Experiencing new things together—places, food, art, culture, anything can help solidify the bond you have already created. Traveling together, sharing experiences, romantic moments, getting away from the daily grind—all of these things cause your brain to release the happy hormones.

But we’ve all heard disaster stories of couples who broke up in every country on their European trip or fought their way across the Caribbean islands. How do you keep your romantic rendezvous from being a trip of terror?

Set Your Expectations

Everyone envisions a romantic vacation with magical sunsets and earth-shattering sex, but setting expectations unrealistically high, leads to definite disappointment.

Together, discuss the plans of your trip and what you both want to get out of it. Compromise where you can, and carve out alone time where you can’t. 

  • You prefer the snowy mountains, but your partner wants a tropical paradise.
  • You like to plan out the itinerary, but your partner prefers to wander.
  • Your partner wants to relax, but you want to pack as many activities in as possible.
  • You want to wake up early and see the sights, but your partner is still hungover.
  • Your partner wants to get to the airport 3 hours early, but you’re TSA PreCheck.

How will you communicate with each other and navigate these challenges? Like most good things, if you do a little bit of work up-front before packing your bags, your trip is likely to go a lot smoother. 

You Can Learn a Lot by Traveling Together

When researching and preparing for this blog I read an article that said traveling together gives you a glimpse into what it would be like to live with the other person. This can be true to an extent, but I caution you to use this as your main frame of reference.

I know personally, I’m a neat freak. But when I’m on vacation, I’m an entirely different person. People often modify their behavior when they’re on vacation. They try new activities, eat exotic foods, drink more than usual, and some of us allow our suitcases to explode throughout the room. 

Traveling together is stressful, so think of this as an opportunity to see how your partner deals with discomfort and anxiety.

  • How does she handle it when things don’t go according to plan?
  • What does she do when the airline loses her luggage or you miss a flight?
  • How does she treat hotel staff, airline personnel, locals, etc.?
  • Does she get grumpy when she’s jet lagged and hungry?
  • How does she handle language barriers?
  • Is she flexible and patient or unmoving and demanding?

You can also learn things like what her routines look like; is she a morning or night person? How long does she take to get ready? Do you agree on the temperature in the room? These may sound like silly things, but ask any couple who has been married for decades and they’ll tell you the small things add up!