Travel companions for July-August 2026 – destination to be decided

Hello fellow travelers,

I live in Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany. I’m looking for one or more travel companions for summer 2026. I’m off work from July 11th to August 23rd. I’d like to spend a month or more abroad, backpacking and getting as close as possible to the local way of life to really soak up the culture.

Looking forward to figuring out the destination and planning the trip together! Nolwenn

Hi there! Greetings from Morbihan! What destination are you thinking of? I’d love to go to SPAIN—might seem "classic" to you. It’s been a good twenty years since I last went. Best, Christophe 🙂

Hello,

I’m in touch with someone I’m supposed to meet tomorrow. We’ve settled on Laos, so it’s got nothing to do with Spain. Sorry about that!

Nolwenn

Hi Nolwen! What a WONDERFUL trip "for you"!! And a BEAUTIFUL 2026, filled with stars in your eyes, amazed by the generosity of the people in a country (not necessarily an easy one).

Hi fellow travelers,

I’m still looking for one or more travel companions for summer 2026. The person I’d found can’t go anymore. We were planning to go to Laos—if anyone’s interested, we can stick with that destination (I’ve done a lot of research) or switch to another country.

See you soon to plan a trip

So, Laos!!! Is it a no-go?

No, it's still on, but we're only going as a pair now

Did you end up finding someone to go with you? How much did you manage to get the tickets for?

Yeah, I found a travel companion, but we still haven't bought the flight tickets because they're expensive right now

Cool...don’t wait too long to book the tickets before Trump starts another war somewhere. Otherwise, have a great trip!

Good evening Nolwenn,

It was pure chance that I logged in after such a long absence—maybe a decade-long dry spell. Earlier this afternoon, I was reminiscing about my "distant" memories of "distant" travels.

And the one I’d started planning but never finished. Unfortunately (old habit!), I never made it happen. Laos was the destination. That’s how I came across your post, and for a split second, I felt like I’d been teleported back to 2012.

For a moment, I even struggled to remember my username.

If my memory serves me right, I signed up in 2009, when I spontaneously took off for 8 days to the loud and bustling "Big Apple."

It was a huge culture shock—so much excess, that vibrant human mosaic with no equivalent anywhere else in the world. Too late; I was already hooked on this addiction that so many of you know: the travel bug!

As soon as I got back, I was hit with an insatiable wanderlust. I devoured guidebooks, maps, forums, lectures, and documentaries.

My thirst for travel was unquenchable, so the only option was to leave again.

"On the road again." That’s how I ended up relapsing in May 2010, heading to Indonesia for 2 months in backpacker mode. Public buses, family-run warungs, basic accommodation. Before any successful trip, I always buy a pocket Harrap’s to learn the most common words in "Bahasa Indonesia"—just enough to chat with locals when possible. Over 250 dialects in the most remote areas. Sometimes no electricity except at night, with noisy generators.

As I write these lines, words I thought I’d forgotten come rushing back from the depths of my mind, bubbling up like a spring. "Selamat Pagi," "Satu / Dua / Tiga," "Laba-laba," "Ikan Pasar," "Berapa," "Terima kasih," "Jalan-jalan," "Apakabar," and so many others.

I relapsed again in the fall of 2011 for a memorable 3-month road trip: Two guys, two girls, plus a sweet hitchhiker we dropped off in Chefchaouen (Morocco). I left Nantes to meet complete strangers for a journey into the unknown. A few quick messages exchanged behind a keyboard, a blurry (but far from artistic) photo to see the others’ faces, a phone call the night before to make sure it wasn’t a prank. That Sunday, September 16th, two 4x4s set off from near Lyon. Final destination: Togo—10,000 km of roads, tracks, and paths. Expected arrival: early December.

And then life, with all its twists and turns...

Even though I’d somewhat buried my love for adventure, tonight the urge is there, deep inside me. I’m alone, facing a wall I don’t know how to climb. Helpless, not sure how to get around it. I hope I’ll still be allowed to dream a little longer.

Mister P