The More The Merrier
I will be the first to admit it, I definitely PREFER to travel and experience things solo. It’s truly my souls’ joy. I’m 100% an introvert and love spending most of my time alone. But recently I’ve learned the value of traveling and sharing experiences with friends. Winter 2023 I traveled with my biggest group to date – 10 beautiful souls to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I had a blast and it opened my mind to the possibility of traveling with others.
Since then, I’ve gone to Bali with a close friend and even went to my first music festival with another close friend. (I’m on a roll ya’ll lol). I won’t lie though, traveling with a group or with someone other than yourself can be an adjustment. Choosing the ‘right’ travel partner, or partners, can make or break your adventure. The three tips below have helped my choose great travel buddies.
Tip #1 – Be in Alignment with Your Budget
Let’s get right into it, money is important. Even more so, it’s incredibly important to ensure you and your travel buddy are on the same page when it comes to your travel budget. Now I’m not saying that you have to open a joint bank account together or anything like that. Instead setting a budget for flights, hotel rooms and experiences is very important. Think about it for a moment, It would be awkward and weird for one person to be staying at the Ritz-Carlton, while the other is staying at a Motel 6. Or for one person to eat a steak and lobster meal for dinner, while the other is eating instant ramen. Before your trip make sure to talk through how much each of you would like to spend on accommodations, travel experiences and flights. It can be tough to talk about money and budgets with another person, however it is best to be honest and straightforward in the beginning to avoid any potential conflict down the line.
Tip #2 – Select Someone You Have an Established Friendship With
Speaking of conflict – that brings me to tip number two: travel with a person that you’ve known for a good amount of time. I’m talking at least one to two years at minimum. This maybe a hard pill to swallow AND traveling is not always rainbows and butterflies. Life happens no matter what. You want to ensure that you’re traveling with someone you know and trust to have your back when and if crap hits the fan.
For example, my friend Ashley and I traveled to Bali together winter 2023. As you can see from the pictures above we had a blast. However it wasn’t without our fair share of hiccups. In short, on day two of our time in Bali we got caught in a massive rain storm, both of our phones got drenched and we had to take an incredibly scary boat ride to get back to the mainland after being on a small island all day. This situation could’ve had the two of us at each others’ throats – but because we have a solid friendship and respect each other we worked through it and thrived together.
Tip #3 – Share Common Interests
Lastly and certainly not least, I’ve found it’s super important to travel with a buddy you have things in common with. As I mentioned beforehand, I traveled to Thailand in winter 2023 with a group of more than 10 people. One of the biggest reasons things gelled so well with us as a whole, was the fact that the trip was centered around learning Thai Massage. That was our common interest and mostly everything we did together as a group was based off that.
I would imagine it would be difficult to travel for an extended amount of time with a companion that had few or little common interests. Save yourself the headache and select a friend that you know enjoys some of the same hobbies and interests as you do.
Pro-Tip: Just because you are traveling together doesn’t mean you have to be tied at the hip 24/7. Be sure to communicate with your travel buddy about carving out time for yourself if you need to.
Bonus Tip – I Want to Travel but I Need Friends, Help!
If you’ve read this entire article and desperately want to travel but are still pondering about or lacking the perfect someone to travel with – I got you! There are so many ways to connect with people online who love to travel and are seeking friends to do so with. Below are a few of my favorite resources to connect with like-minded travelers. I wish you best of luck on your travel adventures. Until next time – happy travels!
Connections for Women Traveling Solo
Connections for Any & All Traveling Solo
