A Wanderer’s Guide to Traveling With Your Best Friend, Part 1 CheapOair Staff February 16, 2018 Travel Tips You and your best friend have been dreaming of that adventure for years, and now it’s finally here. You scored that cheap flight to Frankfurt, London, or Tokyo. Regardless of your destination, you and your travel companion have a few butterflies at the prospect of finally jetsetting together. With excitement like this, what could possibly go wrong? Well, as any seasoned travel buddy can tell you, a lot of things can go wrong. While you’re spending this much time with your best friend and making important decisions together, you might get frustrated with each other from time to time. Fortunately, this two-part series will give you some tools to travel with your best friend and return home with a stronger relationship than ever before. Before Your Trip: Setting Expectations As with any trip, preparation is key when getting ready to travel with your best friend. Take these steps to set expectations before you even get on the plane: Agree to Disagree From the beginning, acknowledge that flying internationally might create some disagreements. And that’s okay. Talk to your friend and agree that you might have times when you argue or feel hostile, then come up with a solution to get through it. Communicate Your Travel Expectations This is especially important if you have never traveled together before. Talk about your travel styles and what you want to get out of your trip. This can increase understanding. Split Up Planning Tasks When preparing for your flight or making your travel budget, split tasks or collaborate. This enforces shared responsibility from the beginning, then you can carry this on into your trip. Have the Money Conversation About half of baby boomers said in a survey that they didn’t have any challenges while planning their trips, but 15% said that budgeting was the hardest. For millennials, this might be even more challenging. So, have this conversation with your friend early on. Keep an Open Mind From the beginning of your trip, remember that plans can change and your expectations might not be met every time. By having this mentality, you and your friend can keep an even head when things don’t go as planned. By setting expectations, you can get on your flight with conflict resolution tools and an open perspective. This sets you up for a harmonious trip. In the next portion of this series, you can learn more about keeping the peace after flying internationally and throughout your entire adventure.