Picking the best travel buddy is certain to be a tough decision. There are many different things that can be considered to create the happy, relaxed and friendly atmosphere for the duration of a trip. Let’s take a look at a few of the important things:
Personality
A great place to start in the search for a travel buddy is to find someone with the same or similar type of personality. Whether you are the relaxed type or those that are constantly on the go and energetic, you will find it benefits to travel with the like-minded companion. Also, the type of activities in the travel plan can influence the travel buddy.
Additionally, it is important to make sure the travel itinerary is able to complement both parties. It will certainly help if the personalities match in this area because a happy-go-lucky person and an organization junkie may have difficulty getting along.
Budget
Many travelers prefer to stay in a decent hotel on their travels and eat at restaurants in the evenings, while others will have no issue with moving from one cheap guest house to the next and eating out or even enjoying the street food scene in certain countries. Instead of getting frustrated with a travel buddy about the cost of travel, it will benefit to have a proper conversation in order to come to a satisfactory agreement before getting on the road.
Shared interests
It will certainly help to travel with a travel buddy that has shared interests if you want to avoid long periods of awkward silence. The ability to keep a conversation going will be very difficult if both parties have completely different interests. For this reason, you will find it benefits to travel with someone who shares one or more of your interests.
Practice runs
A great way to decide if a travel buddy is the right fit for a long trip is to take a practice run. This can simply involve taking a short trip together for the day. It can help to travel to a completely new place for both parties and see if you can both agree on things like finding a preferred restaurant, activities, transportation, etc. It may be necessary to compromise at times, but the all-round experience should still be fun and enjoyable.
Overall, it can take time to find the travel buddy that matches the personality, so the entire process should be carefully planned to minimize issues when traveling.