Vacation with friends without ruining the friendship

Agree on a destination and budget and be prepared to compromise are some of the ways you can ensure a smooth trip

- Paul Heng

My first trip overseas with a friend was taken before the Covid-19 pandemic. It started when my wife Jane urged me to plan for a trip to Bhutan with my good friend, Dr Mohan Kumar, as she was not keen to visit the Himalayan nation.

After years of travel with Jane and our family, the Bhutan trip in May 2019 was my first without her by my side.

I met Dr Kumar, who is from India and is now based in Phuket, a decade ago when he was working with a large British banking institution. I had visited his office in the hope of securing some coaching business.

He started off our first meeting with these words: "Paul, how can I help you to get some business from my bank?" No other potential client had been as forthcoming or helpful in all my years of managing my boutique firm. This was the beginning of our friendship.

Like me, many around the world are gravitating towards "friendcations".

Fifty per cent of people say they expect to travel with friends in the next 12 months, based on a 2022 survey of more than 10,000 people from 12 countries across the AsiaPacific region and the United States.

The survey was conducted by online travel agency Agoda and British-headquartered market research and data analytics firm YouGov.

Perhaps this attitude has something to do with the pandemic where, among many lessons, we have learnt not to take relationships for granted.

Yet, a good friend cautioned Jane and me that it was entirely possible that friends go away for a trip and return as enemies.

These words resonated with us. My wife and I cherish our friends, but there are a lot of things that can go wrong when you decide to travel together. This is especially true as we all have our own peculiarities, needs and wants.

After taking five vacations with friends to places such as Bhutan, Japan, Phuket and China, these are some tips I have learnt for a smooth trip.

1. AGREE ON A DESTINATION AND BUDGET