How to Choose a Travel Buddy

People with the courage to travel on their own have always impressed me. My brother is one of them and I am amazed by the stories of his solo travels. I, on the other hand, usually travel with friends, family or in groups. Choosing the right friend to travel with can be difficult, however. Just because they are your best friend doesn't mean they make the best travel partner. So, to help you choose the right person to bring along on your next trip, I have compiled a few tips and created a fun questionnaire to help you figure out what it is you're looking for in a travel buddy.

The first thing you should do when deciding who to invite on your next trip is to start a discussion. Ask the important questions and be willing to answer their questions as well. It is absolutely essential to be honest with yourself and with your friend. It is too late to find out you're not compatible travel partners when you're already on the plane.

Test it out. Most friends have usually taken short trips together and have learned each other's quirks; but if you have not spent the night in the same room with your potential travel partner, you should try it out first. Spend the night in a nearby city or even have a sleepover. You'll learn each other's routines and habits and also figure out potential dealbreakers. If one of you is a loud snorer, hostility can develop quickly when someone loses their beauty sleep. Don't give up though, there are techniques to stop the snoring and ear plugs can be an effective tool as well.

Choose a friend with a similar taste for adventure. A little more or a little less can work if you can motivate each other to try new things; but if you prefer to sit in a cafe and read a book when your partner wants to go zorbing, you may not be a good match. However, having the opportunity to go your separate ways for different activities is a good option to have too. Being attached at the hip the whole time will only drive both of you crazy.

Set ground rules. Curfews and drink limits are a good idea. You always want to have a clear head when traveling in unfamiliar territory.

Choose a reliable friend who will wake up for alarm clocks, knows how to read maps and will look out for you too. It takes a lot of trust to travel together, so make sure you have each other's backs.

Get ready to get personal. Chances are you will be in tight quarters and get to know a lot about each other. If you aren't comfortable with each other already, a trip may not be the best way to get acquainted.

Don't sweat the small stuff. It sounds cliche, but any number of things can go wrong when traveling. Flights can be delayed, items can get lost or stolen, and rain can put a damper on the entire trip. This actually happened during my trip last year, it rained all but two days. But being wet, cold, hungry and tired in Paris with your friend is better than being wet, cold, hungry and tired anywhere else. So keep your chin up and remember this will all make a great story one day.

To help you make this decision, I made this handy (and fun) questionnaire you can print out and give to potential travel partners. This will give you a better idea of what they are expecting from the trip and start up that discussion I was talking about before. Click on the image below to print or leave a comment if you experience any trouble with the pdf.

For the fun fact today I wanted to focus on two of America's most famous travel buddies: Lewis and Clark. Did you know that along with their roughly 30 person entourage they traveled with, they also had a dog named Seaman with them? He was a Newfoundland dog, and while Lewis and Clark's diets consisted of dog meat and anything else they could find on their journey, Seaman was spared. 

Bonus fact: Sacagewea was brought along for the trip as an interpretor, not a guide.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I hope you find a suitable travel buddy for your next trip! I have been lucky enough to have awesome travel partners so far, so to pay tribute to the people who have put up with me, and to make this post less wordy, I made this collage. Enjoy! And don't forget to check out the new Pinterest board!

Thanks for reading,

Sam