memorable for the right reasons | holidaying with a partner

We’ve all had our fair share of travel related disasters and stresses haven’t we?  I mean, sometimes I can’t even make it half an hour away without doing something daft, so it’s no surprise that going on holiday always brings its trials and tribulations.  Travel Supermarket asked me to add my twopence to the topic of ‘making holidays memorable for the right reasons‘ when travelling with a loved one – always an interesting experience!  I’ve written a few posts about relationships (the good and the bad) and I’ve written a few about travel too, so here goes my pointers for keeping travelling with a loved one as stress-free as possible.

— Make an event of the planning itself – if you can’t get excited about a trip away together then when can you?  Grab a bottle of wine, a guidebook or two, throw in a bit of Pinterest inspiration and plan away.  Doesn’t have to be set in stone right away, but extend the holiday fun as far as possible.

— You can’t beat a good long delay at the airport for sparking a domestic or 6. Treat the airport as the first leg of your journey and make an occasion of it. Take advantage of the food outlets and treat yourself to an all English. Bacon and eggs at 4:30.  Oh yes.

— Once you’re fueled head for the shops – alone. Leave partner with book, newspaper or phone and head off to find another last minute bikini must. You’ll get chance to indulge without feeling rushed and they can look after the luggage. Win.

— Grab a comfy blanket to scrunch onto partner’s shoulder pillow-style, and get settled for some perfect peoplewatching.  Who doesn’t love to observe the shenanigans of people trying to negotiate that overhead storage?  Almost as good as watching people put a tent up for the first time.  Prime entertainment that one.

— Make writing a list of ‘must sees’ a priority on arrival, compare your lists and make a vague plan.  If your trip to New York is going to be ruined by missing out on the Empire State then this needs to go on the ‘non–negotiables’.  As do any more ‘off the tourist track’ attractions.  A combination of the two can make for quite a good holiday, and doing something more to a partner’s taste than your own can push you out of your comfort zone and give you a different experience than you would otherwise have tried.

— Research eateries before you go.  Nothing worse than trying to find somewhere to eat when you’re already past the point of ‘hangry’, so have a list of possibles prepared.  Always good to have a supply of snacks back at your accommodation for this reason too.  “Where shall we eat?” should be a leisurely discussion whilst wandering down streets in the evening, not a panicked starvation mode dilemma.  You don’t want to end up taking hangriness out on each other over what should be a romantic dinner.

— If one of you is an early bird and the other isn’t alive before 10am, make sure there are options for you both.  For me there would be nothing worse than going abroad then staring at the same four walls every morning for hours, but I know that lie-ins are a holiday luxury for some.  Depends on the location, I guess.  Some time doing your own thing can be good though.  For me, a gym would be ideal for killing a couple of spare hours in the morning or late at night.

— Accept that the unexpected might happen.  Organisation is good, but there’s no need for planning like a military campaign, however desperate you are to cram in as much as possible.  Somehow everything always ends up taking longer than expected! Better to not overload yourselves and end up more knackered than before you set off.

Despite all these plans and precautions, even the most stable of couples can find something to be annoyed about on holiday.  Agree beforehand that if you disagree about something, the issue gets dropped after an hour – time literally is money when you’re on holiday and you don’t want to waste it!  Given that I don’t actually have a boyfriend atm I don’t need to follow any of these, but having said that I think they’d be equally valid for travelling with a close friend.  Always good if you can avoid killing each other and make your holiday memorable for the right reasons. 🙂

lily kate x

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This post is in collaboration with TravelSupermarket.