How To Travel With Your Partner – 10 Top Tips For Couples

Last Updated on 13th March 2023

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Are you planning your first trip with your significant other? Perhaps you’ve travelled numerous times with your partner but it’s never gone quite as smoothly as you anticipated. If you’re looking for advice and top tips on how to travel with your partner, I’ve got just the post for you!

My boyfriend and I have been travelling together for over six years and in that time, we’ve visited more than 40 countries together, with several huge trips during that time as well. From an 11-month backpacking trip in New Zealand, Australia and Southeast Asia to a 3-month road trip across the USA to buying and self-converting our own campervan to travel around the UK, we’ve had more than our fair share of travel experiences as a couple!

With that said, I’d like to think I’ve got it pretty much nailed when it comes to travelling with your partner, including the dos and don’ts, how to keep your own sanity while in a relationship and travelling, plus what to do about splitting travel costs.

If you’re looking for tips on how to travel with your partner, check out my helpful guide below!

1. Have a (rough) itinerary – travel with your partner

Matt and I are very much spontaneous travellers nowadays, but that has come from many years of planned itineraries and following exact routes when it comes to planning trips.

If you’re only just beginning to travel with your partner, I’d highly recommend having an itinerary planned out for your trip. Even if you don’t stick to every single thing on the itinerary, having a rough plan for your travels can help things to run much smoother and it will take the stress out of deciding where to go each day, what to do and where to eat.

2. Assign each person a role suited to their talents

One of the things that Matt and I do so well is delegating tasks so that we both know our own responsibilities.

I’m good at putting together a rough idea of all the places that we should see and the top sights that we have to visit when in a particular place so I always take on this role. We then work together to put an itinerary together that we’re both happy with.

Planning a trip around each person’s qualities and talents helps things to run more efficiently and it will allow you both to put your best self forward to plan a holiday that you’re both sure to remember.

Being a good team is a key part of travelling as a couple and if you can learn to share the load and work together, all the while recognising your own talents and strengths, you’ll be absolutely golden when it comes to travelling as a couple.

3. Allow time for yourself

Travelling together should be a truly wonderful experience and you should return from your trip filled with the happiest memories but it’s no secret that spending 24/7 together could prove to be a little difficult, especially if you’re not used to spending that much time together.

Allocating some time for yourself while you’re travelling, whether that’s simply reading your book on your own or taking a nap while your partner is sitting by the pool, breaking up your time together (even the tiniest bit) can help to avoid any arguments and will also leave you feeling refreshed as you’ll be incredibly excited to take part in the next activity with your partner.

Travelling with your partner is all about balance and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for some alone time if you think it’ll do you both some good.

4. Communication is key

Whether you’re planning a one-week holiday or an extravagant one-year round-the-world trip, it’s fair to assume that there might be instances where you don’t quite see eye to eye with your partner, and my biggest piece of advice for counteracting those huge impending arguments is to simply talk it out.

Communication is the key to any relationship, regardless of whether you’re at home, on a short day trip or embarking on an epic trip around the world, and talking to your partner about how you feel is sure to take the burden off both your shoulders.

5. Decide on a travel budget and how you will pay for the trip

Money is one of the most common things that couples fight about so to try and avoid this argument while on holiday, you should discuss beforehand how you’re going to tackle the money situation.

Are you going to split everything exactly in half? Are you going to pay for one activity and then your partner will pay for the next one?

This is an important factor to consider when travelling with your partner as it will help to avoid unwanted arguments regarding whose turn it is to pay for something.

6. Make sure you know your partner as well as possible (and get to know them better as you go!)

You might think that you know everything there is to know about your partner but if you don’t know about some of their particular habits then you could be in for a shock once you touch down in your holiday destination.

The little quirks that you might have admired about your partner back at home will suddenly become very apparent once you’ve travelled together.

Is your partner unable to function without that first cup of coffee in the morning? Not so good if you’re staying somewhere self-catered where the closest coffee shop is a 20-minute walk away. Does your partner suddenly become incredibly irritable when they’re in the sun for too long? It might not be such a good idea to head to a sunny destination for your summer holiday…

Learning your partner’s daily habitats and determining the best place for a vacation as a couple is a surefire way to ensure your trip together is as successful as possible.

7. Have plenty of patience – travel with your partner

One of the top tips I can offer when it comes to travelling as a couple is to have plenty of patience.

It’s inevitable that you’ll have many opposing personality traits to your travel partner, so it’s important to just be patient, listen with open ears and try not to take everything too seriously.

8. Accept that you’ll have to share a bathroom

This one will apply the most if you don’t actually live with your partner because chances are you won’t actually have to share the bathroom with them, but once you’re on holiday all of that will change.

You’ll have to use the same space to shower, brush your teeth, and god forbid ~go to the toilet~ so you better get used to it pretty quickly because spending a full week away with your partner without going to the toilet is gonna get pretty painful pretty fast…

9. Compromise – travel with your partner

As well as communication, the art of compromise is another integral part of any successful relationship, both while in the comforts of your own home and while you’re travelling.

There are bound to be certain things that your partner wants to do that you really don’t want to but it’s imperative to find a good balance. You might want to spend an afternoon sunbathing on the beach but your partner might want to spend it hiking up a huge hill.

As long as you work out an itinerary then you should be able to fit both activities in and then you’ll both get to do what you want, with the help of a little compromise.

10. Have fun

The most important thing to remember when travelling with your partner is to have fun. Whether it’s your first holiday together or it’s the 50th time you’ve headed off on an adventure together, it’s incredibly important to remember to have fun.

Travelling can provide you with some of the most amazing times of your life so remember to just be patient and more lenient with things going wrong and you’re sure to have an incredibly successful trip with your partner.

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What are your best tips for travelling with a partner? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter at @imjustagirl_16.