New love! The trill of getting to know someone and spending as much time as you can with your new favorite person. As you get to know your new partner, one of the most significant tests (besides putting IKEA furniture together) is taking your first vacation together. How two people travel together is the ultimate litmus test for how the relationship will pan out in the near and distant future.
Now that we're traveling again, I decided it was time to provide some of the tips that I give new couples planning their first vacation. These tips are great for planning your first vacation with a new partner, or you just want to make sure your next vacation is the best one yet.
Five Tips for Traveling with a New Partner
Know your travel personalities
There are several travel personalities, and knowing which one you fit into is important to ensure you have a great time on vacation. If you're the adventurous type, you're not going to enjoy lounging around a resort the entire time.
If you haven't already taken it, I've created a Travel Personality Quiz that will show you what kind of traveler you are. Follow the link just above to take the quiz.
When you're traveling with a new partner, knowing each other's personalities will help make sure that expectations are known before you leave home. These personalities are definitely not like your astrology sign that foreshadows if you'll have a successful relationship, but they give insight into how each of you will want to travel.
If you find yourself with differing personalities, some give-and-take will be required, so you both have a great time. Plus, a healthy mix of activities and relaxation is going to give you even more memories.
Travel Alone
Ok, well, not by yourself alone, I mean to travel alone with your partner. Many couples find themselves invited on a group trip with friends (or worse, family) for their first vacation together. The idea is that you'll have a backup plan in case you don't mesh well with your partner while traveling.
The problem is that you don't really get to know how each other travels when you're in a group. Traveling in a group is a vastly different experience than traveling as a couple, and you're not going to be able to dedicate the amount of time to each other that is required to make the vacation a success.
For your first vacation, make it a point to travel just with your partner and then introduce traveling with friends or family later on.
Take A Real Vacation
Weekend trips are great ways to get out of your regular routine, but they are not vacations. A vacation needs to be at least five days for you to benefit from "vacation mode."
Vacation mode is when you start to lose track of time and just live in the moment, no longer worrying about what is happening outside your vacation bubble. Considering the first and last days are for traveling to/from the destination, you'll typically be in vacation mode about two and a half days into the trip. This is why weekend trips don't give you what you really need in a vacation.
Plan To Do A Mix Of Activities
Even if you both have the same travel personality, you want to plan to do various excursions, relaxation experiences, and dining in different venues.
When you travel with your partner, you're ultimately creating memories, and the vacation's best memories are from the experiences you share. Get out of your comfort zones and try new things, go zip lining through the forest together, or swim with manta rays in Hawaii.
You may find that you have a shared interest that you weren't aware of, which will only strengthen your relationship.
Book Your Trip With A Travel Advisor
Working with a travel advisor like myself takes away the stress of having to plan your vacation. Even if you're a planner, DIY'ing your first vacation with your partner is more complex than a quick weekend trip to Vegas.
With two personalities going on vacation, I work to make sure that both of you will have a great time. Planning out an itinerary that has enough variety to meet both of your expectations. You won't have to worry about your first vacation being lopsided and less stress is always good for a relationship.
Schedule an initial consultation to chat about where you want to travel to first.
Rainbow Getaways proudly help travelers of the LGBTQ community (and our allies) research, plan, and book incredible vacations where you feel confident and comfortable to enjoy and explore your destination. We plan each vacation to meet your specific needs, so you'll have an experience that is just as unique as yours.
If you haven't already, be sure to request your free LGBTQ Guide to the Caribbean at the bottom of the page.