How to make sure you’re on the same page before traveling together for the first time.
Traveling together makes couples almost as happy as saying 'I do' but before you jet off on your first trip together, ponder about your potentially-different travel routines. You might find you're extremely organised while your partner may be totally lax about everything. Just prepare for your personal routine to be thrown out the window when traveling together for the first time and we suggest avoiding anything that leads to higher stress levels and those pesky lover's quarrels - you don't want to be that couple bickering at the baggage claim.
The thing to remember is to respect one another's routines and travel expectations, always try to find a compromise. You're a team now, remember? So when it comes down to traveling together, here are a few things to hash out before you leave:
When it comes down to planning how you are getting to the airport, always have a back-up plan. Try to arrive two to three hours before your international flight. Don't call an 'Uber' car as close to your boarding flight time as possible, as nightmares like finding that you've left your IDs behind, really do happen to a lot of us, at least once. To make sure everything goes according to plan, sit your partner down and discuss a pre-flight time schedule.
Are you a spendthrift or a thrifty traveller? You need to talk about your holiday spending habits before you jump on that plane, make tour reservations and book your hotels in advance. Plan a mutual budget and attempt to stick to it, so that any add-ons won't cause unwanted tension but remember you're on holiday, so enjoy it and make full-use of that holiday/honeymoon fund!
You may be that organised first-rate traveller, where your schedule is promptly coordinated and confirmed down to the last detail with no room for error, and that may be just how you like it- which is great - unless your partner is the spontaneous, relaxed kind of person who'll go crazy if you restrict them to a rigid timeline. So spend a little time travel-planning together and figure out what works for you both. If you need to schedule a few things, stick to the dinner reservations at restaurants you're dying to try or tours you've been dreaming of. By doing this you'll leave yourselves open for some spontaneous fun too!
We all have those couch potato moments, lounging on the beach or poolside, enjoying breakfast in bed and spending afternoons at the spa but when you're travelling to far-flung destinations you need to have activity buffs, appealing to you, to get more bang for your buck! Don't forget to compromise and if you have to divide and conquer, be okay will flying solo for an activity or two- you don't have to do everything together!
