“How do you know you’ll like the people?”
I hear this a lot when I tell people I’m traveling alone but joining an organized group.
The short answer is, I don’t, and chances are there will be at least one person who gets on my nerves. On the flipside, I’m sure I will annoy at least one person. That’s life. Not everyone will get along with everyone.
There’s an inherent risk in traveling with people you don’t know, but it doesn’t need to frighten you or keep you from taking a trip you want to take.
There are all kinds of people and when they travel together, the results can be a bit toxic. There’s the strong personality, the perpetually late person, the complainer, the one who doesn’t listen, the ugly American, and many more.
The key is not letting whomever gets on your nerves ruin your trip.
- Make a game of it. Play kind of internal drinking game with yourself. Whenever the particular person annoys you, drink, reward yourself a point, or something. Assign a prize you will get yourself when you earn a certain number of points. This way, instead of getting on your nerves, it becomes means to get something you want.
- Try to avoid the person. Don’t sit next to them at dinner or on the bus. This will minimize your interactions.
- Know your breaking point. I can only take so much of group-think before I snap. I now try to step away from the group for some me time before I reach this point.
- If the person is harming the group in any way, like by making the group late for next stops, say something to the tour guide. The guide can say something to the offender and try to stop the behavior.
- Learn from someone else’s actions. For example, if someone always complains, make a promise to yourself to be more accepting.
The biggest thing is to just try and relax and let things roll off your back. It’s your vacation and even though you can’t control everyone’s actions, you can control how you react to them.
What do you do to keep yourself sane when people in your travel group annoy you?
I tend to stay away from organized groups…I prefer to plan my own excursions if I am on a cruise or plan my own land tours. I am aware that I am more than a bit of a control freak, and I have learned that group tours aren’t the best environment for me. Be true to yourself and your needs…but I completely agree that if you are on a group tour, be as accommodating as possible. There has only been one time that I skipped an entire day of touring to avoid being with someone – that was my choice for my sanity (and she was definitely a special case – everyone had complained about her to the tour guides, and they weren’t able to do anything).