What Kind of Friends Make the Worst Travel Companions

Travel is meant to be fun, but there are pitfalls that can turn an adventure into a potential nightmare. I’ve suffered the one nightmare that not only makes your travels something less than desirable, but also ruins friendships and changes relationships forever.

I am talking about travel with people who can only be described as bad travel buddy choices.

These people tend to fall into a few categories, and I suffered the worst kind – the crier.

Here’s five you might have experienced, or come into contact with.

Little Miss or Mr Boss

We all know this person, he or she is never wrong, they like to be in control of plans, people, but rarely themselves, and they always know best. Or so they think. If you find yourself stuck on a travel adventure with a person who falls into this category, whether you knew about it before or not, then there is only one way to survive it – stick to your guns. Never just go along with him or her because they’re loud, big personalities, or because they like to scream and shout until everyone agrees with them, because let’s face it, this is your adventure too, and you should all have an equal say. There are likely to be falls out and arguments in this situation, but there has to be a compromise.

The crier

This is the one I experienced, and believe me, we got through more boxes of tissues than the tissue company could make. The person in question for me was a female, and yes, she was a little homesick, however this turned from a ‘oh I miss my dog’ sniffle, to a full on torrent of tears whenever a song played which reminded her of home, she saw a picture of anything that even slightly resembled her home town, or when her favourite food was put in front of her, and it reminded her of her mum. Yes, it’s normal to be a little homesick and sometimes emotional, usually due to tiredness, but being an emotional wreck simply isn’t an attractive look.

Organised Annie

It does pay have a plan and even an itinerary in certain types of travel, but there’s a fine line between having a vague plan and being in control as much as you need to be, and planning every second of your time down to the nearest nano. This person will probably come attached to flow charts, guide books, apps, language guides, and a colour coded itinerary. How do you deal with it? Tell them to get a grip, seriously.

The complainer

“I’m too hot”, “it’s freezing”, “I don’t like it here”, “my bed’s too hard” …. does this sound familiar? This is the adult version of “are we nearly there yet?” This person’s constant need to complain is generally down to being out of their comfort zone, and I personally think the only way to get around it affecting your travel plans is to just ignore them, tune them out, and don’t rise to their complaints. Nobody loves a moaner.

No decisions please

Finally, we have another type of travel companion whom I have had the unpleasant experience of travelling with. We all know someone who finds it impossible to make a decision or express an opinion. If you find yourself making all the decisions and not getting a two way conversation of anything other than agreement, shake the person – seriously. Okay, so don’t get violent, but it does make you want to see if a few shakes will pull an opinion out of them. This is possibly one of the most frustrating in the list, but rise above it.

Photo used with permission from ToUncertaintyandBeyond.com