How to pick a travel companion you won't hate at journey's end

Travelers give so much focus to finding the perfect hotel and the price of the overall vacation, but they sometimes neglect a very important factor: who they should take with them on the trip.

Stepping into that all-important psychological minefield is the Kindle edition of Vacation Rules, or 36 rules, actually, on how to choose a travel mate.

Co-authored by Rod Cuthbert, CEO of Rome2Rio and founder of Viator, and Sebastian Filep, a researcher on tourist behavior, Vacation Rules is a guidebook on inter-personal traveler relations.

For example, consider Rule 7: Who you go with matters more than where you go:

"At some points in our life -- when we’re young and single, or older and independent -- we can choose our travel companions; at others we can’t. If you are at a stage of your life when you can enjoy the luxury of choice, use it wisely: nothing enhances a trip more than the right companion, while nothing will spoil it faster than the wrong one.

 

"Imagine a vacation day with your proposed companion and weigh factors like your respective budgets, fitness levels, expectations, tastes, and temperaments before hitting the book button together. If your travel styles match, chances are you’ll have a great time. But there may be cases when you decide to keep a friendship safe at home, rather than sacrificing it on the road."

Cuthbert, who's logged a few kilometers on the road in his day, explains the idea behind the book:

The book is available on Amazon.