Whether you’re planning a spring break trip or a dreamy summer rental, the whole world is yours to explore! Can’t you see all the on-point travel pics on your Instagram already? But before you call up the owner of the “friends” etched half-heart necklace that corresponds to your “best” one to discuss your travel plans, consider these four reasons NOT to travel with your main squeeze. Sounds weird, but trust us on this one.
1. It provides a safety net. Packing your bags with your BFF can actually prevent you from exploring beyond your comfort zone, and a good adventure should include a certain level of discomfort (Read: uncomfortable, not in danger. Stay safe, y’all). What we find so invigorating about going somewhere new is exactly that: its novelty.
The whole point of a vacay is to switch up the scenery and break up the day-to-day monotony. Traveling with people you don’t know very well fosters more awe-worthy opportunities to meet new people and engage with the places and cultures you visit, because the unknown forces you to open up. As much as setting out hand-in-hand sounds like a blast, that helping hand can prevent you from straying too far from the familiar, and who wants that?
2. It’s like getting a new roommate. Remember the old adage, “Don’t move in with your best friend. You’ll end up hating them?” Traveling is a lot like living with someone, except instead of sharing a bathroom and complaining about the dishes sprouting mold in the sink, you are literally sitting, sleeping, walking next to your travel mates at all times. And unless your method of travel is particularly spacious, by next to, we mean elbows bumping when you shift in your lumbar-support-lacking train seat.
In other words, prepare to get really up close and personal, like “I can smell your breath and it’s time to brush” personal. Speaking figuratively and literally, if you’re the type that needs a little space to decompress after socializing, reevaluate committing to that much one-on-one time, or invite a few acquaintances to balance out the travel crew.
3. It leads to compromise. Wait, isn’t compromise supposed to be a good thing? Wellll, normally yes, but once you get that Eurorail pass in your mailbox, the little green monster lights a fire in your soul. You have the ticket, and with it comes endless possibilities! The Mona Lisa at the Louvre, sugar-dusted waffles in Brussels, punk rock in London and paella on the coast of Spain — the list could go on and on! …Except your bestie has her own dream destinations.
When planning out routes and activities for an adventure, no one wants to cross off that trip to Granada or that gondola ride with the hot gondolier in Venice, but doing so becomes inevitable. Sacrifices are both inevitable and manageable, but they can put a serious damper on your friendship.
4. It limits your social sphere. Remember your first day of kindergarten? Or moving into a building full of strangers when you started college or moved to a new city? It sucks at first to feel alone, but in the end, you dig deep and lay the foundation for new relationships to build on. When you travel with the one person who knows you best, you don’t get that nagging feeling of solitude that urges you to chat up fellow travellers, and you’re much less likely to return home considering someone a friend (and no, not just a Facebook one).
Have you traveled with your best friend? Tell us how the trip went on Twitter @BritandCo or show us snaps on Instagram.
