I’m going on my first overseas trip with my girlfriend since we started dating. I worked hard all last year to earn and save money for this trip. It will be our first international trip ever, and I want to make it perfect, memorable, and the best trip of our lives.
I’ve read countless articles online to ensure everything is perfect. It felt overwhelming to the point that my head started to hurt. Fortunately, I found an article that provided a detailed guideline, and it seemed like the perfect guide. My girlfriend and I have been following it, and it has been very helpful so far.
However, I decided to come to this community to seek additional guidance, advice, and tips from you all, just in case the article missed something important. My girlfriend and I would greatly appreciate any travel tips, advice, and guidance you have, as this is our first trip abroad together.
I can buy a lot of travel staff in this sport shop!
Don’t fly Boeing!
From experience: chill out. Do your homework in the background to ensure you understand train stations, airports, city centers. I’m that guy, I try to memorize maps for weeks before a trip. (I enjoy this).
Then when you are there just go with the vibe. Try to make things seem casual and carefree.
If the attraction is too crowded: oh well. Let’s just get coffee and stroll the city center.
If the rental car gets a flat: oh well. Let’s just have a picnic while we handle this little tire thing. (Safety off the road of course)
A little slow at a train station waiting for a connection? Let’s review our photos and pick some favorites.
You can see my thread is: have a plan of how things should go, but then be ready to have a “zero-speed” alternative in your head that boils down to: “I’m spending time with my gf in a new place, and that’s enough”
“I want to make it perfect, memorable, and the best trip of our lives”
Lower your expectations and just focus on having a good time and getting closer to each other. If that means spending more time in bed relaxing, that’s ok.
I’ve done a lot of this.
One thing to remember is that the things you look back on fondly will be the most frustrating and painful in the moment. Try to keep that in mind when things go sideways. Nobody remembers the times when everything went perfectly.
That said, my fiancee and I have developed a set of travel ideals to keep us both from feeling like hobos.
Two nights, minimum. We try not to spend single nights anywhere. It isn’t worth it. We don’t end up with enough time to see anything. The big exception can be first and last-day hotels.
Four nights after three shorter stops. We need the extra day to crash and/or do laundry, etc.
Try to spend (at least) a full week somewhere. We both really enjoy the simple process of learning to live somewhere. Learning the transportation system, buying groceries, etc.
No Airbnb for less than a week. The hassle and uncertainty of getting situated isn’t worth the trouble.
Depending on distance and timing, it can be worth it to double-book the last night at an airport hotel. The last mad rush to get checked out of an apartment, and get to the airport on time isn’t ever fun, especially somewhere like CDG in Paris. It can be really nice to just remove that stress from the equation.
I hope you have a fantastic trip!
