My girlfriend and I have always enjoyed traveling. Although we have been on vacation with family and friends in the past, we had never traveled abroad with a partner until recently.
After we had been together for a few months, I planned our first official couples trip: a 10-day vacation in several cities in Spain.
We had spent a few weekends in hotels here in the UK, but our first proper trip together was to be our longest and most ambitious yet.
Many people we spoke to about this were surprised by the length of the trip. In the UK, a more conventional first trip abroad as a couple might be a weekend in Paris or Venice, or a few days at a relaxed resort.
I was also aware that such a big vacation at the beginning of a relationship could go wrong.
Fortunately, our trip went better than I could have ever imagined.
I had planned the holiday as a birthday present, although we were both worried
My girlfriend and I went on our first vacation together on a longer trip. Adam England
I started planning the trip after seeing an ad for a Spanish music festival near Malaga. Some of our favorite artists were on the bill and the festival started on the last day of August, a few days after my girlfriend’s birthday.
Tickets and a trip seemed like a cool birthday present. Plus, we both knew Spain pretty well and I knew a little Spanish since I had learned the language at school.
Although I usually try to be a bit more frugal, I spontaneously bought two tickets for the festival.
When booking flights and hotels, I also reserved train tickets and added an extra leg to Barcelona, a city my girlfriend loves. In total, we would spend five nights in Malaga and five in Barcelona, with a train ride in between.
I think we both had our concerns about how we would fare before the vacation.
In this new environment, we would essentially be living together for almost two weeks. And any vacation has the potential for conflict, especially if it involves a long train journey with changes.
Fortunately, this 10-day trip was the best decision we could have made.
Our trip to Spain was the first of many holidays together
We had a great time in Spain. Pol Albarrán/Getty Images
As fantastic as the journey was, it wasn’t always easy.
Dragging heavy suitcases in the heat, running to change trains, missing buses and waking up with a terrible hangover never puts you in a good mood.
Although we were stressed at times, we showed that we were on the same wavelength and could work together as a team. We didn’t take our stress out on each other when things went wrong. Instead, we faced the situation head on.
At the same time, there was a lot of give and take. At the festival, we watched artists we both liked. We took turns choosing bars and pubs to try. I found that we were just as happy drinking cocktails on the beach as we were reading a book outside a cafe.
Three months later we were abroad again and went to Sofia to visit the Christmas markets in the Bulgarian capital.
Of course, such a long and intense first vacation is not necessarily the best choice for every new couple. But for us it worked and was the perfect test to see if we could handle traveling together.
I’m excited for us to see more of the world together and we often talk about where we want to travel next.
