Why Everyone Should Travel With Their Significant Other

Five years ago, Dan and I visited New York City together. It was our very first trip as a couple and (luckily) an absolutely magical one. This year, we found ourselves celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the Big Apple once more. The return trip to New York found us fondly reminiscing about that initial trip as a couple—and how crucial it was for our relationship.

PHOTO: Traveling in New York City

I firmly believe that everyone should travel with their significant other when they believe the relationship is becoming serious. You don’t have to go far; even a weekend getaway can prove enlightening. Here are a few reasons why:

You’ll learn how you and your partner handle stressful situations

Even the most wonderful of trips don’t go completely according to plan. Maybe you hit gridlock traffic on your road trip. Maybe you get hopelessly lost in a new city. Or maybe you can’t handle the crowds, queues and chaos. Whatever the case, something is bound to happen that stresses you out. But the important part is not what makes you tick, but rather how you handle the stress — and then solve the situation.

PHOTO: When the destination doesn’t look anything like the postcard

It takes practice, but Dan and I have now learned that the easiest way we can avoid extra stress on the road and our relationship is by avoiding becoming “hangry,” or becoming angry because we’re hungry. For us, that means carrying snacks or looking for great restaurants before we’re starving. It also means sometimes allowing the other person to get “hangry,” and not turning a bit of a bad mood into a full-blown argument.

Finally, how you handle stress on the road is almost certainly a good revelation of how you’ll handle stressful situations at home. If you can still stand each other after a 10-hour flight delay, chances are you can take a lot of other stresses that life might throw at your relationship.

You’ll learn how you naturally split responsibilities

It takes a lot of work to plan a trip. There are the hotels, the tours, the restaurants — and that’s after you’ve already chosen the destination. Then once you arrive, it’s time to think about currency and tipping, directions and language, and so much more. That’s a lot of responsibility! If you’re traveling with your significant other, than you’re lucky enough to split up all that has to get done.

However, it’s not always that natural. Traveling together will reveal if one partner totally relies on the other, or if you each can share the weight equally. It might not happen all at once, and you might find your roles fluctuate. But the important part is that you’ll learn how you each support each other, and what tasks you naturally want to take over.

You’ll learn if you can be together all the time

I’m blessed to have many wonderful friends and family in my life, and I absolutely love to spend time with them. However, there are very few of them who I would actually like to travel with. That doesn’t mean I don’t absolutely adore them, but there are only a few people that I click with on a travel level. That’s partially because when you travel, you spend a lot of time with your travel companions. Sure, you might split up to do a bit of shopping or go to a different museum, but the vast majority of your time is spent together. Whether that’s sitting on a long and nauseating bus ride or wandering a romantic cobblestone alley in Europe, it’s a lot of time together.

PHOTO: Wandering through Macau

During those long hours together, you’ll also quickly learn heaps about your significant other; You’ll discover certain quirks and habits that you likely never knew your partner had. Traveling together will reveal if you adore or oath all those new things you are learning about each other.

You’ll create memories that last a lifetime

PHOTO: Riding Icelandic Horses

Of course the best part about traveling with your partner is that despite the good and the bad, you’ll create heaps of memories that will last a lifetime. Dan and I might not own a lot of material things, but we do possess countless memories together from our travels. We’ll never forget the treasured moments that we’ve created in thirty-some countries across four different continents—and that’s just the start of what we have planned!

At the end of the day, these memories mean more to us than all the riches of the world, and we know our travels together have made us a stronger couple as a result.