Traveling with Friends: 10 Tips on Planning a Couples Getaway

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You’ve seen it a million times. In pictures and postcards. You’ve seen it on TV and maybe even on Planet Earth.  But it simply does not compare. You are never ever ready to see the magnificence of the Grand Canyon for all its glory.  It is massive.  What’s a word bigger than massive? Gargantuan?  It’s that and more.  As we drove away the only question I had was: why did it take me so long to see one of the seven natural wonders of the world? Why did I wait?  I’m telling you right now: DON’T WAIT. Don’t say next year, in a few years or as a bucket list item that you’ll get to whenever.  Go now.

For us it was a surprise visit.  My husband was attending a conference in Palm Springs and we  figured we were up for a road trip   We would take a few days before conference and see a couple of places we had never seen.  As much fun as it would have been to travel alone, we jumped at the opportunity to travel with another couple that we’ve known through work but have since become good friends.  Our husbands worked together for years and we had met at conferences before when we lived in different cities.  We are now in the same city and enjoy getting together when our schedules permit.

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We started planning our few days together.  Each couple has a definite planner and a laid back partner.  Fortunately, for us, there was no conflict as to who did what and what we absolutely wanted to do.  We put in our requests and hoped that we could meet everyone’s goals for the trip. One was good with hotels and excursions, the other better with ‘where to eat’.  We all contributed in one way or another to make the trip a success.  It is never easy to plan vacations with others but it can be entertaining and build great memories.

10 tips on Planning a Couples Getaway

• Know who you are traveling with. It’s important to know your travel partners well. If you have similar interests you can plan accordingly.  If you have dramatically different interests, someone is bound to get bored or annoyed quickly.  Having a good idea of how someone will react to change can make it easier to ‘pivot’ when things go a bit sideways or you have to make alternative plans quickly.  I’m a fairly high-strung person so knowing I can relax because the people I’m with are funny and easy to get along with.  Everyone brings something to the table.  Know that and work within those parameters.

• Plan ahead but be flexible.  Get the logistics down.  Where you are going, how you are getting there and where you are staying.  Those are the basics.  If you know where you are sleeping at night, it makes it easier to fill in the gaps in between.  Our main goal was to visit a bit of Arizona, relax for the first couple of days and then go hard on day three.  We had a lot of territory to cover and we had a deadline to meet. Good planning made things go smoothly.
• Plan for the weather.  Even though it was mid-April, we could not have imagined that an ice storm could have wreaked havoc with the start of our trip.  When the airline cancelled our connecting flight from London into Toronto, we had to make plans to drive to Toronto and then stay overnight to make our flight the next day.  We managed to keep our flight and took off as planned in the morning.  With only a slight delay we were off to Phoenix. While travelling we also had a huge variance in weather.

• Consider everyone’s budget. Although we were covering all our hotels, our friends were using points for most of their stays.  We were happy to splurge for the Pointe Hilton Tapitio Cliffs Resort.  We had a basic CAA rate with no breakfast while our friends had breakfast included.  All we did was adjust our breakfast. When choosing excursions, we also had to take into account what each couple was willing to splurge for, what we could ‘self-guide’ and what we wanted to pass on.  Even choosing where we ate was up for discussion.  Keep all those factors in mind when making plans.  Settle up when you are sharing expenses as soon as the VISA comes in.  We are Canadians but everything is charged in US dollars so that conversion needs to be taken into consideration.    Talking money can be awkward at times but if you are up front from the beginning about what you can and cannot afford, your wallet will thank you.
• Go shopping for groceries and light libations. We made a pit stop at Costco to pick up snacks, water, and more snacks (really, you can never have enough snacks). We spent a lot of time in the car and having things to munch on was very helpful. Since we did not have breakfast included in our first hotel, we bought croissants.  These tied us over until we had lunch! We also bought beer, wine and ciders.  No questions it is cheaper than ordering multiple drinks at the bar.

• Pay for Sirius Satellite Radio. I thought it was a bit silly for my husband to sign up for satellite radio because who really needs 100s of stations.  Clearly, I was the fool because this little luxury has proven to be the glue that binds us.  We all came of age in the 80s and we have had nothing but fun listening to Depeche Mode, the Fine Young Cannibals and New Order.  We also changed the stations depending on what we needed at the time.  Road Trip music?  There’s a station for that.  Electronic Dance Music? Coming up. Sick of music and need a laugh? Laugh USA is your station of choice.  We have spent a lot of time talking about how music has defined our lives and what concerts we have gone to and which ones we would love to go to.  Good music is essential.

• Create down time. Although you are traveling together for the majority of time, it’s always good to make sure each couple has some time to themselves. You may need to catch up on work or just want to discuss how the kids are doing.  You should never feel the pressure to do everything together.  Chances are you will have a stronger friendship for it.
• Do something unexpected.  Although my husband had it in his head that he wanted to go to a baseball game, that is not something I would have chosen to do.  Here’s where the flexibility factor kicks in.  I resigned myself to make it ‘his’ vacation.  Whatever he wanted to do, I was going to go along with.  I travel often enough now where I get to plan what I want to do and see.  Museums and local farm to table food experiences are my thing.  His is going to see a professional sports game. Our friends were up for it.  So we went to see the Arizona Diamondbacks. We had ball park food for fun and watched a great baseball game.

• Share your photos.  One of the things my friend and I have in common is we both like to post to Facebook.  We often like and comment on each other’s travels and post pictures of our dog.  I just love her pup Jojo.  She has a knack for great selfies (or ‘us-ies’ with her hubby). I don’t really like pictures of myself.  I have made it a point to take more pictures with my husband and our friends.  This is part of creating those memories and sharing them with our family and friends.  I take a lot of pictures but I may miss one particular angle or perfect vista.  Knowing I can ask my friend if she got that shot helps immensely.  There is joy in travel for me.
• HAVE FUN.  That is the ultimate goal.  Have fun. Laugh a lot.  Enjoy a few cocktails and relax by the pool.  Build in relaxing time and not just go.go.go. time.  Be sure and stop when the view is spectacular.  Eat when you are hungry and know that having fun with friends is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.  Plan your next adventure.  We are already talking about a trip to Hilton Head ‘sometime’ in the future.  Why not?

Do you enjoy traveling with your friends? Let me know your tips for a great couples getaway or road trip.

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