Traveling solo can be an incredible adventure, and I have a lot of admiration for people who do it. Personally, it’s just not for me. I like having company when I travel. I like the security of knowing someone is there, but more than anything, I love sharing the experience with someone else. The views, the meals, the unexpected moments, the things that go wrong and become funny later—they’re just better to me when there’s someone beside me to share them with.
I'm lucky to have several people I genuinely love traveling with—my husband, my family, cousins, and friends. I've learned that who you travel with matters. A lot.
For me, one of the most important qualities in a travel partner is being able to communicate honestly. I have no problem telling any of these people exactly how I feel—good or bad—and they can do the same with me. We genuinely enjoy each other’s company, have similar interests, and usually agree on what we want to see and do.
We also travel with a plan. Everyone knows what we’re getting into, and if a trip isn’t someone’s thing, there’s no pressure to go.
Traveling together also means compromising. Sometimes someone really wants to do something I hadn't planned—or didn't even know existed. Maybe we change the itinerary, take the detour, or do something that wouldn't have been my first choice. That's okay. That's part of sharing the experience with someone else. Who knows? It might end up being one of my favorite parts of the trip.
I also have one pretty important rule when I travel with other people: we don’t have to do everything together. If there’s something you really want to see or do and I’m not interested, go do it—and don’t feel guilty about leaving me behind. If you’re an early riser and want to head out while I’m still sleeping, have at it. I’ll do the same. We can meet back up later, compare stories, and carry on with the day.
Traveling together doesn’t mean everyone has to want the exact same experience every minute of the trip.
To me, a great travel partner is someone you can plan with, compromise with, be honest with, laugh with—and occasionally say, “You go ahead. I’ll meet you later.”
Doug
Doug loves seeing new places; he'd just prefer someone could teleport him there. The flights, airports, luggage and getting from place to place? He could do without all of it. Luckily, he's married to someone who loves planning enough for both of us, and once we arrive, he's usually willing to admit the trip was worth getting there. He is the person most likely to hear, “I found this hotel...but it's a little more than we planned.”
Kim
My cousin, frequent travel partner, and partner in questionable photo decisions. We share a similar sense of humor—which may explain the troll photos—and somehow manage to entertain ourselves no matter where we are. We love exploring, taking ridiculous pictures, laughing at things no one else would understand, and creating the kind of travel memories that get funnier every time we talk about them.
Joleen
My cousin and fellow adventurer who is always up for seeing somewhere new and checking another experience off the list. We’ve shared bucket-list moments, plenty of laughs, and some pretty great adventures along the way. She’s easy to travel with, ready to explore, and almost always willing to try something new. Except craft beer. She draws the line at craft beer. I guess Joleen even has her limits.
Family
They may be adults, but family vacations have a magical way of making everyone 12 again—different opinions, sibling bickering, plenty of negotiating, and an impressive ability to annoy each other no matter where we are. Between all of that, there are plenty of laughs, inside jokes, and memories being made, and somehow they’re still some of my favorite people to travel with.
Cousins & Friends
Because sometimes the best travel plan starts with, “Wouldn't it be fun if we all...”
I've taken some pretty great trips with different combinations of cousins and friends over the years. Put the right group together, pick somewhere we all want to go, and there's a pretty good chance we're going to come home with a lot of pictures, a few inside jokes, and at least one story that gets better every time we tell it.