First Holiday Together? Here’s What You Need to Know

With the festive season fast approaching, you may be planning some time away with your new partner. Your first holiday as a couple is an exciting milestone, and if you don’t live together, this might be your first experience of spending an extended period of time with them – but it can bring up some issues, especially if it means spending time away with them over Christmas, instead of your family.

Travelling can strain even the longest relationships, from almost missing your flight because one of you took too long to leave the house, to unexpected bad weather putting a dampener on your beach day plans. Travel expert Justin Chapman at Go2Africa reveals how to survive your first Christmas break together to make sure you don’t end up ‘on a break’ at the end of it!

COMMUNICATION IS VITAL

Clear communication is key, especially in your first experience of spending so much time together. Be open about when you need some alone time, or if you want to change the itinerary because you’re not getting what you need from the trip. Keeping feelings of boredom or discomfort to yourself, with the intention of keeping the peace, can lead to resentment and ultimately erupt into arguments. Continue to keep the communication going, not just while you’re away but also when you get home, so you’ll be able to make your next trip even more perfect!

DISCUSS EXPECTATIONS – AND LEARN TO COMPROMISE

Talk about what you want out of the trip and what kind of vibe they have on holiday. If you’re a ‘lounging by the pool followed by late night drinks’ person, it can be tricky to plan a holiday with an ‘up early to explore the city and sightsee all day’ person. Do you want a hotel or a homestay? If you’re looking for self-catering accommodation, will you be sharing the responsibility of the cooking to keep it fair? Will they want to spend the whole time on the beach, or can you schedule in some cultural activities? Ask plenty of questions to make sure you’re on the same page, and you can book something that you’ll both be happy with to avoid disappointment when you arrive.

START SMALL

If you’ve never spent more than a couple of days together in one go, it might be best to start with a weekend staycation, rather than a two week trip to the other side of the world. A shorter break minimises the pressure a little, rather than diving straight into a long holiday, and is less of a commitment if problems do arise.

BE FLEXIBLE

From last minute detours to unexpected bad weather, it’s important to embrace flexibility when you’re forced to make changes to, or completely abandon, your perfectly planned schedule. The preferences you discussed beforehand might change when you arrive, and being open minded and to new activities and plans can reduce the stress and frustration of feeling stuck with an itinerary that isn’t working for either of you.

SCHEDULE SOME ME-TIME

Sometimes, you just can’t compromise, especially on a shorter break with not enough time to do everything you’d like – and there might be an activity you’re desperate to do or a town they’d love to visit, and you’re just not interested. But scheduling in some alone time for each of you to do what you want, means you get to indulge in your individual preferences, give each other some personal space, and prevent arguments stemming from feeling like you’ve missed out on things you want to do in order to accommodate them.

BE OPEN ABOUT MONEY

Discuss a budget that you’re both comfortable with, not just for the flights and accommodation but also for activities, sightseeing, and meals out. Are you looking for extravagant boat trips and five star dinners, or something more budget friendly? Are you hoping for an all-inclusive African luxury safari but they want a self-catering city break? It can be difficult if you earn very different salaries, especially in a new relationship where you may not have discussed finances before, and can lead to one of you putting too much on a credit card to try and keep up – but it’s important to be vocal about exactly what you can and can’t afford to avoid feelings of resentment.

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