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Finding the perfect travel companion is no easy task, as someone who has spent much of her travelling life going it solo, I can tell you it isn't easy to change your ways and pair up with someone. No doubt, solo travel has a huge impact on the individual and their experience, but there's something special about sharing every step of your adventures with someone special. Whether that someone is a friend, family or even a partner, there is something magical about being able to reminisce over that time you got lost in Sri Lanka or the car broke down in Australia. Those normally stressful moments become a hilarious story, they gain an almost romantic aspect when remembered together. But, no matter how rose-tinted those spectacles are, there is no denying that finding the perfect travel companion is tricky, it takes a lot of struggles along the way before you finally pin down the one.

But what makes the perfect travel companion? Well after three years of travelling solo, as part of a group, with a close friend and even a boyfriend, I've really learnt the type of person I can be around. Because travelling isn't always just an easy breezy holiday, sometimes it can be hard, exhausting, confusing and downright dramatic. Finding the perfect travel companion means finding someone who can handle you at your worst, not just at your best, someone who can help you plan and solve problems, someone who can laugh when things don't turn out right and someone who can make even the worst situations seem manageable. These souls are hard to find and when you manage to pin one down, you should do all you can to keep hold of them.How to find the perfect travel companion for every type of trip | Travel

How to find the perfect travel companion:

What's your travel style?

Start by thinking about your travel style - are you a backpacker or a luxury lover? Do you prefer hotels or hostels? Are you more likely to be found buying easy-to-prepare food in a supermarket or making reservations for a Michelin-starred restaurant? All of these things can really affect the sort of people you will consider travelling with - for instance you can't combine a 5* luxury lover with a budget backpacker - while they may learn a thing or two from each other it is more likely that one person will be miserable. Even combining a flashpacker with a backpacker on a serious budget may be tricky - so it's important to discuss budget with the person you are travelling with and to really understand each other's chosen travelling lifestyle. If your styles are different, are you willing to compromise?

What are your interests?

I love learning about culture and heritage when I visit new places, my boyfriend loves to surf. The one thing we really have in common is that we love to escape into nature through hiking and camping, and we love to eat out. It's more than okay for you to have different interests to the people you travel with, but it also really helps if you have some interests in common. By having some middle ground, it makes it easier to plan activities and travelling routes, but you can also still make time to indulge your individual pastimes. You don't have to spend every waking second together, but you do need to be willing to let each other enjoy your own passions and interests.

How to find the perfect travel companion for every type of trip | Travel

What's in your suitcase?

The way you pack can be very telling of the type of trip you are hoping to have. I always pack for long-term trips and usually into a backpack rather than a suitcase, I go for comfort with a hint of style and usually pack for summer. I would be a pretty bad combination if put together with someone who always packed for colder countries and preferred to pack his suits neatly into a case. It's important to be clear with each other before you leave what kind of trip you are both hoping for - you don't want to arrive with one suitcase full of cocktail dresses and a backpack full of hiking gear!

Where do you want to go?

You may choose a different travel companion depending on where you choose to go, for a shorter weekend away you may team up with a family member or a friend for some fun in a new city. But when planning a longer holiday you may choose to go with older friends who you have known for years. When it comes to a much longer trip, say backpacking around the world, it is vital that you choose to go with someone you know, trust and can rely on. Travelling with someone is pretty full on and you need to know that you can cope being around that person 24/7 if need be.


It's taken me three years of solo travel, but I've finally found someone who I can travel with long-term, we've already traveled half of Australia while living in a car together, we've backpacked across Sri Lanka and Thailand and now have plans to take on Europe. I never imagined that I might find someone I could travel with full-time but now I can't imagine travelling life without him by my side. Travelling alongside someone you love is such a different experience to travelling with friends or family, but each can be just incredible if you have the right people and the right destination. For those who might be searching for an elite travel companion, Bank Models offer an exclusive and international model introduction service aimed at successful professionals who enjoy the best things in life. This service could help line you up with your perfect VIP travel companion for your next trip.

Have you found the perfect travel companion? Where did you meet? What was your last trip together?

How to find the perfect travel companion for every type of trip | Travel

 

sleep1It might come as a surprise to some of you that me and the boyfriend don't live together after being together for such a long time - everyone seems to be moving in together at the moment! But actually, our living situation has enabled us to enjoy the best of both worlds. On my wage, I would have been seriously poor if I lived with him and would have had no life, but staying at my parents' house has given me an opportunity to save money while paying low rent and it gives me an easy way out of any contract when I go travelling. In Wolfy's case, he lives with a friend in a house that is owned and has been remodelled by his parents. Both quite independent people, we really like our own space so living apart has actually been quite nice, we have the option to see each other whenever we like, and the money I save on rent can also go towards us doing fun things together like all the festivals back in the summer.

Since moving out of his parent's house, Wolfy has lived in two homes and the first one, which he shared with two other boys, provided me with quite an experience. I know a lot of people who are in shared homes - some with couples and a few other friends, others are trios or groups of four - many find this is the only way they can afford to live out. So I know I'm not the only one who will have had some pretty hilarious and gross experiences in my time spent staying over at a shared house. I'm quite lucky that now Wolfy lives in a house with just the one friend it is kept really nice and clean, and that this house-mate knows not to just barge in when you're getting changed. But the old house did make for some rather entertaining times.

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20 experiences every girl has had while staying at her boyfriend's shared house

  1. Everyone has seen everyone naked. Not through choice, but it's just a bond most of you share. Particularly in a boys' house, willies are constantly on display and privacy is a thing of the past
  2. Never a moment's peace when you want a pee, someone always comes barging in or starts talking to you through the door
  3. There are mouldy plates everywhere - half eaten Dominoes/curries and nothing is ever clean if you want to cook
  4. Good luck actually trying to find a glass if you want a drink - most liquid is drunk out of glass bottles in this house
  5. Date night is a thing of the past and Friday's are spent partying with the house-mates and whoever else turns up
  6. A romantic meal for two becomes dinner for five - and that's if you can find a clean spot in the kitchen
  7. Things get really, really dirty before "the big clean up" which happens about once a month
  8. Farting. There's a lot of farting. And there's always one house-mate who doesn't understand the concept of personal space and likes to leave the door open when he's on the toilet.
  9. There's always someone about for a laugh, food and getting drunk, no matter what time of night it is
  10. Clean towels are a thing of the past, and you consider buying jelly shoes to wear in the shower
  11. Every time you try to have a quiet night in front of the TV, someone comes and changes the channel
  12. Starting to keep up with the boys because you spend so much time drinking and partying with them
  13. Everyone in the house has been caught in a compromising position - with no locks on the doors, everyone just seems to barge their way in!
  14. That moment when you sink to their level and eat something out of desperation despite it being seriously debatable how long it has sat in their house
  15. Realising quite how gross men can be when they are grouped together without a woman to clean up after them
  16. All those hilarious nights full of silly jokes and plenty of banter that left you in hysterics
  17. Everything in the house belonging to everyone - your booze is up for grabs to anyone passing through, but so is their food
  18. Having a place for the whole gang to meet up, have house parties and get together on any night of the week
  19. Really appreciating your own experience of living at home or with friends in a much cleaner girls' house
  20. Knowing that you've firmly grown out of shared housing

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Any classics you want to add to the list?

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