Travel Companion: Good Company for the Journey and the Stay

The most common version is a day trip: a morning train from Amsterdam Centraal, a meeting or a museum in another city, lunch and a stroll, and back by evening. Others combine a business stay in Rotterdam with company for the evening there and the train ride home together the next morning, or invite a companion along for a few days of meetings in Den Haag. Some guests simply like company for the transfer to an airport hotel at Schiphol, turning a long wait before an early flight into a pleasant evening.

Longer journeys, several days or trips further afield, are discussed individually. We will tell you plainly what is possible, and what is not, before anything is planned.

Send us the outline first: where you are going, the dates, how you are travelling and what your days look like. We come back with the companions who are available and suited to it, then work through the details together, including when and where she joins you, what she should pack for the occasions you have in mind and how her travel is arranged. Everything is written down in the WhatsApp conversation before departure, so both of you know exactly how the days will run.

• Destination, dates and the hotels you are staying in
• How you plan to travel, by train, car or plane
• Any dinners, events or dress codes along the way
• Time you would like to yourself for work or rest

Laura is adventurous, warm and full of energy, she skis, rides and has fallen for Italy on more than one journey, so a train timetable holds no fear for her. Nora is spirited and adventurous, with a designer's eye for fashion and a soft spot for champagne and flower markets, which makes her lovely company in an unfamiliar city. Laura and Nora are both among our athletic companions, happy to keep pace on a long day of exploring on foot.

Vanessa is sweet, curious and relaxed, learns languages for pleasure and loves discovering a place by bicycle. Samanta studies languages too, plays the violin and has a real passion for design hotels, which suits a trip that moves from one stylish lobby to the next.

A good trip needs rhythm. Build in some time apart during the day if you have work to do, and your companion will happily spend it exploring, reading or resting. Agree beforehand how to present her should you bump into colleagues or acquaintances, and she will follow your lead with complete discretion. Remember too that travel is tiring for both of you: an unhurried dinner and a good night's sleep do more for a trip than a packed schedule ever could.

Trains in the Netherlands are frequent and comfortable, and first class carriages are usually the quieter place for conversation. Keep tickets on your phone so nobody needs to search through a bag at the platform, and allow a little slack for connections on busy afternoons.

Most journeys begin from a hotel in the city, often in Amsterdam Centrum near the station, which keeps the first train easy. If you are arriving from abroad, a companion can also meet you once you have checked in, so the trip starts with a relaxed evening rather than a rushed departure. For company on a single night along the way, an overnight stay may be all you need.