Gearing up for your first major trip with your partner? You’ve most likely already been bombarded by helpful reminders about HOW MUCH A TRIP WILL REVEAL ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP/COMPATIBILITY, ETC ETC, so how about we skip all that, and cut right to the good stuff? Below are our 5 best tips for travelling a couple.
Be Prepared
Before you get to where you’re going, it’s IMPERATIVE that you plan, and pack appropriately to avoid a logistical nightmare down the line. Check and double check all equipment. Confirm all accommodations and rentals ahead of time. Pack more portable snacks than you think you’ll ever need. MOST IMPORTANTLY, to minimize the inevitable fights over directions, seriously consider loading your trip into your navigation system whenever possible.
Have Alone Time
Let’s face it, when you spend every waking moment with another person, especially while tackling new cultures and unexplored frontiers, there will be moments of tension. And that’s O.K.! When you travel with your partner, you’re finding each other’s limits, and patience is being tested in a major way – most likely before lunch. This is why it’s important to sneak away and get some time to yourself to decompress when you have a moment.
Take solo walk before breakfast to grab a coffee, or schedule an activity without your partner, or plan separate activities for an afternoon. Maybe you’re more of a museum person, and your partner prefers the beach. Indulge your individual interests and reunite in the evening with some new stories to share about your respective days and enjoy the renewed appreciation for each other.
Spoil Yourselves
Whether you’re camping in the outback or hotel-hopping in a cosmopolitan city, treating yourselves to a night or two of luxury (whatever that might look like for you, could be a hot shower, could be a night at a 5-star villa), can be profoundly restorative. Consider making the extra effort or shelling out a little more dough than you usually would for an especially memorable shared experience – you won’t regret it!
Push Each Other
Ever tried eating grasshopper? Why not right now!? Travelling provides a great opportunity to break out of your comfort zone and try new things that might scare us, or even just inconvenience us a little. For instance, maybe you like to sleep in, but when your other half suggests a great spot to watch the sunrise at 5:30am, join them! Maybe you’re more of a hiker than your partner is, and they are quick to dismiss the idea of a long nature walk. Push them to try something new and join you! Shared experiences like this will bring you closer together.
Document Everything
Take a personal journal with you and sit down in quiet moments to write about the highlights (and lowlights?) of your experiences. What new things are you seeing/tasting/smelling/discovering today? These entries will make for great memories later on, and can be a lot of fun to look back on as a couple. Lastly, you can never take too many photos. So pack your DSLR, your iPhone, your Polaroid camera, and be the annoying tourists who point and snap at e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g – you never know when you’ll be back again.
Bon Voyage!
