By Tatiauna Miller

For many people planning vacations can be a difficult task from selecting the destination to saving money, which can feel like more trouble than its worth. I think “who” you go on vacation with and their vacation expectations is the unknown factor that can make or break a trip. You can have all the money in the world but if you’re going on vacation with the wrong person, it’s a disaster.

In my limited opinion, people fall into several vacationer categories (I like categorizing people):

First and most common is the Leisure vacationer…

This is the person that is on vacation to relax. This person is sleeping-in, lounging by the pool, dinner and drinks, massages, chatting at the lounge, the relaxation vacationer. These people believe that going on vacation is their time to unwind and decompress. These people may shop and do a few sightseeing trips but would rather just relax. This person does not pair well with the next vacationer.

The Vacation Warrior

This is the person that is trying to do everything there is to do on vacation in the least amount of time. This person is up at the crack of dawn, first in line at the buffet and ready for the adventure of the day. This person often needs a day to recover from their vacation because they spent the entire time on the go. I’m going to admit that this is me, I generally tend to feel that I’ve paid all this money to go visit somewhere I’m going to do the most and I can save the relaxing when I get home.

According to Tati, the next two vacationers are extremely annoying, we have the Party Vacationer and the Complainer. The Party Vacationer can seem amusing and exciting at first until their stupid ass gets too drunk. Either their sick as hell and now you’ve turned into nursemaid or they’ve embarrassed you at the resort pool (doing something crazy) and you and your friends are now shunned by all staff and guests. Party people are also the ones missing all night because they’re hooking up with the person at the concierge desk, who has a crazy spouse. The complainer is the worse! This person is never satisfied with anything on vacation. This person talks so much shit about every little thing on the trip that you already hate them before you even reach your destination. This person complains about the heat in a Caribbean county, complains about spicy food in Thailand or pissed about people not speaking English in a non-English speaking country.

This next person you feel bad for but secretly can’t stand, the “Unlucky” Vacationer. I don’t know if this person is just naïve about traveling or has a travel hex on them but this person has everything you hope to NOT happen on vacation happen to them. This is the lost luggage, stolen wallet, left by the cruise ship, injured on an excursion, lost for 5 hours in the largest city in Europe, type of vacationer. If you’re stuck with that person, you better bring your hero cape. On a trip with this person you’ve spent the entire time, providing damage control, reassuring backrubs, sharing your clothing and toiletries!

The most predictable is the “Scared” of everything vacationer. This person is literally scared of everything! Scared and suspicious of the resort guest across the hall. Scared of missing the flight so you’re 3 hours early, scared of the weather because that one cloud looks funny. Scared of the food, scared to swim, scared of wearing a bathing suit, scared to do anything! They scary ass in the room all day, looking worried. I wonder if this person has been on too many vacations with the “Unlucky vacationer”?

Now I know some of these things are out of our control but we know our loved ones and you’ve heard all their vacation stories, do some research there is a pattern here. I have a few friends I love dearly but I refuse to go on vacation with, I may even refuse to ride in the same vehicle with them just because of the reasons above. The most memorable vacations for me are with people that I’m “Vacationship” compatible with. Travel with a person that can be flexible, with an equal mix of leisure, warrior and party, that way you can do little bit of each thing and you’re not exhausted, hungover or bored.

Enjoy the summer!

Thanks for giving me your time! Have a beautiful day, laugh more and live more!

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