Getting away with your partner offers plenty of opportunity for fun and relaxation, and experts say it can offer tangible benefits for your relationship. From spending a little bit of time alone together, to creating once-in-a-lifetime memories, there are so many reasons to book a couple’s trip with your loved one.
To help you get the most of your next romantic holiday, we’ve worked with ten relationship experts – from psychologists to best-selling authors – to establish what you should do and where you should go. The research has been used to create a brand new ultimate romantic holiday, available to book now.
Travel is important to couples. Life and Love coach, Francesca Hogi says “Travel is such a personally enriching experience, and luxury travel is ideal for romance. Luxury travel allows you both to be reminded in every moment ‘this experience is special’, which reinforces your intention when planning a romantic trip to begin with.”
Rachel MacLynn, founder of the matchmaking agency The Vida Consultancy also believes in the value of couple’s holidays. She says they are “an opportunity to enjoy each other’s company over a prolonged period of time, whilst also experiencing something new. We all enjoy holidays, so it’s the best time to capture each other feeling relaxed and happy – which leads to excellent bonding time for you and your partner.”
In an ideal world, every moment of your romantic holiday would run smoothly – but in reality, travelling can be stressful. We spoke to our experts and discussed common problems couples face when they travel, compiling a list of top tips to help you avoid pressure points on your getaway.
Having a solid plan in place is key to making sure everything runs smoothly. This doesn’t mean you need an exact itinerary with every minute of your time mapped out. Instead it means having a clear conversation with your partner about what you both want to do and roughly how much time you’ll spend doing it. This will prevent any surprises or shocks about what you want to do, helping avoid any arguments about activities.
Rachel MacLynn says ““Discuss anything that you particularly want to do beforehand, so you can plan accordingly and avoid any minor arguments.”
Dr Brian Jory, Couple’s Counsellor and Author, says “Be flexible. You go away together to leave the mundane and predictable behind. Make it an adventure, not a quest to have everything like it is at home. Every little thing that goes wrong is a chance to be spontaneous and rise to the occasion.”
Being flexible is key to having a stress-free holiday that allows you to bond with your loved one. If you get stuck on the little things that go wrong, you’ll miss great opportunities to experience new and exciting things with your partner.
We spend a huge amount of time on our phones and devices nowadays – browsing social media, responding to emails and chatting with friends. If you keep this up on a couple’s holiday you risk distracting yourself from the experience, putting distance between you and your partner, and missing what’s going on around you.
Dennie Smith, Founder of Old Style Dating, recommends staying off your phone. “Put your phones and laptops away. Make the most of your time away with each other, explore your holiday destination, enjoy chatting about the sights and soaking up the sun.”
Francesca Hogi notes the importance of variety on a romantic trip saying, “don’t schedule so many activities that you don’t have time to decompress and relax together”.
Doing things you both enjoy is vital on a romantic holiday. Take part in shared interests, spend time trying things your partner likes and vice versa. Make sure you also leave enough time to relax and unwind together so that you don’t become over-tired.
It may seem counter intuitive on a couple’s holiday but taking time out by yourself is important. Spending all your time exclusively in the company of a single person can be intense, no matter how much you love your partner.
Psychotherapist and Couple’s Counsellor, Tina B Tessina recommends that you “plan to spend time together and time apart. On vacation, we tend to be in confined spaces: hotel rooms, ship cabins, airplanes, and cars. You may find this is too much closeness, so plan to get occasional breaks from one another. When there are different things you like, doing them separately can give each of you a much-needed break, reduce tension, and refresh your shared time.”
In addition to developing helpful tips of how to get the most from your romantic holiday, we also asked our experts to think about what their own ideal romantic holiday would look and provide some reasons why.
Of course, the most romantic holiday is subject to individual tastes and styles, but there were definite trends amongst the relationship experts we consulted when it came to romantic locations, food, drink and activities.
When it comes to the best locations to reconnect with romance, the classics came out top. Paris, Venice and Rome were all recommended by multiple experts as the perfect places to visit on a couple’s holiday. The stunning streets, incredible food and intimate settings of these cities mean all three feature in our new ultimate romantic holiday.
Mark Stevens, bestselling author of Evidence of Love, praises Venice as the perfect Valentine’s trip. “Venice in the Winter is a top romantic location. When the majesty of the art and the water and the culture are unfettered by the stampedes of tourists”.
Marla Mattenson, relationship expert for entrepreneurial couples, recommends Paris and Rome. “Metropolitan romantic locations like Paris and Rome are classic, tried and true. Anywhere quaint, in nature or a location you can both enjoy the splendour of what that area has to offer also works.”
A ski trip to the Swiss Alps was also recommended by a few experts. The adrenaline on the slopes, teamed with cosy nights by the fire, suggested this as a great romantic option.
Some experts also suggested ideas a little further from the beaten track. Orion Talmay, relationship Expert and Life Coach, recommends the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica. She makes the recommendation because “you are surrounded by breath-taking nature, and it is an experience of a lifetime. At night, you fall asleep to the sounds of the rainforest and wake up to the sight of exotic birds, monkeys and beauty. It’s extraordinary.”
A couple’s trip is the perfect opportunity to do something new, and our experts have fantastic recommendations for activities that’ll help you create incredible memories with your partner.
Getting your pulse racing is important when creating memorable moments, and almost all our experts recommend doing something active and exciting on your trip. From snorkelling and kayaking to horse riding and hot air balloon rides, there are plenty of things to try that’ll help you see the sights and forge a special connection with your partner.
Tina B Tessina PhD, psychotherapist and author, says “water sports like snorkelling and kayaking are exciting and fun, while sightseeing, shopping and going out for dinner and dancing are great.”
More sedate activities were also included in top picks from our experts, six out of ten selected walking or hiking. A walk around a beautiful location can be perfect for allowing you time to talk to your partner, explore new places and appreciate where you are.
Dining out was also a popular choice for a romantic activity. Alyssa Adams, Clinical Psychologist and Life and Relationship Coach, says “activities that allow the couple time alone, such as walking in the evening or a quiet dinner would foster closeness and intimacy while travelling.”
When it comes to food and drink on your romanitc getaway, our experts have plenty to recommend. Wine was the drink of choice, recommended by five of our ten relationship experts.
Chocolate was a popular option for food. Rachel MacLynn recommends pairing wine with chocolate for the ultimate romantic combo. “Pairing chocolate with wine is experiential, cultured and sophisticated. Romance guaranteed. Take yourself on a course to impress your partner with your knowledge, or the two of you could go on a course together…leading to endless opportunities to apply your newfound knowledge.”
For more substantial meals, Italian food is most often recommended as the food of love, alongside the traditional aphrodisiac, oysters.
To encourage a romantic feeling this Valentine’s Day we’ve put together special hampers to share with bloggers, so they can recreate the perfect romantic evening in the comfort of their own home.
We would like to thank the following people for their contribution to our work on this project:
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