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.”
Top Tips for Staying Happy
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.
Plan Ahead
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.”
Be Flexible
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.
Put your Phone Away
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.”
Strike a Balance
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.
Take Time to Be Apart
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.”
The Perfect Romantic Holiday Destination
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.”
Activities for your Getaway
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.”
Food and Drink
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.
Our Experts
We would like to thank the following people for their contribution to our work on this project:
- Alyssa Adams, Clinical Psychologist and Life and Relationship Coach.
- Rachel MacLynn, CEO and Founder of the Vida Consultancy matchmaking agency.
- Mark Stevens, Love Life Advisor and Best-selling Author of Evidence of Love
- Francesca Hogi, Love and Life Coach.
- Marla Mattenson, Relationship Expert for entrepreneurial couples.
- Tina B Tessina, Psychotherapist and Author of 15 books in 17 languages, including Dr. Romance’s Guide to Finding Love Today.
- Casey Lee, Couples and Marriage Counsellor at Rooted Hearts Counselling LLC.
- Dr Brian Jory PhD, author of Cupid on Trial – What we Learn about Love When Loving Gets Tough.
- Orion Talmay, Relationship Expert and Life Coach of Orion’s Method
- Dennie Smith, Founder of Oldstyledating.com
Why choose eShores?
One to One Service
Our experienced personal travel consultants will ensure you find the most suitable holiday, whilst taking care of every last detail. Everything from start to finish will be effortless.
100% Tailor Made
We can use any hotel, in any destination, so we will craft an itinerary to suit your exact needs. Also, as we can provide any itinerary, the only holiday we'll offer, is the one that's right for you.
Fully Protected
Our ATOL bonding provides you with the financial protection you need and as a member of the Travel Trust Association, you'll have 100% financial protection. Covering you for any eventuality.
Competitive Pricing
As a tour operator & travel agent, we'll search the market to ensure that we find you the best price. Also as an online business, we can ensure our prices are as competitive as possible.
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AlisonFletcher
Brilliant trip organised by Dave, included Helsinki, Tallin, Vilnius and Riga. (4 different countries) Everything ran smoothly. Dave organised hotels, flights, taxis, ferry and coach. Have used this company a few times and can't recommend highly enough they are fab 😀
Posted 2 days ago -
Sandra
As always, Chris was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He gave me good advice on my travel plans and booked the holiday on my behalf. I've used eshores a number of times, and will continue to do so.
Posted 5 days ago -
Harrison
We haven’t been on our trip yet but based purely on the experience of booking the trip we are pleased with the result. It started with a bit of a hiccup as we spoke to a member of staff who never came back to us but when we reached back out again we were placed in the hands of Andy who has helped us book a 2 week trip to India including the golden triangle and then a few days on the beach. Andy was very patient with us with our changes to our tailor made holiday, even when we asked him to explore different areas only to revert back to the original plan. He also recommended moving the holiday back one week which created a saving of over £700 which meant we could upgrade the room for our beach stay in Goa. Andy was also available on weekends if we wanted to speak and regularly picked up the phone as opposed to keeping it to purely email dialogue. Hopefully the holiday will be amazing but based on the booking experience I would recommend eShores if you’re looking to book a tailor made holiday
Posted 5 days ago -
Wendy
I spoke to Lynette who was extremely helpful in understanding the trip that myself and my sister in law wanted from Thailand. Myself and my sister in law are both 72years young and we are really looking forward to our trip.
Posted 6 days ago -
Dawn
Excellent service from Matt at eShores. So very helpful and nothing was too much trouble. I booked Mya holiday after all his hard work finding me the perfect holiday that I wanted. Superb service and not pushy all all.
Posted 1 week ago -
Amrik
We have booked two big holidays this year for a group of 8 and a group of 10, Rachel has coordinated our holidays with the utmost excellence, during the consultation we changed countires hotels and even flights but it did not phase Rachel one bit. Exceeds customer expectations by helping advising and supporting throughout the holiday. We are off to Thailand and Dubai in August and then followed by India and Thailand in November, I have rang emailed Rachel many times during the booking and I got very prompt responses even on her days off. Rachel is a credit to EShores and EShores is setting standards regarding customer focus.
Posted 1 week ago -
IainWilliam
I can’t praise Lynette at EShores enough. She has organised my trips perfectly to the point that I wouldn’t use anyone else. She listens to what I want or to the problem I have and comes up with a solution. Nothing is too much trouble. Try them out yourselves and I bet you become a repeater too!
Posted 1 week ago -
Kevin
At short notice, I needed a quote to travel through the USA (July the 20th) I emailed eShores with an idea of what I wanted to do, within a short period of time I had a response from Matthew, After several amendments to my holiday which wasn't any trouble to Matthew, Holiday all booked, now looking forward to travelling through the USA Have to say, the service I had through eShores was fantastic, well done Matthew for working through the changes,
Posted 1 week ago -
Marcus
Dealt with Adam who was great, I went back and forth many times, nothing was a problem for him. We got there in the end and Adam arranged a 3 place holiday to Malaysia and Singapore. We go on 5th August, will if update review when we return. EShores so far brilliant hats of to Adam.
Posted 1 week ago -
Jill
We as a family used eShores last year to go to USA, and they were brilliant, my husband and 1 are going to Italy with them this September and we have just booked again to go back to USA with them next May, very efficient and Matt is lovely to deal with
Posted 1 week ago