Why Travel with a friend or family member?

I think it’s more fun to have a companion even if you have different interests. You also have to think about safety these days. Safety in numbers means if you don’t show up one day or night someone will miss you.

I have traveled with my cousin to Cancun Mexico twice. It was a lot of fun, we have different interests, neither one of us are shy so we aren’t afraid to do things on our own. If you ARE shy or you have a phobia about venturing out on your own you probably want to go with someone who will do everything you want to and set it up ahead of time. We aren’t joined at the hip.

We booked our trips through a travel agency both times. It’s someone we like and she always does a good job for us. To find a good travel agent all you have to do is look them up and call and ask what their specialty is. They do specialize in different areas.

Our trips to Mexico were booked double occupancy, which is normal for a resort, and were all inclusive. All inclusive means that your airfare, from an international airport if traveling outside the USA, as well as your hotel accommodations, food and drinks are all included and free if you eat and drink at your resort. Your airfare to the international airport is extra of course.

The different resorts offer different cuisine and activities, some even add outside activities/excursions at a reduced price or a free full day activity. I’m an adventurer, my cousin likes to shop. Obviously we have different interests and sometimes thats a great thing!

When you choose a travel partner you need to ask yourself a few questions because unless you have a lot of money to burn you will share a room and bathroom. However you do this, the resort will be making the same amount of cash in the long run and once again you have to remember that a woman by herself could be a target for the weird and unusual. I would never travel alone.

Questions to ask yourself: Where do I want to go? What do I want to do when I get there? Is my friend willing to do the same things?

I was totally confused when I wanted to go snorkeling and my cousin said she didn’t like having her head under water. I had no idea about this before we got there. I’m a water baby and I suppose everybody is. She DID go snorkeling with me once the first time we went. I totally enjoyed myself and she was miserable the whole time. It wasn’t fair to her. I had no idea she couldn’t see ANYTHING without her glasses and she was unselfish enough not to tell me. We didn’t do our research well enough.

The rest of our excursions were fun for both of us, unless you count the Wal-Mart trip which I could have done without. We went to Tulum and other Mayan ruins and learned quite a bit. We went to Xel ha waterpark and swam with the dolphins and each got our pictures taken with two dolphins kissing us on ours cheeks.

We went to the big mall in Cancun and had fun buying Cuban cigars, which you can't bring home by the way. We shopped at street markets and ate on sidewalk cafes. We rode the bus and that was an adventure! We traveled up and down that part of Mexico and got to know a lot of wonderful local people.

On different occasions I went by myself to snorkel other locations and I met a lot of nice people and had a lot of fun. I can’t tell you what she did because that’s her story. Sometimes I would go out dancing by myself at the resort while she did other things. She didn’t like to dance like I did.

So to answer your question it depends entirely who you go with and how much you have in common. Sometimes it's just nice to take a nap under a palm tree so go with somebody that wont get angry about that.

Another time we booked a weekend in Riggins Idaho and did an all day rafting trip. That was a blast! We took my niece and a friend of my cousins too! It was so much fun that I would like to do a two day or even a week long trip. They provide your meals on nice sandy beaches and if over night, set up camp for you.

Whatever you decide to do just have fun!