Long-term travelers experience some amazing things: gorgeous landscapes, wild animals, and fascinating cultures. These are all things we expect and find in our travels.
What is surprising to us, though, is how many friends we are making along our journey and how deep some of these relationships can get in a short period of time.
This week we are saying goodbye to the last of our new friends from the Antarctica trip. Several of the passengers travel long-term like us, and we have been sharing a few adventures around Ushuaia since the end of the cruise.
Making good friendships on the road is much easier for a variety of reasons:
- Being away from the daily routine means you have more time to meet new people
- Sharing a great experience with a total stranger creates an instant bond
- Opening yourself up to new experiences naturally opens you up to new relationships, too
- Everyone is traveling on a budget with some kind of time restraint, so sharing stories and giving suggestions means making the most of your time and money. Travelers naturally talk about where they have been and where they want to go, and the odds are that someone around the table has been or know someone who has been to a certain place you want to go
- People are interesting, and hearing their stories adds layers of meaning to your own story
Photo courtesy of Sam Ross
The documentary A Map for Saturday talks about the “best friends for a day” phenomenon in long-term travel, which is spending short, intensive bursts of time with virtual strangers to see and do some amazing things before going your separate ways. We did not expect to experience this as much because we travel as a couple, but we are finding ourselves pleasantly surprised at being wrong.
So here’s to our latest new friends from the Gap Adventures Antarctica trip: We loved sharing this experience with you and getting to know you better on the hiking, camping, and dining excursions afterward. And for those of you on the path of our travels, we will see you again very soon.
Readers, have you made a great friendship on your travels?
About Betsy
LOVE this! I love making friends while traveling! This was never more clear as when I finished the 6-day Ciudad Perdida hike in Colombia and felt terrified at the thought of saying goodbye to the people who slept next to me in a hammock for five nights! We ended up all going out to dinner the following night for one last hurrah before parting ways
People are so interesting and everyone has a great story to share about how they got to this point…and you are right, travel totally provides you with the time to share those experiences!
Thanks for sharing
Kristin, it does make sense that you’d want to get to know the people you sleep with.
Seriously, though, those times late at night in your hammock/sleeping bag/dorm room, or while hiking along a quiet trail, or even in a noisy bar are always more fun when you can share them with new friends.
Making friends while traveling really is an interesting thing. Amy and I met a couple from Australia back in 2003 on our honeymoon in Scotland and we’ve been in touch ever since. We spent a few days this past fall visiting with them in Zurich.
I’m sure you guys will continue to forge new friendships on the next leg of your trip!
Brian, the odds of making friends with an Aussie while traveling are pretty good – those guys really travel the globe! Over 1/3 of the passengers on our Antarctica cruise were from Australia.
I love that you are still in contact with your travel friends 8 years after meeting them. There is just something about sharing those great experiences that makes for a pretty deep bond.
We have made some really fantastic friends on our journey – some I would even *ahem* say have become closer than friends we have had for YEARS. It’s SO nice to find like-minded people, who we share the same passions with. That’s not always possible in the life of cubicles and suburbs!!
Dalene, this goes along with my theory that meeting new people allows you to be *you* entirely. People who have known us for a long time often think of us as the way we were, not what we are. You need no more proof of this than how your family treats you (or you treat your family). I still think of my younger brothers as needing my help and guidance, even though they are fathers of almost-grown kids and functioning members of society. (sorry for all the unsolicited advice, Bo and Jeff; I’ll try to do better)
Meeting people means they get to know the you of right now, the self that all those experiences have resulted in, and it is refreshing to be seen that way. Old friends remind us of where we’ve been, and new friends remind us of how far we’ve come and where we are headed. Nice to have both kinds of people in your life (and to be that for others).
My husband and I have made several good friends on the road. We’re both fairly gregarious people and my hubby has a screamingly good sense of humor so between us we can chat up just about anyone, anytime, anyplace! Our favorites were people we met on a “can’t take the rain anymore” trip to Palm Springs a few years back where we met two couples- one from Victoria BC, one from Fargo ND. We keep in touch and actually went to see the Fargo couple last June. They were just as much fun and we met even more great people while we were there- which for us is one of the most important parts of travel.
Michelle, the other thing that’s great about meeting people on your travels is that you have the time and mental energy to pursue a friendship more aggressively than you may at home. And friends of friends? Now that is icing on the cake!
I am naturally a very shy individual so making friends on the trip was going to be a challenge for me. Or so I thought. I have made some amazing friends and had some amazing experiences that I will both remember and kind of remember(damn pisco). There have been many relationships where it was hard to say goodbye, even after only one day.
I think this is one of my favorite parts of the trip. Yes, the different cultures are amazing. Yes, the sights are breathtaking. But the relationships you create along the way make the trip. I’m finding my favorite cities are becoming those where I made the best relationships. You develop a kind of positive inference to that city because of that.
Once again, your guys’ insight speaks straight to me. Enjoy that amazing boat trip!
Corey, you nailed it about the positive inferences to locations based on the people you meet there. I think that is one of the reasons we weren’t crazy about Lima – we didn’t make any new friends because we rented an apartment instead of staying in a hostel, which made meeting other people harder. And we will likely take more Gap tours simply because the type of people they attract are interesting to us. It really is all about relationships along the way.
Looking forward to your take on Iguazu Falls!
Yes. Definitely. And we can’t wait to make more.
Pick us! Pick us!
When we travel alone, my husband and I meet people easily although but when we are with our kids, it’s a little more difficult because our kids (11, 14) aren’t as young as other travelling families (if they were, it might be easier because those families tend to pick out play/rest/eating areas for young children etc.). I find travelling with my older children makes us our own little ‘tour group’ but it does really bring us all closer together as a family and I’m definitely planning more trips because this stage they are at only lasts a short few years. At the same time, my husband and I try to get away alone as a couple because we do like to meet other travellers. Lots of travelling in our future I hope
Joanna, traveling with your own family also brings about an awareness of how each of us has grown, don’t you think? I see Warren differently now, and you probably find the same is true of traveling with your kids. It is just really great to be able to change the scenery every once in a while so you can look at everything with fresh eyes again. Your kids are lucky to have parents who want to show them the world.
Some of the best friendships I have made have been on the road…even people I met years ago I still keep in touch with! Making friends while traveling is great because those people understand more so about what you are doing than friends back home that think we are crazy for living as nomads. And last week, I had the pleasure of meeting Ayngelina from Bacon is Magic and I love her to pieces. She taught me so many new things, we got along great, and I am sure I will be keeping in touch with her for years to come. Love love meeting people on the road! Right now as I live in Cusco, my neighbor 2 blocks down is a dear friend I met in Puno 3 years ago and she is now one of my closest friends! The travel community rocks!
Mica, we were lucky to meet Ayngelina in Lima in February and you are right – she is terrific. And how great is it that you get to live near a friend you met 3 years ago in another city? I love the way that worked out for you.
A lot of my good friends have been made in travels and as life slowly takes us in different directions, many of my old friends (any myself) have now moved on to new places as well. My best friends live in Germany, New York City, San Diego, and Italy, respectively. And I just moved to Hong Kong. The best thing though is that the world opens us up to the possibilities of friendships all over the world. It’s wonderful!
It’s funny how you can make such immediate and intense friendships right away. Travel is a special thing.
I think it is actually one of the best things about travel. The feelings we have associated with particular places are always colored by the people and experiences we had while we were there. That’s why we’ll always be fond of pisco sours.
Yes I agree traveling is a great way to make new and lasting friendships, and how you remember places is usually associated wit the people you meet and share these new and exciting challenges with. You have so much in common at the time and it is good to share.