Travelling With Your Significant Other (so)

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Pazooh

Pazooh

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I think I've mentioned this before somewhere already, but not everyone probably saw it, so here it goes. I've recently began travelling, and mostly did it with my girlfriend. I honestly think that it made my explorations so much better. You just get to know the person when your camping under the stars or sightseeing in a foreign country.

I did travel alone a bit, and I like that as well, but I highly prefer travelling with my SO.

So, what about you guys?
 
I think one of the best ways to get the most out of a trip is through sharing the experience with someone. My girlfriend started coming on some trips with me after I went alone for quite a number of times. Our bond really got stronger as we both were learning new cultures and getting to meet new people and all that. What was even more interesting is how we started understanding each other more so lots of other things changed like communication and hanging out with her parents some weekends (which I really disliked before). Taking your partner is a sure winner.
 
Whenever I am on leisure trip I always take my family with me. Usually it will be in a group of other families and that is really a very pleasant experience. I believe it is too selfish to leave our families at home and enjoy ourselves. Our spouse, kids and parents have all the right to enjoy life. I really love to spend time with them on weekends and on leisure trips.

But when on official trips I need to travel alone and that is just boring. Its OK if we have our colleagues with us. Otherwise, traveling alone for me is a disaster.
 
The first time I got these feelings of boredom and just like something was missing was a 5 day trip to Cuba. It was amazing in terms of the scenery, culture and people but I was so alone. Especially when I went back to the hotel room after going on city tours with other visitors. I had no one to connect with. Even after I came back home and tried to create a picture of the architecture, nice old cars and how nice the Cuban people were, I just could not present an image that would bring them to understand of how exciting my trip was. Traveling alone is not always a best option.
 
arthnel said:
I think one of the best ways to get the most out of a trip is through sharing the experience with someone. My girlfriend started coming on some trips with me after I went alone for quite a number of times. Our bond really got stronger as we both were learning new cultures and getting to meet new people and all that. What was even more interesting is how we started understanding each other more so lots of other things changed like communication and hanging out with her parents some weekends (which I really disliked before). Taking your partner is a sure winner.
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Well put, that's exactly what I wanted to say. It's also pretty close to my experience.
It looks like it's a no-brainer to get your partner to go with you, if that's a possibility.

travelguide said:
Whenever I am on leisure trip I always take my family with me. Usually it will be in a group of other families and that is really a very pleasant experience. I believe it is too selfish to leave our families at home and enjoy ourselves. Our spouse, kids and parents have all the right to enjoy life. I really love to spend time with them on weekends and on leisure trips.

But when on official trips I need to travel alone and that is just boring. Its OK if we have our colleagues with us. Otherwise, traveling alone for me is a disaster.
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Agreed. Taking those who we care about (partners, kids, friends, family) usually rewards us with a far richer experience.

Wouldn't know about business travels, I'm not at that stage yet, haha! But I'm working towards it. I only know that it'd probably be sheer awesomeness to suit up and go fly first class, while drinking whisky, for example. One day, hopefully. :D
 
Well it's always good to hope. Keep on traveling how you can and if you keep that flying first class on your mind you're gonna get it. When you come to think of it, not all first class trips are really expensive. If you check out deals or try to find mileage brokers, you may just end up paying close to a regular fare for first class.
 
It all really depends, I think! I really feel that travel can put a lot of pressure on relatonships (it's stressful at times, it can require a whole lot of planning and so forth!) but I guess it's a good barometer as to whether the relationship will work long term or not. I mean, if you can get through a trip and still be happy to see each other at the end of it, that has to be a good sign! Plus, it's lovely to make memories with your significant other when you're visiting amazing places in the world!
 
The type of the tour actually determines the people accompanying you.

Many of my tours are work related, where it is either alone or sometimes with the colleagues.

However, if it is a planned family event, the significant other will always be there. Here, in India, all the family members are significant. So, if the tour is meant to spend a holiday together, there will be spouse, children, and the parents, as said by @travelguide .
 
I think travelling can be enjoyed both on your own and also with a partner. When I was younger I often went on holiday with just friends or sometimes on my own leaving my girlfriend as she was back then behind.

As we've got older, married and settled down we now travel together and enjoy each others company more. I find that experiencing new things together brings you both closer together as a couple and can help strengthen the relationship.
 
Travelling with your significant other can be very interesting and exciting, but that depends on how you and your significant other is. Some people are more adventurous than others, and when it comes to vacations, being adventurous is very important - that way you can maximize the experience you're getting on your vacation. So there's that. But yes, I agree, being with your partner can really enhance your trip. Personally I want to go on a vacation with my girlfriend at least once.
 
I am blessed in having an Indian-born wife, so naturally, travelling in India is wonderful when she accompanies me. All potential problems are effortlessly dealt with by her. In other parts of the World, noticably the US and Canada, we work together to ensure we know as much as possible what to expect from our time there. I'll be travelling to India alone early next year for the first time and I've warned my wife that she can expect frequent phone-calls from me as I learn to cope with India without her.
 
moondebi said:
However, if it is a planned family event, the significant other will always be there. Here, in India, all the family members are significant. So, if the tour is meant to spend a holiday together, there will be spouse, children, and the parents, as said by @travelguide .
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I think that is a very valid point that you brought into limelight. Family is an indispensable part of Indians and he/she will always consider family as an important element in holiday tours. But I think there can be exceptions too, but very few cases.

I believe this is true for foreign nationals too. It is evident from the words of @arthnel how much he is attached to his SO. So a trip with your your SO is always a pleasure trip. It is always better to share ideas and feelings together which will only strengthen emotional bonding.
 
amelia88 said:
It all really depends, I think! I really feel that travel can put a lot of pressure on relatonships (it's stressful at times, it can require a whole lot of planning and so forth!) but I guess it's a good barometer as to whether the relationship will work long term or not. I mean, if you can get through a trip and still be happy to see each other at the end of it, that has to be a good sign! Plus, it's lovely to make memories with your significant other when you're visiting amazing places in the world!
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One big difference I had with my girlfriend was that she was not as adventurous. So many issues arose whenever I went on a trip. She had issues with my time away from home and my time with friends (when they would go on the trip also). It was as if I was moving through life really fast and she couldn't keep up with all my exciting stories. So it was a good barometer test as to where we were. When she started traveling with me we started a different kind of bonding. The communication and most everything changed. I think she got a lot more opened to cultures and general life. It helped to bring us so much closer.
 
arthnel said:
One big difference I had with my girlfriend was that she was not as adventurous. So many issues arose whenever I went on a trip. She had issues with my time away from home and my time with friends (when they would go on the trip also). It was as if I was moving through life really fast and she couldn't keep up with all my exciting stories. So it was a good barometer test as to where we were. When she started traveling with me we started a different kind of bonding. The communication and most everything changed. I think she got a lot more opened to cultures and general life. It helped to bring us so much closer.
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That's awesome! I definitely feel like travel has the ability to do that - to strengthen relationships. It makes you rely on each other, and as much as someone's weaknesses can be emphasized when you travel, so can their strengths.
 
While I agree that travel can strengthen a relationship I also think it can expose weak ones too.

If you can't go travelling and get along with your partner then it might be time to question if they're the right partner for you in the first place.
 
Personally I like travelling alone, but having my boyfriend along isn't very different in terms of the pros I get from being by myself. I need to have people with me who are equally and similarly interested in the place that I'm visiting. I have earlier travelled to many places with a bunch of friends, and more often than not we ended up drinking and chatting in our hotel rooms all day and night. Not my idea of travelling at all. These experiences have put me totally off group travelling. But my boyfriend and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to travelling. The only issue with him is that he sleeps a lot! and that can get annoying at times, lol. Besides bickering over sleeping hours and missing a sunrise and stuff like that, I really love travelling with him.
 
I do all of my travelling with my daughter.I want her to experience all of the places that I get to experience. Ok suppose to be getting married next year, and I plan to add him on in our travel plans. I couldn't imagine having to travel alone.
 
knitmehere said:
I do all of my travelling with my daughter.I want her to experience all of the places that I get to experience. Ok suppose to be getting married next year, and I plan to add him on in our travel plans. I couldn't imagine having to travel alone.
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Maybe go travelling with your partner before you get married, just to make sure you get along well enough to get married in the first place, ha!

Me and my girlfriend have had countless arguments when we've been on holiday, nothing serious of course, just the small things like packing a suitcase wrong or forgetting to bring some essentials, things like that.
 
Traveling with your significant other should most definitely be fun. Just ensure you guys have the same interests or are willing to compromise on splitting the trip so both parties have fun.
 
I recently broke up with my girlfriend and I have to say I miss traveling with her the most. Every weekend we used to get in my car and I would just drive until we came across a nice scenery. We loved getting in touch with nature and the local people. Some old man shared some stories with us that still have me laughing to this day.
 
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