Traveling with another person can be hard, really hard. Even if you like someone and have known them for years, there’s almost no better way to discover frustrating new quirks and annoyances about a person than by traveling with them. Here are the 4 most common sources of traveling partner fights.
1. Waking Up Time: Morning Person vs Night Owl
If you’re a morning person that wants to get moving and out door by 7am, while your traveling companion prefers partying late and lounging around until 11am, then you both may find traveling together challenging.
You’ll both need to make some compromises. Maybe the morning person can bring a book to a nearby cafe and enjoy a leisurely breakfast while the night owl sleeps in. Maybe the night owl can take a few early nights and the morning person can stay out late every now and then. Maybe both can agree to just do their own activities on their own schedules, at least on some days.
2. Punctuality: On-time vs Late
Some people are almost always early or on-time while others are almost always late or nail-bitingly on-time. If your friend, sibling or spouse often runs late in normal, day-to-day life, don’t expect them to magically develop punctuality just because you’re traveling together. Understand before even starting your trip that there’s a real risk they could delay you or even make you miss a tour or train.
It’s very challenging to ‘force’ a late person to be on-time. Consider leaving and doing the activity yourself if they’re not ready on-time or resigning yourself to the fact that they may make you late for something during your trip.
3. Morning Routine: Process of Getting Up and Getting Ready
Some people get up with the first morning alarm. Other people hit the snooze button 5 times. Some people can shower, get ready, and get out the door in 10 minutes. Others need an hour or more.
Figure out how long it takes for your and travel partner to get up and get ready each morning and plan accordingly. If you’re sharing the room, coordinate the shower time. Sometimes one person may be willing to shower the night before, which could free up some extra time in the morning.
4. Travel Interests and Priorities
Everybody likes to do different things while they travel. Some people just want to drink and party. Others want to tan on the beach all day. Others still want to tromp around visiting museums, churches and historical sites. Some people want to be wined and dined at fancy restaurants while others would prefer chowing down on street food.
Think about your own travel interests and ask your traveling partner about theirs. Even if your traveling with your spouse, you can each select a few things to do separately. There’s no rule saying you both have to do everything together.
Finding a traveling partner that’s 100% compatible with your travel style 100% of the time is just about as easy as finding a spouse that’s 100% compatible with you 100% of the time. Finding an entirely compatible traveling partner is theoretically possible, but not very likely. The secret to a happy trip together is keeping an open line of communication and finding some compromises. You and your traveling partner are different people and your travel styles are different as well. Embrace your similarities and respect your differences.