Recently, I came across a video by traveler influencer Ben Keenan, who shared the seven types of people he refuses to travel with, like people who sleep in, picky eaters, and people who can't stipulate a budget ahead of time.
It sparked a heated debate, with many agreeing, and disagreeing, and others chiming in with their own travel companion horror stories to add. So, I thought I'd ask the BuzzFeed Community to share the worst people to travel with from their experience. Here's what everyone had to say:
1. "When they want to be around you all the time on a friends trip. Like, I don’t want to be on the beach or at a bar all day. Don’t be offended when I want to nap or explore. We don’t need to be glued together the entire time."
2. "People who take FOREVER to get going in the morning (not because of a health issue, just because they have to check social media for an hour, or can't decide what to wear)."
3. "People who have no time management skills. They want to do 15 things in one day but spend excessive amounts of time at each activity, or just have unrealistic expectations of how long things take."
4. "People who don't contribute to the planning of the trip but get upset that the vacation doesn't include what they want. My mom is like this and when she gets upset, she will storm off away from the group without any idea of where she is going."
5. "You can't always see this ahead of time, but people who are chameleons. Long story short, I studied abroad for a semester in college with my 'best friend' and it was a disaster. I realized later that just as she had molded her personality to me and my interests to attach herself to anything I was a part of, she very quickly molded herself to fit with the 'cooler' students in our program and ditched me, complete with all of the classic mean girl behaviors. Needless to say, that was the end of our friendship."
6. "People who are insanely strict about scheduling. Things are going to come up that you will have no control over. You're on vacation, roll with it. Pick a few things that you absolutely want to do while you are there and then be flexible on the rest. There might be lines, traffic, closed events or places. Make the best of it."
7. "People who lack fun in general. When my family and I go visit my sister and her husband she plans all these fun things and it’s super exciting, but when my sister-in-laws visit them they like to go out to eat at a restaurant and then sit at home like they just usually do at home. Some people just aren’t meant for vacations and it shows."
8. "I went on a 10-day cruise with a recently divorced, single mom friend. We’ve been friends for years and have (what I thought) similar interests and standards. Boy was I wrong. It was like we were on a college spring break. Mind you I’m 35 and she’s early 40s. I’ve been riding the single wagon for years and once again she was back in the game, she went buck wild, making up for lost time. I had people I never met coming up to tell me she’s hooking up in the bathrooms, on the top deck, basically everywhere."
9. "My boyfriend and I went on a short trip to Hamburg in the winter with a couple that turned out to be really incompatible with our idea of a short vacation. They slept in, took forever to get ready, didn't pack suitable clothes for cold weather and couldn't walk around the city for longer than an hour before they needed a break."
"The worst part was that they insisted on doing everything together with us, so we couldn't really split up. We felt like we couldn't experience the city as much as we wanted to because we were being dragged down by two very lazy people."
—Anonymous
10. "I will never again travel with anyone who is obsessed with getting photos for social media. Every meal had to be photographed before we could touch it, the restaurant was picked for aesthetic rather than the food. Seemed like every 10 feet we had to stop so they could line up a good picture for their social media."
11. "The person who ruins the last day of the trip by focusing on the fact that it's the last day... 'Ugh tomorrow we have to go back to reality.' True, but not 'til tomorrow! Please don't ruin my last fun, relaxing day because of it ending tomorrow."
12. "I'm in my mid-30s and I went on a long and expensive vacation with a friend of over a decade this past winter. It wasn't apparent until we spent so much time in close contact how much little empathy or understanding she had for anyone outside of her bubble or experiences. It didn't make for the most enjoyable travel experience (she ended up being pretty dour and rigid and judgmental about everything from the kind of coffee I drank to the music I listened to), and our friendship hasn't really survived it given how different we've apparently grown to be."
—Anonymous
13. "OMG, people that don’t check the itinerary. When my friends and I do group trips, we collectively put a LOT of work into the itinerary. It includes everyone’s travel info and accommodations, miscellaneous need-to-know info, links to the activities we want to do, all types of stuff. And then there’s always people who come along and have questions, which are almost always answered if they just look at the itinerary."
14. "People who don't want to go out and explore and whine when you leave them behind. If you wanted a staycation then you should've stayed home but we're in a new city/state/country I plan to see things, eat good food, and have fun."
15. "People that just want to stay in the resort. If we travel to another country, I want to be able to explore, try new things, meet new people and discover what the country has to offer. It is hard to do so when the person you go with complains about the weather, the food, the accents, and just wants to stay in the pool eating pizza... Next time STAY HOME!"
16. "I travel to experience another culture, listen to another language and maybe learn another perspective. I do not want to deal with another American who constantly critiques the country we're in because 'That's not how we do it at home.' Homesickness happens, I feel it too, but hop off the pitty-potty and learn to enjoy a new experience!"
17. "People who complain about EVERYTHING. Like, you knew we were traveling to a concert, of course, there’s going to be lines and crowds of people and overpriced food and merch. That’s literally the foundation of a concert. 🙄"
18. "I planned a solo two-week, expensive trip from the US to visit friends in Australia. Last minute, another mutual friend wanted to come with me. I never thought to ask anyone because of the price, but I was thrilled to have a travel buddy! I soon realized that she didn't care about seeing any sights, or even ENJOYING anything. It'd be noon or 1 p.m. and I'd say, 'So what do you want to do for lunch?' And she'd say, 'I don't really need to eat.' Well, I DID. So I'd find a place, and she'd just go for a walk while I sat and ordered food. This happened for multiple meals. She'd just eat a granola bar from her purse randomly during the day."
"When I would suggest something cultural or interesting to do, her response was, 'If you want.' Then I'd say, 'Well, I'm happy to do what you want...?' And she'd just shrug. So I would pick what I wanted, and she'd walk around silently. I never saw her smile or enjoy herself. To this day, I'm not even sure why she wanted to go! I essentially DID travel solo — but had to worry about someone else and feeling weirdly guilty the whole time! 0/10 — would not recommend."
—Anonymous
What type of people do you prefer to travel? Who do you avoid? Let me know in the comments below.
Note some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.