Deciding to take a trip involves a lot of planning and commitment. And when you’re looking for the perfect travel companion, picking your best friend to plan your trip with is an obvious choice.
Remaining best friends throughout the duration of the planning, traveling, and returning home, however, is not always so easy.
You can effortlessly avoid any misunderstandings that could arise while traveling together if you do a little work before the trip begins. By following these tips inspired by Forbes and Lifehacker, and by being really honest about the mix of you and your BFF’s personalities, you can have the time of your life traveling with your bud.
What’s the plan, Stan?
No two people on Earth are the same, and everyone is going to want something different. Make sure you pick a location that both of you are psyched about. This should hopefully be the easiest part, because planning your day to day itineraries could get very complicated.
Say you’re a night owl, and your friend is an early riser. You may want to hit the town and experience some local nightlife while your friend might want to take a jog through the countryside at sunrise. These tiny discrepancies in vacation goals can make or break your experience.
What is the absolute number one thing you want to do or see when you reach your destination? If you have different answers, you’ll need to add both of those to your list. No one wants to leave vacation feeling hurt that they didn’t get the experience they wished for, especially if this is a once in a lifetime trip.
All of this is leading up to the big takeaway: plan, plan, plan. Having a day or two where your schedule is flexible and free is a good idea, but being up front about the day to day activities will give you and friend complete understanding of the expectations of the trip. Surprises always arise, but they will be welcomed if they are few and far between.
Going halfsies can be half of the problem.
Now that you’ve decided what you’re going to do, it’s time to decide who is going to pay for what. The logical answer would be to split everything down the middle, to avoid any confusion. But, if either of you split up on your own, or one of you ends up doing most of the logistical planning, you might feel a bit slighted when a charge comes up that you weren’t really involved with.
It’s also important to remember that you and your friend lead different personal lives. Maybe you just got a promotion at work and your friend is still in an internship. You have to be sensitive to the spending habits your travel buddy has.
Stick to your plans and compromise where needed – not everyone can afford the fancy things in live, while the other half may want to experience the trip just as mother nature intended. Having an understanding of what the expenses will be and how much each of you are going to cover is key.
Being “hangry” is real.
Short and sweet: never make a decision on an empty stomach. And also be empathetic towards your friend’s needs. No one is a happy camper when they’re hungry or dehydrated.
Make sure you know when you’ll be eating, and always pack some snacks in case plans get delayed.
Relax – it’s a vacation.
The most important thing to do is have fun. You and your friend are on vacation! Soak up the sun, hit all the slopes, drink all the drinks, climb every mountain, and just enjoy the time you have with your best friend. After all, you picked them to travel with for a reason.
