Traveling Buddy Livens Your Trip

When you are planning a lengthy journey and are trying to decide whether it would be best to travel with a friend or on your own, here are some points to keep in mind.

If you intend to use the dormitory facilities of youth hostels, student hotels and Ys, traveling solo won’t affect your accommodation rates. The advantage of traveling with a friend is that you’ll have a wider range of accommodation options to choose from. By splitting room rates with someone, you’ll be able to afford double rooms in budget hotels or pensions--which offer more privacy.

Another advantage is that you can share the expense of calling families back home. Many young travelers set up networks so that they can rotate calls to one family at a time, who will then pass along messages.

Advantage of Companion

The most important advantage of traveling with a companion is that you’ll each feel safer knowing there’s immediate support if one of you runs into medical or other difficulties, and you’ll have someone to share experiences and memories before and after you get home.

If this is your first major trip with a friend, there are some topics it would be wise to discuss while your trip is still in the planning stage.

You should each make a list of the major sights you hope to see and the type of activities you’d like to try. You may not be able to include everything, but try for a balance so that one person doesn’t wind up feeling that he or she was just taken along for the ride.

By planning a similar amount of daily spending money, there will be fewer possibilities of problems where one person might want to use expensive services that are out of the other traveler’s price range.

Similar Mobility Important

It is also helpful that you have a similar amount of mobility. If one person has a suitcase while another a backpack, the person with hand-held luggage is likely to be slower and less willing to walk distances in search of low-cost lodging.

Discuss the type of lodging and transportation you think will be the most comfortable, but be willing to at least try something different if your companion wishes. For example, some young travelers like to take overnight trains or buses because they save a night’s accommodation fees, but not everyone can do this comfortably. For some the lack of rest they experience isn’t worth the saving.

If one person smokes and others don’t, you should clear the air on this subject before setting out. The situation may not bother you much at home, but on the road someone is going to have to compromise when it comes to choosing seats on trains, planes and buses.

Don’t give up your independence completely. Chances are that you won’t always want to do exactly the same things; you will be meeting new friends, so be flexible about taking a break from each other for a few hours or a day--you’ll have interesting stories to share later.

Don’t be pressured into trying something that you don’t feel is safe just because your companion wants to. Use your own judgment and common sense.

If plans to travel with a companion fall through and you find yourself faced with heading off solo, keep these tips in mind.

Many Youth Services

Young travelers are lucky because there are services they can use that offer ideal opportunities to meet fellow adventurers in their age group. If you are alone, head for accommodation facilities designed for young travelers, such as student hotels and youth hostels.

Although some youth hostels impose curfews ranging from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., they also offer amenities such as kitchens, which the single traveler will find helpful. During the hour or two spent preparing and eating a meal there are usually numerous opportunities to strike up conversations and begin making new friends. With a little luck you’ll find a group to accompany on sightseeing or night-life expeditions.

Another way to meet other young travelers is to check with local student and youth travel bureaus for budget tours in their areas.