide good travelling tips and I will certainly keep them in mind when I travel in the future.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest frustration when travelling with another individual: SNORING...I cannot...stand it!
That being said, the fun times I have and memories I create with another person are worth enduring the dreaded sound of......SNORING!
Keep up the good work Michael.
As much as it is nice to travel with someone to share the experience with, I have found I prefer travelling alone as I am able to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. My friend and I traveled in our own cars across the country to Calgary and by the time we go there, we were barely speaking to each other. Its just safer for friendships for myself if I travel alone. Love the Friends reference!
ReplyDeleteI went to Italy this summer and I brought one of my friends with me, we didn't backpack, but it still didn't go well. I found that I was always worrying about if my friend was having a good time, what we were going to do later and how expensive some of the places were. Italy is a very different lifestyle and our personalities didn't mesh well while we were there.
ReplyDeleteI've also been inside my map many a times!
Good point for this post, Michael. Every time when I was planning for the trip, this was the first question jumping into my mind. Sometimes I enjoyed accompanying, but it was not always having the happy ending. Now, as I have had more traveling experience, I kind of enjoy go by myself because of freedom for the plans and time arrangement. Great clip from Friends as well. Great job.
ReplyDeleteFor many years now I have been planning to go backpacking in India, and have mentioned this to a few friends. A few of my friends just want to go for the sake of going. However, this has been something I have always wanted to do and would mean so much more than just a vacation to me. I can totally see and relate how important it is to chose the right person when travelling. Thanks for sharing the Friends video - its exactly what I in vision when I hear someone tagging along on a vacation.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Michael. I agree with a lot of things in your post, especially since I find myself considering these exact things whenever I want to propose travel plans with friends. Although going with friends is fun, I find that things can go badly and sour the entire trip if compatibility is an issue. Thanks for popping the Friends video up to help illustrate your point.
ReplyDeleteSome of my worst travel experiences have nothing to do with where I went, but who I went with. This post is such a good reference for anyone looking to take a trip and can't decide whether or not to bring a friend. I wholeheartedly agree that you must have similar interests, there's nothing worse than trying to enjoy something you love while your travel partner is sulking in the corner. Ain't nobody got time for that!
ReplyDelete