It’s a big decision whether to travel alone or with a friend. Depending on your personality and travel goals, I have brought up a few points to consider, which will help you make a better and more informed decision for your upcoming adventure.

Benefits of traveling alone:

• Create your own itinerary. You are the master of what you want to see and experience. You don’t have to compromise one activity for another which often happens when planning with someone. Just grab your bag and go do and see what YOU want.
• You choose when you want to be alone. Then, when you feel like it, you can socialize at the hostel.
• You will come away from the trip with a greater sense of accomplishment for concurring the adventure by yourself.
• You can travel as cheaply or luxuriously as you see fit. You can decide if you want to splurge on nicer accommodations for a night. You can allow your budget to fluctuate and you don’t have to worry about your travel companion disagreeing.
• Hurry Up! You don’t have to wait for anyone. No waiting for him or her to go to the bathroom, brush their teeth, floss and get caught up in a conversation with someone else when you just want to get on the road. It’s all in your hands.

Benefits of traveling with a friend or group:

• Companionship in difficult situations. If you get stuck at bus stop and you’re uneasy about your surroundings, its nice to have someone you trust.
• If you loose your bag or wallet, you have a friend who can support you.
•  Its nice to have another pair of eyes watching your stuff if you need to go to the restroom or take a walk.
• It’s cheaper. You can share rooms, taxis, food costs etc.
• Often when I’m traveling, if I find something amazing, I enjoy sharing the moment or activity with a friend.

Choosing a Travel Partner

1. Analyze their personality.

When you’re with someone in their comfortable state of mind at home, they are one type of person. If you are able, picture them in a situation when they found themselves out of their element or comfort zone. Did they embrace the situation, or react in fear of the unknown? This is the type of person you are going to be traveling with. As the Italian poet Cesare Pavese said, “Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky…”. You want to make sure your travel partner can adapt and will be accepting of new cultures, traditions and values.

2. Does their budget fit yours?

You might be great friends and get along perfectly, but if one person wants to got out every night  for a nice meal, while the other wants to stay at hostel and fry up a frozen hot dog, you may not be the best travel partners.

3. What type of activities are they interested in?

Are they type of person who simply wants to seek out 15 century churches or more of an adrenaline traveler looking to do activities like bungee jumping? Maybe a little of  both?

If you cant find anyone to travel with, I suggest checking out FindMeetGo to find likeminded people to travel with.