What’s Your Travel ‘Dealbreaker’?

Not long ago I went for drinks with a few girlfriends and, of course, before too long we gave in to stereotype and turned the conversation to bad dates, bad ex-boyfriends, bad-boys in general. One friend told a story about a relationship that had been rolling along smoothly—until she suggested that the two of them visit Paris together. “I’ve been to Paris,” her soon-to-be ex said casually. “They have one in Vegas.”

Everyone has their own dealbreaker: that moment or action or statement that puts a relationship beyond salvation. (Nerve.com has even put together a series of personal essays on dealbreakers, so I know they must be real. And hip. And living in Park Slope.) For one acquaintance of mine, it was the idea that someone might prefer Aunt Jemima’s table syrup to the real straight-from-a-Vermont-maple stuff. For another, it was when her boyfriend saw a preview for “Ray” and was outraged that the producers had “stolen Stevie Wonder’s life story.” For a columnist I once read, it was cheese. “Can I really love a man who doesn’t love cheese?” she asked herself. (The answer was no.)

There are all sorts of stumbling blocks out there that can get in the way of our relations with other people. But my friend’s experience with the Vegas enthusiast leads me to believe that travel might be especially tricky. We put so much money into our travels, and the pressure to have a good time is so intense (thanks in part to our ever-shrinking vacations), that no one wants to risk having a trip spoiled by a lousy travel companion.

As for me? I almost walked away from someone who believed that “The Da Vinci Code” was an essential primer for a visit to the Louvre, but I ended up deciding that was something I could live with.

Is there something a friend or family member could do, say, or express a preference for, that would put them on your travel-buddy blacklist for life? What’s your travel dealbreaker?

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