If you haven’t seen “Idiot Abroad” yet, you need to. I love the show but know that I could NEVER travel with someone like Karl. He is never happy and he complains like you wouldn’t believe. It is one thing to commiserate with your travel companion along your trip. But it’s another thing to just sit and whine/complain the entire time you are on a trip.
(FYI it’s also great to have someone to go through the travel experience with you, even if it is a bad partner, but sometimes it might be better to be solo than with a horrible partner.)
My idea of a nightmare trip would be to be stuck on a bus/boat with lots of people, if you know them or not. You just can’t account for other people’s stupidity, tastes or actions. I have been there and done that -- 2 busloads of Texans in Italy. I chose to ride on the bus with the luggage and a few people, versus the other bus with the majority of the people. They were all nice people, but sometimes even nice people shouldn’t travel together. That was my first and last “group” trip.
I have been very fortunate in that I have had great travel companions. Since I started traveling with my family, my favorite travel partners are my parents and siblings. As my brother, JR, says “I have to put up with you”. That is so true, but my family is fun and adventurous, so we got lucky. There is no question as to them leaving you. They know all your good points and bad. If they complain you can tell them to “suck it up princess”. Conversely, if you are the complaining one, they can smack you upside the head and tell you to suck it up also and you aren’t offended. With family, you are honest and sometimes, unfortunately, more harsh with than friends or romantic partners.
When you are dating someone, you are normally dating the representative. If you travel with someone it is very difficult to be the representative for long. Close quarters, little privacy and too much time together --- it a true test of wits and patience. A trip with a romantic partner can kill a relationship very quickly or strengthen it immeasurably.
I advise before committing to anyone, take them on a trip -- see how they travel. If they unravel under the least stress and end up in a ball on the floor, that is a bad thing. If they buck up and roll with the punches, then they might be keepers.
Friends can be great to travel with or horrible to travel with. I have close friends that I would never want to travel with -- even on a short weekend trip. My friends might think the same of me. I talk too much and am a tad bit anal on some things. But I do try to be open to new things and cultures. In my career and work life, I am a control freak, but I have to be due to my responsibilities. In my travels, I try to be more laid back, fun, and open minded.
I have a select few close friends that I would travel with anywhere and anytime -- throw us on a desert island I think we could have a good time. A friend from college, a friend from work in London, and a friend from home -- they have put up with me in good times and in bad. Being lucky, they have invited me on many a dream trip -- backpacking through Europe (a great experience in roughing it for this Southern Princess), road trips through Italy (yes, I would go in a camper van if asked again -- but there must be screens and insect repellent), and hanging out in Paris (my favorite city to explore). We have weathered a rainy Amsterdam day, early morning homeless German male advances in a Vienna train station, and the Italian trains without a reserved seat. We have weathered the heat, mosquitoes, crazy drivers, offensive fashions, male purses, and the twilight zone in Italy. We have persevered through the frigid temperatures of Paris in the dead of winter. If you can survive some of these memorable travel experiences and still be talking to each other, then that is a great travel partner and a good steadfast friend.
Sometimes opposites traveling together can make a trip more eventful/exciting. My cousin and I are opposites. She is very detailed oriented and regimented -- having an itinerary for the whole trip. I, on the other hand, love a road trip where you decide where you are going a few days before you go. We have been stuck together for 40 years now. And when we get together we act like children (not a bad thing sometimes).
If you can sit and not talk and just start giggling because you are together, that is a great travel partner and I am fortunate enough to be related to some and have friends who are like that. A travel companion of mine would be very surprised to discover that just hanging out with him in a cafe people watching and NOT talking is more fun that being on a tour with obnoxious orange clad tourists.
The perfect travel partner attributes in my opinion:
someone who is down to earth and not rude to people
someone who rolls with the punches and can deal with big and small problems/snafus
someone who is open to new cultures and wants to experience the unfamiliar around them
someone who is funny and honest and loves life
someone who is quiet and not obnoxious
someone who is honest and tactful
and most importantly, someone who will go and see at least a few of the things I want to go and see (or at least let me go see them and sit and wait on me).
I try my best to be the best traveler I can -- Be a traveler not a tourist :) So suck it up princess and have a great time whoever you go with, but if you are unlucky and they are no fun, you can have fun enough for both or all of you. Karl you are great to watch but please don't be on the tour bus with me. Or if you are, please keep the complaining to a minimum.
You certainly do have a way of making a person want to go to every place you've been. The activities sound pretty cool, too.
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