The advantages of solo travel range from the having complete freedom in choosing an itinerary, to not having to put up with a travel partner's snoring. But there are times when even the most confirmed solo traveler may want company, for reasons of safety, travel budgets, or temporary loneliness. Adventure, eco-, and volunteer travelers often wander into some challenging off-the-beaten-track situations, and it can be reassuring to have a partner, at least for a while. While it's not difficult to meet fellow travelers, it can be difficult to set up a compatible traveling partnership with a stranger.
What to Look for in a Travel Companion
Choosing a travel partner isn't the same as choosing a best friend or a spouse, but travel partners spend a lot of time together, so compatibility is important:
Perhaps the most important issue is the budget. Travel partnerships work best not only if the travelers have the same basic budget, but also share the same attitude about when to splurge (and when not to). If one partner always wants to take taxis and the other can only afford to hitch-hike, neither may be satisfied on a bus. In the same vein, do the partners share a similar attitude toward money? Will one always be counting up how many drinks the other had, or holding back on leaving a tip?
Whether to stay in hostels, cheap hotels, or five-star hotels is related to budgets of course, but it's also a matter of style: Given the same budget, what is acceptable to each partner? A three-star hotel might be a charming local inn with interesting plumbing, or it might be an American chain with standard amenities. One partner's definition of an acceptably clean cheap hotel may be very different from another's.
Food preferences can also cause tension. Fast food? Long elaborate gourmet meals? Street food bought from a dodgy looking street market stall? Local cuisine full of unidentifiable animal body parts and spices that could heat a hot-house? Picnics of bread and cheese? Vegetarian or vegan diets? Travel partners don't always have to eat together, of course, but it's a lot easier to get along and plan a day if there's a basic agreement about what is and isn't edible.
Travel companions don't have to be chained to each other, but it helps if there is a basic sense of compatibility in terms of interests. Of course, one can always watch World Cup football at a local bar, while the other hangs out at a jazz bar. But some activities, like long treks, or guided tours, require coming to an agreement.
Social style is another, less obvious issue: Is one partner likely to engage locals in political discussion? Debate? Outright argument? It's hard to feel comfortable in a situation where a travel partner is causing heated conversation and tension.
Finally, consider personal schedules and energy levels: Does one partner want to sleep late every day and go out partying until the wee hours? Is the other an early bird? being on a different schedule can give both partners time to do their own thing, except when trains, guides, and other fixed activities are involved. The same concern applies to energy levels: it's no fun to travel with someone who is either always pushing forward, or lagging back. .
Making a Travel Partnership Work
The following tips can help make a travel partnership work.
- Be upfront about what you're looking for and why you want to travel together.
- Set a time limit on the partnership: Agree that you'll stay together until you get out of Central Africa, or for two weeks backpacking in Europe. It's always possible to stay together longer if it works out well, but setting a time limit gives both partners an escape hatch.
- Don't share equipment. On a trek or a hike, keep enough gear so that if the partnership breaks up, both parties can continue alone.
- Keep finances straight on a daily basis. One strategy that works is to have a kitty, and use the money in it for agreed-upon common expenses. And be clear about what that means: One partner's drinking habit is not a common expense.
- Take advantage of "alone time" to follow personal interests. Or agree to split up and meet back up at a certain time.
- Don't be overly trusting: It's rare, but occasionally, hucksters prey on solo travelers by starting a partnership and then running off with money or equipment.
Travel companions who meet on the road may or may not be best friends of life. They may never even see each other again. But finding a compatible partner with whom to share part of the journey can add variety to the solo traveler's usual solitary routines.
Karen Berger - Karen Berger is the author of 15 books. Please click on her name to read her full bio.
