Travelling Together: The Ultimate Relationship Test for Couples?
If you’re like me, your vacation experiences can vary greatly depending on your travel companions. You know what I mean: when you return to that amazing resort with some friends, or when you take your new sweetheart to re-explore that beautiful city. Why is it that travelling together can be the ultimate relationship test for couples??
No surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them @MarkTwain Click To Tweet
Keep Travel Fun
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by trying to cram too much into any trip.
Step 1 is to keep travel simple! I have been guilty of trying to do too much, and my stress levels (and those of my wife) paid the price. This is vital on international trips, but can be just as important on weekend getaways.
Living in Toronto, Canada I am a short drive away from 2 amazing wine regions (Niagara and Prince Edward). Often we will take a day or two to visit wineries and sample their latest vintages. It’s VERY easy to get carried away, and you suddenly find yourself having visited 16 wineries and you can no longer distinguish between Chardonnay and Merlot! Seriously, we’ve done this … In my experience it’s much more gratifying to visit only a handful of wineries and make them count. Take a tour of the wine-making process at one winery; have lunch among the vines at another; do a wine-pairing exercise at a third. Take the time to chat with the winery staff, and make friends with your fellow tourists to get the most out of each experience.
Whether local or not, treat each destination as though you will return. This will help alleviate worries about choosing between annual festivals, and let you really enjoy the moment, together – and isn’t that what it’s really about?
Remain Calm
Travel can be stressful! Before we even leave we are running around wondering what to pack or if we really got a great deal. Just know that whatever you forgot can be replaced when you arrive. If you paid too much this trip, you’ll just make up for it next time.
Be prepared for your plans to fall apart! You will run into obstacles. If you let these setbacks get to you, it’ll quickly throw off your vacation and create an opportunity for a wedge to form between you and your travel partner.
My wife and I had one of those moments on our honeymoon, of all places. About halfway through our European honeymoon we had scheduled a travel-day, which required 3 train connections over over a 7-hour journey to board a relaxing river cruise – with a few hours to enjoy the departure city thrown in. We had the connections all mapped out, confirmed on the EuroRail website the night before, and were as prepared as possible when we arrived at the first train station that morning. All was going perfectly and we were high with excitement when suddenly we found ourselves stranded on a train platform in the middle of Germany, unable to find our final train on the posted schedule for that day (or any day for that matter)!
We spent a few panicked minutes trying to comprehend what was happening before regaining our composure and boarding a return train to our previous station (where there was an open Information Desk). After many phone calls, and navigating a slight language barrier, we managed to make 2 more train connections and arrive at our destination with (literally) 30 minutes to spare before our cruise departed. There were moments during this adventure that we both began to unravel, and more than a few tears were shed … but I believe our relationship grew stronger that day, and we were left with quite a story to share!
Learn More About Each Other
Travelling together is one of the best ways to REALLY get to know someone. You’ll likely see each other at your best …. and worst. You’ll have many opportunities to have fun, thought-provoking, or deeply insightful conversations. You’ll be plunged into circumstances that could challenge even the most seasoned traveller. And you’ll be left with incredible experiences!
Travel is a time when our “true-colours” come out to play. If we’re not ready for it, we may be very surprised by what we display to our partner – and what we find out about them. That cute way she twirls her hair when in thought can quickly want to make you shave her head when you’re dealing with uncooperative travel agents. His willingness to let you pick the restaurant you want to eat at can make you want to throw a slice of pizza at him if he doesn’t start chipping in on the travel plans. Personalities can clash, but if you focus on calmly working together, you can overcome any small obstacles.
I can almost guarantee that you’ll find some really great qualities that never had the opportunity to present themselves! Some of our personal favourites include an ability to turn being lost in a strange country into a romantic river walk; or witnessing an ability to have service professionals think it’s completely their idea to give us exactly what we were requesting.
You may just fall in love all over again! It sounds cheesy, but trust me … it happens all the time.
As with any journey, who you travel with can be more important than your destination Click To Tweet
So, is travelling together really the ultimate relationship test for couples? It definitely can be … and that goes for any relationship. Just keep in mind the reason you’re on vacation in the first place. Have fun. Remain calm. Use the opportunity to develop a deeper connection.
Travelling together can be one of the best areas of any relationship, so get out there and enjoy the world … together!
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Be sure to comment below and let me know what tips you have when you’re travelling together with someone you love!
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Great post! Traveling with better half can be great experience if two people are happy with each other. If nit than… 🙂
Couldn’t agree more Hrvoje!
Loved this post Bruce…
Always expect the unexpected…
Can’t wait to hang out with you and Julia in August in Austin!
Dr. Lisa
That’s a great moto to live by, especially when travelling. Austin won’t know what hit it when all of us arrive!
Great post. The first trip with your significant other is always an interesting experience!Thanks for sharing great relationship tips
Very true Collin – tells us vital info that we may not otherwise learn for many years
Nice post, Bruce! The few times our travels tested our relationship were due to cramming too much into one day, or only one of us knowing what the plan was. Even so, I wouldn’t change a thing about our fabulous European honeymoon 🙂
It’s always best when you can laugh about those moments later … provides for some great stories though!
I’ve been traveling with my husband for over 12 years and I believe it’s a true challenge of how strong your relationship is. So many things come up when traveling not to mention alone time. It’s a great way to learn about each other and your relationship. Love this! When I quit my job to travel around with him the joke I made around the office was “well, I’ll either decide never to come back to work or I’ll be back in 6 months, divorced!” Luckily it worked out!! LOL
LOL … i love that story Angela! And you’re so right 🙂
Yeah, I will still travel with my partner because travel really bonds you two together. But I still prefer to go solo.
It’s always to have a good mix of solo and partner travel 🙂
Great post ! I always travel with my husband but I know him for long time so I don’t discover anything new about him. Of course I do agree with a fact that it can be stressful sometimes but I would never change it for travelling solo! It just remind me this American TV show “amazing race” where new couples were travelling for the first time together and some gf them were fighting all the time so in that case you definelty see those true-colours:)
You’re so right Ada. That show definitely shows how stressful travel situations can quickly unravel or solidify a relationship
Definitely true!! I’m definitely guilty of trying to do “too much” and it only ends well when I’m with my best friend, Caitlin, who is on almost the same exact page as me when it comes to travel (a rare find!)….however when I travel with a boyfriend, I always find myself toning it down and making an easier itinerary. I have yet to find someone who can keep up with me though! 😀 I’m sure he’s out there somewhere lol.
I hope you find him soon Sydney! It’s always better to find someone who’s up to the task than toning yourself down
I don’t have a significant other, but I do think this can relate to just traveling with a friend too! All very good advice I’ll have to keep in mind!
This absolutely relates to any travel partner, thanks for pointing that out!
I never know Niagara is a wine region too! It is amazing how we want to fit so many activities like we might missed something and ended up running and racing to go everywhere. I certainly learn that with our cross country travel. Very good tips!
Niagara has amazing wines, you definitely need to come for a visit!
Great tips for travelling in a couple! My partner and I are travelling together full-time and we’ve certainly had our challenges although I’m convinced that our relationship is growing stronger and deeper too. Keeping it fun and remaining calm are very important!
Great added tips Michelle. An open mind and level head are vital.
Superb and a very detailed post. All i need now is a girlfriend with whom i can travel and use this post.
Thanks so much! Best of luck finding that girlfriend 🙂
Probably you’re right! I’ve not thought much about it but when I think of it now, traveling together, indeed brought us closer together! Yes, sometimes we get to see the ‘true colors’ or a very different side of our partner and its just so awesome!
You’re so right about finding different sides of our partners and growing closer as a result. Love that part!
Good topic! I have traveled a lot by myself when I wasn’t married, but I do enjoy traveling with my husband much more than that. If I now travel somewhere without him, I always think how I would like to share everything I experience with my family. We have traveled a lot together and it has only made as stronger as a couple.
So true! Every time we travel separately we’re in constant contact with updates about what we wish the other was there for
Travelling can definitely make or break a relationship. When we told people we were moving to England for 2 years they all went ‘are you sure that is a good idea? Have you travelled together?’ truth be told, our relationship thrives on travel. There is nothing more we want to do together but to travel. We are 11 years in and our relationship is doing amazingly.
So awesome to hear! Yes, many people share that worry when couples begin to travel, but travel can be an amazing thing to thrive on
Being primarily a solo traveler myself, i have done my share of traveling with others as well and i always recommend it to my friends too. I love the process to get to know each other regardless of how long you know the person before traveling together.
Those discoveries are some of the best, aren’t they!
I agree it’s a great idea to travel together to get to know someone regardless of how long you know eachother before that. Travel gives you many challenges and situation to deal with and you can really see how the other person handles it and ultimately shows what kind of person they are. I love it!
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No better way to really get to know someone, in my opinion
We always travel together as a couple. It is fun, it strengthens the relation as we spend time together in beautiful locations, enjoying ourselves, relaxed and away from the worries of the daily life. And we also learn more and more about each other with every passing day during our travels..
Learning about each other as you grow closer together with a stronger bond are some of the best feelings we’ve experienced too
To begin with, you are lucky when you have the time and money to travel as a couple. It is challenging to get a time off and enough savings to plan a trip where both of you are available. Travelling is one of the ways that can test your relationship with your partner. However, I know it is not the ‘ultimate’ one. There are still other factors to consider.
Very true, though we find that travel helps to accelerate the process. Regarding the cost and time required … we should definitely chat about how i can help you with that!
Awesome post! Although I wouldn’t have any experience or someone to practice these tips on hahahaa.
hahaha … luckily travel is just as amazing we when go solo and meet new people as we go
I don’t have a significant other, but I do think this can relate to just traveling with a friend too!
You’re absolutely right Johnson! Any travel partner can fit here 🙂
I don’t have a significant other, but I think this could be related to just traveling with a friend too!
100% Ricardo! You never really know someone until you travel with them … friends included