To Fast Walk or Slow Saunter
Navigating different paces when traveling in a group.
Being aware of travel pace is more important than it sounds. Differing travel paces without resolution can impact the trip and friendships; they can be a source of frustration and resentment.
If two friends go on a trip together with the expectation that they will see the sights and do local activities together, it quickly becomes frustrating during the trip when one person wants to spend a lot of time in the hotel, and the other doesn’t. Person one wants to take their time, but person two is anxious to go explore.
When you travel with friends, you may want to go on a tour, but they may not. You may want to go experience the city’s nightlife, but they may want to sleep instead. You may want to take a day trip to see a nearby city or country, but they may not.
This can quickly cause a rift because each person has invested a lot of time and money into this experience, which is not going as planned. People often feel like they are missing out or wasting their trip, which can hurt friendships.
Set Travel Pace Expectations
Setting expectations for travel pace is necessary for any trip with multiple travelers. Setting the following expectations have been helpful for our group:
Each person has the freedom to go at whatever pace they like because each person is paying for the experience.
Adopting the attitude ‘to each their own’.
The key is being independent and adaptable. Try to balance the time alone as well as the time you spend with the group while traveling. Leave the option open to meet up whenever they are ready. Most importantly, stay positive and keep a good attitude.
Identify Your Travel Pace
Everyone has their own way they like to travel. Some travelers sleep deeply and wake up late, whereas others like to start exploring the city at sunrise with 6 hours of sleep.
Look back on your trips, and identify your travel pace. Do you like to saunter, and explore leisurely with a relaxed schedule? Or do you prefer a strict schedule and many activities packed into one day? Do you like to explore at a quick pace but with a relaxed schedule?
Our Ideal Travel Pace
Embracing Spontaneity
We try to leave room for spontaneity when we travel, and some of our best memories have resulted from a lack of planning. We try to avoid excessive planning and restricted schedules. We also found that assigning one day for exploring, then the following day for relaxing (and so on) has been beneficial for our trips.
On the days we explore, we tend to get up at 6:00 AM to find local shops and sights. The rest of our group typically joins us between 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM. Sometimes they meet us at a breakfast place, and sometimes we bring pastries to them. We then start the day at our Airbnb or hotel as a group.
The Caveat
Embracing spontaneity is great, but there is a caveat. If you don’t plan enough, you’re stuck trying to find something to do during your trip and it can be hard to plan in the moment. You’ll need to find a balance. One thing that can help is coming up with more activities than you actually plan to do, so that you have extra options in case your plans suddenly change. Create a list of potential activities and places to eat, then prioritize your favorites. If there is downtime during your trips, you can visit the additional spots.
Our Spontaneous Experiences
Coming across interesting abandoned areas
Clubbing in Berlin in an abandoned underground terminal
Coming across stray kittens and beach dogs in the Dominican Republic
Coming across very interesting neighborhoods and architecture
Seeing wild foxes in Berlin in the middle of the city after nightfall
Finding a hidden bar and a disco club where we danced with the locals
Finding a cozy and bustling board game cafe in Copenhagen to get some hygge action
Coming across a family owned pork shop owned by an old race car driver who showed us his car
