Preface: this is in regards to vacations/trips of leisure
Is it just me? Or does traveling usually result in a general (however temporary) subtle disdain towards whoever you're traveling with? Maybe it is just me. But whenever I travel with people (could be friends, family, strangers) I usually want to see and communicate with them as little as humanly possible by the end of the trip. So if you're like me, and you find yourself counting down the hours until it's time to part our glorious ways, then take note of these travel precautions.
Make sure all parties involved are aware that everyone is capable of making their own decisions (hopefully), and that not activity is mandatory. Make sure to be mindful and to remember the original purpose of said trip, and to keep that at the forefront. After all, it's a vacation, chill out bro.
Be sure to keep a flexible schedule! This means having options, should things not go according to plan. More often than not, things will come up, so being open to change will only save you the headache.
Everyone has different schedules. This is probably the most important piece of advice I can think about when it comes to traveling with others, no matter the reason. Not everyone is a morning person, and not everyone can stay up past midnight. But taking the time and effort to understand how others operate is the first step towards a successful trip. If you know that you're travel buddies are light sleepers, yet you like to stay up late, be sure to be mindful of them when you're in the same living quarters. In return, if some like to sleep in while you're up before the crack of dawn, try to maintain a quiet morning environment while you're prepping for your day.
Some people are ready to start their day, whereas some are just ending theirs. There will always be overlap,but finding the time to coincide peacefully with one another will help take the edge off.
Categorize things you want to do. Whether that's by making a list on your phone, using your noggin, or writing things down. Once you've got em all down, prioritize. It's okay to have a couple of "can't miss for the world" "would kill a small family for" things on there but refer to the above rule when it comes to flexibility because chances are, you're not gunna get to em all.
If you're traveling with a small group (4 is the magic number, which I'll get into later) try sitting down before you depart and trade lists. This will not only help you all to get a sense of what the others wanna do, but you can see if there are any commonalities!
Four is the magic number when traveling. I'm speaking from experience. Here's why I think so:
- walking in twos is much easier, and usually naturally happens
- groups of four are easier to seat at tables, restaurants, etc
- it's not as hard to feel like you're being ganged up on or excluded because chances are one out of the three other will take your side, unless you're an asshole then you deserve it
- splitting up doesn't take forty-five years, two and two, done
- no one usually has to sit alone when traveling. ex: buses, trains, planes. two and two
- any more than four different opinions can start to get overwhelming, anything less and there isn't enough variety
- any combination of genders is a success. (unless you're two girls and two guys that aren't attracted to each other in any way shape or form, because people are going to think you're together, get used to it)
After the trip has ended, make sure you take time to decompress from each other. This part is one to also remember. You don't wanna have all the things that annoyed you about him or her fresh in your mind when you see them again (self-explanatory). So take a few days while you find someone else that annoys you first! kidding, sorta not really.
safe travels!
keep it raw.