I’ve recently been traveling quite a lot with my boyfriend. We both share a love of going new places and heading to unexpected locales. We crave authentic experiences and love telling stories (that’s what happens when you’re both writers). However, traveling with your significant other is far different from traveling on your own. Here are a few tips if you are planning on heading out on the road with your SO and what you should be prepared for.
There will be frustrating times.
It’s inevitable that you will run into some moments where you end up missing your flight/bus/boat or you face a minor blunder that will affect your trip. It’s easy to blow up at the person you are traveling with, but remember that travel is sometimes just like that. We all make mistakes while we do it, and it’s often something that is easily fixable. There will be times that you might get angry with the person you’re traveling with, but the best thing to do is to keep a positive attitude and try not to blame it on him or her.
Have some time alone.
My boyfriend came to visit me in Italy for two weeks when I was living there. As exciting as it was to have him there, I made sure to continue to go to my Italian lessons on my own or to take a walk every now and then. It doesn’t matter how much you love the person you are with—after a while, you are going to get sick of him or her and it’s healthy to want a bit of space. Let him or her explore a bit while you rest or take a moment to leave him or her alone while you go out. These little moments away from each other can help a lot.
Document your experiences.
I am terrible at making sure that I take enough pictures of my journeys, but Daniel is great at reminding me to take a picture or two of us. He’s right—we’re going to want these memories later or at least to know that they are there (even if I never want to see them again, he might). I believe you should have the experience of traveling alone and with someone you care about. There’s an old saying that you shouldn’t think about keeping a romantic interest around unless you’ve traveled with them, and I heartily agree.
Have any tips for traveling with a significant other? Taken any memorable trips with someone you care about?
Keep wandering,
Image courtesy of Johnathan Nightingale.