Occasionally family members will joke about going with me. I walk pretty darn fast and when I traveled to NYC with my aunt that was a major issue. Her being extremely overweight didn't help.

Funny thing is when I'm in a relationship and planning a trip I don't even consider asking them. The only time I've invited people throught a mass e-mail on a trip was to Italy for the winter olympics,I got one yes and he later backed out after I bought the plane and game tickets.
I've had a few people try to get on my journeys and after a long silence,I some how get out of the added company. I think they just want to get some pointers by tagging along. Talk about a potential slow down. No thanks.

Funny, my question is how to get the people I *want* to travel with to say yes. Oops, but that would be a different thread.

Suze - I've never been able to find a surefire solution to that question...

Not something I would do, but this might have some impact when trying to persuade someone- "I'll buy if you'll fly". Ya think?

You mean I have to pay for their entire vacation???

Oh ya, actually I *have* paid for expenses once for my cousin to come to Mexico with me (she doesn't have much $). She bought her own plane ticket, but I paid for the hotel and meals for both of us.

If someone showed an interest in going on my trip with me (who I actually wouldn't mind going with), I've told them that I'm already planning on paying for the hotel(s) and rental car and gas, so all they need to come up with is the airfare and spending money. Somehow they can never put together enough money for just that so they never go.

Solid strategy toed. Funny how that happens, huh?
As in any negotiation, it's best to know the answer before asking the question.

Well there have been other occasions where I would've liked the company,i.e. a convention or two. I gave the person a years noticed they'd always said they wanted to go and twice he couldn't go because he had no money. The second time I opted to pay for the bulk of the hotel. But he declined because I do that a lot,"pay". So I haven't been back to said convention in a while but I will.

Wow! I posted my question, left for Europe and now see that some of you have the same problem, others the opposite.

I really usually am honest, or fairly so, but I always still feel like a jerk. These are really nice people. People who want to travel and are afraid to venture by themselves. Many people feel that foreign travel is too scary to try without first going with someone who has done it before. It hasn't been a situation of sharing a room for economy's sake.

Am I difficult to travel with, yes, and no. I would bend over backwards to show a person a good trip and would, but I wouldn't be as happy as if I were doing only what I wanted to do. Most of my trips usually include Paris, yet I don't redo much. I could go to Paris every year and not repeat sites (except for the Eiffel Tower at night. Must always see that!).

Well, now that I'm back, I already have people suggesting that it would be so much fun the next time if they joined me. Yeah...right...

Cchotell,

If any of those folks want to go to Africa, and would enjoy early mornings and spending hours in the bush, send them my way. I'd be happy to share the cost of a vehicle with someone else.