Fighting on holidays is one of those taboo topics. No one wants to admit it happens, but sadly, it’s a fact of life.
While indisputably fun, travelling is by nature stressful. There are things to be booked, budgets to stuck to, itineraries and times to be scheduled, not to mention queues and crowds to deal with.
With a lot of one on one time with your travel companion and more scope than usual for things to go wrong, it is seemingly inevitable for the proverbial poo to hit the fan at some point.
Here are five of the most common fights had on holidays. You may recognise a few, if not all of them, from your own adventures.
Where are the passports?
Someone probably put their passport in a really ‘smart’ place for safekeeping, but now they can’t remember where they put it. Or one of you has pulled out your passport only to realise you don’t have the required six months on it and now desperately need to get a new one. Perhaps you get to the airport in plenty of time, only to panic and rummage around to hopefully produce your passport … or not. The latter not only requires a mad car ride home and back, but probably ensures your travel companion will not be speaking to you for the next few days.
What time to leave for the airport?
Or train station, or any other form of transport you’re taking to your destination. I’ve had this one far too many times for it to be remotely amusing anymore; in fact it’s one of the reasons I like travelling solo. Undoubtedly, one of you wants to make the most of a sleep-in/last day/do anything but hang around an airport, whereas the other is erring on the side of caution and wants to be there well in advance in case anything goes wrong. My advice? Go separately!
Navigating
One of the main reasons the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus was written. There is nothing more frustrating than when you’re following someone’s directions and they get you lost. Except, perhaps, if you’ve asked them if they know where they’re going and they start yelling, and then get you lost. Taking turns navigating or both looking at the map prior to the journey is probably the best way to avoid this one.
Eating
‘Hangry’ is a real emotion. While, naturally, you and your travel companion may not always want to eat at the same time – or the same food. So, if one of you is really hungry, it’s best to just stop and eat, for everyone’s safety. Rather than fight over restaurants, take it in turns to pick. You can always tally up which restaurants were better at the end of the trip!
Flirting with the waiter/waitress
Clearly, this one is more common for couples – unless you’ve got two women or men fighting over the same member of the opposite sex. All too often you’ll be out at a restaurant or bar with your beloved companion only for them to take a shine to the waiter or waitress and, boom, world war three is in action. While, obviously, it’s best to take the high road and ignore it, the low road would be to do your own flirting with wait staff – or not tip them.
How many of these situations have you found yourself fighting over while on holiday? Do you have any more to add to the list?
Related articles:
How to avoid travel disasters
What not to do at airport security
Five good reasons to travel solo
