Traveling is one of the most amazing things you can do to expand your awareness and broaden your horizons. But it takes a lot of planning before you embark on your adventure. Booking hotels, coordinating transportation, scheduling activities, and packing essential traveling gear is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to travel preparation.
But one of the more overlooked steps in preparing for a trip is picking out the right travel partner. Just because you’ve been friends since college or you make great tennis partners, doesn’t mean you will travel well together. Check out these 3 tips to make sure you pick out your travel partner wisely.
Pick a travel companion who shares your interests
When you choose someone totravelwith, the first thing you should consider is their interests in comparison to your own. If you can’t wait to explore the city’s best art galleries or spend the afternoon sightseeing the landscapes that surround the city but your travel partner is more excited to check out the cafes and shops, you may run into more than a few bumps along the way. Before you hit purchase on your plane ticket, make sure the person you travel with shares the same interests in activities as you do.
Make sure your travel companion has a similar budget
Money, of course, plays a major role when it comes to travel. Specifically, when picking a travel partner, make sure your budgets match up so that no one is forced to spend more or less than the amount they are comfortable with. Beyond just the budget, however, be sure that you and the person you are traveling with prioritizes the same expenses. If you are more concerned with staying in top-notch hotels but your travel companion is willing to forfeit a luxurious night’s sleep to spend money at as many 5-star restaurants as you can find, you are going to have to work out some kinks to make sure you both are spending your money the way you want to.
Choose a travel companion who places the same amount of importance on alone time
When you travel to a different city with someone, spending loads of time together is inevitable. But if you’re a person who cherishes a few hours of alone time every so often, make sure your travel companion is aware of that and okay with it. But if you plan on spending every waking hour together with the person you travel with, make sure they’re comfortable with that as well. Alone time is precious to some and unnecessary to others, so make sure you have a solid understanding of what the other expects as far as alone time goes.
No one wants to be stuck miles from home at odds with their travel companion. Avoid the travel arguments before they even start by picking out the perfect partner in the first place to explore and experience the world with.
