Have you thought about travel with your couple friends? It is a great way to extend your time together and add some additional fun too. However, there are steps and tips to make sure when you return home, you’re still friends and buddies.  Each way of travel, solo, with partner or with couples, has its own dynamics, pros and cons.  While vacations are meant to be an escape from your everyday life, it can be enhanced with others or going it alone. Also, there could be more challenges than your bargained for just when the fun is getting started. 

I decided to dig into all the ups and downs of traveling with another couple.  There is more positive than negative, so let’s share that from the start.  First question is: Why travel with another couple.

First of all the old saying, the more the merrier;  well that can apply to traveling with another couple. First of all they should be your friends. And, friends that you’ve spent time with, enjoy their company and have always wanted to venture out and see the world together. Traveling with them takes the fun you have at home to fun on the road.

When you travel with your couple friends there are some benefits to traveling with those outside your immediate family.

1.  Sharing the cost – that bucket list destination can be more budget friendly when sharing the cost. For many of us, when we are traveling with your family, you may pay for everyone in your family, for food, activities, accommodations and travel. It can be expensive. 

When you’re traveling with friends, you are paying for yourself and maybe your spouse. Renting a house with your friends is less expensive than booking two hotel room and you’re sharing the cost of food too. Add car rental to that and another big expense has been cut in half. 

Doc Bill and I have travel with a couple and share a short term rental home.  It worked out great and it was so fun to all be together for fun actives in the evening and enjoying coffee to start our day.  

2.  You don’t have to be the grown up or the decision maker for everything

Traveling with your kids adults or young… you will get that feeling… you know the one you get down in your gut to make sure everyone is ok and all is going well. It’s that parent sense of responsibility, it’s just there and even if you’re not conscious of it…. It’s there.  Their safety and well-being has been and will always be your focus. Travel with your couple friends can mean bonding like you can’t at home.

3. Bonding and connecting unlike your time at home

You share similar likes and interest and you’ve lived similar experiences.  That’s what makes you great friends.  Now’s the time to explore those similiaries on the road. Doing the things you love together in a different space and place.  You’re going to create awesome memories and have fun talking about your time together for years to come.

4. Strengthen your relationship

While traveling can bringing out things about people you may find hard to understand or appreciate, getting to know your friend on another level is sure to strengthen relationships that already important in your life. Even if there are some ups and downs while traveling together, there’s no better way to get to. Know someone than traveling together.  

5.  You get to know yourself a little better too. 

Travel is a great way to learn more about yourself.  Traveling with another couple let’s you see more about how you handle and connect with others.  It takes you a little outside of your comfort zone.  When traveling with others, there is compromise and collaborating… things that you may not have to do when traveling with your partner or a best friend who travels with you often.  And, for solo travelers, there can be a big jump from traveling alone to bringing along a buddy. 

I have a dear friend who travels with me often. She actually goes with me on some of my press work trips.  We travel well together and our personalities and travel styles compliment each other. 

I’m often running around recording interviews and meeting with the people you’ll hear sometimes on the show.  I’ll many times have to leave her while I’m off to capture those interviews.  She’s very independent and doesn’t mind the time to herself.  We work well as travel buddies.  

I know that my travel style would be an adjustment for some other friends… Even after all of my years of traveling, I find that I can still learn something about myself when I travel with another couple… it’s a very different dynamic than traveling with my friend, solo or with Doc Bill.

6.  You’ll learn new things

See the world their your friends eyes.  There’s no better way to get another perspective on things, that with trusted friends who can share their love of various things while out on the road. 

Starting with planning, there are things to consider for a fun trip and one where you’ll return better friends than when you left home. 

Vacations are all about the fun and adventure. Trying something new or revisiting a place you’ve always loved can be even more enjoyable when you share the experience with friends.  

Sharing Experiences with friends and those friends are also a couple can feel as though there are too many hidden challenges that may come up.  And, the best way to counter any potential issues, is to plan and start your getaway with understanding, consideration and preparation.  

Travel Insurance – everyone should be onboard with purchasing travel insurance to protect their travel investment. Unforeseen challenges do happen with travel and no one should be disappointed or have issues that could be easily handled with travel insurance.  Allianz Travel Insurance has options that will meet everyone’s needs.

Those things are key.  

Make sure everyone is on the same vacation page. 

When starting to plan here are a couple of things to consider and questions to ask:

What’s the goal of the trip? Is there something we want to make sure happens so we return feeling we have met our expectations of the trip. There are always three trips – your trip, your friend’s trip and your trip together.

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• Do you want to relax?
  
• Do you want to sightsee?
  
• How active do you want to be?
  
• Do you want to stay near the tourist spot or some place quiet?
  
• Do you go to bed early or want to stay up for games or watching movies?
  
• Do you want to meet new people?
  
• What does a vacation mean to you?
  

Budget

You probably have a good idea of your friends budget and how they like to travel.  Talking about money, budgets and setting a range of spending might feel uncomfortable, it should be top of the list to discuss and not assume.  

Decide what type trip you’re wanting. One where expenses are less important and having a spectacular, once in a life time experience is more important, or sticking to a tight budget and planning around it.  

The budget talk should include:

Type of trip – fly to destination, road trip, cruise, train trip.

Accommodations – how much and how will you split it. Make sure you can tally up and pay in a manner that fits everyone’s style and.

Transportation – to the destination and also local. It’s a good idea to do a little research ahead of time to see if public transportation, ride share or car rental is the best bet.  

Make a list of questions to ask and have answered .    

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• Are you driving? Split gas costs.
  
• Are you flying? Is there a group deal?
  
• How much money is needed for food?
  
• Which activities will need to be paid for?
  
• How much do you want to bring for souvenirs?
  
• Are there any parking costs?
  
• Will you be renting a car? Who’ll do the driving? 
  
• Which hotel are you booking? Is there a group deal?
  
• If you’re renting a house – who sleeps where – most homes have a larger bedroom with ensuite bath… who gets it and will that couple pays more
  
• How long will the trip be…. 
  
• Cruising – will we fly in early or on the same day
  
• Travel insurance
  
• Emergency
  

Here are a couple of apps to help manage your budget and also keep the group as a whole on track

TripMate – It’s easy to use and it’s free. Add expenses, gather booking related information and stay up to date on how the group is doing with the overall spending. 

Tricount – invite your friends to register for the app and splitting costs and managing any preplanned budgets are much easier.  Each person can enter his or her expenses.

Splitwise – split charges and expenses easily by cost-tracking .  This app is great for international trips.

Figure out your travel personalities. Confer about alcohol, drugs and gambling

Appoint a group leader. Usually there is someone in the group who considers themselves a planner. It’s helpful to have one person who communicates with the travel agent and the group about important issues.

Schedule daily check-ins

During your vacation it’s helpful to schedule a daily meeting with the group at breakfast or dinner.

I had a chance to sit down and talk with two couple who are friends and travel lovers.. and it all starts as work colleagues. They decided to give traveling together a try and now it’s their thing. They’ve been on many trips together and they’re planning more. I asked Clayton and Carol to share how they met their travel friends Mike and Teri

Traveling with another couple can be a wonderful experience. The important thing to remember is that there should be careful planning ahead of time. Don’t be afraid to have some alone time with yourself or just your partner. Make sure that everything is discussed before the trip, especially finances, and try to skip the arguments until after the vacay.