Find the Travel Buddy Who is Perfect for YOU!

 

Congratulations on finally making the decision of wanting to take the vacation of a lifetime or simply wanting to start traveling more!  I have done a lot of traveling alone over the years, which has allowed me to absorb the absolute best of so many areas of the world!  However, I can understand how you may not want to travel on your own.  After all, there is something fabulous about having someone else to help you keep an eye on your luggage and help watch your back!  Therefore, if you truly want a travel buddy, you need to know how to find the perfect one.  So, do know what you should do as you are attempting to choose the travel buddy who is perfect for you?  Don’t worry, not many do, and this is an issue that so many travelers like yourself have, but there are so many things that you can consider, to make the best decision for both of you!

Here are 5 things that you need to have in common with a potential travel buddy to have a fabulous vacation together:

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1.       Always Have Mostly the Same Interests! 

 

Okay, so you probably already know that your perfect travel buddy is not going to be a person who wants a sandy beach vacation if all you want to do is traipse along the mountain trails!  However, did you know that you should also have at least a few of the same interests?  I suggest that you make a list of the things that you like to do while you are on vacation and have those travel buddies you are considering do the same.  Once you compare them, you will instantly see who you may be a better match with.  A piece of advice for this step… If you find a travel buddy that has most of the same interests as you but has one or two things that you have either never done before, or are not sure of, do not discount them immediately.  Who knows, you may enjoy doing those activities and just don’t know it yet!

 

2.       Consider Your Budgets

 

Your perfect travel buddy is not going to have a budget that is completely different from yours.  If you are looking for vacations on a dime, then please do not choose a travel buddy that will think nothing of wanting to spend $200 for one meal!  Of course, the same holds true if you want an extravagant vacation and a potential travel buddy wants to spend as little as possible.

 

3.       Consider Your Communication Skills

 

It can be difficult to find a travel buddy that has the communication skills as you do, yet this is key to a successful vacation!  If you are a talker, yet your potential travel buddy won’t speak up, even if something is wrong, you are both going to have a few problems.  Travel buddies must be able to communicate with each other about anything or everything, even if it is just to say that they need an hour or two for themselves.

 

4.       Consider Your Schedules

 

There are no true schedule guidelines for vacations, but if you are an early riser who likes to hit the sack earlier at night, you are not going to want to travel with someone who considers noon the perfect wake up time!  And don’t even think that you can work with the other person when the vacation begins, because it will never happen!

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5.       Consider Common Sense

 

Not everyone has the same amount of common sense, which is why you are going to want to consider your travel buddy carefully.  If you have quite a bit of common sense, and the person that you want to travel with has very little, it may become an issue when you are traveling.  You definitely will not want to be caught rolling your eyes, as you explain for the millionth time why you can or cannot do something in a foreign country.

 

Now, family members, friends, and even co-workers and acquaintances can be your perfect travel buddy, especially if they check off all the boxes from the list above.  However, if you think that you can choose a person that you are normally at odds with on occasion, please think again.  If you and your best friend cannot get along for an entire evening without having a small disagreement, a vacation together most likely would never work!

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You should also be cautious when choosing co-workers, as a rough vacation together could lead to issues in the office afterwards.  And I know that you are not going to want to start looking for a new job to get away from this person when you return!

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If you do not seem to have the perfect travel buddy within your circle, you may want to consider attempting to find one online.  There are plenty of websites that cater to matching travel buddies, including Lonely Planet Travel Companion, Trip Together, Travel Companion Exchange and so many more I have listed below. 

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A word of caution though when using those sites… You never know when someone is being authentic when signing up for them or when they are trying to find someone to take advantage of.  I recommend making sure that you choose a reputable site that does everything that they can to keep their clients safe and that you spend quite a bit of time getting to know the travel buddy that you are considering.  The more time you spend talking to them and getting to know them, the better your chances are of seeing if something could be wrong, and if they truly are the perfect person to go on vacation with. 

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Your perfect travel buddy is out there!  You just need to take your time finding them, and if you can’t, then go on that vacation anyway!  You’ll still have a blast by yourself!