Posted on November 27, 2018 By Judy Tan Editor's Pick, Relationships, Travel

Traveling is a wonderful thing. Experiencing new places teaches you in ways books never can, and shows you how amazing our world is. However, sometimes traveling isn’t easy to do. Age and lack of companionship especially can make traveling hard.

Whether you’re figuring out how to get your aging father across the country for a family event, or want to go on a big trip for an anniversary but your partner’s recent fall is making it harder to manage daily activities, a travel companion can be a big help.  FirstLight and Travel Care & Logistics  offer professional travel caregiver services for those that need it. These caregivers can be big helps on trips, and offer assistance for things like:

• Flight ticketing and check in
• Carrying luggage
• Getting through security
• Bathing
• Hygiene
• Dressing
• Feeding
• Medication reminders

But what if you’re healthy and just want someone to travel with you for company? You’re in luck, because it’s never been easier to find a good travel partner. Use these tips to find the ideal travel companion for you and your trips:

• Figure Out Your Travel Style – The best travel partners are those that share traveling goals and styles. Therefore, in order to find a good travel partner, you need to first identify your style and goals. To do this, think about things like:
  • What kind of hotel rooms you like, from luxury to bargain hostels.
  • How you like to dine, be it Michelin star restaurants, local joints or even fast food.
  • How do you like to get around? Taxis? Public Transportation?
  • What’s your sightseeing style? Do you love museums, or are guided tours more your thing? Are you a wanderer, or do you prefer schedules and set plans?
• Ask Around – Once you know what you like, ask around your social circles for people that might want to travel with you, or might know someone who does. Referrals are always better than a cold start, and it’s easy to make a connection with someone if you have mutual friends or another specific connection.
• Travel Groups – If your unsuccessful with referrals, investigate local travel groups. These groups are always made up of people that love to travel, and are wonderful for meeting like-minded people. Thee groups are also great for getting new travel inspiration for places you might not have considered before. You can travel with individuals from the group, or the whole group at once. Its important to keep in mind, though, that booking for large groups is more time consuming and often more expensive.
• Online Forums – Another way to meet potential travel partners is through online forums. Sites like meetup.com help people connect for activities beyond travel, like dining or sports, while sites like TravelBuddies.com and Thorn Tree Forum are just for travel networking. There are even apps like Wingman that connect you with people landing in the same airports as you for last-minute companionship.

Who do you travel with and why? Share below! Keep an eye out for more travel tips and tricks in future articles.

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