If you are a travel enthusiast like Mack Prioleau, the chances are good that you will at some point find yourself traveling with friends. No matter how tight your group, the stresses of traveling can put pressure on friendships unless everyone is on their best behavior. Here are some tips to help make sure that your gang stays on good terms during and after the trip!
Who Made You Boss?
Try to remember that everyone will have things that they want to do and see on a trip, and while there will probably be some overlap between everyone’s wish list, there will likely be things that other want to do that just don’t do it for you. Maybe your gang is willing to break up to spend the day doing their own thing – this can be great because it gives everyone something to share when you convene for dinner. But if there is a reluctance to break up, try to make sure that you are respecting the interests of your friends. Rolling your eyes when a friend says they want to check out the vegan restaurant across town is something that you should try to avoid. Don’t be the person who always needs to call the shots, choose the restaurant, lead the tour, or generally act like you are only one with a plan or a clue.
Don’t be a Debbie Downer
Sometimes things don’t go as planned. It rains on your beach day, the internet is terrible, and the food made you sick. Chances are that you are not the only person who notices such things, but maybe your friends don’t see the value of dwelling on the negative. Resist the temptation to point out everything bad that happens, or everything that you should have done but didn’t. no one wants to be brought down on a trip, so try instead to find the humor in the things that don’t quite work out as planned. If others in the group are feeling down-hearted, be the person who helps them to see the bright side rather than the person who talk about how bad things are.
Don’t Get Stupid Drunk
Without question, an exotic cocktail on a roof top bar at sunset in an exotic city might be a great way to spend the evening with friends. But when a few drinks turn into a few too many it can create some real problems for your travelling buddies. When you are in your home town it is bad enough to have to deal with a friend who has had too much to drink, but in a foreign country it can be especially challenging. In many countries there are laws about being drunk in public, and if anything were to go wrong – for example, if you found yourself with alcohol poisoning – your friends might not have an idea about what to do in a foreign country, especially if they don’t speak the language.
These are just a few things that you should avoid if you want to keep your friends after you return from your trip!
