If you’ve been in a committed relationship for a while, one of the essential things you can do is travel together at least once. This is important to do before you decide to make other serious decisions such as marriage, moving in or children.
Traveling together can provide insights that you need to determine where your relationship is and what you need to work on, before making decisions that will be hard to undo. Most people know that traveling can teach you a lot about the world.
It is commonly recommended that you travel alone at least once in your life to reflect and learn things about yourself. I’ve also found that traveling with your partner can also teach you a lot about yourself and your partner.
Here are some the lessons you will learn while traveling together:
Patience
Just know going in that like everything else in life: Your patience will be tested. From the moment, the idea to travel together is mentioned, until you return to your everyday living situation.
Everything between choosing travel dates, destination, and hotel, can give you a reason to not move past the planning phase. It is also worth noting that all the planning may become the responsibility of one person.
If this trip is important to you then it is ok to assume that responsibility. Just know that you may have to constantly check in with your partner to make sure they have everything taken care of before they travel. A checklist is the best thing to use for both parties.
Also, try using a calendar app that can send reminders to you and your partners. I know that iPhone and Google Calendar have apps that allow you to include (or tag) your partners to events and allows for notes to be added. This is supposed to be a fun time for both parties involved so take a deep breath and be open to suggestions and ideas.
Compromise
This may be the biggest lesson while traveling (and life!). It is very easy to get caught up in the idea of how your trip should be. If you find yourself getting lost in your vacation fantasy try and reel yourself back in.
The best way to make sure that both parties get what they want out of the trip. Be prepared to let go of some of the ideas you had for the trip because again not everyone has the same ideas for a trip. Some people are happy just staying at their hotel all day, enjoying whatever is on the property. While others like to plan activities and excursions to make sure they get the most out of their trip.
The best way to navigate is to make sure both parties communicate their desires and expectations for the trip. Once everything is out in the open you can plan accordingly. Making sure that there is time for both parties to have what they want.
This means that on some days you should be prepared to do what your partner wants and on some days your partner should be prepared to do what you want. Find as many fun activities for two as you can but also know that you may have to lay by the beach or pool for a day because it’s what your partner wants to do. Being able to compromise can also expose you to new things that you never tried before and you may like it.
Insight to your partner’s tendencies
This may be the firsthand look into your partner’s daily quirks and habits. During your travels, you will often find yourselves confined to tight spaces for hours at a time and you may find yourself realizing a lot of new things about your partner.
That can go either way, it may annoy you or make you like them more. This is also a good time to lead with your actions and show your partner how you live your daily life. If you are a person who is neat then make sure your area is neat if you are a punctual person then make sure you continue that behavior. You can only control yourself in general so don’t try to control your partner’s quirks. Keep your trip fun and light.
It is worth remembering that getting to your destination may add a lot of stressors that may trigger behavior or a response that would not be ordinary of your partner. We all know or at least have heard the hurdles and strain provided by TSA or airlines. Even driving to a destination brings its own challenges, like getting lost, car sickness etc. So try not to judge your partner harshly.
The most important thing to remember is that this trip should be used as a guideline to help you and your partner become a better couple.
image credit: [pixabay, everypixel.com]
