Looking to travel as a couple for the first time? Check out our tips for traveling as a couple to make the trip as smooth as possible for you and your partner.
Traveling as a couple can be an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s the opportunity to experience amazing adventures with them and, through shared experiences, gives you the opportunity to grow closer together than ever. However, traveling with your partner can also lead to disagreements, fights, and resentment if not done correctly.
So to help you and your partner have the best time possible on your next trip, here are our top tips for traveling as a couple for the first time.
Talk About Expectations You Both Have for the Trip
What you might discover when talking to your partner is that one person might want to relax and unwind, while the other is itching to go on exciting daily adventures.
Discovering this type of difference when you’re on the road can lead to disappointment and even resentment that can ruin a trip, so it’s important to talk about it ahead of time so each of you can know what to expect.
Compromise is Key
Often when you are traveling with someone else, one person will take charge of the planning and do it all. But it’s important to keep your partner’s interests in mind when you’re planning your trip to make sure you both have fun.
Try creating a “must do” list for each person when planning your trip to try to get a little bit of both people’s lists in what you plan. Compromising a little for your partner will make them happy, which will make you happy, which will make for a better trip!
Be Open About Budgets
Make sure you are open and honest about costs ahead of time. Having a discussion about how you’ll pay for things will help you avoid any disagreements that could creep up while traveling.
The way we handle our travel budget is to have Ben pay for everything on his travel credit card so we can earn a lot of points and then I’ll just Venmo him back for roughly half of what the total cost of the trip was.
Ben doesn’t try to count up every single penny, but he’ll just give a rough estimation at the end of the trip for Rachel to pay back. If it’s a little off, no big deal. What goes around comes around.
Even if you don’t end up taking our strategy for budgeting, make sure you have a discussion with your partner ahead of time so that you are both on the same page.
Make a Plan for the Day, But Also Remember to Go with the Flow
Having a plan can help avoid a lot of stress along the way, but on the flip side of that, make sure not stick so rigidly to that plan that it gets stressful.
We always like to have a list of things we like to do during a day, but if we miss a bus for a tour, or see something else cooler that we would rather do, then we keep an open mind and just go with wherever the day takes us.
Ultimately, traveling is supposed to be an adventure, and some of my favorite moments have come from random or unexpected things that have happened along the way. So just embrace it.
Leave Room for Alone Time
When traveling for long periods of time, it’s important to allow each person to have some time to themselves occasionally if they want it. Travel can be overwhelming at times, so taking a break for quiet or alone time can help making future travel days better.
One good of example of alone time that we like to use a lot is our differences in sleeping habits. I like to wake up earlier and have a long breakfast with coffee and reading, maybe sometimes I’ll even go for a run. But it’s time for me to be quiet and think about the day to come. And Rachel is the opposite at night.
Moral of the story, you don’t need to spend every waking hour together just because you are traveling together. Alone time can be really healthy.
Pack Snacks for the Road
If you think you get hangry at home, then wait until you find yourself hangry when traveling. It’s like hanger x 100! (We’ve learned from experience lol). Well sometimes when traveling you can get stuck without a place for food anywhere near you, which can lead to some SERIOUS HANGER.
Have snacks prepared for just this type of situation can hold you over until the next time you can get food. Snacks are a must.
Embrace the “Couple”-yness
Travel is a time to slow down and connect or reconnect with your partner. Together you will experience all the incredible highs and the occasional lows of traveling.
Embrace the fact that you are traveling with your loved one and do things that you couldn’t do alone, like ordering food for two or more things for both of you to share, going on a romantic boat cruise, a romantic bonfire on the beach, and other couple-y stuff like that. Why not? Embrace it!
Use the Middle Seat Trick
When booking airline flights: try out the middle seat trick to get the whole airplane row to yourselves. Outside of COVID, when most airlines are reserving middle seats for social distancing, a helpful trick to get the whole row to yourselves is to book both the aisle and the window seat. There are many times where you will end up with the whole row to yourselves. Even if someone shows up to sit in the middle seat, you can always politely ask to switch with them so that you and your partner can sit together. It’s always worth a shot!
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