The importance of the right travel partner

Traveling with someone can often times resemble being in a relationship. Days are spent wrapped up in one another, and before you know it, seemingly all of your time is spent with a single individual. You get to know one another through and through, encompassing both the good and the bad found in one another. While being able to share your experience with someone else is great, not all people are meant to travel ensemble. The importance of picking the right travel partner can make or break your trip.

One thing to consider when traveling with someone is the inherent reasoning behind wanting to travel. While some prefer to visit culture sights, such as temples and museums, others are after a sense of adventure, seeking unscathed landscapes, and small pieces of paradise far from the public eye.

On top of that, some are driven by hedonistic pleasures in travel, which can completely come in contrast to the former two. Knowing why you are on the road, as well as your partner, should be a decisive factor before deciding to travel together.  

For the veteran traveler, though, one absolute wild card is embarking on a trip with the virgin wanderer. Though they may be friends from home, and people you know to be smart, charismatic and social, being away form home in a foreign land can easily steer a person into a culture-shocked funk.

With this being the one end of the spectrum, on the other hand, traveling with an untainted eye can not only help you recover appreciation for things that have become second nature to you (temples in southeast Asia, mountains in Colorado) but also allow you to see things that you have possibly overlooked. Your travel partner’s sheer excitement is enough to get you to take a second glance at something. Who knows, maybe a second set of eyes with different cultural and travel lenses can offer a bright and shiny perspective to your worn and weathered point of view. 

Photo courtesy of author.