10 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Travelling With Your Best Mate
Travelling the world with your best friend really sounds like living the dream, but to pull it off, your friendship needs to be as solid as Turk and JD’s.
It’s a huge step in your friendship and it can be a real deal-breaker if you find out that you can’t stand each other for long periods of time. To help you figure out if it’s the right step for you and your BFF, we’ve compiled questions you should ask yourself before committing your hard-earned cash to traversing the globe together.
[related_articles]34893[/related_articles]#1 Are You The Same Type Of Traveller?
Get a proper idea of what your best friend’s ideal trip entails. Do they want to go sightseeing or take it easy? Are they going to want to sleep off their hangover until midday every day, or be up at the crack of dawn to see the sights?
Finding this out will prevent you from arguing down the track when they insist on lazing by the pool instead of accompanying you on a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to the mountains.
#2 Are Your Budgets Similar?
The last thing you want is for your mate to be insisting on a fine-dining experience when your budget is more street-food-or-starve. Rushing to make happy hour might not be on your friend’s agenda, so find out if they’ve got a champagne taste or your version of a beer budget.
#3 Do Your Travel Plans Align?
You envision yourself doing yoga at sunrise in Ubud, but your mate is keen on hitting the slopes in Canada. If you’ve got different ideas of where you even want to go, it’s probably not going to work out.
There’s no point investing a hell of a lot of money to discover you’d have been better off travelling alone. Don’t end up skipping the places you’re desperate to see because your mate has decided it’s not worth the drive.
#4 Will You Have To Parent Them?
Take a look at your friend. Are you going to have to be the responsible one that makes sure your asses get to the right places at the right time? If the answer is yes, really consider if you want to play the role of the nagging parent for the entirety of the trip. After all, you’re going to be the one that has to make sure they don’t do anything that’ll get them (or your) into trouble.
#5 Can You Stand Being Around Each Other For Long Periods Of Time?
Naturally, after spending a few weeks together, you’ll start to get on each other’s nerves. Whether it’s them chewing too loudly, Face-Timing their partner every other hour, or making you take a zillion photos for Instagram, little things will annoy you eventually.
As much as you love them, if they’re already someone you can only take in short bursts, you might want to spare yourself the torture of being by their side every waking minute. Seriously.
#6 Are You Willing To Compromise?
If your mate pegs a waterpark frequented by hundreds of screaming kids as the highlight of their trip, you’re going to have to suck it up and ride that damn waterslide. What counts is that you’re willing to compromise, so be prepared to meet your friend halfway with some of the decision-making.
#7 Are They Open To Cultural Experiences?
So your friend’s known to be closed-minded or disrespectful? After having a long hard think about why they’re your mate in the first place, consider if you really want to have to step in and apologise for their behaviour.
While trekking the globe is a real eye-opener and probably the best thing for your friend (see: An Idiot Abroad), you’re better off saving your hard-earned cash for another trip.
#8 Do You Have An Exit Strategy?
If things go pear-shaped, you’ll need a way out. Have you budgeted enough money to work out what you’ll do if things go wrong? It’s an unlikely scenario but it’s worth putting some thought into. You don’t want to end up stranded with no Plan B.
#9 Can You Trust Them To Split Costs?
In other words, can you trust them to get the next round of drinks? If they’re stingy at home, chances are, they’ll be stingy overseas. Make sure you’ve had a chat about how you’ll split the costs evenly. Drama over money can be a real friendship-killer.
#10 Will They Have Your Back If things go bad?
Unexpected things almost always happen when you travel. When it does, you want to know that your mate’s got your back. Are they going to take care of you when you get food poisoning from the some dodgy street food? Make sure they’re someone you can count on who cares enough to stop you from getting that tattoo you’ll regret later on.
