As an African proverb goes, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Indeed, traveling together as a couple opens the new facets of life and helps you learn much more about yourself and about your significant other, as well as about the nature of your relationship.
After your first trip with your partner, you can answer such questions as, "Do you enjoy spending time together or are your better off alone or with someone else?", "Are you willing to compromise, or do you tend to take advantage of your partner and make them do something you want to do?", or "Are you ready to look after your significant other, or do you think that you don't have to attend to their needs?".
Answering these questions is extremely important for the future of your relationship, not only as a traveling couple but also as a couple in general. For this reason, it's so important for every couple, married or not, to travel together. It will either make their relationship stronger or help them realize that they aren't meant to be. It will show all strengths and weaknesses partners could've been hiding in their everyday routine life. And, in the long run, it will also create the lifelong memories that will be more important than you can even realize at the moment.
25 Stay Together: They Have Their Relationship Tested
A lot of people say that a trip taken together is the ultimate relationship test. Traveling shows your partner from a completely different side compared to what you're used to seeing while you live in your home country. It takes you out of the routine and places you into completely different circumstances. And it also helps you realize whether the person next to you is the one you'd want to spend the rest of your life with.
For this reason, traveling together is always good for couples. If they pass this test, their relationship becomes stronger. And if they don't...
24 Split Up: They Don't Pass the Test
If the couple doesn't pass their test during their vacation, they are likely to split up. However, even in this case, they shouldn't see anything negative about it. Yes, they are no longer together, but it only means that both of them are able to find the person, with whom the test will be passed.
But, of course, a break-up is always painful, even when it happens for the good. To prevent it from happening again in the future, it's important for both ex-partners to realize what led them to split-up.
23 Split Up: They Don't Think Through Their Budget
Budgeting is an important part of every trip. I'd even say that if you don't have your budget planned, it's better for you to stay at home and postpone your trip to a more favorable time. After all, without thinking through your financial situation, it's easy to find yourself without any money in the middle of your trip. It's bad when it happens with lone travelers, but it's another kind of "bad" when this problem occurs to a traveling couple.
In other words, to avoid splitting up due to a trip, it's good for both partners to understand their budget and make sure that they're on the same page with finances for traveling.
22 Split Up: They Meet Someone Else
Of course, one of the partners can meet someone else and fall in love no matter where they are, but let's admit that it's more likely that it'll happen, when they're on a vacation. They meet a lot of new people in the country they travel to and some of these people can turn out to have more in common with them than their current partner. Besides, we all know a lot of stories about holiday romances. They usually don't last a long time, but even in this case, they're able to make partners break up.
21 Split Up: They Choose Poorly
Bad choices often lead to tension and make people argue. Ugly situations can happen in this case, and if they happen in a foreign country, it makes things even worse. Did one of you take a wrong turn, due to misunderstanding the map? Did you fail to find a good place to eat or sleep? Or did you choose a wrong vacation spot altogether?
This kind of test is likely to show whether your relationship survives challenges or not. If you aren't able to find the right way together, probably this kind of relationship won't last.
20 Split Up: They Travel with Big Companies Only
Some couples feel good on a trip, but only when they travel with someone else. They like to gather a bunch of friends and go somewhere all together. Of course, sometimes it's a good idea to do so and it means a lot of fun. But in case a couple is only able to travel along with a few friends, most likely there is something wrong about their relationship. Can't they stay alone together for a long time? Are they trying to avoid talking about some problems? Sure, it's not always the case, but still, if a couple never travels alone together, it can mean that they have some issues.
19 Split Up: They Don't Spend Quality Time Together
How do some couples spend their vacations? Some of them don't let go of their gadgets and books, while others can't decide on places to visit together, due to the difference of their tastes. And, as a result, it turns out that they spend too little quality time together. In this situation, one can't even tell that they travel as a couple. They look more like two people living in one hotel room but having absolutely nothing in common. It's likely that this difference of interests will affect their relationship in the future, as well, so it won't take long for them to break up.
18 Split Up: They Don't Value Each Other's Personal Space
If spending too little time together on a trip is one extreme, then spending too much of it together is another. Sometimes, there is such a thing as getting too much of each other. Just think about it: you spend every minute together, live in the same room, and even hear what the other person is doing in the bathroom. Does even the thought of it scare you off? Then, perhaps, it's time to learn to value each other's personal space and spend at least some time alone during your trip. After all, having some time one-on-one with your thoughts is always useful.
17 Split Up: They Don't Pay Attention To Each Other's Needs
Unfortunately, not all couples take care of one another as hard as they should. They don't contribute enough to a relationship, thus making it less viable. And, if in their usual day-to-day life such things can be left unnoticed for the time being, during their trip the couple will have much bigger issues.
After all, if partners don't pay attention to each other's needs, they fail to compromise and make their vacation enjoyable for both parties. Isn't it something that can break a relationship?
16 Split Up: They See All Each Other's Flaws
Any trip (even a perfectly planned one) will be full of highs and lows. Something unexpected happens, some of the things don't go as planned, and your partner (or you) loses their mind over it all. Indeed, any vacation trip can show you the weak sides of your partner and make you see them in their worst mood. Besides, it'll also let you understand how you feel about these weaknesses and how you should behave to lift up their spirits, instead of making things worse. Do you think you aren't ready to put up with them? Then it's time to reflect on your relationship.
15 Split Up: They Grow in Opposite Directions
Traveling makes us all grow as personalities and it's wonderful when two partners grow together. But what if their trip makes them grow indifferent, if not opposite, directions? What if, for example, one of them becomes impressed by the life of poor people in India and decides to contribute to a foundation that helps them (or even settles on opening such a foundation themselves), while another one realizes that they don't want to live like that and decides that they have to make a lot of money to ensure the future for themselves and their kids? Both decisions are good, both are inspired by one and the same trip, but they are so different.
14 Split Up: They Have False Expectations
I'm not only talking about expectations concerning one another, but also about those concerning the place the couple is visiting and the whole trip in general. After all, so many things will go wrong. A flight can be delayed, the room you booked can look completely different to what you saw on the internet, and your vacation can be marred by crowds of other tourists.
How will you and your partner behave in these situations? Will you blame each other for what happened and will you work on the solutions together? If the former is the truth, then your relationship, probably, won't last.
13 Split Up: They Aren't Meant to Be
What does it mean, if two people traveling as a couple come up to a conclusion that they have nothing to talk about when they remain alone together? What if they can never find something both of them will enjoy doing? What if they don't spend enough time together, but hang out with their friends much more?
All of this can mean one very important thing: these two people just aren't meant to be together. And, in fact, it's good that they decided to travel as a couple because it made them see it clearly and open up a new opportunity to find a person, with whom this relationship test will be passed with success.
12 Stay Together: They Know Each Other Better
If people traveling as a couple pass their ultimate test, they learn a lot of new things about each other. Of course, in some stressful situations one of the partners can reveal their weaknesses, but in other cases, they can show their strengths. For example, during a moment of confusion one of the partners will remain calm and settle things in the best way possible. Or, if you're lost in a foreign city, they can show their great communication skills and find someone who will help you out.
Isn't it nice to know that your partner has strengths, due to which you can rely on them in a challenging situation?
11 Stay Together: They Look After Each Other
At times, when you travel a long distance, things may go wrong. One of you may lose something valuable, catch a cold, or get jet lag. Whatever happens is a chance to show how the two of you take care of each other and how you make things easier for your significant other. It will also reveal how you solve problems together, thinking about the needs of your partner. Besides, looking after each other you show how you appreciate your partner, thus making your relationship much stronger than it ever was.
10 Stay Together: They Have a Common Goal
Usually, a couple of people who like traveling together share a common goal and purpose. First and foremost, they wish to see the world together. They are willing to make a step out of the comfort zone and into the unknown, where they can have adventures and learn something new. Whether the ultimate goal of their trips is taking photos and writing a blog together, or communicating with locals and learning their culture, or just seeing natural and man-made monuments in this world, this common goal connects the two of them in a very special way.
9 Stay Together: They Learn to Adapt
I can repeat it again and again: even a perfectly planned trip never goes exactly as planned. There are always some things that happen differently to your expectations, so the matter is how you react to it. For example, imagine that you check into an apartment or hotel room you booked and you see that it looks different to what you saw in photos. Will you feel stressed or depressed about it, or will you learn to adjust to the new circumstances and notice the good things even in this situation? And what about your partner?
If both of you learn to adapt during your journeys, whatever happens, you'll see how your relationship grows stronger, because it teaches you to adapt to everyday life, as well.
8 Stay Together: They Communicate More
It's interesting that usually the couples that travel together have fewer disagreements and communicate better than those who don't. They become more patient and understanding toward each other. It happens for a simple reason: partners who travel together talk a lot because they spend a lot of time alone together. These in-depth conversations that happen when no one is in a hurry help them learn more about each other, as well as practice their communication skills together. It doesn't only make their relationship stronger, but also helps them develop as personalities.
7 Stay Together: They Live the Romance
Another benefit of traveling as a couple is the opportunity to rekindle the romance in your relationship again and again. Just think about it: you and your significant other cut your everyday stress in half, overcome the dull and gray routine, and plunge into new experiences together. Isn't it enough to give a new sparkle to your affection toward each other?
Besides, traveling is all about spontaneity and it makes you develop a special state of mind, where you learn to appreciate the beauty around you and value experiences over anything else.
6 Stay Together: They Always Have New Experiences
Speaking of new experiences, there will be quite a few of them, too. After all, traveling is never an ordinary and dull thing, unlike the routine most of us live day by day. Every day of your trip is a gift that is full of new adventures and new experiences. And since you are going to have all of them together, it will make the connection between you two everlasting. These new experiences will create the memories that will be unique to your relationship and that you will remember for your whole life. And, above all, these adventures keep your relationship fresh.