Couples’ Travel
Couples’ travel is something quite unique. Whether we’re talking about cheap romantic getaways or long-term travel with your partner, travelling with your loved one can be quite stressful.
Linda and I have been travelling full-time for five years and, sometime close to our ninth wedding anniversary will be launching a new ebook called The Art of Couples’ Travel. The idea isn’t to give advice on the best places to go on vacation, but rather to delve deep into the relational and emotional issues of travelling as a couple.
We start with travel planning and talk destinations, money, health, your families and your current life. From there it’s on to the nitty-gritty of negotiation, apologizing, doing things wrong, making up and making out: how to have a relationship without a home or social network. Finally, we bring things back home, dealing with your families, friends and funds once you hit your final destination.
Short-term travel problems
Some of our friends barely see their partners these days: they work hard, get home late and watch a bit of TV together before falling asleep. When its time for a holiday, they’re strung out and just not used to spending several hours together anymore. What happens when they start to travel, needing a break from their real lives, but unused to the mini-dramas of travel, let alone to dealing with them together? This book aims to help people like them.
Long term travel problems
As has recently been alluded to, there can be bad days while you’re travelling — either alone or as a couple. However, at home you’ve got a built-in safety net of people around you: workmates, friends, family who are able to help out. When you’re on the road, it’s just you and your partner – sick, tired, depressed, who knows? How you deal with each other can be tricky; the Art of Couples’ Travel gives strategies for working things through.
Breaking up while travelling
While it’s no-one’s idea of a good time, what happens when you have to deal with a break-up? Especially if all your tickets are pre-booked and you have to see each other for every flight and train trip? Unsurprisingly, there are no easy answers to this — or to dealing with attraction to others, your partner acting out, or hundreds of other things which make you fight while you travel. The book gives some tips for de-escalating your fights and, while we hope it doesn’t happen to you, some potential plans of action if things do fall apart.
You’re going to have an amazing trip!
It’s certainly not all doom and gloom though. The Art of Couples’ Travel is practical enough to deal with all the nitty-gritty, but focuses on inspiring you to get out there and do it with practical action steps all leading up to take-off, and beyond. It’s going to launch with an email follow-up series, its own blog, free updates for life and a special “Couples’ Travel Lounge” in the Indie Travel Podcast Community.
Suitable for all couples
The Art of Couple’s Travel doesn’t assume you are married, partnered, civil-unioned, lesbian, gay or straight. It’s there for all couples who want to travel, especially those who want to travel long-term.
Our friends Jess and Dani from Globetrotter Girls have contributed a special section on the issues they’ve faced as a lesbian couple doing long-term travel, and talk in depth about issues faced by the LGBT community: from misunderstandings over the bedding arrangements to dealing with prejudice by people and by law.
We’re excited
We’re excited about the launch of the Art of Couples’ Travel, and sharing the things we’ve learned about relating with each other over five years of full-time travel. We’re excited about seeing more couples out travelling the open road. We’re excited that it’s coming soon.
