My best friend, Stacey, is one of my favorite travel partners and after a slew of successful international and domestic trips under our belts including the massive 101 days in Southeast Asia! So, I thought I would share our wisdom that we’ve gained while traveling across ten countries on four continents with 7 tips on how to travel with your best friend!
⋙ C O M P R O M I S E ⋘
You have to remember that there are two, unique people, traveling together, therefore the things each of you want to do won’t always line up perfectly. However, you have to remember that the trip isn’t just yours- be sure to do what the other person wants to do! It’s all about the give and take!
⋙ C O M M U N I C A T E ⋘
Having an issue? Not feeling well? Frustrated? Over the moon excited about something? Communicate these feelings! Nothing can make or break a trip more than communication. If you’re not at the top of your game one day, that’s fine, we all have those days, but be sure to let the other person know so they aren’t caught off-guard by a snippy comment, a meltdown or anything else that could possibly happen. I also think it’s important to communicate the excitement because it will just fuel the mood and keep each other in high travel spirits!
⋙ E N C O U R A G E E A C H O T H E R ⋘
Sometimes traveling isn’t a walk in the park. When Stacey and I did the Inca Trail last fall I depended on encouragement from time to time because there were moments that were more difficult than I expected, and I also tried really hard to encourage her as well. Not only is encouragement important on the physically difficult moments, but sometimes even the simple things like encouraging each other to take that bite of guinea pig or to go ahead and splurge on that museum are just the thing you need to enhance that trip!
⋙ E X P E R I E N C E T H I N G S T O G E T H E R ⋘
Experiencing new things is one of the many beauties of travel, and I think that actually sharing the joy of new experiences is so important! Be sure to take part in those new experiences and include your best friend! It’s great to be sure to really take the time to grasp on to those moments together and be a team!
⋙ T A K E P L E N T Y O F M E – T I M E ⋘
While compromise is important, it’s also important to remember that sometimes you need alone time. And guess what? That’s totally fine! Sometimes you just need a moment to regain composure, clear your head and recharge. Just remember to communicate, and be understanding if your bestie needs some time to his/herself. Me-time is very important!
⋙ S H A R E T H E L O A D ⋘
If you’re traveling with your best friend then you know their limits and/or their weaknesses, and if it’s something you can help with be sure to help them out. It’s all about being supportive!
⋙ C E L E B R A T E V I C T O R I E S ⋘
Alongside sharing the load, I think it’s important to celebrate the victories! Did you totally conquer a hike together? Score a hostel or flight for next-to-nothing? Have an awesome day touring something or bottle-feeding a lion? Celebrate that stuff! Be in the moment and love the experiences you’re sharing!
When I told Stacey about this post she added four bonus tips just for you guys!
⋙ D O N ‘ T N I C K L E & D I M E I T ⋘
Stacey brought up a really great point. Don’t freak out about things being perfectly even because it will essentially even out in the end, and you’d just drive yourself crazy keeping track of every penny you each spend.
⋙ T R U S T I N T H E I R S T R E N G T H S⋘
Stacey and I have figured out what we’re good at, and we have learned to embrace these things about each other. Stacey is better with money, making reservations and many other things, while I am good at planning, researching, negotiating and such. We have learned to let each other take the driver’s seat on these things!
⋙ T A K E C A N D I D P H O T O S ⋘
We all love those photos of us doing really awesome things. 9 times out of 10 the photos I love most are the ones that are truly in-the-moment, and taking these photos is something that you should do as a travel partner!
⋙ S P L I T F O O D ⋘
This is great for a few different reasons- you save money, you get to try a couple different things, and you don’t overeat! It’s a perfect system!
Thanks, Stacey, for being an awesome best friend to travel with, and for adding those four extra tips! What tips do you guys have for traveling with your best friend? What mistakes have you made?
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18 Comments
swamiupendra
January 27, 2015 at 11:22 pmNice One!
PaigeBrown
February 15, 2015 at 8:55 amThanks for reading and commenting!
thewanderlusteur
December 5, 2016 at 7:36 pmTravelling definitely tests any relationship (whether friendship or romantic) – these tips are definitely relevant for both! Another tip is to chat about travel style before the trip. Some like to go-go-go and see all the sights/cross things off the bucket list, while others like to slow down and just enjoy the moment. Both have their merits and it’s best to chat about travel compatibility/expectations before you hit the road together. 🙂
Katie @ The Budget Backpack
December 5, 2016 at 9:14 pmI think that a big one is making sure that even if you’re not exactly on the same page, before you start planning and paying for flights and whatnot, make sure you’re at least in the same book! I love scheduling in some “alone time” every few days- even if that means (pre-arranging) taking silent lunches or waking up early to wander on my own. I had a trip where I struggled a lot with a friend who required a nap in the middle of the day every day and get really weird when I didn’t also want to sleep and would go out without her. I feel like if there had been more communication before the trip that would have been less of an issue :/
rakshanagaraj
December 5, 2016 at 11:04 pmVery well written and it is so true to keep doing these when you travel with your best friend.
rakshanagaraj
December 6, 2016 at 9:56 pmLet me elaborate what I meant by my previous comment. I travel with my with best friend all the time and I totally agree with the issues that you have highlighted and keeping the tips that you have mentioned in mind helps and it makes the travel much enjoyable.
abcdefghizzy
December 6, 2016 at 11:02 pmYou and Stacey are one of my favorite traveling friendships! This is such a lovely post and I love how you’ve commemorated your travels in written word. I’ve never heard of the idiom ‘don’t nickle and dime it, but that’s so true! And I saw those Florence photos! So sweet 🙂 Encouraging each other is really real!
Candy
December 6, 2016 at 11:13 pmLove all the points and think this work as well for any partner you are traveling with. I find that a lot of times, things get stressful because we usually tired from lack of sleep and the different time zones (if traveling overseas) can really take a toll on our body and mind. But in the end, it’s worth it for me to travel with a partner because I don’t enjoy traveling alone 🙂
Christina
December 6, 2016 at 11:17 pmTravelling certainly throws people together and creates a bonding experience. I’ve travelled with strangers who have become good friends. It’s great you had the chance to travel with your best friend.
The Soul of Seoul
December 7, 2016 at 4:31 amGreat tips.. I think my best pal and I were pretty good about our travels except that we didn’t give ourselves enough me-time which ended up with a couple frustrated afternoons with each other. Luckily, we’re best friends so it worked out in the end, but that is a really really great tip for sure.
What's Katie Doing?
December 7, 2016 at 4:37 amGreat tips! I travelled for 7 months with a friend and there were times when we needed to compromise and definitely to communicate. There were ups and downs, but travelling with a friend definitely added a lot to my experiences )
Chantell
December 7, 2016 at 4:59 amThis is a really nice article! After taking a 5 day trip with a friend many years ago, it took me a long time to travel with friends again ha ha. Let’s just say that that one bad experience was enough to put me off. However I recently took a short trip with another friend and it was awesome! I will definitely do it again and keep these tips in mind 🙂
Megan Indoe
December 7, 2016 at 9:28 amThis advice is great for friends and couples! We have been traveling together a few years now and find everything you said on here is very true. We write down all of our expenses to keep track of our budget, we may miss a few things here and there but it’s important like you said not to stress if you miss a thing or two. I never thought about that being an issue, but I bet it could really be stressful to be with someone who might get worried about accounting for every nickel and dime!
Tara
December 7, 2016 at 1:08 pmSuper awesome post! The last time I traveled with my best friend, he turned into my boyfriend and now my husband. Now we travel together all the time, but I do hope I can travel with a girlfriend someday. It’s so different.
World Of A Wanderer (@worldofawander)
December 7, 2016 at 3:35 pmAll of these are amazing tips when traveling with a bestie, or anyone for that matter. I think communication is the most absolute important thing when traveling with others. Communicating things before a trip, as well as during can alleviate a lot of potential problems. Also, for me, I can only travel with only a handful of people. People who I know gets me and I get them…we get each other, so it works. In a couple weeks I’m taking a 15-trip with a new friend, so it’ll be interesting to see how it goes. Fingers crossed it’s amazing! 🙂
Kerri
December 7, 2016 at 3:49 pmSome important tips here. I’m a bit snobbish about who I travel with for those types of reasons. I don’t want any of that stuff to get in the way of having a good time. People who watch every cent spent and tally it up, or do the whole “I only had one piece of toast and you had two” drive me mental.
nycgingeronthego
December 7, 2016 at 5:50 pmI just traveled with two friends for the first time internationally. These are great tips and I wish I had seen them beforehand. We did a really good job at keeping busy on our own and spending just the right amount of time with each other. Hoping to have found some new travel buddies for future trips.
mappingmegan
December 8, 2016 at 4:21 pmFantastic tips, thankyou for sharing these. I’ve always said that traveling together has the potential to either make or break a relationship, and sadly I’ve seen some wonderful friendships disintegrate because they couldn’t travel well together. It takes a very special relationship to put up with each other for 24 hours a day no matter who you are lol, but using your advice you can always make it manageable if not an incredible life changing experience 🙂