BY: ERICA SILVA
Travelling as a couple is more than just taking some time off. You’re travelling as an intimate unit; maybe because you want to reignite that spark, or rebuild a broken relationship, or maybe you just want to spend some quality time with your partner and take your relationship to the next level. Whatever your reasons, be ready to share all of your experiences with your better half.
It’s more than just seeing breath-taking sights together for the first time; its about creating memories and looking back on the time spent together and also preparing for the years to come.
Although you and your partner might have many similar interests, the biggest thing that makes couple-travel work is compromise. Give-and-take will not only allow your partner to experience something new but will also open your mind to another side of travel which you may not have experienced on your own.
- Sharing a Purpose and a Common Goal
You share a common goal of seeing and travelling the world as a team. The feeling of anticipation, sheer excitement, yearning for exploring new destinations and just committing yourselves to the unknown will bond the two of you, offering a reason to always be together no matter what.
- Sharing the Same Experiences
One of the most simple, yet amazing, reasons to travel as a couple is sharing and enjoying your adventures with each other, and being able to look back on those experiences when you are back home. The experience will last longer since you can always go back to it over and over again.
These types of experiences are far more valuable than material gifts bought or received. An expensive bracelet might be forgotten over time and that nice sweater you once loved now gathers dust in the closet, but the time you went camping together or got lost in a strange city will stay in your memory forever.
- Witnessing the Highs and Lows First-hand
Travelling long-term brings out the best and worst in people. The stresses and anxieties are magnified when you’re in a new place, unaware of the culture, getting lost in a new city and dealing with any language barriers.
Even so, nothing can be compared to the excitement and thrill of experiencing something unique and out-of-the ordinary. Having your partner by your side allows you to see them in a new light.
- So Much Time to Talk
According to a recent survey, couples who travel together agree more often and have fewer arguments than couples who spend a huge chunk of their lives establishing a basic, mundane routine at home.
When you’re travelling, there are so many opportunities to talk about everything and anything that comes to mind. Spending 18 hours in a van, crossing a meandering road in Alaska, for instance, might just have you and your partner explore your thoughts, dreams and worries.
You can also spend an extra day or two, pampering yourselves and relaxing. Get a full body massage and sip on some green tea, which has a host of health benefits. By the end of the journey, you are sure to have a better understanding of each other and where you want to go in life as a couple.
- Revealing Who You Really Are
Many times couples don’t get a chance to really connect with each other on a regular basis. This may be due to their tough work schedules or a number of other reasons. Eventually, over the years, it snuffs out the spark in a relationship.
Apart from the time to really connect with one another, travel gives you a chance to get to know one another. Whether he/she snores while asleep, prefers sunny side-up eggs for breakfast or drinks lemon in their tea, there is very little space for keeping secrets, even the annoying ones, which results in appreciating your better half for exactly who they are.
- Build your Sense of Humour
There are times on vacation when things tend to go downhill and you have to learn to laugh about it. One can’t possibly travel without turning up some casual humour here and there to lighten up a challenging situation.
Whether losing your map and getting lost or mixing up hotel rooms, something is bound to fizzle up along the way. But as long as you have someone beside you to laugh with, you’re good to go.
- Keeping the Romance
Exploring gorgeous sites and discovering new and mysterious places together as a couple goes beyond what you watch on cinema screens or read in a book. In reality, you experience the romance that comes out of spontaneity. Travelling is all about creating new experiences, taking risks and being in the moment.
- Save Some Green
When travelling solo all of your expenses including gas, hotel, etc. is up to you to cover. On a journey with your partner, however, you can split all of the expenses, cutting your total amount in half.
Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about buying extra food or supplies. Having a travel partner allows you to share everything, cutting down on individual costs and also on packing space.
- Live in the Moment and Be Free
Couples who don’t usually travel together might worry about the experience. While being captured by the trip itself, travelling as partners will give you the opportunity to relish in the freedom and independence that travelling provides, finding comfort in each other and learning new things about yourselves as a couple.
No matter how you look at it, travelling as a couple is a unique experience. It gives you a chance to spend some quality time with your better half. Since you are with someone 24/7, it presents new challenges to overcome together. The small moments of love and appreciation bonds you and brings you together as a couple; something special that both of you will share for years to come.
