Arguments with companions on holiday.

We recently had a holiday with friends. Their dog ate half MrA’s birthday cake.
Obviously my fault too.

I'm sure I've seen this post before.

We went away with close friends on a long weekend to Jersey. We both had 1 year olds. The other couple were usually much more active than us, long walks etc, so we prepared ourselves for an energetic time. Instead they wanted to sit on the beach all day. It was early spring and meant sitting wrapped in coats and blankets for the babies. We all lived by the sea at home so it was not a novelty.
We hardly spent any time with them but explored the island. Just goes to prove that you people are different on holiday than at home.

sodapop

Deja vu, have I read this post before ?

Me too, very strange

Well, I'm quite happy to travel with friends- the more the merrier! I'm quite easygoing, and happy to just go with the flow; if someone wants to go off on their own, fine with me, or if they want to stick together throughout, I'm fine with that too.

I would not want to travel with friends to be honest.
I'm pleased to share a villa with family though - so long as we all do our "own thing" in smaller groups whilst there. I wouldn't want to have to trail up to 20 people from place to place!

We can enjoy each others company at the villa but not be in each other's pockets.
Next year we are going to holiday in the UK with them all but not all under one roof!

Grammaretto - yes!

Sorry - want to add that my best holidays are with DD. We get on very well together, are happy to have quiet times when we don’t talk and we always make friends with fellow travellers.

I travel with a long term friend who was widowed a couple of years ago. We used to go away as a foursome so we have some experience of travelling together. We like to do the same things but she does rather rely on me to know where we are going. On the other hand, she goes to bed early and leaves me in the disco.

I stopped going on holiday with my sister after a couple of disasters.
Once she abandoned me in Paris when we had squabbled. We were teenagers and I was used to trailing after her so was suddenly left to use my basic French. I managed.

A few years later as young parents, we joined DSis, DBiL with their baby on a camping in France. DH our 2 DC (4,2) and DM.

It rained every day.

DM wanted to visit chateaux and wanted to be driven there.

DH wanted to to see other places he'd read about. Chocolate factory, brewery etc. I loved looking out local crafts and brought back a huge log basket which got in everyone's way.
I had taken my knitting which annoyed my DS. She refused to use disposable nappies so had to do hand washing everyday. This annoyed me.

The DC loved the campsites with all the play areas and quickly made pals.
The evenings were lovely. The men did the cooking and all that wine.

We never went with them again although DM tagged along with us or them.

Next month DS, DBiL and I are going to stay with DB &DSiL in Denmark for his birthday. (DH and DM have died)
I am bringing a friend. One of my DSons will be there, his DP and 12yr old.
Should I be worried? 🤣😂

I think the poster who said that some people are not really comfortable with their own company is correct. It you spend years as part of a partnership or family unit then you may feel incomplete without the other person/people around. Being a single means that you have to be a much stronger and more resillient person. You have to be able to entertain yourself and be comfortable with your inner thoughts.

One consolation of travelling with another person is that you have someone to eat with in the evening. Its also someone to share the responsibility if you need to leave the luggage to go to the loo, or queue etc. However I dont like the compromises I have had to make with other people in tow. I like to spend time wandering or just sitting people watching. Usually I do so much in the day that come evening I am quite happy to just have room service so I dont have to bother going out again. Or I bring back a snack to the hotel.

Last year after being recently widowed my sister in law suggested we went away together for a week.
It was a nightmare, I had to choose and book where we stayed and flights including assisted travel for her as she was waiting for a knee replacement. At the airport she was put in a wheelchair I had to manage both cases, then she sat in her wheelchair while I queued for food, then fetched her a magazine and water from the shop ( she can walk ok but because she had assisted travel didn’t like to).
At the resort she moaned to me about walking up a slight hill and a flight of steps to accommodation even though I had told her.
In restaurants and bars she always told me what she wanted and I had to order then organise bill and paying, we had a kitty each day for spending and I had to look after and manage it.
We were self catering and I had to do shopping while she rested on our balcony as she couldn’t manage the bags and walking up hill and steps.
The final straw was she chose the double room with large patio doors onto balcony and I had the small single at the back which had a window that opened onto outside stairs, she doesn’t like air con and had the patio doors open with a lovely sea breeze. I was nervous with stairs being outside so sweltered in my room.
I felt like her carer instead of friends on holiday. We didn’t argue though I frequently had to bite my tongue.
But it made me realise after over 40 years travelling with my husband or with my son or daughter I am not ready to travel with other people.

We have taken so many holidays with friends their children, and several times we have taken parents along, three generations no stressful days or rows.

I have been on holiday with just a friend, whilst the husbands had the children on several occasions, no problems.

We have just come back from an Easter break, 19 family members from 70’s to 4 yr olds, no arguments as we know each other inside out

Perhaps I am just easy going.

We did go on holiday with another couple who spent the whole time bickering - with each other!, deliberately baiting the other it got really irritating.

Frenchgalinspain

We have NEVER encountered such uglyness !!!!!!!!!!!

Care to expand? ( not literally obviously)

When I went on holidays with my closest girlfriends, aged 18/19/20ish, Italy and Spain, we did sometimes jostle each other for mirror space when we were doing our make up, a somewhat involved process back then. I'd say we'd get a bit irritated with each other, but not a fall out, well we're still all friends 50 years or so later.

I've had some good holidays with one of them and her husband when all our children were young and then just the four of us when we were free of children. No I can't think of a falling out I'm pleased to say.

We are thinking of going to Venice later on this year with an old school friend of DH and his wife. As we have there before we have said that each couple will do their own thing in the day, and meet up in the evening for dinner.

I holidayed with a close friend. She got very ratty and snapped that she wanted to go off on her own. Fair enough I wasn’t bothered. Good plan actually as we wanted to do different things. I had a great day. Just couldn’t understand why instead of getting ratty she didn’t just say 🤷‍♀️. We’ve since stopped being friends because she can’t be honest and straightforward. 🤷‍♀️ her loss.

We have NEVER encountered such uglyness !!!!!!!!!!!

It could work out quite well, if you know the friend well.
However, it could be disasterous when you do not know a friend´s friends ..

Taking advantage of someone´s language skills could become stressful. The way to prevent that from happening is to go on an English speaking tour recommended by the Hotel and researched & booked prior to travelling.

I have never travelled with 3 Ladies.

I travel with my husband or one or both of my twin daughters and we have encountered such uglyness !!

Sorry you experienced this.

This shows up the fact that some people cannot function on their own, but need someone to cling to. It isn't just on holidays that this situation occurs.

I went on a singles holiday once some years ago. All was going well to begin with, we are allocated a large table in the dining room so nobody was left out and there was a few organised excursions. The problem started when we had free time, I was quite happy to wander around on my own, browse shops, look at the architecture, relax in a cafe or restaurant, I'm sure you get my drift.
However, one person in particular would latch onto some unsuspecting individual and just completely change things; she didn't think it was right for anyone to sit alone in a cafe, look at the shops etc...........things simply HAD to be done HER way! "Oh, we can't possibly have lunch here, we don't want to look at that church, we aren't going in that museum", her overbearing behaviour was exhausting! And it wasn't just me who was subjected to her special treatment, she did the same thing with several others, even some of the men. I think many of us were glad when we flew home.

sodapop

Deja vu, have I read this post before ?

Yes, I was thinking that as well.

Deja vu, have I read this post before ?

My first ever visit to Paris with a friend was ruined by the fact that she searched every shop for a particular pair of red stiletto heeled shoes

We often took my mother-in-law on holiday with no problems.
However one year she was joining the ladies group that requires its members to have a red hat, and she expected all of us to trail round every shop that sold hats in the seaside town we were in.
Needless to say they were largely straw sun hats and none of them red 🙄
Eventually we had to tell her she was looking for something that didn't exist, and we weren't prepared to spend any more time on her search.