Travelling With Your Partner

About 6 months into our relationship, my boyfriend and I decided to take a trip together. I had just graduated from University, and I wanted to do a little bit of exploring around Australia before I start working. He had a little bit of time off from work so he decided to join me. We were still quite new into the relationship, therefore this was very exciting and adventurous. We decided we did not want to go very far as we had a few limitations such as time and money. In the end we chose Tasmania because when he visited there with his family, he absolutely loved it, and I had never visited that part of Australia before.

I knew this trip will be a big step for us in our relationship. Travelling together really shows you the true colours of a person because you’ll be spending almost every moment together. Travelling together shows aspects of their personality that you normally may not witness, and how they may handle different situations. However, travelling together is also an enriching experience because you get to learn more about each other - as well as have shared experiences. Doing this brings you closer together.

Fortunately, my experience with my partner was a fantastic one. We only had four days in Launceston, Tasmania and I think we definitely made the most of it.

This is my advice on a successful trip with your partner.

Plan, talk and make a budget.

It is vital that you have an understanding of each other’s budget, because unfortunately money plays a large role in life, and can be a major cause of disagreement and conflict in any relationship. By discussing the budget, both parties will have a clear understanding of what can be achieved.
My partner and I had a similar budget to each other. We were fortunate that we have always been open about money with each other, and therefore it was a comfortable conversation. We have also always been quite relaxed about the reciprocity of money.

During the short holiday, we would split the larger amounts such as flights, hotels and tours. However, the smaller amounts such as food, drinks and transport were a give and take situation. One person pays for dinner, while the other pays for lunch. One person pays for the taxi to the location, while the other pays for taxi back to the hotel. This system worked for us, but the important factor is that we knew what each other could spend, and therefoe we only participated in activities that fitted within our budget.

Plan activities together, compromise and be flexible.

Planning activities together is essential for a successful trip, because the trip is for the both of you. Making plans together ensures that both of you enjoy the trip, and that you both have addressed each other’s expectations and wants from the trip. If only one person’s activities are achieved, then the other person may not have a great time and feel like their needs and wants do not matter.

As we only had four days in Launceston, we did not have too much to plan, because you can only fit so much in four days; but at the same time, we had a lot of planning to do because we can only do so much in four days. My partner and I also have very different personalities. He is more relaxed and is happy to just walk around, relax and do things as they come, while I’m more activity based. I want to go and do things, go on tours and plan the day. So for this trip, we had a very rough plan. We decided that on the first day when we arrived, we will gage the activities there. We worked together and talked about some of the tours and places we wanted to visit. The second day, we decided we would spend the day in town exploring and have a relaxing day without too many activities planned. This suited my partner better. However, on the third day I took charge and organised a couple of tours that we could do. I took on most of the organisation myself, keeping in mind our budget and the activities that we had discussed. Of course, I consulted him before I made any final bookings and payments to ensure that he was happy. This suited me better. We divided the trip into the separate days so that we could still plan our trip together, but each person could achieve what they wanted on the day they were planning. However, nothing was set in stone as well. If someone wanted to do something particular, we could find the time to do it. Or if someone no longer wanted to go somewhere, we could discuss it together.



At the end of the trip, we both had achieved what we wanted. He wanted to explore and enjoy Launceston as it is, while I wanted to do touristy activities and tours. Due to the fact that we had such different personalities; compromise and flexibility was very important to ensure that both of us achieved what we wanted in this trip.



It was a fantastic trip. I actually enjoyed the time I spent with him relaxing and exploring the town. Even thought it was not a planned day we went to parks, animal enclosures and visited a large gorge. He had a great time on the activities I planned, such as the Wine Tasting, Tree Top Swinging and James Boag Beer Factory Tour. I know that if I had went on this trip with anybody else, the activities would differ, and I would've missed out on the beauty of Launceston.

#Love
#Relationships
#Travel
#Going_Away_Together
#Trips
#Understanding
#Compromise
#Flexibility
#New_Relationships


%trulyheart