Going on a romantic escape with a new beau for the very first time is as exciting as it is nerve-wracking. There is a lot of pressure associated with your first couple’s holiday – there are all the typical stresses that come with travelling, plus more anxieties associated with spending uninterrupted quality time together for the first time. Below, we’ve rounded up the golden rules that you should follow to ensure a smooth sailing trip.
There would be nothing worse than going on your first holiday with someone only to discover that you are not as well suited as you first thought and then have to spend the next week together. Don’t let the giddiness of booking a holiday overpower your rationality – as romantic as a far-flung trip to the other side of the world might seem, “finding out things might not be as rose-tinted as you thought in the middle of a month-long trek through the Amazon would be catastrophic,” advises Sarah Bannerman, Condé Nast Traveller ’s acting commerce editor. It is far more sensible to book a short and sweet break to ease yourself into it – and a whirlwind weekend in a romantic European city is the perfect way to test the waters.
Money is always a tricky subject, and as it’s unlikely that both of you will have identical salaries, it’s definitely a good idea to touch base before you start planning to make sure you have similar expectations for your trip – neither of you wants to wind up disappointed or worrying about your bank bal.