What To Do When Your Travel Buddy Is Annoying You? 5 Tips for Managing Conflict on Vacation

As a solo traveler by preference, I always have a moment of dread before any vacation with a partner or group of people. Will we get along? If something goes wrong, will we stay cool? Will we just want to ditch each other halfway through the week?

I’m more of a spontaneous traveler while my husband spends a crazy amount of time planning—I think he spends more hours planning trips than being on them. But even though we have different preferences for planning, we are lock-step when it comes to airports, navigation, and unexpected scenarios that might derail our plans. We even joke that couples should have to travel through an airport together before they decide their relationship has long-term potential.

But what do you do if you’re already on a vacation and find that you just…can’t get along with your travel buddy?

1. Eat Something

Travel disrupts your schedule in more ways than you might think. Even varying your meal times by an hour or two can make you cranky—and if you’re anything like me, having low blood sugar and a headache can make you snap at anyone and feel totally embarrassed about it later.

My husband and I go to theme parks pretty frequently, and I get hungry about 30 minutes after waking up in the morning – and I need something a little more substantial than a granola bar or chips. So I’ve started packing caprese sandwich fixings to toss together before we head out the door, and it has seriously been a lifesaver! I’m not vaguely annoyed that all we have are road trip snacks, and I don’t get increasingly annoyed because I’m now searching for better options instead of eating what I brought and kicking myself for not having prepared better for this.

So if you know you’re getting hungry and annoyed, let your travel buddy know! Rather than doing the “I’m fine, don’t worry about it” thing, do the “Let’s eat before I become a rampaging beast” thing. Or better yet, bring snacks that you really, really like for times you know you’re likely to get hangry.

• Love your theme parks? Check out this guide to family fun in Abu Dhabi, or a few of our stories about our favorite Disney park here, here, and here!

2. Get Some Sleep

If hunger doesn’t make you a snappy jerk, being tired almost certainly will. Crossing time zones or being on the road for a while can leave you worn out and cranky. Reading a map and navigating for hours can be exhausting, while sitting on a plane can dehydrate you. Catching even a half-hour of sleep can do wonders for your mood, and even keep you more alert and aware throughout the rest of the day.

Read our guide to finding the right accommodation options on the road – it covers everything from hostels to hotels, from vacation houses and long-stay hotels, and much more. If you’re traveling in the US, like a New England road trip, you might want to check out this Tide House Portsmouth vacation rental, where you’ll get a great night’s sleep in style.

3. Split Up For A Bit

Let’s say you’ve got your sleep, you’re eating well, and you’re hydrated. But you and your travel buddy just cannot click—you’re squabbling over your budget, your schedule, and all things large and small.

Splitting up—even for a little bit—can do wonders for both of you. Take an hour or a day if you need it to do your own thing, whether it’s exploring a new part of town or just relaxing for a while. Even the best of friends need a little breathing room once in a while. It might be an introvert thing, but I sometimes have to just tell whoever I’m traveling with that I need an hour in the dark to recharge. It’s not about them at all, and honestly it’s worked out super well to let them know before we travel that sometimes I need to go meditate for a bit, in a boring, quiet spot – if it happens that I need to spend some time apart from them (and really from everybody), it’s not so much of a surprise or a slap in the fact but more about my personal social battery.

4: Find Some Friends

If you’re climbing the walls and don’t want to go meditate, go the opposite way! Finding some fellow travelers, friendly expats, or a community event where you’ll be able to hang out and chat with locals can not only bring an amazing level of adventure to your trip, but they also can help take some of the pressure off of you and your travel buddy.

Think about it—if you’re at a party where you only know one person, your first instinct may be to hang out just with him at first. But, you’ll have to branch out and start talking to other people before both of you start to feel awkward and annoyed.

The same goes with travel. Before you and your travel buddy start to get that awkward, annoyed, obligated-to-one-another feeling, head out and start meeting some other amazing people. Just…you know, don’t use this time to gang up on your friend or vent all of your frustrations. Have fun and enjoy!

5. Talk Over A Beer (Or Coffee, Or Donuts…)

And finally, if something’s really bothering you, talk it out! Maybe your travel buddy has no idea what the issue is—or on the other hand, she has a few things she’d like to talk about as well.

It sounds totally daunting, but talking over a good drink may just end up being one of the best parts of your trip. You might walk away with some good laughs or even a valuable lesson—but you’ll never know unless you take that plunge!

About the Author

As the editor in chief of Frayed Passport, my goal is to help you build a lifestyle that lets you travel the world whenever you want and however long you want, and not worry about where your next paycheck will come from. I've been to 20+ countries and five continents, lived for years as a full-time digital nomad, and have worked completely remotely since 2015. If you would like to share your story with our community, or partner with Frayed Passport, get in touch with me at sarah@frayedpassport.com!

Featured image via Unsplash.