Tips to having a marvelous trip with your friends

Traveling with friends forms a good chunk of our wonderful experiences, the ones that we live to remember happily for years. There are, however, those instances that trips with friends become so challenging and one ends up wishing they had traveled solo.

Having an unpleasant trip with friends always stems from misunderstandings, frustrations and disappointments. Here are a few tips to help you steer clear of these and have a marvelous trip with your friends:

Carefully pick your travel companions

Choosing your travel companions should not all be about: I’m traveling with my best friend or my favourite cousin. Try and understand them at a personal level and consider if you enjoy being with them in varied situations. Consider similar interests and how close your body clocks are. For instance, if you are an early-morning person and your travel partner is a night owl, you might want to think twice.

Consider everyone’s wants

Before you set off, you need to agree on the basics including where you are going and the amount of time you are intending to spend on your trip. Discuss your goals for the trip collectively and come up with clear expectations for the team. A good tip is to book travel with a set itinerary. This way you will not be accosted by afterthoughts on how to spend your precious time during the trip.

Agree on budgets beforehand

An ideal would be that everyone on the trip has a similar financial situation and preference. However, that’s hardly the case. While one person may be looking forward to enjoying the five-star properties, others may be going for the modest travels.

To rid your trip of this deal-breaker, you need to have a conversation about this during the planning phase of your trip. While at it, also try and ensure that you are all on the same wavelength so that you don’t end up getting divided because others want to walk from A to B while others want to get a cab, or that some want to eat at casual food establishments while others want the high end options.

Be present during the trip

Traveling with friends is a great gift and trips can bring you closer as friends with shared experiences and memories. When out there, you need to make the most of being together and having a good time by limiting your time on social media, or on your phone altogether.

Always openly communicate

You need to take care of every issue as soon as they arise. Be respectful and openly sort them out before they make matters worse.

You need to understand that when together, tempers are likely to flare the more. As thus, you need to as considerate as possible.

You need to pay attention to your friend’s mood and be willing to find out what’s wrong with them when you notice they are unhappy.

Be part of the flow

Remember that you won’t be able to see or do everything on your list and neither will your friends. Expect to sometimes end up chipping in more than your share for a meal or fare, or be kept waiting for a few more minutes.

In other words, you need to know that you will have to compromise from time to time and you need to make peace with that as early as possible.