Vacations are always supposed to be a fun and exciting time for everyone involved. You and your loved ones get to spend a few days together in interesting locales, filled with relaxation and merriment—until they’re not.

The unfortunate thing is that not every friend is meant to be with on a vacation. Vacations can be stressful, mainly because the process of preparing for one is often difficult. From getting plane tickets to booking hotels and arranging tours, a lot goes into planning a trip.

The last thing you need is to add people into the mix whose personalities make the process more difficult. And it’s unfortunate because sometimes, there are certain friends who might not be great in those situations.

When planning a vacation, here are a few traits or behaviors that you should absolutely look out for in your friends (and even yourself), which could indicate that the vacation will turn out great:

1. Financially Aligned With Intended Budget

Money can be one of the most stressful parts of a vacation, so you should ensure that the friends you bring along can fulfill their share of the expenses. An enjoyable vacation can be had on any budget, but just make sure that everyone in the group agrees on how much the vacation will cost.

Eliminate one of the major causes of fights on vacations by making sure that everyone you’re traveling with agrees on the spending and can pay their share on time or in advance.

2. Involved In Decision-Making

There’s a type of friend on vacation who will never have an opinion on the next activity and leaves the decision-making to everyone else. You might mistake them for your “go-with-the-flow” friends, who are great to have on vacation.

However, this specific type of friend forces someone else to make all the decisions and bear the mental load, which makes them seem disinterested. It’s even worse when these people have the nerve to criticize the actions taken, despite not participating in decision-making.

A good friend to have on vacation is one who shows commitment to the success of the trip and wants everyone to have fun by actively contributing. Having the initiative to take charge sometimes can also be a relief to your “organizer” friends.

3. Punctual And Considerate To The Plans

Despite “Filipino Time” being a prevalent norm of the culture, being late to everything should be avoided on vacation, especially when you’re trying to catch a plane or bus. A good vacation friend is considerate of the plans that have been made and does their best to stick to the schedule, ensuring that their friends’ hard work isn’t wasted. Naturally, it’s fine to have a little spontaneity sometimes.

4. Able To Compromise And Adapt

Of course, not everything will go according to plan on a vacation, and sometimes a little spontaneity is necessary. But this means that a prior plan might not follow through, and perhaps a certain activity a friend wanted might not be feasible. Don’t be the embarrassing friend who throws a tantrum in the middle of the street.

Things don’t always go as planned, and while it’s disappointing, it’s important to move on and make room for the excitement that spontaneous experiences might bring. A great vacation friend bounces back from setbacks and learns to have fun despite changes.

5. Empathetic And Level-Headed

As mentioned, planning a vacation can be stressful, and it can be even more stressful trying to ensure everything goes according to plan. So while on vacation, it’s best to keep the mood light and prevent stress from leading to petty arguments. It’s not to say that you can’t feel disappointed, angry, or sad while on vacation, but a vacation shouldn’t be about lashing out at your friends in a foreign country.

A good vacation friend appropriately voices their concerns in a professional manner, ensuring that their worries are addressed in a way that seeks solutions and doesn’t sow discord within the group.

Really, this is just a good trait of a friend overall, and technically all of these tips are. However, vacations arguably test the strength of friendships because it can be complex to ensure everyone is happy and having fun, especially when not everything goes according to plan.

Good “vacation” friends are kind, caring, empathetic, and proactive, and they should be the best kind of people to be with on a vacation. After all, a vacation is supposed to be a relaxing time for everybody, and it makes sense that a good friend to you, in general, is a good friend to have on vacation.