The original post: /r/travel by /u/kalarus10 on 2024-12-26 16:21:34.

Story time : We (my husband, my friend S, and I) went on a two-week-long vacation to Europe that I mostly planned and paid for. Because S didn’t want to pay for their own room, we ended up booking only Airbnbs. S complained about every bed, pillow, and temperature at each Airbnb. Mind you, I booked Airbnbs because S did not want to pay hotel prices.

S wanted to stop at every gift shop at every museum and every stall at more than 10 Christmas markets, then bought useless stuff. S didn’t carry a backpack, instead ended up putting everything in my backpack, including an umbrella and a water bottle. S would ask me to “hold” something for a second and not take it back at all. S also took very long to make up their mind and buy something, literally wasting so much time inside stores.

The second leg of the trip was planned so S could do some Europe shopping. S would try to dictate each day around the shop open/close times and locations. S also didn’t want us to leave them at the store by themselves, which my husband and I did anyway because we didn’t go to Europe to visit the mall. S also didn’t want to buy the roaming plan, which costs only $35, but bought stuff 200X that in shopping. Another issue was that S mentioned more than three times how little they’ve done during this trip compared to other trips they’d taken before. My husband and I like to take things slow, enjoy, and relax, and stay in one place for more than 2-3 days at a time. We also travel more than the average person. S’s take is that they’re on vacation to see things and they can do the relaxing at home. S also didn’t want rest days in between cz for S it’s a waste.

One day, my husband drove 5-6 hours, and at night S suggested leaving at 8:30 am the following day to explore. S didn’t drive; S mainly sat in the passenger seat because S felt “sick” in the back seat. S also went into a deep sleep while my husband drove and I sat in the back of the car. We said no to leaving early and said we would leave after 10:30 as we needed rest.

My husband is the perfect person to travel with, and adding others to it ruins my vacation expectations.

Lessons learned, 1-Take a rest day every 3-4 days.

2-plan your own stuff where you don’t have to do things together 24/7

3-Learn to say no

4-Understand some friends aren’t ideal travel companions.

5-Learn to be patient, different people have different travel styles.

6-Learn to compromise - though I had to skip a few places I wanted to visit because we had to go spend a long time at the mall.