Why I Love Traveling with Friends

I love traveling with family and friends. Maki and I first discovered the joys of traveling with friends when we spent a long weekend in Charleston, SC with a few friends. We took over a bed and breakfast and enjoyed sightseeing, meals and hanging out.

Since then, nearly all of our trips have been with family and friends. We've been to Singapore, Thailand, Japan, Prague, Budapest, Cambodia, Vietnam and Alaska with nearly the same group of people and it's been a blast. Why do we do it?

First and foremost, it's a chance to spend a lot of time with our favorite people. Maki's parents live in Houston. When they visit us in VA, Maki and I are working, which means we see them at dinner time and on the weekends. During our week or two-week long trips, we get to spend good, quality time with mom and dad, and they get to see a lot of CJ. Same with my mom, who we see more often, but even then, it's nice to be able to enjoy sights and meals with mom. Our friends Jonathan and Tree live about 90 seconds away from us. But between work and the realities of living with a three-year old, we see them once a month, if we're lucky.

Second, traveling with friends means there is always someone to play with. Tonight, for example, CJ was exhausted and was down for the count by 4:30pm. I stayed with him since I was tired as well, while Maki hung out with others in the lobby and then went to dinner.

Third, we can use a divide and conquer strategy when it comes to tasks. At the airport, I changed money while Maki stayed with CJ and guarded the luggage. Then, while waiting for Jonathan and Tree, Maki and his dad went to get train tickets, while Maki's mom played with CJ, Kevin took a smoke break, and I stayed with the luggage.

We don't do everything together; Kevin often peels away from the group to take pictures. I am often breaking away with a girlfriend to shop. We establish general times to have breakfast, leave the hotel, and meet up at the end of the day. And since we all love food and are adventurous eaters, agreeing on a restaurant for lunch or dinner isn't complicated.