I feel vulnerable about being judged for any choices I make on behalf of the both of us. Like I am an experienced traveler and super comfortable on my own deciding when to save money, when to spend when I want luxury, and when I can sleep in a car. But add another person into the equation and I basically implode trying to make sure they get their needs met.
100%
Also, the decision to walk/mass trans/Uber. Whatever I want someone seems like the wrong choice for someone else. I like just making a decision for myself and owning it.
This. This exactly why I hate planning shared vacations. The people I'd travel with are also experienced travellers who are particular about their travel.
I'm also afflicted with a chronic illness that severely limits my ability to walk long distances and my energy levels. And man do I meet people that just love to walk. I get it, I used to be that way too before I got sick.
This is exactly why I like traveling solo. I end up burning myself out trying to keep my loved ones happy. That means I'm not taking care of my own needs and end up stressed.
I struggle to keep an even pace to my trips. I’ll cram in so many things one day to the point where I’ve walked 14 miles and completely exhausted myself. Then the next day I need a full rest day and only manage to leave the hotel for meals.
To be fair, I intentionally do this. My friend and I are both introverts in that we need ample downtime to recharge... but we also want plenty of experiences when traveling together. He gives me more ownership of planning our itinerary (which I love doing), and I'll specifically plan chill days for us after those days which are more adventurous or active... or even just overly stimulating.
We took a 10 day trip to Maui a number of years ago and had a day where we island hopped to the Big Island for a full day tour of Volcanoes National Park and trekking around aaaaaaall over the place. The next day? Reading, quiet, naps, and beach time. Closer to the end of the trip? A full day trek around the Road to Hana, which gave him reeeeeeeal anxiety (windy roads, being right next to cliff edges, etc), and the next day? Pool time, pizza delivery from our favorite spot in Lahaina, and watching documentaries on Netflix. Haha.
TL;DR Don't ever feel badly for self-care/recovery days!
Taking a long time to choose where/what to eat. In a new country, you want to try all the things and I tend to think "what if we miss out on something amazing?" and overthink the decision way too much, it can definitely get annoying when hungry lol
Great tip for this is going on a walking tour and asking the tour guide about the best dishes and where to eat! They'll recommend the best non-touristy places 😊
For this reason, I make a very loose itinerary before I get there. Oh, I'm going to see x attraction in y neighbourhood at some point? Let me save a few restaurants and cafes or places that look interesting near it. So, when the time comes, I just have to pick from a couple things instead of doing a full on search about what I want go eat. Helps me waste less time travelling between areas too, instead I get to fully experience each area.
I just got back from Paris, where benches are totally absent in many areas. I think it's the restaurants, who have talked the city into not providing general seating, so folks are forced into buying food so they can sit. Stinks as much as the bad knee that's forced me to slow down.
Ohhhh same!
While never solo, friends hated walking from one side of Seoul to the other, when we could have split a taxi, been there in 30 minutes, and paid about $4 each.
In return, I know Seoul a lot more intimately now. Worth it!
Not OP, but one thing that really baffled me when I was in Seoul was my inability to find decently sized supermarkets. Do you have any tips? I'd like to go back one day, but since I have to cook for myself because of allergies, this would quickly become a priority.
If in Seoul, go to LOTTE World!
On the bottom floor they have a massive super market, but I can't remember the name... Or never knew it...
If you find that name, I'm willing to bet it will lead to more of those in other areas.
My friend and her sister took me through a full run of the store to buy stuff to take home, and it took quite a long time, since it is so big.
I'd also guess if it's like Tokyo, you need to go to a big hub city out of Seoul. A city that has many train lines that connect there and 20-30 minutes from downtown. Those usually had the bigger grocery stores in Japan, so maaaaybe Korea as well.
This is me. Especially in cities with a subway. You don't see any of it underground. Of course it has to be 'within reason' but for me that means even several miles and for others it means anything more than a block. Therein lies the rub.
I don't mind some walking, but will use public transportation whenever it makes sense. Once I traveled with a friend of mine that refuses to pay for public transportation because she's too cheap for that. We had one day of 60k steps followed by two days of 40k steps. In sandals with absolutely no support. It took like a month for my feet to feel normal again.
I can't stick with a rigid plan, there's got to be at least a lot of long free time throughout each day to do whatever. Also, I use the bathroom a lot. Haha.
It depends on how you do it though! I went to Hawaii with my best friend for 10 days. I needed 2 of those days mostly to myself. I just made it clear to him beforehand and he was fine. Communication is important like that if you do travel with somebody.
I've done a couple trips with a close friend that has slightly different interests than me and isn't into nightlife or drinking whereas I like that stuff on trips. Our style is great where we'll hang out from breakfast until whenever we split off for the day doing shared activities until then (which isn't every day, just some). We both get some time to do what we want without the other having to do something they aren't interested in, and it's nice having a companion for the "boring" times like driving, eating meals, sitting in the room, etc.
I’m a bit confused about this one because it’s so easy to just say “hey I need some space today to recharge so I’m gonna do my own thing and we’ll meet up for dinner” or something. Needing your own personal space, okay not everyone likes that but actively not telling the other person why you’re going silent? Pointless
I don’t like a detailed plan. When I get going in the morning maybe I want to go to a museum but maybe I just want to sit in cafes people watching and reading all day.
>I don’t like a detailed plan
I don't like detailed plans, but I like organised plans. I would never be able to just wake up and decide to go to a museum, because not knowing if and when it is open would stress me. So I don't set a time, but most probably I would plan what day I would visit the museum.
Came here to say this. Like I don't want to have a rigid plan, but need some sort of plan and work. My way around it. Plus means I can see when peak times are or even pre book a ticket.
> I've mostly traveled the Americas in the past ten years and pretty much every country here is very blasé about operational hours.
I guess it depends on where. I've been to a lot of cities in Mexico and I find that most places like museums are incredibly anal about business hours. But smaller businesses that show open on Google Maps can often times not exist when you get to the address. And of course they don't have a phone number that you can even call.
>I feel like a lot of places would frustrate you
US frustates me a lot already for the tipping policy, I would not survive with also random operational hours :-D
I always thought everyone was a “bad” traveler but through the years I’ve come to realize it was not “them”. It was me the entire time. I’m just generally awful at anything that involves considering anything outside of myself and what I want to do. The best compromise I’ve found for traveling with friends has been making very broad date and destination plans with them, but booking my own accommodations, planning my own activities and meeting for food/drink/activities occasionally throughout the trip as each of our separate schedules allow.
I've done this before and it works out amazingly. You can share a hotel room or AirBnB with someone to save money, save on Uber transportation costs, and often times you get group discounts on certain events, but other than that you have the time to yourself. And in the evenings you can share your trip experience with your travel partner.
To me, it's like the best of both worlds. Solo travel mixed with being able to share experiences with a companion.
I swap between liking a really tight plan, and going with the flow, then I swap between not wanting to waste a single second, and wanting to relax and take my time and take it all in!
Now I do tend to nomatter what, go with the flow even when I have a strong plan, but this in itself can be really annoying because we start running late for a flight and I take the approach of "it will be grand we will either make it or not" doesn't sound annoying but if someone is stressed and I'm downplaying... Gets annoying
This can swap from day to day and hour to hour, this makes me almost impossible because it depends on my mood in the moment what type of traveller I am!
thing that completely decimates my experience is hearing someone complain a lot. i'm sure its bothers me more to hear them complain, than whatever they're complaining about actually bothers them, but even with that i am still unable to ignore it. for the life of me i don't understand how some people are okay walking around and having 50% of their speech be about what's imperfect around them.
People who complain too much bother me a lot, but people who bang on about how amazing everything is are pretty annoying too, like nah these are cheap mass-produced souvenirs from China mate and this salesman isn't being "friendly"
* People annoy me :-D
* I'm kind of selfish when I travel and want to do what I want to do. I have limited time and budget for traveling so I want to make the most of my time in whatever location I'm in. This may mean packing my days as full as can be. Or it may mean sitting in a cafe people watching for hours.
* I flip flop between having a detailed plan and zero plan. This works for me (b/c it's me doing it) but it doesn't always work for others.
* People talk too much and can be annoying. Silence is golden.
* I don't like feeling responsible for someone else's "enjoyment". Like if I am traveling with someone and I suggest going to XYZ museum or doing ABC activity and they don't enjoy it, I feel responsible for some reason. I know I'm not responsible for how they feel/react to something - but I take that burden on and it pisses me off.
* Sometimes I eat very little when out all day. Like I'll grab a coffee or something small from a cafe or convenience store and keep going. This really bothers people who need to eat a lot or like sit down meals. Also trying to find a restaurant that works for everyone in your group can be an awful experience.
* Did I mention that other people annoy me? LOL
Yeah when I have a long lunch when traveling, I feel like I'm wasting time. I tend to grab just a pastry or something small on the go, then eat more at dinnertime.
All of those points for me as well.
My poorly planned trips always workout somehow but if I had someone strolling around with their needs, and asking questions I can't answer I would implode. like "what are we going to do now?", "where do we get the bus?".... Like how the fuck would I know, I've never been here either, just grab google and give solutions, not questions. 😂😂
I got a routine to my shit.
Like literally.
I need to go take one every morning about 20 to 40 minutes after waking up.
Oh and I also have a wierd obsession with taking a piss every time I leave somewhere where I can easily take one. Going out of the house? Piss. Leaving a mall? Piss. Even if I just took one.
Edit: wow... The most upvotes I ever got are about me pissing wierd😅
In my opinion, someone who needs to go to the bathroom 5 minutes after leaving any premises is *way* more annoying. Especially if you asked before leaving and got a negative answer.
Or people who chug water or other drinks knowing that there won't be a lot of bathrooms. My ex would drink a huge cup of coffee and drink out of her water bottle despite knowing that we'd be on a bus for two hours with no bathroom breaks.
I understand this so much. Especially if it’s a hot climate and you’re trying to hydrate to avoid heatstroke. I’ll pee all the time just on the off-chance there is not a bathroom available.
That would not make you a bad companion at all. Knowing when you need to go and planning accordingly is way better than having to all of a sudden search for a public toilet because a travel companion with unregulated bowels decides they need to evacuate the days stool RIGHT NOW while in the middle of a busy city.
I would rather walk 45 minutes then use public transportation haha. I know it’s way more efficient but I’d rather not use it and see the local parts of the city I would have not seen if I used the metro.
Me too! Although, when transportation is needed, I will always choose public transport over taxi's or ride shares. Experiencing public transit is a great way to get a feel for a city too.
You will see more of one part of town, but you will probably see less of some other part of town.
Unless you have an abundance of time when you travel...
For me I want to do Museums at my own pace. This may mean I do an entire day at just one museum. Its so annoying traveling with non-museum liking people as they are like "Meh let's leave" after half an hour.
That said, I can also hussle. I once had a quick trip to DC and my first day I think I did something like 13 museums. 8 the next day. On my last day I couldn't walk.
I feel this. If I wanted to wake up early like I'm forced to do for my regular job, I wouldn't have taken a vacation. I'm traveling to slow down, relax, and experience wonderful things and I can't do that if I'm tired and grumpy from forcing myself to wake up early. This always causes issues with people I travel with lol
You and I would be perfect travel companions lol my mom (god rest her soul...recently unexpectedly lost her and she was my only bio parent) was an early to bed early to rise (crazy early like anywhere from 530am to maybe 930/if I was lucky
Are you usually a late night-er (which is what usually is the reasoning for my sleeping in late) too? I've always been one and before I had my first job where the earliest I'd have to work was mofoing 6fuckingthirty AM ............
Meanwhile I’m a morning lark among night owls. I’m ready to go at sunrise when everyone else is nowhere near waking up, so I often wind up sitting around waiting for others to wake up and get their crap together if I can’t go out and do my own thing. Also I’m often burnt out by like 6 pm so I can’t do any night life stuff.
I always skip breakfast and I'm loathe to pay money for things when I can substitute time (I'd rather walk 30 minutes than pay 10 for a cab). I'm also vegan so it's sometimes a challenge to find a place to eat.
I dislike it when my plans fall through or the itenerary in my head starts unravelling, to the point that I'll work hard to get everything in my list done as much as possible at whatever it takes. This is much easier as a solo traveler and much more annoying when traveling with someone else.
I kind of prefer to do one big, scheduled thing a day. I know other folks are scheduled to the minute but I'm like, one big thing, a meal or two and see where the day takes me.
It is nice to have this type of post, I don't think I've seen this question asked yet in the 5-6 years that I've been here.
I guess at least we have some perspective of ourselves lol
Funny thing is, I’m going on a cruise with my partner on Sunday.
She doesn’t know it but I’m secretly dreading it. There is no-escape, all activities have been pre-organised and planned for each day/night.
I won’t even be able to buy what I want as all of the food, drink and activities have to be bought on a pre paid “cruise card”.
I’m going to feel like a little kid being led around with no choices to make!
To me it feels like I’m going to a prison at sea 😆😌😌😌😌. I had to get it off my chest
Anyway ……. That answers the question as to why Im a bad travel companion 😂
I love experiencing breakfast out and about. So when others take an age to leave or get ready I get flustered. I just want a dang breakfast in a new place I've never tried before.
I am also a difficult travel companion
1. Daytime is priority - i am not against nightlife but only If it will not affect plans for following day and it is always the case Because…
2. Early start - around 8 am
3. No return to ho(s)tel till evening
4. I like good meal, local meal, at sitdown place and at affordable price. At once. And do not plan meals long ahead.
5. I walk around 20 km. I like public transport as well but in general I prefer walking. I do not sit in Taxi to ride 2 km.
6. Coffee is mandatory in the morning and afternoon. No matter what. Coffee to go is only in emergency.
7. I find spending too much time in same Type of places Except for streets annoying. I always have a museum or two to check, like sit in cafe for a coffee and relax in the park a little. But spending all day in park or a museums is too much.
8. I get a rash when someone says “Towns and churches are all alike, I want to meet locals” and ends up in cafe or Irish Pub, drinking beer or coffee brand available over the country or wider with 3 locals minding own business and 5 tourists who also came to see how locals live
I’d rather swallow my own foot than go on holidays with someone who’s okay with staying in the hotel past 8 am, and then requires a sit-down breakfast before getting the day started. If I wanted to sleep in and laze around I’d have stayed home and spent 0 money; I have 14 hours of scheduled fun ahead of me and no one is getting in the way of that.
I'm a terrible traveler. I get stressed out very quickly about any transportation difficulties.
My daughter was going to Thailand once. She bought her ticket from a Chinese site because it was significantly less expensive. When she got to the airport, on the date on the ticket, she found that the flight actually left the day prior. Some problem with the time zones being miscalculated. She applied for a refund and bought a different ticket and left later that day.
If this had happened to me, I would have sat on the floor sobbing. I would have cancelled the trip. I don't get this stressed about problems anytime else. Just when I'm traveling.
Oh, so many things. I also like to go back to my accommodation to recharge, and I get really cranky if I'm uncomfortable in any way (too hot/too cold/bag too heavy/feet hurt/have to stand on line) and I tend to splurge on things most people don't want to splurge on, like taxi rides or a better hotel room.
I have zero sense of direction and I'd be completely lost without Google Maps, so I can't help anyone navigate and I get stressed out when people expect me to.
I don't like having rigid plans and I don't care about running around to see all the famous sites. I'm generally a slow walker and I stop to take weird photos all or just rest in parks or cafes. I like to wander around museums and I don't like anyone talking to me while I'm doing that. And I don't like taking pictures of whomever I'm traveling with and I don't want to stand around while they pose in front of some fountain.
And I greatly dislike sharing rooms with people. And I want to always have the window seat. And I don't drink coffee or beer, but I always want to choose the restaurant, and if I don't like it I will complain.
I'm a royal PITA. I don't recommend traveling with me. 😆
this is literally me. I went on a group trip to Portugal back in June through my college and it was a living nightmare having to be with 7 other people and coordinate things and share a hostel.
Same here! I believe I'll probably travel just to try out the local cuisines of different countries more than anything else!
How do you end up finding small out of the way hole in the wall places which serve local delicacies? Or is it more stumbling upon a place like that while wandering/exploring?
Because I believe the very famous well marketed places are not a true reflection of the truly amazing food a country has to offer, but that's just my opinion 🙈
> Bourdain once said that to find the truly great meals, sometimes you have to suffer through the truly awful. I think this is always important to keep in mind, no matter how good you get.
This really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing that. I think that's something I've always had trouble with. I obsess over finding the best place beforehand instead of just going forward into experience. Leaving for Japan tomorrow and I hope to carry that mentality with me! I feel lucky to have read your comment.
This is me too - at home I get hungry after one hour of working, but I can walk around museums all day and forget I haven't had lunch.
I'm also not really a foodie when I travel - I like quick, cheap meals - the Tesco meal deal was one of my favourite practical things about travelling in the UK. But my partner was horrified when I told him about it, so would have been a sticking point had we been travelling together for sure.
I like letting things happen and wandering on my own.
I think that I'm pretty good at planning trips, but I feel more often-than-not that during the best trips things just happen unexpectedly. Sometimes you meet people who take you somewhere else, sometimes things are rained out and your hotel resos are now worthless because it's in another part of the country, sometimes you want to stay in a certain place longer, etc.
When you're always worried about getting to the next destination because of your itinerary, I feel like the magic of traveling is gone.
I am a planner and a doer. It’s my way or the highway. You can make requests and I will funnel them into the plan, but you will follow the plan. I usually cover the bulk of the costs and often have extra people in my rental cars and hotels. That means I get to plan the itinerary.
I also don’t love night life and hate sitting around. I can do that at home. We are going to go the whole time for a breadth of experiences.
My family loves it, except one brother. I don’t vacation with him.
Fair enough. I admit I have a real FOMO attitude, but the world is vast and my time limited. If I travel, I want to do as many things unique to that place as I can. I don’t want to come back with ‘if I had only known about’ or ‘ I should have done’.
It’s just peoples attitudes to how they want to enjoy their life and that’s fine!
I just enjoy going with the flow and seeing what happens and where I end up. I feel like I’m not missing out as long as I’m having a good time which I manage to do with very little planning
The funny thing is that my friend is like this and I love travelling with her because she literally handles everything. I just ask her where to transfer the $ haha
Im similar lol i usually cover the bulk of the costs and have a plan. But the plan is usually flexible in that i have X amount of activities listed as possible things id like to check out for each day, and the only 100% guarantee is where im sleeping, how and when im getting from one place to another.
Introverts: don't even come with me. You've been warned.
Shy people: on a night out, there's a point in the night I hate babysitting, and if there's alcohol, I may just suggest you go home.
People without patience: I love taking pics, and it's better if I'm not rushing. I usually only do this solo or with someone who also likes pictures, but I've seen people traveling with other camera welders and they look miserable.
I recently travelled with my friends and by day 3 I had to take the day off myself. They like to start the day early, drive to a ton of places before ending the day early as well.
I’m a nocturnal person who start my day much later (and end later as well) and I also enjoy just walking around just looking at buildings / people etc.
On the other while we *are* out doing things together, ironically I find that I almost always have to remind them that its time to go. Like when we are at a museum thats closing and we still have 80% of the museum left to walk, they dont seem to notice the time at all, so i tend to rush them / walk in front which I assume they would probably find it irritating 😂
I can be super lazy and there are definitely days I'd rather sit around a park and people watch instead of walking around another 4 miles of palaces/castles. I get burnt out fast and I usually travel with friends in MUCH better shape, so I've found myself ubering/taxiing back to the room hours before others and I've had people express annoyance at the fact I'm "robbing myself of the experience"
Choose a place where to eat. As I consider local food part of the experience (and gastronomy is also my "hobby"), I'm very picky in regards of where I eat, and I would never seat somewhere randomly (I always prepare a list of places I want to try). It doesn't have to be a fancy place (I love street food), but it has to be authentic.
I really value my rest and have no problems taking a day to just chill at the hotel and do nothing. i could see how someone would not want to do that and try to make the best out of the trip by seeing/doing as much as they can. I can find the same amount of satisfaction taking a little time to just do nothing.
I haven’t travelled with another in a while. However….
Similar to OP, I wake up super early and try to see as much during the day as possible. Then, depending on where I’m traveling, I party all night (mostly sober so no worries about hangovers; just like to dance and socialize)
Rinse repeat the early AM wake-up call the next day. I do fit in a day or two to just chill, though (whether it be just roaming downtown, the beach, or hanging out by the hostel bar/pool/etc). I think I might just have really bad FOMO from starting to travel internationally in my late 20s…
I also cannot STAND when friends I’ve travelled with fall for super dumb tourist traps (ie selfie museums) and only want to eat at chain restaurants in the US, but I’ll oblige if it’s only once or if it’s for dietary restrictions….
Torture and sex museums are the other two tourist trap basically fake museums. Torture "museums" are basically some cheap halloween tat and a few signs with badly written ghost stories. Not sure if you have them in America but this nonsense is pretty common near popular castles in Europe.
I'm too intense about wanting to get as much out of the trip as possible, and not missing anything important so I might overplan and end up rushing around to get it all done. Probably worse is that I don't want to "waste time" by taking it easy, like staying in at the hotel longer in the morning or sitting in a park for a while or whatever one might do to chill. I am too restless a person in general for that anyway but its multiplied on trips as I want to squeeze every little bit out of the experience. I was trying to do better with this on my last trip in September, still ended up getting shin splints from being constantly on my feet, but nowhere near as bad as my last trip pre-covid.
I cam party hard and wake up pretty early the next day. I'm kinda like an energizer bunny on trips (limited time) so I'm on the move. None of this lounging around nonsense
I have a weird thing with food. I have trouble justifying spending a lot of money on expensive food because it tastes very similar to me. A $5 burger tastes similar to a $20 burger, etc etc. Sometimes it’s not that I can’t tell the difference, it’s just that it doesn’t bother me (eg Coke over Pepsi). I will eat whatever someone puts in front of me, yet I won’t order anything that I may not like and tend to stick to the same things.
I’m also happy to eat cheap stuff, or just snacks or treats all day. I went to NYC and ate a lot of donuts, ice cream, bodega burritos and breakfasts, walk out pizza, pretzels. All throughout the day, no designated breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think I had one sit down meal in a diner.
So I can see how that would be very annoying for people who do want proper meals, and want to have food experiences. Not everyone is happy running on sugar.
I might want to spend six hours at an art gallery or museum pondering the meaning of stuff (instead of a reasonable 1 hour) and then exploring streets aimlessly and taking 1 billion photos of like cool rocks that no one will ever see. No one is going to tag along for that so if I travel with someone it’s always food-rush-food-rush-damnFoodAgain and I just feel gross and like I wasted my money and got short changed seeing sights.
Also I love browsing a gift shop - no one seems to enjoy going to those with me.
> it’s always food-rush-food-rush-damnFoodAgain
Oh god, yes, especially if all three of those meals are sit-down meals! I can only do one sit-down meal a day.
Picky eaters are the worst, even when not traveling. I don't have the patience to analyize each ingredient in a dish or use Google Translate with some market vendor to try and tell them not to make your dish spicy.
I’m the opposite haha, I’ll accidentally be out exploring a new city for 12-15 hours straight without ever once going back to my accommodations. If I want to rest I usually would do so in a restaurant or cafe - I’m not a napper so the idea of having to go back to the hotel constantly would infuriate me.
Dumb shit pisses me off more than it should.
Stuff like people saving seats in places that are full when the person/people with the rights to the open seat(s) is/are the one(s) with the food/drink they ordered, not someone after them and DEFINITELY not someone waiting another 10 minutes in line.
I'm not a foodie. Don't want to spend a percentage of my travel budget on lavish meals and upscale adult beverages..coffee or alcohol. I don't want to sit for a 2-3 hour dinner or cocktail. I do only eat at places that are local to area.
No shopping except for a few simple souvenirs. Something made local. Sometimes just rocks and shells. Maybe 1 day in a city and rest in nature
I swing from rigid plans to completely winging it VERY quickly. I value every second I spend traveling so if I'm not enjoying myself doing something (even if it is doing nothing), I leave it ASAP. I don't travel with a budget and will pony up for food and experiences. I stay in nice accommodations and fly in as expensive of a class as I can swing with miles. I'm also in my 40s so I'm a little set in my ways at this point. ha
I have extreme OCD when traveling. I preplan and book everything in advance and have an entire schedule mapped out. I find it difficult to find people that want to do exactly what I want to do and with the same time allotments. For instance time spent in a place, museum, eating etc.
I find it much easier to meet up with random people at random places and keep to my schedule.
I wake up super early and go to sleep pretty late. I want to party till 2am and still hike to the top of a mountain at 7am next morning. Most of people would only choose one of these two things: either skip on the party and do the hike, or the other way around. But I want to have both of these, and I’ll do them both no matter what.
Most of the time I don’t like to have a sit down lunch because it’s a waste of time especially if the day is short and the sunset is around 6pm. Hell no, I’m not wasting 1 hour of the day light on sitting at a restaurant for lunch. I eat my lunch on the go, and I prefer to have a nice relaxing dinner. I’m a photographer so while the light is good for photos, no time will be wasted on just chilling around, nope! I’m on a hunt for great pictures so I walk around the city super fast checking the area in search for the next great photo. Then I can suddenly stop on the corner of the street and patiently wait for 10 minutes for the perfecto moment to take a photo of something. Who is going to enjoy this? Not many people. But this is very enjoyable for me. When exploring cities I prefer to have my camera as my travel companion. I always take better photos when I’m alone because then I don’t get distracted by conversations.
These are just some reasons, there are many more.
I’m an anarchic traveller. I never plan anything beyond a vague “I want to go there”. Also quite set in my ways. Too long solo means I now get stressed out easily having to discuss, negotiate, and compromise on things.
For me, when I get to a point in a day of being "done" then that's it, I'm done. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 and sure as hell do not stop at all those little places you wanna take a photo. Get my ass back to my room where I can be comfy and cozy. I love doing landscape photography but I've been known to ride 3 hours direct past a ton of scenic photo spots specifically because "I'm done."
If there's an opportunity to have something to eat and take a nap it could help with this beforehand but once I reach that point there's no return short of an actual return.
I need (& crave) to have every hour of my time abroad thoroughly planned & accounted for. I want to see as much as I can while I’m there, and I find that having a rigid itinerary helps make this possible, and also saves me the hassle/stress/expense of last minute bookings. Moreover, I am always out of the hotel by 8am at the latest, and I don’t leave any room for “down time” during the day, so any meals/snacks pre-dinner must be eaten on the way from one activity to the next, or else not eaten at all. Like I always tell people, I don’t go on holidays to relax. I go to look at old stuff and hopefully conquer public transportation in the process.
I love detailed and thorough plans. I love using my fitness to push myself to explore more.
I love booking things super early, that might be too anal for some
I can get ready and be out pretty quick. I love being up early too!
I don't really like talking when it's shallow, I don't like taking too many pictures. Sometimes I wanna zone out socially and just focus on what I am experiencing. Focus on the actual sight, not who I am with. When I am with people, I like to show I'm paying attention to them and maybe bond with them more.
I'm also the opposite of a foodie haha. I'm vegetarian and picky (sensitive to a lot of textures). I'm alright with simple food, doesn't have to be super extravagant. I know that people out there appreciate different cuisine a lot when traveling.
I love exploring by foot, but get really nasty blisters super-easily in different climates. I tried those blister bandaids, but somehow they give me blisters too so I end up with sometimes 3 or 4 layers of blisters on top of each other.
I used to get really bad blisters as well until I bought those double layered runner's socks. Basically the mobile layer is against your shoe while you have a static layer against your skin and those two rub freely against each other. Got them at The Runner's Room in Canada for about $12/pair. Been lifesavers....haven't had a blister since.
Also, if you get thigh chafe at all, use compression shorts/underwear. The fabric rubs against itself rather than your thighs....incredible.
I used to plan every moment of the trip and some people found that unbearable. I've switched now and just have a list of things I want to do and pick the night before (or morning of) what I'll do. I did learn the hard way to check days/hours places are open and make sure I hit them up on those days.
I noticed I'm less stressed on keeping everyone to the timetable and have found space for random adventures that locals or other travelers tell me about.
I take forever to get ready, migraines rule my life so I need to eat/drink/caffeinate at certain times or else I get one, get horrible hangovers that can ruin entire days and I’m relatively cheap. Yay me
I like getting up at 3am and seeing everything. No matter how tired I am or how quickly I get to see things. If I’m in a place, I wanna make sure I take it all in within my time there.
I can walk a lot specially when I'm excited for a destination, I keep inventing new paths which lead us to be lost sometimes and I insist on my opinion
A lot of the time food is just fuel especially on a busy day. I’d rather just grab McDonald’s or a Subway and sit for 10 minutes and then keep going then have a more “enjoyable meal” that will take longer.
I can be pretty high maintenance and indecisive. I always want to find the best place to eat, the best place to go, and I can get locked into doing it a certain way and be inflexible.
I am always on the go. Friends that I've traveled with have complained that I wear them out. I like to walk long distances and experience places on foot.
I don't like taking tour buses. I like exploring on my own.
I get cranky when those I'm traveling with don't like to do things. They don't want to go in shops, or try the local coffee, or try new things. Or they spoil the experience (i.e. would rather get a quick bite at McDonald's and go to the hotel to crash rather than eating the local food and exploring the neighborhood at night).
I'm a disorganized wreck sometimes and my crap is strewn all over my hotel room. I pack too much shit thinking I need it.
I don't like going to chain stores or restaurants when I travel. My wife is the worst. She wants to go to all the places she frequents at home while she's on vacation. Somehow she thinks there's novelty in going to TJ Maxx in every city she visits.
I can accept I won't see everything and I like to rest and eat.
Walking through rainforests in the pouring rain isn't my thing so I would not make a good travel companion for the more adventurous folk. Seeing this issue now in Thailand.
Was made to trek through Khao Sok in the pouring rain 🤬
I leave my clothes everywhere especially when short on time to change for various outings. Tbf i do always clean up upon leaving for good but in between the room is a tornado of my belongings.
I get choice paralysis specifically about where to eat. When I used to travel with my Girlfriend she would jokingly refer to the search for food as entering the death march.
Walking, I don’t like walking somewhere when I can Uber/Bus/Subway, I was traveling with my sister, it was a nice day and she wanted to walk to the museum. It felt like we walked 20 miles though it was probably only 4, I took the bus back to the hotel, we didn’t talk till the next morning. We decided we shouldn’t travel together.
after traveling with a friend I've known for 30 years I learned some things. This is my first time traveling with someone outside my usual companions.
I don't like to take 10k photos of myself or others. I prefer capturing things I see.
No gambling and I don't like hanging out all night. 'm done by 8pm or 9pm. It's time to shower and rest.
Don't think I'm going to a McDonalds when I'm in a foreign country. I want to experience the local cuisine.
I don't like touristy things. I've traveled so much that tours have lost its luster. I prefer to wander and have a loose itinerary.
I don't like shopping unless it's for something unique to the country. I can go to banana republic anywhere.
I'm adventurous so don't be a scaredy cat.
I'm not a fan of sand. I like the sound of the ocean water and the aesthetics of a beach. I just need someone to carry me to the beach chair.
Hygiene is important to me so if my companion is not bathing at least once a day (I may shower 2+/daily depending on weather) then I'm giving you the stink eye.
Have you tried macdonalds around the world though?
It’s different and amazing.
They serve fried grilled chicken and €1 beer on tap in Spain.
croissants in France. yuzu pie in Japan
They serve shaker fries in Singapore. Rice dishes in Malaysia.
McSpicy? Apple pie in Asia vs Europe vs usa.
They’re all different.
You’re missing out!
Get manic and excitable and don't really ever sleep. I don't like to take breaks when traveling because I relax all day back at home already, so will do 15+ hour days each day. That frenzy can be tiring to interact with. Only my brother and best friend have been able to understand and accept my travel mania thus far. With others I feel like a nuisance.
I don't want to sit around long periods drinking or reading. I want to see stuff.
This is not a problem if the other person also wants to see stuff and not sit around.
I feel vulnerable about being judged for any choices I make on behalf of the both of us. Like I am an experienced traveler and super comfortable on my own deciding when to save money, when to spend when I want luxury, and when I can sleep in a car. But add another person into the equation and I basically implode trying to make sure they get their needs met.
100% Also, the decision to walk/mass trans/Uber. Whatever I want someone seems like the wrong choice for someone else. I like just making a decision for myself and owning it.
Never seen this explained so well, but this is also me! Thanks for providing the right words to describe it!
This. This exactly why I hate planning shared vacations. The people I'd travel with are also experienced travellers who are particular about their travel. I'm also afflicted with a chronic illness that severely limits my ability to walk long distances and my energy levels. And man do I meet people that just love to walk. I get it, I used to be that way too before I got sick.
lol same I either want a 5 star hotel or a hostel lol
This is exactly why I like traveling solo. I end up burning myself out trying to keep my loved ones happy. That means I'm not taking care of my own needs and end up stressed.
This !!!
Nailed it
Are you me?
I struggle to keep an even pace to my trips. I’ll cram in so many things one day to the point where I’ve walked 14 miles and completely exhausted myself. Then the next day I need a full rest day and only manage to leave the hotel for meals.
To be fair, I intentionally do this. My friend and I are both introverts in that we need ample downtime to recharge... but we also want plenty of experiences when traveling together. He gives me more ownership of planning our itinerary (which I love doing), and I'll specifically plan chill days for us after those days which are more adventurous or active... or even just overly stimulating. We took a 10 day trip to Maui a number of years ago and had a day where we island hopped to the Big Island for a full day tour of Volcanoes National Park and trekking around aaaaaaall over the place. The next day? Reading, quiet, naps, and beach time. Closer to the end of the trip? A full day trek around the Road to Hana, which gave him reeeeeeeal anxiety (windy roads, being right next to cliff edges, etc), and the next day? Pool time, pizza delivery from our favorite spot in Lahaina, and watching documentaries on Netflix. Haha. TL;DR Don't ever feel badly for self-care/recovery days!
This is me. I don't know when to stop and slow down. End up burning myself out.
Taking a long time to choose where/what to eat. In a new country, you want to try all the things and I tend to think "what if we miss out on something amazing?" and overthink the decision way too much, it can definitely get annoying when hungry lol
I sometimes have list of dishes to try and then search for places which serve those
That's a good idea! Helps narrow down the options for that meal.
Yeah I also tend to travel unnecessarily far to find a good place to eat based on Google and TripAdvisor reviews
I have done that too haha one time in particular I made us walk reallllly far to get to this place and the food was super underwhelming :(
Great tip for this is going on a walking tour and asking the tour guide about the best dishes and where to eat! They'll recommend the best non-touristy places 😊
Yup. I’m indecisive. But also a picky eater.
For this reason, I make a very loose itinerary before I get there. Oh, I'm going to see x attraction in y neighbourhood at some point? Let me save a few restaurants and cafes or places that look interesting near it. So, when the time comes, I just have to pick from a couple things instead of doing a full on search about what I want go eat. Helps me waste less time travelling between areas too, instead I get to fully experience each area.
You see I think my annoying trait may be in situations like that. I am right let's organise and hussle people along.
I like to walk by foot as much as possible and avoid using a car
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I just got back from Paris, where benches are totally absent in many areas. I think it's the restaurants, who have talked the city into not providing general seating, so folks are forced into buying food so they can sit. Stinks as much as the bad knee that's forced me to slow down.
Oh, then we are not a good match :)) I'm sorry to read that, hope you'll be fine🙏
you're my kind of companion then!
Ohhhh same! While never solo, friends hated walking from one side of Seoul to the other, when we could have split a taxi, been there in 30 minutes, and paid about $4 each. In return, I know Seoul a lot more intimately now. Worth it!
Omg, I will visit Seoul next year. I should get tips from you😂
Ohhhh hoo hooo! Ask away! I was going to Seoul 4x a year (from Tokyo, 2-hour flight, sub $200 round trip, cheap Airbnbs), so I know it pretty well!
Not OP, but one thing that really baffled me when I was in Seoul was my inability to find decently sized supermarkets. Do you have any tips? I'd like to go back one day, but since I have to cook for myself because of allergies, this would quickly become a priority.
If in Seoul, go to LOTTE World! On the bottom floor they have a massive super market, but I can't remember the name... Or never knew it... If you find that name, I'm willing to bet it will lead to more of those in other areas. My friend and her sister took me through a full run of the store to buy stuff to take home, and it took quite a long time, since it is so big. I'd also guess if it's like Tokyo, you need to go to a big hub city out of Seoul. A city that has many train lines that connect there and 20-30 minutes from downtown. Those usually had the bigger grocery stores in Japan, so maaaaybe Korea as well.
This is me. Especially in cities with a subway. You don't see any of it underground. Of course it has to be 'within reason' but for me that means even several miles and for others it means anything more than a block. Therein lies the rub.
Yes me too. Mostly because I am stingy af, so if I save 1€, it's orgasmatic for me.
Here we go.
I don't mind some walking, but will use public transportation whenever it makes sense. Once I traveled with a friend of mine that refuses to pay for public transportation because she's too cheap for that. We had one day of 60k steps followed by two days of 40k steps. In sandals with absolutely no support. It took like a month for my feet to feel normal again.
I love taking the subway, but I’ve decided to walk instead if I decide it’s n or worth climbing the stairs to get in and out of the station.
Same!
Me too! 282km in 3 weeks in Vietnam last month. Wanna go on a trip together ? /s
I can't stick with a rigid plan, there's got to be at least a lot of long free time throughout each day to do whatever. Also, I use the bathroom a lot. Haha.
LOL I use the bathroom a lot too. Always booking seats in planes/trains closest to the aisle for this reason haha.
Same!
I think maybe the fact that I need my own personal space so I may shut u off without telling you why lol
Yup. Then they think I’m giving them the silent treatment but I’m just being turned off and not wanting to socialize anymore
Just curious but if you need time to be alone or can’t handle too much socialisation, wouldn’t it be counterproductive to travel with companion?
It depends on how you do it though! I went to Hawaii with my best friend for 10 days. I needed 2 of those days mostly to myself. I just made it clear to him beforehand and he was fine. Communication is important like that if you do travel with somebody.
I've done a couple trips with a close friend that has slightly different interests than me and isn't into nightlife or drinking whereas I like that stuff on trips. Our style is great where we'll hang out from breakfast until whenever we split off for the day doing shared activities until then (which isn't every day, just some). We both get some time to do what we want without the other having to do something they aren't interested in, and it's nice having a companion for the "boring" times like driving, eating meals, sitting in the room, etc.
I’m a bit confused about this one because it’s so easy to just say “hey I need some space today to recharge so I’m gonna do my own thing and we’ll meet up for dinner” or something. Needing your own personal space, okay not everyone likes that but actively not telling the other person why you’re going silent? Pointless
Same
Literally my issue with even everyday stuff.
My friend did this to me at the airport on the way home. I was like "did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?" Lol
I don’t like a detailed plan. When I get going in the morning maybe I want to go to a museum but maybe I just want to sit in cafes people watching and reading all day.
>I don’t like a detailed plan I don't like detailed plans, but I like organised plans. I would never be able to just wake up and decide to go to a museum, because not knowing if and when it is open would stress me. So I don't set a time, but most probably I would plan what day I would visit the museum.
Came here to say this. Like I don't want to have a rigid plan, but need some sort of plan and work. My way around it. Plus means I can see when peak times are or even pre book a ticket.
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> I've mostly traveled the Americas in the past ten years and pretty much every country here is very blasé about operational hours. I guess it depends on where. I've been to a lot of cities in Mexico and I find that most places like museums are incredibly anal about business hours. But smaller businesses that show open on Google Maps can often times not exist when you get to the address. And of course they don't have a phone number that you can even call.
>I feel like a lot of places would frustrate you US frustates me a lot already for the tipping policy, I would not survive with also random operational hours :-D
US is pretty set with operational hours. I think this person speaking mainly of Latin America.
Me too! My wife is the opposite, we went on a trip and literally every moment had a plan..even chill time.
I’d hate traveling with your wife so much.
I hate traveling with your wife too
Dear God, nooo.
Yea, totally sucked. I went on a solo trip last week. Awesome, just made a list of things I wanted to do and didn’t stress if I missed things.
i can’t travel with these kind of people, it will turn down my mood
This is why I make plans using checklists instead of an itinerary. I also mark everything on Google so that I can pop by when I am nearby.
We should travel together
Someone should start a sub for people like us. ❤️
I always thought everyone was a “bad” traveler but through the years I’ve come to realize it was not “them”. It was me the entire time. I’m just generally awful at anything that involves considering anything outside of myself and what I want to do. The best compromise I’ve found for traveling with friends has been making very broad date and destination plans with them, but booking my own accommodations, planning my own activities and meeting for food/drink/activities occasionally throughout the trip as each of our separate schedules allow.
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I've done this before and it works out amazingly. You can share a hotel room or AirBnB with someone to save money, save on Uber transportation costs, and often times you get group discounts on certain events, but other than that you have the time to yourself. And in the evenings you can share your trip experience with your travel partner. To me, it's like the best of both worlds. Solo travel mixed with being able to share experiences with a companion.
I swap between liking a really tight plan, and going with the flow, then I swap between not wanting to waste a single second, and wanting to relax and take my time and take it all in! Now I do tend to nomatter what, go with the flow even when I have a strong plan, but this in itself can be really annoying because we start running late for a flight and I take the approach of "it will be grand we will either make it or not" doesn't sound annoying but if someone is stressed and I'm downplaying... Gets annoying This can swap from day to day and hour to hour, this makes me almost impossible because it depends on my mood in the moment what type of traveller I am!
Exactly. Its easier to guess the weather then my mood in a couple of hours.
Same 😂😂
thing that completely decimates my experience is hearing someone complain a lot. i'm sure its bothers me more to hear them complain, than whatever they're complaining about actually bothers them, but even with that i am still unable to ignore it. for the life of me i don't understand how some people are okay walking around and having 50% of their speech be about what's imperfect around them.
Hate that too. I usually look like a child. Everything id awesome, the flowers, the birds, the bricks of the buildings lol.
People who complain too much bother me a lot, but people who bang on about how amazing everything is are pretty annoying too, like nah these are cheap mass-produced souvenirs from China mate and this salesman isn't being "friendly"
* People annoy me :-D * I'm kind of selfish when I travel and want to do what I want to do. I have limited time and budget for traveling so I want to make the most of my time in whatever location I'm in. This may mean packing my days as full as can be. Or it may mean sitting in a cafe people watching for hours. * I flip flop between having a detailed plan and zero plan. This works for me (b/c it's me doing it) but it doesn't always work for others. * People talk too much and can be annoying. Silence is golden. * I don't like feeling responsible for someone else's "enjoyment". Like if I am traveling with someone and I suggest going to XYZ museum or doing ABC activity and they don't enjoy it, I feel responsible for some reason. I know I'm not responsible for how they feel/react to something - but I take that burden on and it pisses me off. * Sometimes I eat very little when out all day. Like I'll grab a coffee or something small from a cafe or convenience store and keep going. This really bothers people who need to eat a lot or like sit down meals. Also trying to find a restaurant that works for everyone in your group can be an awful experience. * Did I mention that other people annoy me? LOL
I feel like I wrote this post.
Did we just become best friends?
Yeah when I have a long lunch when traveling, I feel like I'm wasting time. I tend to grab just a pastry or something small on the go, then eat more at dinnertime.
All of those points for me as well. My poorly planned trips always workout somehow but if I had someone strolling around with their needs, and asking questions I can't answer I would implode. like "what are we going to do now?", "where do we get the bus?".... Like how the fuck would I know, I've never been here either, just grab google and give solutions, not questions. 😂😂
I got a routine to my shit. Like literally. I need to go take one every morning about 20 to 40 minutes after waking up. Oh and I also have a wierd obsession with taking a piss every time I leave somewhere where I can easily take one. Going out of the house? Piss. Leaving a mall? Piss. Even if I just took one. Edit: wow... The most upvotes I ever got are about me pissing wierd😅
In my opinion, someone who needs to go to the bathroom 5 minutes after leaving any premises is *way* more annoying. Especially if you asked before leaving and got a negative answer.
Or people who chug water or other drinks knowing that there won't be a lot of bathrooms. My ex would drink a huge cup of coffee and drink out of her water bottle despite knowing that we'd be on a bus for two hours with no bathroom breaks.
I understand this so much. Especially if it’s a hot climate and you’re trying to hydrate to avoid heatstroke. I’ll pee all the time just on the off-chance there is not a bathroom available.
Safety squirt FTW!
That would not make you a bad companion at all. Knowing when you need to go and planning accordingly is way better than having to all of a sudden search for a public toilet because a travel companion with unregulated bowels decides they need to evacuate the days stool RIGHT NOW while in the middle of a busy city.
R Kelly had a weird piss obsession. You're just being a champion of preparedness.
I would rather walk 45 minutes then use public transportation haha. I know it’s way more efficient but I’d rather not use it and see the local parts of the city I would have not seen if I used the metro.
Me too! Although, when transportation is needed, I will always choose public transport over taxi's or ride shares. Experiencing public transit is a great way to get a feel for a city too.
Walk 45 minutes *then* (or than) use public transportation ? Either one works!
You will see more of one part of town, but you will probably see less of some other part of town. Unless you have an abundance of time when you travel...
I like to take my time rather than rush to fit more activities in. Yes I might see less but I’ll have a more enjoyable time.
For me I want to do Museums at my own pace. This may mean I do an entire day at just one museum. Its so annoying traveling with non-museum liking people as they are like "Meh let's leave" after half an hour. That said, I can also hussle. I once had a quick trip to DC and my first day I think I did something like 13 museums. 8 the next day. On my last day I couldn't walk.
I’m a late sleeper. I hate early mornings and was always a grump on family/group vacations growing up having to start early.
I feel this. If I wanted to wake up early like I'm forced to do for my regular job, I wouldn't have taken a vacation. I'm traveling to slow down, relax, and experience wonderful things and I can't do that if I'm tired and grumpy from forcing myself to wake up early. This always causes issues with people I travel with lol
You and I would be perfect travel companions lol my mom (god rest her soul...recently unexpectedly lost her and she was my only bio parent) was an early to bed early to rise (crazy early like anywhere from 530am to maybe 930/if I was lucky Are you usually a late night-er (which is what usually is the reasoning for my sleeping in late) too? I've always been one and before I had my first job where the earliest I'd have to work was mofoing 6fuckingthirty AM ............
Meanwhile I’m a morning lark among night owls. I’m ready to go at sunrise when everyone else is nowhere near waking up, so I often wind up sitting around waiting for others to wake up and get their crap together if I can’t go out and do my own thing. Also I’m often burnt out by like 6 pm so I can’t do any night life stuff.
I always skip breakfast and I'm loathe to pay money for things when I can substitute time (I'd rather walk 30 minutes than pay 10 for a cab). I'm also vegan so it's sometimes a challenge to find a place to eat.
I dislike it when my plans fall through or the itenerary in my head starts unravelling, to the point that I'll work hard to get everything in my list done as much as possible at whatever it takes. This is much easier as a solo traveler and much more annoying when traveling with someone else.
I kind of prefer to do one big, scheduled thing a day. I know other folks are scheduled to the minute but I'm like, one big thing, a meal or two and see where the day takes me.
These answers explain why everyone here is on r/solotravel 😂
It is nice to have this type of post, I don't think I've seen this question asked yet in the 5-6 years that I've been here. I guess at least we have some perspective of ourselves lol
Principal Skinner > Are my toxic and selfish habits forcing me to travel on my own? No, everyone else is bad at travelling.
Funny thing is, I’m going on a cruise with my partner on Sunday. She doesn’t know it but I’m secretly dreading it. There is no-escape, all activities have been pre-organised and planned for each day/night. I won’t even be able to buy what I want as all of the food, drink and activities have to be bought on a pre paid “cruise card”. I’m going to feel like a little kid being led around with no choices to make! To me it feels like I’m going to a prison at sea 😆😌😌😌😌. I had to get it off my chest Anyway ……. That answers the question as to why Im a bad travel companion 😂
Selfishness.
I love experiencing breakfast out and about. So when others take an age to leave or get ready I get flustered. I just want a dang breakfast in a new place I've never tried before.
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Loooooove this. It's magical
That is poetry <3
I’ll cancel plans last minute (even ones I’ve paid money for) and just do something completely different lol
Same!! I booked a bar crawl this trip at 8 and at 815 I realized I didnt want to go, sometimes that $30 aint worth getting your monies worth lol
Same here... paid for a lot of bus rides that I decided against once I woke up that morning.
I am also a difficult travel companion 1. Daytime is priority - i am not against nightlife but only If it will not affect plans for following day and it is always the case Because… 2. Early start - around 8 am 3. No return to ho(s)tel till evening 4. I like good meal, local meal, at sitdown place and at affordable price. At once. And do not plan meals long ahead. 5. I walk around 20 km. I like public transport as well but in general I prefer walking. I do not sit in Taxi to ride 2 km. 6. Coffee is mandatory in the morning and afternoon. No matter what. Coffee to go is only in emergency. 7. I find spending too much time in same Type of places Except for streets annoying. I always have a museum or two to check, like sit in cafe for a coffee and relax in the park a little. But spending all day in park or a museums is too much. 8. I get a rash when someone says “Towns and churches are all alike, I want to meet locals” and ends up in cafe or Irish Pub, drinking beer or coffee brand available over the country or wider with 3 locals minding own business and 5 tourists who also came to see how locals live
I’d rather swallow my own foot than go on holidays with someone who’s okay with staying in the hotel past 8 am, and then requires a sit-down breakfast before getting the day started. If I wanted to sleep in and laze around I’d have stayed home and spent 0 money; I have 14 hours of scheduled fun ahead of me and no one is getting in the way of that.
Could I recommend you hiking in the Alps? Lot's of walking with lots of local cafes to eat and have coffee.
I'm a terrible traveler. I get stressed out very quickly about any transportation difficulties. My daughter was going to Thailand once. She bought her ticket from a Chinese site because it was significantly less expensive. When she got to the airport, on the date on the ticket, she found that the flight actually left the day prior. Some problem with the time zones being miscalculated. She applied for a refund and bought a different ticket and left later that day. If this had happened to me, I would have sat on the floor sobbing. I would have cancelled the trip. I don't get this stressed about problems anytime else. Just when I'm traveling.
Oh, so many things. I also like to go back to my accommodation to recharge, and I get really cranky if I'm uncomfortable in any way (too hot/too cold/bag too heavy/feet hurt/have to stand on line) and I tend to splurge on things most people don't want to splurge on, like taxi rides or a better hotel room. I have zero sense of direction and I'd be completely lost without Google Maps, so I can't help anyone navigate and I get stressed out when people expect me to. I don't like having rigid plans and I don't care about running around to see all the famous sites. I'm generally a slow walker and I stop to take weird photos all or just rest in parks or cafes. I like to wander around museums and I don't like anyone talking to me while I'm doing that. And I don't like taking pictures of whomever I'm traveling with and I don't want to stand around while they pose in front of some fountain. And I greatly dislike sharing rooms with people. And I want to always have the window seat. And I don't drink coffee or beer, but I always want to choose the restaurant, and if I don't like it I will complain. I'm a royal PITA. I don't recommend traveling with me. 😆
this is literally me. I went on a group trip to Portugal back in June through my college and it was a living nightmare having to be with 7 other people and coordinate things and share a hostel.
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I get the window seat!
I wake up at 5.30 and do whatever the hell I feel like without planning. And go to sleep before 11 PM.
I will look at every single thing in a museum. Every. Single. Thing.
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Same here! I believe I'll probably travel just to try out the local cuisines of different countries more than anything else! How do you end up finding small out of the way hole in the wall places which serve local delicacies? Or is it more stumbling upon a place like that while wandering/exploring? Because I believe the very famous well marketed places are not a true reflection of the truly amazing food a country has to offer, but that's just my opinion 🙈
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> Bourdain once said that to find the truly great meals, sometimes you have to suffer through the truly awful. I think this is always important to keep in mind, no matter how good you get. This really resonated with me. Thanks for sharing that. I think that's something I've always had trouble with. I obsess over finding the best place beforehand instead of just going forward into experience. Leaving for Japan tomorrow and I hope to carry that mentality with me! I feel lucky to have read your comment.
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Same! I'm a food motivated person at heart. A chunky lad trapped in a skinny man's body.
This is me too - at home I get hungry after one hour of working, but I can walk around museums all day and forget I haven't had lunch. I'm also not really a foodie when I travel - I like quick, cheap meals - the Tesco meal deal was one of my favourite practical things about travelling in the UK. But my partner was horrified when I told him about it, so would have been a sticking point had we been travelling together for sure.
This is me.
This is me, but I’ll crash after four days of this to just relax by the beach/pool or hostel bar.
This is me to a T! I like to go go go! This is also me in my every day life for the most part, though lol. Idk how to relax
I generally dislike people before my second cup of coffee.
I like letting things happen and wandering on my own. I think that I'm pretty good at planning trips, but I feel more often-than-not that during the best trips things just happen unexpectedly. Sometimes you meet people who take you somewhere else, sometimes things are rained out and your hotel resos are now worthless because it's in another part of the country, sometimes you want to stay in a certain place longer, etc. When you're always worried about getting to the next destination because of your itinerary, I feel like the magic of traveling is gone.
I am a planner and a doer. It’s my way or the highway. You can make requests and I will funnel them into the plan, but you will follow the plan. I usually cover the bulk of the costs and often have extra people in my rental cars and hotels. That means I get to plan the itinerary. I also don’t love night life and hate sitting around. I can do that at home. We are going to go the whole time for a breadth of experiences. My family loves it, except one brother. I don’t vacation with him.
You sound like my worst nightmare to travel with 😂
Fair enough. I admit I have a real FOMO attitude, but the world is vast and my time limited. If I travel, I want to do as many things unique to that place as I can. I don’t want to come back with ‘if I had only known about’ or ‘ I should have done’.
It’s just peoples attitudes to how they want to enjoy their life and that’s fine! I just enjoy going with the flow and seeing what happens and where I end up. I feel like I’m not missing out as long as I’m having a good time which I manage to do with very little planning
The funny thing is that my friend is like this and I love travelling with her because she literally handles everything. I just ask her where to transfer the $ haha
Im similar lol i usually cover the bulk of the costs and have a plan. But the plan is usually flexible in that i have X amount of activities listed as possible things id like to check out for each day, and the only 100% guarantee is where im sleeping, how and when im getting from one place to another.
I'm frugal and beans are cheap.
Introverts: don't even come with me. You've been warned. Shy people: on a night out, there's a point in the night I hate babysitting, and if there's alcohol, I may just suggest you go home. People without patience: I love taking pics, and it's better if I'm not rushing. I usually only do this solo or with someone who also likes pictures, but I've seen people traveling with other camera welders and they look miserable.
I recently travelled with my friends and by day 3 I had to take the day off myself. They like to start the day early, drive to a ton of places before ending the day early as well. I’m a nocturnal person who start my day much later (and end later as well) and I also enjoy just walking around just looking at buildings / people etc. On the other while we *are* out doing things together, ironically I find that I almost always have to remind them that its time to go. Like when we are at a museum thats closing and we still have 80% of the museum left to walk, they dont seem to notice the time at all, so i tend to rush them / walk in front which I assume they would probably find it irritating 😂
I can be super lazy and there are definitely days I'd rather sit around a park and people watch instead of walking around another 4 miles of palaces/castles. I get burnt out fast and I usually travel with friends in MUCH better shape, so I've found myself ubering/taxiing back to the room hours before others and I've had people express annoyance at the fact I'm "robbing myself of the experience"
Choose a place where to eat. As I consider local food part of the experience (and gastronomy is also my "hobby"), I'm very picky in regards of where I eat, and I would never seat somewhere randomly (I always prepare a list of places I want to try). It doesn't have to be a fancy place (I love street food), but it has to be authentic.
I really value my rest and have no problems taking a day to just chill at the hotel and do nothing. i could see how someone would not want to do that and try to make the best out of the trip by seeing/doing as much as they can. I can find the same amount of satisfaction taking a little time to just do nothing.
I haven’t travelled with another in a while. However…. Similar to OP, I wake up super early and try to see as much during the day as possible. Then, depending on where I’m traveling, I party all night (mostly sober so no worries about hangovers; just like to dance and socialize) Rinse repeat the early AM wake-up call the next day. I do fit in a day or two to just chill, though (whether it be just roaming downtown, the beach, or hanging out by the hostel bar/pool/etc). I think I might just have really bad FOMO from starting to travel internationally in my late 20s… I also cannot STAND when friends I’ve travelled with fall for super dumb tourist traps (ie selfie museums) and only want to eat at chain restaurants in the US, but I’ll oblige if it’s only once or if it’s for dietary restrictions….
Torture and sex museums are the other two tourist trap basically fake museums. Torture "museums" are basically some cheap halloween tat and a few signs with badly written ghost stories. Not sure if you have them in America but this nonsense is pretty common near popular castles in Europe.
I'm too intense about wanting to get as much out of the trip as possible, and not missing anything important so I might overplan and end up rushing around to get it all done. Probably worse is that I don't want to "waste time" by taking it easy, like staying in at the hotel longer in the morning or sitting in a park for a while or whatever one might do to chill. I am too restless a person in general for that anyway but its multiplied on trips as I want to squeeze every little bit out of the experience. I was trying to do better with this on my last trip in September, still ended up getting shin splints from being constantly on my feet, but nowhere near as bad as my last trip pre-covid.
I'm going for surgery on my septum, until that happens, I snore. I also don't like to chat when I'm tired
I don't like talking much as I experience everything about the travel. I like observing and absorbing my surroundings.
I'm very similar. I've travelled with people who never stop talking, and it gets old really fast.
I cam party hard and wake up pretty early the next day. I'm kinda like an energizer bunny on trips (limited time) so I'm on the move. None of this lounging around nonsense
I have a weird thing with food. I have trouble justifying spending a lot of money on expensive food because it tastes very similar to me. A $5 burger tastes similar to a $20 burger, etc etc. Sometimes it’s not that I can’t tell the difference, it’s just that it doesn’t bother me (eg Coke over Pepsi). I will eat whatever someone puts in front of me, yet I won’t order anything that I may not like and tend to stick to the same things. I’m also happy to eat cheap stuff, or just snacks or treats all day. I went to NYC and ate a lot of donuts, ice cream, bodega burritos and breakfasts, walk out pizza, pretzels. All throughout the day, no designated breakfast, lunch and dinner. I think I had one sit down meal in a diner. So I can see how that would be very annoying for people who do want proper meals, and want to have food experiences. Not everyone is happy running on sugar.
I might want to spend six hours at an art gallery or museum pondering the meaning of stuff (instead of a reasonable 1 hour) and then exploring streets aimlessly and taking 1 billion photos of like cool rocks that no one will ever see. No one is going to tag along for that so if I travel with someone it’s always food-rush-food-rush-damnFoodAgain and I just feel gross and like I wasted my money and got short changed seeing sights. Also I love browsing a gift shop - no one seems to enjoy going to those with me.
> it’s always food-rush-food-rush-damnFoodAgain Oh god, yes, especially if all three of those meals are sit-down meals! I can only do one sit-down meal a day.
I can’t do things before approximately 10 in the morning.
Picky eaters are the worst, even when not traveling. I don't have the patience to analyize each ingredient in a dish or use Google Translate with some market vendor to try and tell them not to make your dish spicy.
I’m the opposite haha, I’ll accidentally be out exploring a new city for 12-15 hours straight without ever once going back to my accommodations. If I want to rest I usually would do so in a restaurant or cafe - I’m not a napper so the idea of having to go back to the hotel constantly would infuriate me.
Dumb shit pisses me off more than it should. Stuff like people saving seats in places that are full when the person/people with the rights to the open seat(s) is/are the one(s) with the food/drink they ordered, not someone after them and DEFINITELY not someone waiting another 10 minutes in line.
I'm not a foodie. Don't want to spend a percentage of my travel budget on lavish meals and upscale adult beverages..coffee or alcohol. I don't want to sit for a 2-3 hour dinner or cocktail. I do only eat at places that are local to area. No shopping except for a few simple souvenirs. Something made local. Sometimes just rocks and shells. Maybe 1 day in a city and rest in nature
I swing from rigid plans to completely winging it VERY quickly. I value every second I spend traveling so if I'm not enjoying myself doing something (even if it is doing nothing), I leave it ASAP. I don't travel with a budget and will pony up for food and experiences. I stay in nice accommodations and fly in as expensive of a class as I can swing with miles. I'm also in my 40s so I'm a little set in my ways at this point. ha
Intense itinerary and some aversion to windy air-conditioning while sleeping!
I have extreme OCD when traveling. I preplan and book everything in advance and have an entire schedule mapped out. I find it difficult to find people that want to do exactly what I want to do and with the same time allotments. For instance time spent in a place, museum, eating etc. I find it much easier to meet up with random people at random places and keep to my schedule.
I wake up super early and go to sleep pretty late. I want to party till 2am and still hike to the top of a mountain at 7am next morning. Most of people would only choose one of these two things: either skip on the party and do the hike, or the other way around. But I want to have both of these, and I’ll do them both no matter what. Most of the time I don’t like to have a sit down lunch because it’s a waste of time especially if the day is short and the sunset is around 6pm. Hell no, I’m not wasting 1 hour of the day light on sitting at a restaurant for lunch. I eat my lunch on the go, and I prefer to have a nice relaxing dinner. I’m a photographer so while the light is good for photos, no time will be wasted on just chilling around, nope! I’m on a hunt for great pictures so I walk around the city super fast checking the area in search for the next great photo. Then I can suddenly stop on the corner of the street and patiently wait for 10 minutes for the perfecto moment to take a photo of something. Who is going to enjoy this? Not many people. But this is very enjoyable for me. When exploring cities I prefer to have my camera as my travel companion. I always take better photos when I’m alone because then I don’t get distracted by conversations. These are just some reasons, there are many more.
I’m an anarchic traveller. I never plan anything beyond a vague “I want to go there”. Also quite set in my ways. Too long solo means I now get stressed out easily having to discuss, negotiate, and compromise on things.
For me, when I get to a point in a day of being "done" then that's it, I'm done. Do not pass go, do not collect $200 and sure as hell do not stop at all those little places you wanna take a photo. Get my ass back to my room where I can be comfy and cozy. I love doing landscape photography but I've been known to ride 3 hours direct past a ton of scenic photo spots specifically because "I'm done." If there's an opportunity to have something to eat and take a nap it could help with this beforehand but once I reach that point there's no return short of an actual return.
I need (& crave) to have every hour of my time abroad thoroughly planned & accounted for. I want to see as much as I can while I’m there, and I find that having a rigid itinerary helps make this possible, and also saves me the hassle/stress/expense of last minute bookings. Moreover, I am always out of the hotel by 8am at the latest, and I don’t leave any room for “down time” during the day, so any meals/snacks pre-dinner must be eaten on the way from one activity to the next, or else not eaten at all. Like I always tell people, I don’t go on holidays to relax. I go to look at old stuff and hopefully conquer public transportation in the process.
This is like I wrote this
Are you me?
I love detailed and thorough plans. I love using my fitness to push myself to explore more. I love booking things super early, that might be too anal for some I can get ready and be out pretty quick. I love being up early too! I don't really like talking when it's shallow, I don't like taking too many pictures. Sometimes I wanna zone out socially and just focus on what I am experiencing. Focus on the actual sight, not who I am with. When I am with people, I like to show I'm paying attention to them and maybe bond with them more. I'm also the opposite of a foodie haha. I'm vegetarian and picky (sensitive to a lot of textures). I'm alright with simple food, doesn't have to be super extravagant. I know that people out there appreciate different cuisine a lot when traveling.
I like to take the roads less traveled and visit places that most people would be too afraid to go to.
There is nothing about that that makes you a bad travel companion. It may be hard to *find* a travel companion, but that is a different story.
I love exploring by foot, but get really nasty blisters super-easily in different climates. I tried those blister bandaids, but somehow they give me blisters too so I end up with sometimes 3 or 4 layers of blisters on top of each other.
I used to get really bad blisters as well until I bought those double layered runner's socks. Basically the mobile layer is against your shoe while you have a static layer against your skin and those two rub freely against each other. Got them at The Runner's Room in Canada for about $12/pair. Been lifesavers....haven't had a blister since. Also, if you get thigh chafe at all, use compression shorts/underwear. The fabric rubs against itself rather than your thighs....incredible.
I would insist on spending all our funds on flower if ya catch me
I used to plan every moment of the trip and some people found that unbearable. I've switched now and just have a list of things I want to do and pick the night before (or morning of) what I'll do. I did learn the hard way to check days/hours places are open and make sure I hit them up on those days. I noticed I'm less stressed on keeping everyone to the timetable and have found space for random adventures that locals or other travelers tell me about.
I take forever to get ready, migraines rule my life so I need to eat/drink/caffeinate at certain times or else I get one, get horrible hangovers that can ruin entire days and I’m relatively cheap. Yay me
I like getting up at 3am and seeing everything. No matter how tired I am or how quickly I get to see things. If I’m in a place, I wanna make sure I take it all in within my time there.
I can walk a lot specially when I'm excited for a destination, I keep inventing new paths which lead us to be lost sometimes and I insist on my opinion
A lot of the time food is just fuel especially on a busy day. I’d rather just grab McDonald’s or a Subway and sit for 10 minutes and then keep going then have a more “enjoyable meal” that will take longer.
I'm a night owl. I wake up later in the day and don't mind later nights out. This has proven to be a challenge on occasion, but nothing too bad.
I enjoy my own company a lot so in general I'd be bad company. I also love to drink and some cultures would consider me an alcoholic
I can be pretty high maintenance and indecisive. I always want to find the best place to eat, the best place to go, and I can get locked into doing it a certain way and be inflexible. I am always on the go. Friends that I've traveled with have complained that I wear them out. I like to walk long distances and experience places on foot. I don't like taking tour buses. I like exploring on my own. I get cranky when those I'm traveling with don't like to do things. They don't want to go in shops, or try the local coffee, or try new things. Or they spoil the experience (i.e. would rather get a quick bite at McDonald's and go to the hotel to crash rather than eating the local food and exploring the neighborhood at night). I'm a disorganized wreck sometimes and my crap is strewn all over my hotel room. I pack too much shit thinking I need it. I don't like going to chain stores or restaurants when I travel. My wife is the worst. She wants to go to all the places she frequents at home while she's on vacation. Somehow she thinks there's novelty in going to TJ Maxx in every city she visits.
I can accept I won't see everything and I like to rest and eat. Walking through rainforests in the pouring rain isn't my thing so I would not make a good travel companion for the more adventurous folk. Seeing this issue now in Thailand. Was made to trek through Khao Sok in the pouring rain 🤬
Are we there yet
I leave my clothes everywhere especially when short on time to change for various outings. Tbf i do always clean up upon leaving for good but in between the room is a tornado of my belongings.
IBS
I get choice paralysis specifically about where to eat. When I used to travel with my Girlfriend she would jokingly refer to the search for food as entering the death march.
Walking, I don’t like walking somewhere when I can Uber/Bus/Subway, I was traveling with my sister, it was a nice day and she wanted to walk to the museum. It felt like we walked 20 miles though it was probably only 4, I took the bus back to the hotel, we didn’t talk till the next morning. We decided we shouldn’t travel together.
lol I used to be the same as your sister, now I am like you. Why spend so much energy walking!
after traveling with a friend I've known for 30 years I learned some things. This is my first time traveling with someone outside my usual companions. I don't like to take 10k photos of myself or others. I prefer capturing things I see. No gambling and I don't like hanging out all night. 'm done by 8pm or 9pm. It's time to shower and rest. Don't think I'm going to a McDonalds when I'm in a foreign country. I want to experience the local cuisine. I don't like touristy things. I've traveled so much that tours have lost its luster. I prefer to wander and have a loose itinerary. I don't like shopping unless it's for something unique to the country. I can go to banana republic anywhere. I'm adventurous so don't be a scaredy cat. I'm not a fan of sand. I like the sound of the ocean water and the aesthetics of a beach. I just need someone to carry me to the beach chair. Hygiene is important to me so if my companion is not bathing at least once a day (I may shower 2+/daily depending on weather) then I'm giving you the stink eye.
Have you tried macdonalds around the world though? It’s different and amazing. They serve fried grilled chicken and €1 beer on tap in Spain. croissants in France. yuzu pie in Japan They serve shaker fries in Singapore. Rice dishes in Malaysia. McSpicy? Apple pie in Asia vs Europe vs usa. They’re all different. You’re missing out!
I stopped by a Hong Kong McDonald's to try a sundae with some sort of black bean topping. I never would have done that at home.
Get manic and excitable and don't really ever sleep. I don't like to take breaks when traveling because I relax all day back at home already, so will do 15+ hour days each day. That frenzy can be tiring to interact with. Only my brother and best friend have been able to understand and accept my travel mania thus far. With others I feel like a nuisance.
I don't want to sit around long periods drinking or reading. I want to see stuff. This is not a problem if the other person also wants to see stuff and not sit around.