I traveled alone, with people I met in a youth hostel, as a couple or with friends, on shorter or shorter trips. It allowed me to make some pretty extraordinary encounters, but also to experience more complicated moments. This happened with relatives and not with people I had met shortly before. We sometimes spend hours preparing for a world tour or other trip, but how to prepare for a trip with a friend or as a couple? I sincerely believe that some people are not made to travel together. In this article, you will find the 10 qualities that I think make a good travel companion.

The 10 essential qualities of any travel companion

Independence: traveling together is great, but after a while, especially on a long trip, people may want to do different things. You will not dare to go and do the things you want if you are traveling with someone who is not independent, which may frustrate you. When people are experiencing pressure to startup arguments, they may desire to tease each other. So give preference to someone who has sufficient confidence to spend a few hours, or even a few days, alone.

Flexibility:

Planning a trip is a good thing, but there are always unforeseen circumstances and opportunities. Choosing someone spontaneous, who is not afraid of last-minute changes, will allow you to make the most of the discoveries on site and the encounters you make. It’s always better to be with someone who knows how to adapt and who is willing to make concessions on certain occasions.

Respect:

You won’t always agree on everything with your traveling companion, whether it’s the choices of food, activities, or just what you see. Despite everything, it is essential to respect each other’s point of view and not criticize each other as soon as there is a disagreement. If you see it differently, rather than fighting, get some fresh air, do what you want and find yourself later.

Tolerance:

Open-mindedness is important. When you and your traveling companion are abroad, you are faced with a different culture, habits that you don’t always understand, and often the language barrier doesn’t help matters. You have surely already passed tourists, shouting a little unnecessarily at a person at the ticket office who has little to be ashamed of. People who think “what’s wrong with these people” when thinking of locals can quickly turn out to be very unpleasant. Therefore, it is preferable to go with someone tolerant and accept the different ways of doing things. And who does not get angry for anything?

Hygiene:

Traveling in backpacker mode does not necessarily mean being filthy. On the contrary, someone who is too manic can quickly be disagreeable. Whether you change your socks every four days or take three showers a day doesn’t necessarily matter, but it may be best to travel with someone who has substantially similar hygiene.

Sociability:

You don’t necessarily need to be extroverted, but it’s always a plus when traveling to be dynamic and open to others. The best way not to want to kill your travel companion is to still spend time chatting with other people. If your travel companion does not like going out to other people at a minimum, you too often find yourself alone with each other, or if you often go to others and they cannot seem to integrate, it will create a lag.

Discretion:

On the opposite, when you don’t want to hear chattering, there are moments when. You admire a sunset; you take a 6-hour hike, you have just reached the top of a mountain. You don’t necessarily want a companion who keeps talking. Moments of silence allow you to reconnect with yourself, to reflect, and that feels great! Even if it means discussing the subject afterward!

Money:

Be careful by that, I don’t mean someone who has a lot of money, and you can profit from it. No, it’s about finding a travel companion who will have a budget similar to yours and who will not want to splurge when you have to watch your budget and vice versa.

The notion of sharing:

Your friend spends his time taking lots of photos, and you kindly wait for it? It can be very enjoyable for you if they share their photos with you at the end of the trip—computer, umbrella, liquid soap, etc. There are plenty of things that you will not necessarily have with you during the trip, and it is always nice to be with someone who is not selfish and who does not hesitate to lend his objects.

Good humor:

This is perhaps the most important quality during a trip. You are there to relax, to have fun, and certainly not to listen to someone bitching all day long, getting depressed about a breakup, or arguing over nothing. Go with someone who knows how to make the most of the present moment!

So much for the ten qualities that seem important to me. Also, be careful not to have a too negative view or condemn a friend for his past behaviors; some people change, and sometimes for good.

If you or a friend has any of the above flaws, it might not be the end of the world either. I was quite short-tempered and impulsive, which caused me to get disproportionately, if not unfairly, upset while traveling a few years ago.

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