Do couples that travel together stay together?
Not always, no.
Don’t get us wrong, there is nothing we love more than travelling as a couple – ticking off bucket list travel destinations, having new experiences and creating new memories.
It’s amazing but it’s also really difficult.
Travelling as a couple can be super stressful as you’re away from your comforts, family and friends, and everything that is ‘normal’ to you.
Flight delays, lost luggage, high temperatures, bustling cities and hotels that don’t live up to the photos can all put a toll on a relationship.
It can be particularly difficult for those that don’t have a long-established foundation to begin with.
In fact, research from Hotels.com reveals that nearly two-thirds of people believe that a couple’s first holiday is make-or-break material so the timing of a first trip really is imperative.
How long should you date before taking a trip together?
On average, new couples go on holiday together within five months of forming a relationship, a study by travel agent Sunshine.co.uk claims.
But is this enough time to build a foundation strong enough to withstand the difficulties of travelling as a couple?
Probably not and that is probably why 10% of couples break up on their first holiday together according to a recent study by This Morning.
After just 5 months, a holiday is probably the first time that you’ve spent 24/7 with your other half and the first time when your personal habits will be laid bare and your moods completely unfiltered.
That being said, we actually went on our round-the-world, 13-country, 6-month trip after just one year of being together so don’t take those figures for gospel truth.
At the end of the day, it really all comes down to the strength of your relationship and your ability to communicate.
Where should you travel on your first trip as a couple?
Are there better places to travel for a first holiday as a couple than others? Well, apparently so!
The Sunshine.co.uk study claims that couples who chose Mexico as their first-holiday destination together are most likely to break up, with 21% of couples who went to the Central American country breaking up after their holiday, followed by 17% who went to Ibiza and 12% who visited Portugal.
In our opinion, chose somewhere ‘tame’ for your first holiday as a couple.
We went to Budapest after dating for 5 months and considering we live in the UK, the culture isn’t vastly different so the stress levels were low.
If you live in a slow-paced, small town, we definitely don’t recommend booking a trip to the hustle and bustle of New Delhi or Bangkok for your first holiday together. That’s going to cause a lot of stress.
Why do couples break up after travelling?
It all comes down to that, stress.
The stress of having a blazing row or a trickle of constant bickering and not having the tools to be able to communicate effectively.
The stress of finding out that your other half isn’t the person you thought they were and that your likes, dislikes and values just aren’t compatible.
The stress of getting ill, losing something valuable or getting overwhelmed by a different culture and your partner not supporting you in the way that you need.
There are a lot of things that can cause stress when you travel, which can, in turn, lead to a breaking up when you get home or, worst still, when you’re still there.
Does travelling together make you closer?
Travelling as a couple, without a doubt, makes you closer. For a number of reasons too.
Travel keeps the spark alive, with 86% of people who travel as a couple believing that the
romance is still alive in their relationship.
Travel takes you away from the daily grind of life to reconnect and communicate, with more than seven couples who travel together (71%) saying talking is an important reason to spend time alone together while on vacation.
Travel offers the opportunity to spend quality time together, with 84% of those who travel as a couple believing that they do this.
And, to answer the question, travel definitely does bring you together as more than 9 in 10 people (94%) travelling as a couple reported that they feel very close to one another.
We definitely do not want to scare you off travelling a couple, not at all. It’s our favourite thing to do and brings so much to a relationship as we touched on above.
However, we just want to highlight that travelling as a couple is not always smooth sailing and you should be prepared for some bumps in the road.
