Travel with new friends and build your emotional intelligence and sensitivity

Travelling with new friends? Here’s why you should do it! 

Are you thinking about travelling with a group of new friends? Or possibly joining a tour or group trip where you’ve only met online? 

It’s becoming more popular for online groups or influencers to arrange group trips. Maybe you joined a local Facebook paddling boarding group, and suddenly you’re signed up for a 5-day holiday paddle boarding in France with a group of people you barely know!

I know it can feel scary and crazy and intimidating (and your Nana is worried about you going away with strangers from the internet!). Still, it could also be the most incredible experience of your life!

Group trips with new friends can be liberating. 

My job as a travel writer means I’m regularly travelling with groups of new friends and people I’ve only just met. As much as I love travelling with my childhood BFFs, there’s something magical about travelling with new friends.

It’s liberating and exciting and makes every experience feel like a new adventure. It opens your eyes to different types of people, people you might not normally cross paths with in your everyday life. Or maybe it does the opposite and brings you together with like-minded people who make you feel like you belong.

Many of my best friends today were met through joining group travel experiences. I met my friend, Kate, during a group tour to India, where we shared a hotel room for three weeks! I was very nervous about sharing a room with a stranger for so long, but it bonded us like nothing else.

Nothing creates a friendship like the excitement of travelling and trying new things. The adrenaline and endorphins and constant joy that come with a new adventure. And, let’s be honest, sharing a bathroom with a stranger when you’ve both got Delhi Belly breaks down all the barriers and unites you as friends for life!

One of the nice things about travelling with new friends is that you really have nothing to lose. We’ve all heard horror stories about best friends travelling together and falling out over the silliest things and never talking again. At least with new friends, you don’t have the same pressures or worries!

Not only is travelling with new friends a lot of fun, but it also builds on vital skills we all need for everyday life.

Did you know that travelling with new friends builds your emotional intelligence and sensitivity? Emotional intelligence (or EQ as it’s referred to by psychologists) is your ability to understand emotions in yourself and others. When you’re aware of emotions, you can harness this intelligence. It’s an important (and often under-appreciated) skill that can benefit you in all areas of your life. 

You’ll get better at dealing with stressful situations and being in new environments. Travelling with new friends will also build confidence and self-belief. If you can travel with people you barely know, you can do anything, right!? 

So, what are you waiting for? Set up that group chat, get it booked and create memories!

Read more here:

Nostalgia, Starstruck and Inspired at Comic-Con

Becoming at One With Wilderness