Who You Travel With Matters More Than Where You Go
People spend a lot of time stressing about destinations.
Flights. Hotels. Cities. Countries.
They’ll obsess over where they’re going—and completely ignore who they’re going with.
That’s backwards.
You can put yourself in the most incredible place in the world and still have a miserable trip if the dynamic is wrong.
A Quick Reality Check
Most people don’t travel alone.
They travel with friends, partners, siblings, coworkers.
That’s normal.
What’s not normal is pretending that everyone travels the same way—and then acting surprised when things go south.
Not All Friends Are Travel Friends
Here’s a truth that will save you a lot of frustration:
You can love someone and still travel terribly together.
That doesn’t make either of you wrong. It just means your rhythms don’t match.
Some people want:
Slow mornings
Sleeping in
Relaxing during the day
A strong nightlife focus
Others want:
Early starts
Movement
Exploring
Full days
Neither is better.
But pretending those differences don’t matter is how trips go sideways.
Why Marshall Is a Great Travel Buddy
Marshall comes up here for a reason.
He’s my best friend, and I also have the pleasure of working with him. We spend a lot of time together, which means we already know how each other operates. That matters when you’re traveling.
Marshall and I travel similarly in a lot of ways. We like to get up early. We like to move. We like to explore. We’d rather walk a city all day than sleep half of it away.
We’re active travelers. We want to see all the things and eat all the food and really get a feel for the place we are visiting.
That alignment makes things easy. No negotiations. No resentment. No dragging anyone along.
The way he travels mirrors how he works—consistent, disciplined, clear—and that’s exactly what I see every day at Marshall Bryan Studio.
And Then There’s Brad (Who Likes It Differently)
Now—enter Brad, Marshall’s husband.
Brad will join us for some things but…
Brad likes sleeping in.
Brad enjoys nightlife.
Brad is not trying to be up at dawn walking ten miles.
And that’s perfectly fine.
Here’s the important part:
No one is wrong in this scenario.
The reason the three of us travel well together is because there’s no pressure for everyone to do the same thing.
Compatibility Isn’t Sameness
Marshall is our bridge.
He enjoys the late nights AND the early mornings. He can do both. That means:
Brad can sleep in and enjoy evenings without feeling rushed
I can get up early and explore without dragging anyone along
Marshall moves between both worlds comfortably
so for us all there is:
No guilt.
No sulking.
No one feeling like a third wheel.
That’s not accidental. That’s alignment.
Traveling Together Doesn’t Mean Doing Everything Together
This is where people get it wrong.
Good travel companions don’t require constant togetherness.
They require mutual respect.
Everyone knows:
What they want
What they don’t
And that it’s okay to split up and regroup later
The best trips aren’t built on compromise for the sake of peace.
They’re built on understanding.
The Takeaway
Before you stress about where to go, ask yourself something more useful:
Who do I actually travel well with—and why?
The wrong companion can make a great place exhausting.
The right combination can make almost anywhere work.
That’s not about limiting your options.
That’s about setting yourself up to actually enjoy the experience.
And that’s the whole point.
BrB
My perfect travel companions….
Even with the right people, nothing happens until a decision is made. This is the moment most people get stuck:
Thinking About Traveling Isn’t Traveling.
