Vacations with friends can be one of two things: An unforgettable trip to an exotic destination on which you make magnificent memories and become even closer to your travel partners, or a hell-scape of resentment and stress and causes you to never speak to those you traveled with again.
Many of us have had vacations with friends that we would rather forget, but with careful planning and consideration, you will always come back from your trips with your best friends ready to do it again next year.
So, as you plan your spring break with your best friends, make sure you consider the following:
Do:
- Carefully select your travel partners
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College is the time of social exploration; we make new friends that we may not have the closest connection with, but we enjoy their company. However, these friends are not the ones to travel with. An integral part of traveling with others is trust; trust that they will be able to pay for their travel costs, trust that they will make it to the airport in time, trust that they won’t leave you in a random bar in a foreign city. When traveling, stick to bringing your most trusted friends that you know you will have fun with. Traveling can be a stressful process and taking that process on with someone you don’t know very well can add more tension to the situation and possibly ruin your trip.
- Make sure you can stand your travel partners for the length of your trip
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After you have found who you want to travel with, make sure you can stand them for however long you plan to travel together. You may love the company of your best friends at home, but if you decide to travel with them, consider if they have any habits that would drive you crazy if you were around them all of the time as you are when you travel together. Will they only want to go out clubbing when you would like to check out some museums? Do they snore? Are they incapable of talking about anything other than crypto currency? Although these may seem like small annoyances, after a couple of days or a week on a trip, they can add up and cause a lot of frustration.
- Make planning the trip a group effort
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As a type-A, obsessive planner, I am familiar with feeling like you are the only one doing the heavy lifting when planning a group trip. This can cause frustration and resentment before you even leave for your trip. Make sure that the planning of your trip is a group effort whether that means one of you plans where you’ll stay, while another plans activities or everyone gets together and plans the entire trip collaboratively, making sure there isn’t one person that is playing the mom and doing all the planning. Working together will make your trip much more enjoyable.
- budget effectively
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Money can cause a lot of stress when traveling, so before you agree to travel with your friends, make sure you have enough funds. Add up all of the possible expenses of the trip such as plane tickets, gas, hotel stays and food and make sure you can afford it all. You don’t want to be the person who ends up having to ask your friends to pay for all of your meals because you didn’t bring enough money.
Don’t:
- Ask to Bring your significant other
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Trips with friends are meant to be bonding experiences that bring you closer and allow you to make wonderful memories. Asking your friends if you can bring your significant other puts them in an uncomfortable situation as they most likely won’t want to say no to spare your feelings, but they also don’t want to feel like weird third-wheels on their vacation. Avoid putting your friends in this tough spot and plan a romantic getaway for a different time if you want to travel with your partner.
- Trash your space
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This tip is especially important if you’re traveling with a neat freak like me. But regardless of how neat your travel partner is, the last thing they want is to deal with the smell of your Thai food from three nights ago, or walk around your dirty underwear in your hotel room. Be respectful and take care of your shared space.
- Worry too much about social media
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Everyone loves to post about their awesome trip with their best friends, but make sure you are continuously in the moment. Traveling with friends while in college is one of the best memories you will make, so be present while you’re making them!
