Arguments with companions on holiday.

Bit of a nightmare going to Beirut with my son. He wanted to bring his girlfriend and even though I had paid for her she was dying to get rid of me and spend time with him. I was not confident enough to venture out alone and they didn't surface before lunchtime. She didn't like the beach and on our bus trip she got drunk and danced with a strange Arab. My son was embarrassed but didn't stop her in case of trouble.Thank goodness he didn't marry that one!

Went to Florida and my friend brought her friend as we had 3 bedrooms. She was epileptic but didn't tell us and after a few days of not eating properly and behaving strangely she passed out on the flight home.She was taken to hospital and I went with her as she was not allowed to get our connecting flight until she got checked.
We then had to get a £30 taxi to the airport and get wheelchair assistance which I arranged.
When I asked her for her share of the cost she refused to give me anything or thank me for looking after her. Her reasoning was that her ticket had included all transfers and she didn't think she owed me anything.

Well done H! I like your style.

Thanks Z. I'm longing to go again but have to pay for this holiday first.

henetha

I didn't want to mention this before as I am careful about security. But now that I'm back I can mention it. - I've just returned from eleven days holiday in Menorca, - alone.
It was fine. I chatted to lots of people from all over the place.
I went out on buses to nearby places.
It's so nice to choose and not have to fit in with anyone doing daft things, like buying red shoes, as I mentioned !
I had Airport Assistance which is brilliant.

Good for you! That's great

Since I went to Florence with a friend (at the time I would have preferred Barcelona) never again. She hadn’t read up on the city, therefore didn’t know what she was looking at, had left her glasses at home and didn’t want to be out of the hotel before ….. well 9h was an unearthly hour. I said I really didn’t mind going out by myself and she could sit around all day, she swore at me.
I have since been to Barcelona, Lisbon, Seville etc. on my own, the only problem is being given the worst room in the hotel for the single person.

I didn't want to mention this before as I am careful about security. But now that I'm back I can mention it. - I've just returned from eleven days holiday in Menorca, - alone.
It was fine. I chatted to lots of people from all over the place.
I went out on buses to nearby places.
It's so nice to choose and not have to fit in with anyone doing daft things, like buying red shoes, as I mentioned !
I had Airport Assistance which is brilliant.

Think if you holiday with friends discuss before you go away we have worked it out a few times by saying if you want to do things on your own no problem can meet up later or tomorrow whatever😩

I'm similar to you, I like to go off alone & tell people that's what I do. I suppose I've been lucky that most folk understand. My one trip to Paris was on a uni trip with a friend, we ended up in a room of 4 of us ( pre mobile phones). I only spoke school French but managed getting us about easy enough, following maps & metro. I organised where we were going to go & on two occasions a couple of us wanted to go to a different place so we split into two groups and met up later for Dinner. On one occasion my friend said she didn't feel well & was going back to the hotel. The 3 of us went to dinner & got back pretty late in the evening. My friend moaned that we'd been too long & didn't think of her being on her own. I told her straight that she had decided to come back to the hotel & we were fine to carry on. At the time I had 3 small children at home with their Dad & was like a free bird. Nothing was going to stop me doing what I wanted to do. We didn't fall out and are still in touch occasionally. The other girls said if it wasn't for me they wouldn't have done half the stuff we did and that they had a fantastic time. To be fair they were great company and appreciated everything.
So I suppose it just depends on the company.
Personally I think you did exactly the right thing. I applaud anyone who has their own mind and doesn't suffer fools easily. Stuff em I say! Well done 👏

That was a nightmare trip for you - and also the triplets. Well, you warned them you’d venture out on your own - they didn’t listen.

I thought it was fine that your friend wanted to bring another as a pal when you said you’d strike out on your own… but I believe it was the Needy friend of the friend of making for bad dynamics. Too many people for me as a personal traveling group - then sign up for tour group travel!

I do go away with friends but we know each other well and so just go along with each other's peculiarities- isn't that part of it?

I would never fall out with friends on holiday or afterwards. I need them too much.

In my view there is nothing you can't do with a good friend, and all disputes can be settled over a meal and a glass of wine.

For those who do fall out I wonder how well you know them in the first place and why you chose them to go away with?

I'm very open , friendly and approachable -perhaps too available !
I have a mixture of friends of all ages , they are often foreign and not Christian like me .
I have a lot of Muslim friends .

I also have a lot of interests and hobbies .
I garden - people want plants and advice .
I draw and paint - that attracts people .
I also go to church and to church functions .
I do church flowers and this week I'm doing a tea party .
I can't walk down the road without people calling out hello .
It used to drive my quiet parents mad !
I don't do as much as I used to as my health isn't so great anymore .
It doesn't matter if you have a few friends as long as they are nice !

Esmay

My circle is wide I was illustrating as to why some friends would drive me mad on holiday .
And I expect that my interests-historical research ,photography, sketching would not be interesting to them either .

How do you get a wide circle please? Mine is more of a tiny triangle.

Sasta

Unless I’m married to them or have given birth to them, I’m not going away with anyone. I can manage a day out with a friend, and that’s about it.

Thats raised a chuckle in me!

I've had bad and good experiences of going on holiday with friends. When I was married and ds was very small, we went to Orkney with friends who also had a small boy. It was an unmitigated disaster. My friend had recently discovered she was pregnant with her second child and was too exhausted to do anything. They kept trying to palm off their child onto us, wouldn't let us go anywhere alone and we're just not what we expected. We had all shared a flat as students and got along so well.
More recently my oldest friend and I went on holiday for a few days together. We were very mindful of each other and had a lovely time in Prague. We were planning our next trip when she became unwell and sadly died. I've never had the inclination to go away alone, but might this year.

My circle is wide I was illustrating as to why some friends would drive me mad on holiday .
And I expect that my interests-historical research ,photography, sketching would not be interesting to them either .

Widen you circle, sorry.

Esmay

I have lots of friends , but I wonder if I'd like to holiday with them .

Out of my closest friends recently I've decided that even a weekend away would not be enjoyable :

One likes to windowshop every day , stay in a cheap hotel , eat in the cheapest restaurants (English food only) and not visit any historical places ,because it's boring .

Another has to have the last word on every subject and keeps on repeating herself until you agree .

Another has one crisis after the other over her health and her endless phobias -she lists her illnesses repeatedly and she can't go on public transport . One minute she has claustrophobia then the next agoraphobia ...
I saw the last two friends recently and after an hour I felt really frazzled !

Time to when your circle Esmay.

Unless I’m married to them or have given birth to them, I’m not going away with anyone. I can manage a day out with a friend, and that’s about it.

We enjoy holidaying with other friends/couples. We tend to be quite easygoing, so will go along with plans. It's nice to have others to chat to, and to do sightseeing.

The only issues we have ever had is dining with one or two who happen to be either very fussy, or cheap. We know them well enough now to avoid dinner situations, or let the waiter know we want separate bills right at the start.

We do plan on a trip to Spain with another couple in September, and it will be 3 weeks! We have stayed on a boat together for 10 days, so are fine with them in close quarters, but dining out isn't something we have done very often. I'm looking forward to, it, but of course with a bit of trepidation regarding details of travel. There is no one in the group that is particularly strong willed.

I've had a few very happy long weekends with friends but each time we were attending a course either a craft or a language course. The language course was such fun last year, we are repeating it this year.

..

Not land based holidays but for over a decade we went on glorious annual nofly Caribbean cruises and on many occasions different friends would join us.

But we always sorted things out before we left, which was basically that we’d all do our own thing during the day and if we bumped into one another in the same place then all well and good.

We would book excursions without telling each other which ones so as not to influence each other - and again, if we were on the same excursion, absolutely great.

But we always spent the evenings together - dinner, show, quiz, late drinks in the Crow’s Nest.

It worked a treat. We never got bored ith each other and would be delighted each time we met up.

But, as I said, you do need to lay down the ground work beforehand.

..

I have lots of friends , but I wonder if I'd like to holiday with them .

Out of my closest friends recently I've decided that even a weekend away would not be enjoyable :

One likes to windowshop every day , stay in a cheap hotel , eat in the cheapest restaurants (English food only) and not visit any historical places ,because it's boring .

Another has to have the last word on every subject and keeps on repeating herself until you agree .

Another has one crisis after the other over her health and her endless phobias -she lists her illnesses repeatedly and she can't go on public transport . One minute she has claustrophobia then the next agoraphobia ...
I saw the last two friends recently and after an hour I felt really frazzled !

Always holiday alone. I can do what I want, when I want at my pace.
No problem dining alone, just people watching. So many couples dinig and hardly holding a conversation and others still using their phones.
Quite interesting!

These tales are why I travel alone! We always arranged to holiday at the same time as a group of friends from all over the country, and after the Bodach died I have continued to do so. We usually have one or two arranged meals which everybody goes to, but otherwise we just meet as and when, and it’s a small Spanish resort we go to.
When I tell people I’m going somewhere on my own, they often say,’ you’ll definitely meet up with someone’, and are puzzled when I say I don’t want to! I had a narrow escape in Paris last month when I had spoken to another solo diner one night, and ran into her in a church the next day. She was all for spending the day together, so I had to invent a chum I was going to meet and quickly jump into a taxi!