10 Travel Tips for New Couples

A journey with your significant other can be a truly wonderful experience which benefits your relationship. In addition, it is also a good way to find out how strong your partnership is and what boundaries you have established. According to online dating statistics, it is impossible to avoid petty quarrels on a trip away – even with the closest of travel buddies. As a rule, the reasons for misunderstandings are often the same – even if you have met your ideal partner on a popular online dating site. 

Here are top 10 tips on how to avoid conflicts and irritation when you travel together. As they say, forewarned is forearmed.

1. Get to know your partner better

Popular wisdom says that relationships are born or die during travel. Traveling with a new partner can be a fascinating bonding experience or it can turn into torture when you realize that you are in the company of a person who is tremendously annoying and you cannot escape. New couples should try to live together before they travel since any difficult situation can become more complicated on a journey, when you are together round the clock.

2. Agree on a realistic budget

Money should not be a stumbling block when traveling together. When Pink Floyd sang that “money is the root of evil,” they knew what they were talking about. Nothing spoils the fun of traveling more than joint offenses due to the budget. So, it is worth discussing in beforehand, and, obviously, it should fit your lifestyle.

If you are really struggling to pay for this trip you may want to consider a personal loan for vacation. By borrowing money at a fixed interest rate, you can spread the cost of your trip on a more flexible timeline and avoid high-interest rates from travel credit cards. Additionally, there are a number of ways to save money on accommodation and transportation costs. For example, websites like Airbnb offer affordable alternatives to traditional hotels, and bus or train travel can often be cheaper than flying. 

3. Agree on how to share the costs

Healthy relationships are built on the art of compromise. Agree in advance on how you will share expenses to avoid bickering during the trip. If you are going to travel with a person with whom you have not reached the stage of the relationship of “what’s mine is yours,” it would be reasonable to discuss in advance who pays for what and how much.

4. Decide who takes the passports

Airport staff that work at check-in tell that partners often accuse each other, using the phrase, “You should have taken the passports!” New couples leave the important documents at home on the coffee table quite often. However, both are to blame – one who has forgotten, and another one who has not checked! Allocate responsibility to one person, but make sure you both check you have all the important documents before you head out.

5. Don’t look into the partner’s suitcase

Packing and repacking a suitcase is a troublesome and tedious activity. Everyone should consider not only the right number of things but also their total baggage weight. However, in the end, each of the partners is an adult who can independently cope with this task.

6. Don’t be jealous

New couples face jealousy on vacation quite often. You’ll both be meeting new people during your travels and the old green-eyed monster may rear its head. Usually, such fears are groundless. So, just relax and enjoy your time together.

7. Hang out apart

Just because you’re on vacation together, doesn’t mean you have to be joined at the hip. Spend some time separately doing things that you each enjoy and you’ll be that much more appreciative of each other’s company when you’re reunited. It’s a perfect way to miss each other and have more passionate sex later.

8. Do not be passive

When you say, “I don’t care, your choice,” you show that you don’t want to participate in the decision-making process. In the end, this behavior may continue after the vacation. This doesn’t mean that you must make all the decisions, but you can suggest ideas and discuss possible options.

9. Forget about social media

When you travel together, try to forget about all the social networks for a while. Enjoy your time with each other. Let the trip leave only pleasant and unforgettable memories.

10. Treat everything with humor

Don’t ruin the mood by getting upset about the small stuff.  Even the biggest setbacks can be resolved, and life will be much more pleasant if you laugh and enjoy the journey together. After all, the purpose of any travel is to relax and unwind to return back to “real life” feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.