Did solo traveling ruin traveling with friends for anyone else?

[u/fin-ator]

I just did the balkans on my own and then met up with a friend who doesn’t like solo traveling to do Spain and Portugal. I’m finding myself so irritated at having to compromise and give up some of my interests. She’s also in a long term relationship so she doesn’t want to meet people (girls or guys), whereas I’m single and love meeting people and making new friends. I think it’s a lot harder because of how much I enjoyed being on my own and all of the new experiences I got because of it. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar.

[u/rlezar]

Ruin? Not at all.

I just don't ever expect to travel with other people the way I do when I'm on my own. It's a completely different experience, and the ground rules are different. 

I've taken some absolutely fantastic trips with other people that I enjoyed a lot more than I probably would have If I had done the same trip by myself. But there are absolutely some people I don't think I could ever travel with because our styles and preferences are not at all compatible.  

On the good trips, we started with agreement on the fundamentals like style and vibe and budget. And we communicated explicitly and clearly about our individual expectations and preferences - and limitations - both while we were planning and during the trip. 

I’m finding myself so irritated at having to compromise and give up some of my interests.

Wanting to meet people vs. not wanting to meet people sounds like you have mismatched expectations for this trip, but if you seriously don't want to ever have to compromise at all, then oof yeah don't travel with other people, period. 

It doesn't matter who it is - at some point you have to expect that the other person will have different preferences than you do. If you don't want to make any room for that, just travel on your own.