Looking at photos of globetrotting couples on Instagram, most of us probably think that traveling with your partner is such a glamorous, romantic escape – and also how did they manage to get onto that Parisian rooftop with a balloon bouquet and family size picnic basket? We’re likely not thinking about the jetlagged and hangry squabbles happening on Day 3 when they can’t find any open restaurants and their feet hurt from walking around the Louvre for 3 hours. Traveling with your partner really can be an essential and amazing break from the day-to-day routine at home, and at the same time, it’s an eye-opening journey into discovering things about your relationship.
How You Deal With Stressful Situations Together
Getting lost in a foreign city when your phone is at 2%, misreading the platform signs and getting on the wrong train, your flight getting delayed so you have to Home Alone sprint to get your connection – just a few of the stress-inducing events destined to occur at some point if you travel together often. They’re like a litmus test that determines how well you can handle shitty situations together, particularly when you’re navigating new places, languages, and cultures while being out of your comfort zones.
How You Handle Being Together Constantly
You might spend a lot of time with your SO when you’re at home but your regular schedule always allows for time by yourself when you can watch the Great British Bake Off in peace. All those times at home that you were afraid of getting sick of each other? Traveling is togetherness on another level of anxiety. You’re eating, sleeping, walking, talking – all with your SO by your side for days and days. Your only reprieve of solitude might be when you use the bathroom or if you schedule a massage. Vacationing together will teach you how much alone time you both need to feel recharged while balancing your time together.
How You Compromise With Each Other
Start to finish, taking a trip together is a master class in compromise. There are big decisions to be made like your destination and accommodation and also so so many small decisions throughout the duration of your trip. Walk or taxi? Get up early or sleep in? Window, middle, or aisle seat? Where will we eat breakfast? Where will we eat lunch? What about dinner? You’ll both need to be flexible and willing to do things that you might not want to do but without sacrificing your own wants and needs. By the end of your trip together, you’ll either have passed Compromise 101 or failed miserably – either way, you’ll have a good idea of where your relationship is heading in the future.
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