My husband and I LOVE to travel. After we met, my husband was offered a new job opportunity in a new state, and we had so much fun exploring the new city and all the other states that surround it. Fast forward a few years to now, in yet another state that we have grown to love and explore, we really started getting a little pickier on who we choose as vacation friends.
I think the change came when we had kids. Before kids we preferred to travel alone, had late nights, bar hopped and had no agenda. Now that we have kids, our trips are well planned, centered around family fun activities and we now prefer to have other families join us. Which brings me to some new discoveries. We are realizing that we have really good friends, and really good TRAVEL friends. There is a difference… therefore it’s a trial-and-error process to see who you are compatible with to travel.
I will make a point to say that you CAN still be good friends but just not travel friends!
Friends and family fall into the same category. We have done a few trips with family members and a few with close friends. The number one thing we noticed: you have to be on similar schedules with the children. Right now, most of our friends and family have kids that are 5 and under, most of them still nap and are on a sleep schedule. We realized with those who do not have schedules for their kids and or do not have the similar schedule, that you end up either in a house all day or end up doing things in a rush or separately. BORING! Another problem we ran into is mealtimes. We are very open to being flexible and so sometimes prefer to eat at home while traveling. However, it’s a trip for mom too and sometimes mom needs a break from the kitchen. It seems to cause to tension when certain couples tend to dine all at home vs. at restaurants.
So far we found a few great vacation friends that have been so amazing and help make the trips laid back and fun. We also have a few that we come home a little stressed and say “never again!” Makes we wonder… does anyone else feel the same?
