What the first trip (with your partner) tells you about the relationship

Planning to go on a first holiday with your partner? Travelling with them is more than seeing the sights together; it can also be the ultimate test to knowing if your relationship is ready to move to the next level. After all, spending time together in a new place without having to stick to your original routine, can bring out the best and the worst in each other and in any event, it brings out a lot of honesty. Any minor hiccup only makes the bond stronger, while watching a scene or enjoying that adrenaline rush together will give you more than a memory to cherish in your relationship. 

If you’re asking us if you should make that trip with your partner, the answer is, and will always be a resounding yes. Here’s why…

The test of stepping out of the comfort zone 

You may be a couple, but you also have your own set of likes and habits. One of you may be a morning person while the other isn’t. What happens when you are together on a trip? Will you feel okay about missing out on all those early-day activities because your partner is snoring till late or feel sad to skip any late-night partying because you have to hit the sack early? There are places that you have earmarked to visit, dishes you may want to try and your partner may not want. Also, you may love long walks, but they may turn that down and opt for a bike ride instead. So get set to make more than a few compromises. A relationship at its core is all about this and travelling can give you a reality check like nothing else can. Compared to a normal day, you now get to observe your partner in a new setting, in various situations. This is where a trip will teach you about how much are you willing to adjust and do things not for yourself, but for the person you’re in love with. The plus side is, a trip can push you to urge your partner to try out fun things that they never thought they’d do. In turn you will also realise you’re your partner likes and does not like, lending an ease to your relationship. 

How much can you trust and depend on them?

On any normal day, you are in familiar surroundings with friends, colleagues and family members. But on a trip, it’s just the two of you. Thus, travelling helps couples in a relationship by reminding them that they’re a team at the end of the day and how they have to be together for the entire duration of the trip. It puts you into situations where you need to rely on your partner and their instincts. This teaches you two things—how to work towards a common goal, and secondly, it also gives you moments where you realize where you went wrong and how perhaps you were right to trust the judgment of your special someone. Imagine a situation where both of you are lost and have to decide between left and right. A moment like that highlights the need for trust and unity. 

You get to see how they handle stressful moments

Missing flights, delays during local travel, getting lost, the list of stressful moments when on a trip with your partner is endless. It’s these times and watching how your partner reacts to these situations that will give you the answers as to how will they deal with stress once the trip is over. 

How they interact with people they’ve never met 

You can tell a lot about a person from the way he or she treats people they do not know, namely from the customer service industry, from waiters to hotel staff, flight attendants, and others. Notice how your partner talks to them. See what happens when the service isn’t great and how your partner deals with it.

You have created new memories. And that’s always great

When you go back in time and tell your children about how much you cherish your partner, there’s every chance of a trip you did together being a part of this. One of those reasons will be because the trip gave you the chance to not just be lovers, but be friends as well. 

Travelling brings about many amazing experiences, but for me, being able to share them with someone else, the one I love, makes these experiences even more special.