Whether you’re travelling with your spouse of 50-something years, or a new partner that you’ve only just moved in with, going on holiday with a significant other can be both exciting and downright frustrating. When travelling as a couple, there can come a time when the “spark” in your relationship starts to fizzle.
While exploring new cultures and travelling around the world, it‘s easy for your relationship to fall to the wayside or end up in a rut. Before you jet set around the world with your better half, here’s some things to think about to ensure you both come home with only great memories to share.
One of the most important aspects of any relationship is the level of open communication you have with each other, and the same goes when it comes to your travel plans. By communicating before and during your trip about what your expectations are, there is much less room for surprise and frustration. If you communicate what you each want from your holiday, then you’re likely be able to meet those expectations and have a great time while you’re at it.
Just because you’re travelling together doesn’t mean you have to spend each and every moment in each other’s pockets. Allocate time throughout your trip to spend away from each other, that way you give yourselves the opportunity to miss one another and tell stories about what you got up to that day. If you spend every waking moment together, then you’re much more likely to get on each other’s nerves by the end of the day.
Traveling as a couple can take its toll on each of you, and this tip is a key ingredient to success. If you have extra time in the city you‘re in, head out for the day and just act on a whim. Do activities you hadn’t considered before and try romantic dates like long walks, seeing a movie, or going bowling. Traveling doesn‘t always have to be about sightseeing, and you can spend time doing the normal things you did back home, too.
You and your partner are individuals, and that means you’re going to have individual wants and needs. That also means that not everything is going to go your or their way all the time. To keep the peace throughout your holiday, sometimes you have to bite your tongue and go with the flow. Just be sure to point out how understanding you’re being so they know that they owe you one down the track.
Travel should be a relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable experience from beginning to end, but sometimes things just don’t go according to plan. Instead of assuming that everything and everywhere will live up to your travel dreams, lower those expectations of being on holiday with your partner so anything great that does happen is just a bonus. If you expect to get along all day long throughout your trip, it’s going to come as a shock and you might decide that you’re not the best travel buddies after all. Lower those expectations and you’re sure to be surprised by how much fun you both have.
Doing activities that one or both of you have a fear of can bring you together and bond you. Sharing a fear and overcoming it will definitely bring the spark back and a sense of achievement for you both. Supporting your partner and giving them the encouragement they need to face their fears or overcoming them together is an instant bonding moment shared between the two of you and only strengthens your relationship.
Sometimes travel can be so busy. We can become so consumed by getting to places on time and making sure that we get the perfect photo, that we forget to relax and have fun. Be ok with things going wrong and have a laugh about it when it does. It’s the unpredictable elements of a holiday, and the moments that things don’t go to plan, that the best travel stories emerge.