Being 24 hours a day with someone for a long time is not easy.
That is why I decided to make this list. After many travels with friends and partners, I have been through many kinds of situations that taught me how to ( at least try) make my journey a success.
Travelling with friends or partners can be challenging because seeing that person only during the weekend or just in the evening is not like spending an entire week (or even more than just one week) 24 hours a day together.
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Read 28 Tips for a successful trip with your partner or friend
Enjoy!
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1. Choose a destination you both want to visit:
Choosing your destination together is very important. Because if you are both excited about the destination, you are more willing to research and live the travel as complete as possible.
You will feel super happy just because you love the place you will visit.
2. Decide which kind of travel you want to have:
Is it going to be a relaxing trip or an exploring one? Do you want to go on holiday because you need to relax and rest or are you ready to walk 20 kilometres a day?
Talking about the purpose of the travel is essential. We all have different needs, and it is necessary to speak openly about them.
3. Find your and your travel mate strengths and weaknesses:
Are you a good planner, and your travel mate is a good driver?
Perfect, you will plan the day, and they will drive you through your destinations.
Are you good at finding new experiences to try, but you are shy while your travel mate is very good at making friends?
These are the kinds of things you have to find out about each other (if you don't already know them) to make your travel a complete success.
4. Decide the budget for your travel:
You might all have a different salary, so it is essential to talk about money to avoid one of you feeling uncomfortable about it.
Many people don't like to talk about how much they earn, but it is not about money when travelling with someone. It is about making decisions together and making sure the travel is suitable for both of your budgets.
5. Set a daily budget:
Setting a daily budget is a great way to keep an eye on your finances (also in everyday life).
In this way, you will know how much the travel will cost you. Set a maximum budget for the trip, detract flights and accommodation, then choose how much you want to spend on the food and what you will have left will be invested in activities, museums etc.
6. Be honest about what kind of travel you want:
Maybe you prefer to wake up early in the morning, explore all day walking a lot, and then sleep early. At the same time, your travel mate wants to go out clubbing all night and then start to explore only after lunchtime.
Talk about it and find a way where you will both be satisfied.
7. Decide your travel style:
Do you prefer staying in a hostel where you will meet people and share a room or get a double room in a hotel?
Do you like to explore by car or by bus?
Do you want a backpacking trip or a more comfortable one? Some people could never imagine backpacking while others could never stay in a hotel where they will have more difficulties making new friends.
8. Plan the whole trip together:
Unless one of you is terrible at planning and doing research (or doesn't care about what they will see), I suggest you both do some research and decide what you want to see and what you want to do.
And remember, if you want to visit a particular museum, but your travel mate doesn't really care about it, find something else for them to do nearby.
In this way, you will not miss doing something you want, and they will not have to wait for you outside the museum.
I went to Prague with a friend of mine a few years ago, and she wanted to see the torture museum. I really didn't care about it because I saw a similar one in another country.
So I told her to go and enjoy it. I spent that time walking along the river, taking pictures and enjoying the nice sunny day. I didn't get upset because I was alone. I enjoy some "me" time.
9. Be prepared to work together:
Travel mates are partners or friends and also a team. Learn how to work together because many friendships end during travels.
10. Be honest:
Don't lie to make the other person happy. Be kind and honest about what worries you and find a solution that will make both happy. Honesty and good communication is the key to any relationship.
11. Be a good listener:
As you both have to be honest, you both have to be good listeners. Otherwise, you could feel uncomfortable about something but feel that saying it could ruin the travel.
It is not like that. So listen to your travel mate, let them express their feeling, worries and thoughts so together you will find a solution that will suit both of you.
12. Be ready to compromise:
This is a good one. We are all different. Not all of us have an A-type personality (The Director, that's me), and not all of us are a C-type (the Supporter).
So learning how to compromise will make your travel much more manageable. Do not try to control everything because you are not at work (that is something I had to learn, and I am still working on it).
You are on holiday with a friend/partner, so don't expect your travel mate to plan everything for you like they are your travel guide because they are not.
Help each other, work as a team and respect if the other wants to do things differently from you. (Easy to say, but not to apply. At least for me. I have a solid A-type personality, so I risk arguing with my travel mate because of it. I want everything planned in the best possible way always. It takes time and auto control, but this is the right thing to do).
13. Book some activities where you will meet people:
You can do so many things together. Like a food and wine tasting tour, guided tours, boat day experience, hiking group, dancing classes, cooking classes, and much more.
I always check activities on GetYourGuide or Viator. They are the best activities websites to book any activity around the world.
Joining one or more activities will make you meet people (locals and travellers), so you will have a chance to make new friends instead of being together only the two of you 24 hours a day.
14. Plan some sports together:
Do you like scuba diving, snorkelling, horseback riding, beach volley, bowling, hiking, skiing, tennis, or other sports?
Do it together, then. It can be a fun activity and will also release some stress.
After all, you are on holiday so have fun and enjoy yourself.
In the picture above I was in Sardinia with my friend Pamela. I did a couple of years of horseriding when I was younger and Pamela never did it. She was a bit scared about it, but she decided to come with me. We had a wonderful walk along the beach, nothing to be scared about, and she loved it!
15. Try something new:
You have always wanted to try scuba diving, sky diving, zipline, sailing, climbing a volcano, swimming with sharks or something else?
Just do it. This is your free time to spend together so find something you both always wanted to do and book it. (good luck with the sharks, though).
I always check activities on GetYourGuide or Viator. They are the best activities websites to book any activity around the world.
16. Buy good travel insurance:
Make sure to enjoy your travel without additional worries. Finding good travel insurance is one of the most important things to do. Cover your back while travelling. It will make you feel less worried.
17. share some gadgets or toiletries:
If you know that your travel mate is a good photographer while you are so so, ask them to take their photo camera and take most of the pictures (of course you will have to learn a bit how to take photos of them as thank you).
But it will make you save space and weight in the travel bag. Also, talk about toiletries. Maybe you can share the same solid shower bar, shampoo bar, conditioner bar etc. Do you really need two toothpaste?
And then you can divide the items and have more room in your travel bags for the souvenirs.
18. Be ready to share spaces:
If you live alone or do not share your bedroom, sharing a room with a friend or partner can be challenging for a whole week or more.
You will have all the other person's stuff around (and your travel mate can be crazy messy while you are very tidy).
You will maybe share the bed (if you have a light sleep, book a twin room), possibly your travel mate snore at night (ask about it and buy some good earplugs).
Prepare yourself. Keep calm and think you are on holiday so do not get upset, as soon as you go back home you will go back to have your room.
If all these things are not a problem for you (like me), I hope your travel mate will not complain about you. So be a good roommate.
19. Make sure to have some time alone:
Being 24 hours a day together can sometimes be difficult for some people, so make sure to have time alone.
For example, if I am on a summer holiday, I always bring a book to relax reading, or I go for a walk on the beach or for a swim.
If I am in a museum, I don't have to stay 1 metre from my travel mate. I can explore by myself at my peace. Just agree to meet up at the entrance after 1 or 2 hours and enjoy your travel.
20. Be a great communicator:
Good communication is the secret of a happy and healthy relationship with a partner or a friend.
Keeping things for yourself is never good and also remember that other people cannot read your mind, so if you do not say what you think, the other person will never know it.
21. Don't expect your travel mate to be perfect:
I am sorry to tell you, but no one is perfect, neither you are. Even if your mom always tells you differently.
So be aware that you will not like some of your travel mate's behaviours. Just breathe, count till ten and think that maybe you are pissing them off too.
22. Go through the itinerary every morning:
I always do this before leaving my accommodation, usually after breakfast, so we are awake and ready to go.
Check together where you have to go that day. See if your travel mate wants to make some changes. Study the map so you will not have to check it every 5 seconds.
23. Decide earlier the lunch and dinner options:
This will save you a lot of time. When deciding where to eat, you already add it to your itinerary. So you will not have to go to the other side of the city to have lunch, but you will find some good places in the area to choose from.
You will also avoid looking for a place to eat in an area where maybe there is nothing you like and lose precious time that you could invest in exploring.
24. Always bring food with you:
Do you get annoying when hungry and there is nothing to eat? I do, and there are many people like me.
So always bring something with you, like a banana, a couple of boiled eggs (always available in hotels) or a sandwich. You can make it in the morning while having breakfast and carrying it in your backpack.
25. Be prepared to take care of each other:
Sickness happens, and it is terrible when it happens while travelling, but you are travel mates, and it is your responsibility to take care of each other.
Please don't get upset or annoyed by it because it could happen to you.
It happened to me once when I went to New York, and my travel mate went to get me some medicine and spent a whole day with me at home watching movies instead of going out exploring.
When it happened that my travel mate was sick, I did precisely the same. Bring a book or a tablet/laptop with you so at least you can watch something together.
If you are looking for some good movie streaming sites, look at Apple Tv+, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. They always offer great deals, and new movies and Tv series are added regularly.
If you love Documentaries like me, you should definitely check out CuriosityStream, where you can find thousands of documentaries.
If you are a sports supporter, you should look at Fubo TV where you can find more than 150 channels and their live shows. Fubo Tv covers all major soccer games happening around the world. You can watch it in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
26. Make sure to alternate to take pictures of each other:
One of you can be an excellent photographer while the other one not so good, but it does not mean the good one has to take all the pictures and not be in any of them.
So share the camera, teach your travel mate how to take good photos and if you are the one who does not know how to do it, let your travel mate teach you and learn.
As you love to have amazing pictures as memories when you get back home, your travel mate would also love to have some for themself.
27. Make time to relax:
If you are not choosing a relaxing holiday in a summer place, but prefer to explore a city o do a tour, don't forget to stop and relax sometimes. Otherwise, you will go back to work more tired than when you left.
Stay in some nights, watch a movie or read a book, spend a few hours in a park or have a picnic lunch in the park.
Or as me and my friend Pamela liked to do in Gran Canaria island, we got a delicious Irish coffee at a bar on the beach and enjoyed the wonderful ocean view.
28. Do not expect to act like love birds or best friends forever all the time:
It is not going to happen. I am sorry. Arguing is expected, or at least have different opinions about something.
We all hate it, but spending so much time together is the downside.
Just try to calm down, do not say anything you will regret (easy to say) breath and remember you are with your loved one or your best friend that you love, and they love you too.
So cut it short and makeup. Arguing can really ruin a trip.
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