Friend twosomes and couples traveling together is one of the best ways to explore a new place. With our partner in crime and a full itinerary, a weekend trip or longer international getaway can be so much fun! But as with any kind of group, there can be issues! In this episode we talk about the best places to travel as a couple and give you our words of wisdom on staying together, splitting up, enjoying time together, and taking some alone time while on a trip.

We love couple travel and we encourage you all to take a trip with a friend or partner too! Take this couple travel quotes from Brittanie and Jamal and remember to compromise! If one person wants an “easy day” hike and the other wants to go to a baseball game. We have a ton of episodes we’ve taken as a twosome so if you’re looking for couples vacation ideas, we have plenty of destination recommendations!

This episode is geared toward tips for having a peaceful trip with loving memories of the couple traveling together. We have included tips for two friends traveling together too because we all know issues can arise in either situation. What is it about travel that makes people fight? Well, not with these tips!

These are some vacation ideas for couples that we loved: A 5 day trip to Big Island Hawaii, a week in Spain, and a single day in San Diego for the two of you, and some of the most romantic places in the U.S. across the world.

Couple Vacation Ideas & Tips – Episode Transcript

2 (59s):
Welcome to this week’s episode of the Travel Squad podcast. Today, we’re giving you major tips on traveling as a twosome. We talk a lot about squad travel, but sometimes it’s just you and your partner or you and your friend and the dynamic can be a lot different.

1 (1m 14s):
Yes. And obviously Jamal and I do a lot of traveling as a couple as we’ve been together for nearly 15 years. My goodness. Thanks,

3 (1m 23s):
Whoa.

1 (1m 23s):
And I’ve learned that traveling in a pair is a big opportunity to bond with that person because you’ll have a lot of opportunities to talk and connect on a deeper level because you’re with each other for literally 24, 7 days on end.

3 (1m 36s):
Yeah. And regardless of it’s your significant other or friend, like you said, also Kim, really traveling as a twosome can make or break a relationship, I think, and ideally it’s going to make it for the better, right? Because you want to have this time to really bond and experience new things in life together. So I’m really excited to go into this episode because believe it or not, even though Brittany and I have been with each other for, as she said almost 15 years, I feel like every trip that we have, we always learn something new about each other.

2 (2m 8s):
You guys are always changing and growing. So there’s always something new to learn.

1 (2m 12s):
Yeah. And this year in 2022, I actually have three trips that I’m taking without Jamal

3 (2m 18s):
With.

1 (2m 21s):
And so, you know, it’s very interesting. One of the trips I’m taking is with an old coworker, we haven’t worked together in like two years

2 (2m 30s):
And Dell has a Tucson,

1 (2m 31s):
Still has a Tucson, but we haven’t worked together in a while. So I don’t see her on a regular basis. We do talk regularly, but we don’t hang out that often. So I wonder like, okay, how is this trip going to go? And then we have another trip planned for later in the year. And I’m like, should we see how the first one goes before we commit to the second and get too deep in the planning process? It’s going to be very interesting.

3 (2m 53s):
It’s going to be interesting, but I don’t think so, Brittany, you know why, because we have this whole episode talking about how to travel as a and again, regardless of if it’s a relationship status or even amongst friends. So we kind of know the basics and what to kind of preliminarily talk about and agree upon that way. We avoid long-term issues and concerns on these trips, right? So I’m really, really excited to delve into this episode here. And as Brittany mentioned, she’s leaving me behind for sure. On two, possibly even three, I need to find myself a twosome partner and experience what you’re going to be experiencing over here. Brittany also,

1 (3m 29s):
So tip number one, we always start with the tips. If it’s your first time traveling with that person, it would recommend starting with a smaller trip, maybe an overnight or a weekend or a trip don’t get too committed and go like balls to the wall. You know, two-week vacation.

2 (3m 44s):
Yeah. It was a really good tip balls to the wall. Don’t do that first. Yeah. You want to know like, does this person like going to the same kind of restaurants as me? Does this person have the same budget as me? Are they social? Like I am, you know, are we going to feed off each other’s energy or the messy, like those kinds of things you want to know or on, you know, looking at the plus side, did you have a really great time? Did you meet people? Was, did you make great memories? Do a little test run.

1 (4m 11s):
I remember in the early days of Jamal and I dating, we would do like a weekend camping trip or like a small trip to Disneyland

2 (4m 19s):
Camping that’ll show you someone’s good or bad.

1 (4m 22s):
Exactly. And then we moved on to our longer vacations

2 (4m 27s):
Tip. Number two is not much of a tip. I just threw this in here as something I love about traveling with a heteronormative partner, my man always carries my bag and fucking love that. So if we’re dating and we’re going on a trip together, I would be expecting you to pull my bag. You don’t have to pull it the whole time. But like, you know, when my hands are full or I’m going to go to the bathroom or if you have a duffel bag and I have a roller you’re taking both, right.

3 (4m 55s):
Well, what if his hands are full Kim? Well, of

2 (4m 57s):
Course we help each other out. I’m not pulling this bag.

3 (5m 1s):
You put this number two here. So relatively important is this make or break for you if they do not offer once to carry your bag, are you like, this is the last time I’m

2 (5m 10s):
Traveling with this person wherever we are.

1 (5m 13s):
I can imagine if you’re in a European country where there’s no escalators and no elevators, and you’re having to carry bags upstairs, she’s imagining and expecting the guy to take her bag and carry out the

2 (5m 23s):
Both, both hands, both suitcases or he’s taking two trips. So men don’t do that, right? No two trips.

3 (5m 28s):
Well, this wasn’t on a twosome trip, but when we were in Japan, I actually did this for Brittany’s mom because when we were going through the

2 (5m 36s):
Train stations

3 (5m 37s):
And the metros and having to take our luggage, they really didn’t have escalators. So I’m just like, oh, I got to carry it down and see, I left Brittany high and dry. And it does because I carried her mom. I don’t know. I think the respect was shown to the mom. So she should just be able to accept it what she did. So I’m just curious where your level is. So if you’re out there listening and into Kim’s DMS, this is high on the list here. Number two. I mean, my God carry her bags.

1 (6m 3s):
Oh my God. Single lady. So

2 (6m 6s):
Didn’t at least at the time of recording. Time of airing, who knows?

3 (6m 10s):
Well, this isn’t Aaron too far off, so I’m glad to see getting busy. Ken that’s good news.

1 (6m 15s):
Tip number three, be transparent about your budget beforehand.

2 (6m 19s):
Yeah. And this could come out. You don’t have to say like my budget is $500, but you could start discussing things that you want to do. And if someone is suggesting Ruth, Chris, and you’re over here suggesting , maybe you guys should have a little conversation.

3 (6m 33s):
Well, not even that you can really see in the preliminary planning process too, on where their head’s at on hotels. And so, I mean, we know this even amongst us as a squad, but even as a twosome, this is a good idea. Like what’s your budget for a hotel

2 (6m 46s):
Sometimes I’ll, I’ll say like, I’ll find a really nice hotel. Like when Jamie and I went to Austin, it was just the two of us. I found this great hotel, the line, which is a beautiful, very like hipster fun hotel, right on the river.

3 (6m 59s):
I say, when Brittany and I were in Austin, we saw the line. We’re like, oh, this is where Kim stay. And it was right on

2 (7m 3s):
Great pool. But it was a little on the pricier side would say between three and 400 a night. So I sent it to Jamie and I was like, this place is amazing, but it is expensive. What do you think? And that allows you to have the conversation around budgets. Like, am I comfortable spending this at that point? You could say, Hey, let’s look for something cheaper or I’m cool with that.

1 (7m 22s):
So last night as Jamal and I were planning a future trip, I was looking at places on Airbnb and I found a few nice places within the budget we wanted to spend. And so I pull one up and say, okay, look at this place, look at the pictures. This is what the price is. And then I would say, okay, here’s option number two. And we’d pull up the pictures, look at the price. And then we would eliminate one

2 (7m 41s):
That’s good sharing options at different price. Ranges is also great.

1 (7m 46s):
Yeah. So, you know, originally we had like five and so every time we compared to like, okay, this in comparison to the last one, okay, we’re gonna eliminate this one and compare it to the next one. And so that’s how we kind of picked our next trip and where we’re going to stay, which is very beautiful. Can we just showed you that?

2 (8m 2s):
No, I like really want to go with me, but I can’t, but it looks beautiful. The pool like Mexico, especially that part of the Caribbean, Mexico, they just have the most unique places to stay their style jungley and you guys are gonna love it.

3 (8m 16s):
Yeah. And even though we’re going to be really in a resort area, you can still find things on a budget and buy on a budget. I don’t want to say like cheap either, but we’re going to be there a week. So a week in a hotel or Airbnb is really going to add up. So I knew kind of what I really wanted to pay. And one of the options was really in there. And what we finally settled on, I don’t want to say was necessarily out of budget, but more that I wanted to pay by like a couple hundred bucks for the whole week. But when you really compared the photos to then it was like, all right, this is really the one. So even when you’re working with your partner against significant other or friend, I really loved the idea that Brittany just threw out because yeah. Maybe when you throw out a number, it sounds like a lot, but when you compare it and see, okay, this is what I’m getting for that, then it’s like, okay, yeah, you guys can all be compatible and agree.

1 (9m 2s):
Yeah. And when I was just planning this trip with Emily upcoming, she was asking what kind of hotels I like. And I always said, you know, I like a budget hotel, but I don’t want to be like grungy.

2 (9m 12s):
Like where

1 (9m 13s):
Reside roof in and Palm desert. I’m like

3 (9m 18s):
Budget in the desert. I think

1 (9m 19s):
Like, you know, I’m willing to do budget, but not like a place where you’re not willing to take off your shoes. Hey travelers, let’s take a quick detour to talk all about our Travel Itineraries that we’ve created just for you. We now have six different trip itineraries one week in Kauai and

2 (9m 37s):
American Southwest weekend or road trip

3 (9m 39s):
A week in Yellowstone and grand Teton, national parks,

1 (9m 43s):
A road trip adventure featuring all three of Washington. State’s national parks,

3 (9m 48s):
Big island, Hawaii, and an Arizona road trip that features all three of Arizona’s national parks.

2 (9m 54s):
We are obsessed with these. These itineraries are 20 to 30 page PDF guides with every detail of the trip laid out. We’re talking where to fly into the exact route to take where to stay park entrance prices, where to eat and driving distance between attractions plus what things to see and do even the hikes we recommend and their mileage and the time to allow for each one and so much more.

1 (10m 15s):
We have story highlights on our Instagram at Travel Squad Podcast, where you can see the full guides. We’ve done all of the research and have taken these exact trips, taking out all of the guesswork from the planning. So all that you have to do is show up and have fun

3 (10m 28s):
And purchase your comprehensive Travel Squad Podcast, itinerary on our website at Travel Squad, Podcast dot com, best of all, they’re on sale right now for $30. So travel on over and get yours today. Tip number four, plan activities that both of you will love. If you’re going as a twosome, you guys should be feeding off each other and knowing one, where does that you’re wanting to go. And then two figuring out what it is that you guys want to do while you’re there. So you both should be contributing to the ideas. That way you both are doing what you want to do. And if there’s one thing you want to do and the other doesn’t want to do, then make it an agreement that we’ll do this, what I want to do. And then we’ll do that of what you want to do that way. You have a good balance and nobody’s upset at each other.

2 (11m 8s):
Yeah, that’s really good. I think you shouldn’t ever plan and say, we’re going to do this without discussing it with your counterpart that you’re going with that that’s just kind of rude. And assuming even if this is the person that goes with anything and says yes to everything, you should still be like, Hey, I found this, do you want to do it? Otherwise, it doesn’t feel like your trip as a group or as a twosome. It feels like your solo trip. You’re just adding someone onto it on. Right. And, and, you know, part of traveling with somebody is making it a special memory with that person. And if you don’t involve them in the planning process, you’re kind of taking that away from the trip.

1 (11m 47s):
That’s what I do for Jamal’s birthday though.

2 (11m 49s):
Well, you need to learn your lesson right here, Brittany,

3 (11m 52s):
I’m married. So I have no choice to just sit and take it. You Know, I know I, I believe me, I do speak up and again, we’ve had this conversation before the banter of complaining about Brittany taking over my birthday and planning is just really banter more so than anything else, but yeah, really do feed off of each other and plan activities that you both will want to do. And I think when we get to tip number six here, so I don’t want to skip number five, we’re going to touch upon that a little bit more.

2 (12m 19s):
And number five really kind of just builds off of number four. We want you to ask the other person, do you want to do this before you book it into your plans? And, and like I was saying, it, it is a twosome, not a one, some plus one situation. So involve it, make fun out of it. Planning a trip is fun. So involve the other person in the fun. I think Brittany involved you she’s like, Hey, I found this 17 mile hike. Are you excited?

3 (12m 46s):
She phrases it in a way in which I really can’t say no, Kim. So yes,

2 (12m 51s):
Brittany phrases, what she says when she’s thinking something like, Jamal might not go for this, how do you phrase it?

1 (12m 57s):
So I found this and I think you’d really love this because we’re going to see all of this history and it’s going to be so beautiful,

2 (13m 6s):
You know, speak to the things they like.

1 (13m 8s):
Yeah. You know? So I just tell him like how beautiful it’s going to be, how much history is in that place.

2 (13m 12s):
No, but there’s something you say, let me talk crazy to you. Okay.

1 (13m 15s):
Oh, that’s what you mean. Yeah. So when I want to do something and Jamal has no idea, I want to do it. I’m like, Hey baby, let me talk crazy to you.

3 (13m 25s):
Well, it’s to say to that, I can’t say no one, you know, squash our dreams and hopes and my, you know, so I, I just gotta roll with the flow and her happiness is my happiness. But again, we’re talking as a couple of 15 years, if you’re a new couple new friendship or even long friendship, first time traveling, you need to have these conversations. Brittany just knows that she can hijack in a way and take forth.

1 (13m 48s):
I’m willing to compromise, like number six, you know, you gotta be willing to compromise. So if Jamal wants to go to a baseball game, I’m going to throw in a hike somewhere in there.

3 (13m 59s):
Right. And if we want to get deep dish pizza and we all want mushrooms, Kim’s going to eat the mushrooms.

2 (14m 5s):
Yeah. Compromise.

3 (14m 8s):
We compromise. Well, Jamal compromise and sacrifice the mushrooms so we can advance and get pizza button. The point being, you have to be willing to compromise. I’m just going to throw out an example. You know, we just had our previous episode, 1 22 talking about London, hi tea. Kim’s in love with it. When we went to Chicago, she really, really wanted to do high tea. It wasn’t anything that I wanted to do at that point in time to be like, oh, I’m in Chicago. Want to do a high tea, but you know what, even though we’re talking couples here, this was a squad trip, but we’re like, no, you know, Kim does what we want to do. We got to do what she wants to do. So sometimes you just got to put in and we’re like, yeah, let’s have some ID and I fucking ended up enjoying it. So sometimes. Yeah.

3 (14m 48s):
So sometimes what you think you won’t enjoy over the other person, you will. But even if you don’t regardless, you should definitely be willing to.

2 (14m 55s):
I have an example too. Not that I had anything in mind instead, but you wanted to go to China. And I was like, China never thought about it, but I was like, okay, sure. I’ll go to China and ended up fucking loving China.

3 (15m 9s):
China

1 (15m 9s):
Love China. Everyone loves China.

2 (15m 13s):
I know China.

3 (15m 14s):
We’ve got to throw in the Trump, China right now.

5 (15m 17s):
And by the way, I love China. I mean, I love China. How can you not love China? I love China, China, China,

3 (15m 24s):
But yeah. Be willing to compromise. It’s going to make the trip a lot more enjoyable. And again, you guys are just going to be feeding off of each other and doing what everybody wants to do. And coming to an agreement,

2 (15m 35s):
You can’t come to an agreement. Number seven is for you. Sometimes you have to force the other person to do. It

3 (15m 42s):
Sounds a little extreme, but at the same time sometimes needed. Yes.

2 (15m 47s):
Yeah. So I went on a trip with my friend Morgan to Boston and this was a fall trip. We wanted to see the colors, go to Salem, do the whole, which you think Halloween thing. So one of our first nights there, you know, we took a red-eye. So our first day was a full ass day. And that night it was like, you know what? We’re in Boston. We have to go out. We’re in Boston. When have we ever been in Boston? Never. She was like, I’m tired of blah. I don’t want, I was like, shots. Can we get two shots over here?

3 (16m 16s):
So

2 (16m 17s):
Just do that. If your friend doesn’t seem down, just get some shots

1 (16m 21s):
For number eight. Sometimes you just have to say no and split up temporarily.

2 (16m 27s):
That’s true too. So I went to one, a watt though with my ex Louie. And the first night we went out, did all the cave bars, had all the craziness. The second night I was like a little hung over and tired. So I lasted till 2:00 AM. Then I was like, I’m going home. He walked me home, went to sleep. He went out, ended up coming back around five or six in the morning. Fine by me. I was sleeping.

1 (16m 50s):
Came after 30 loves to sleep.

2 (16m 53s):
I have hangovers. That’s the problem.

3 (16m 56s):
But you weren’t in another country should have been able to handle.

2 (16m 59s):
No. Right? So your theory is proven wrong.

3 (17m 1s):
It’s not proven wrong. You know, just sometimes maybe, maybe Louis just didn’t do it for you. You, I, I know what

2 (17m 6s):
It does. Definitely what it was.

1 (17m 10s):
And she is single as we record this episode,

3 (17m 13s):
But no, all we even do this sometimes Brittany and I, and you know, a good example is, you know, when we’re in Las Vegas, sometimes Brittany’s tired just as well. Doesn’t want to do anything. And I’m not like a big gambler, but I sometimes like to be down there. So if she’s tired, wants to stay in the hotel, I’ll go roaming the casino, roaming the shops and doing things on my own just because I don’t want to settle in at that moment. So don’t be afraid to split up, even if it’s something temporary. And I know, I guess this is more so for a squad than as a twosome because you don’t really want to eat alone if you’re just traveling with two people. But even if you can’t really decide where it is that you want to eat, don’t be afraid to say like, Hey, let’s just get our own things for dinner or lunch or whatever it is that you want to do.

3 (17m 55s):
So it really goes hand-in-hand and I guess in a way that’s almost like compromising compromise to split up, right?

2 (18m 1s):
This is a total side. Tangent. Not about splitting up at all, but I was recently in Tahoe around four or five in the morning and the casinos hit the craps table.

3 (18m 10s):
Oh fuck. Yeah.

2 (18m 11s):
Yeah. It was a $25 hand. I’ve never played that high before. I was like, fuck it. And I think I took out a hundred from the ATM

3 (18m 21s):
That’s three rolls of the dice, Kim.

2 (18m 23s):
I know, but I started playing and I was like triple up. I was handing Charlotte money. I was handing Jordan. I was like tipping the dealers. So I ended up coming out on top.

3 (18m 33s):
Ah, very nice. That’s what happens at four or 5:00 AM in lake Tahoe. Isn’t it.

2 (18m 37s):
I go that way or the other way, but I’m glad it went in my way. I hit a snake eyes and I had it on the two and the field.

3 (18m 44s):
Oh,

2 (18m 45s):
For all of you gamblers out there.

1 (18m 48s):
So tip number nine is to divide packing tasks. No, who’s going to pack what, for example, when Jamal and I travel, I always pack the liquid toiletries and the medication bag like that is my task to do. And Jamal packs like the itineraries and passports and documents. And most importantly, all of our snacks,

3 (19m 5s):
Snacks,

2 (19m 6s):
Snacks, if it’s snacks, live it in,

3 (19m 8s):
Leave it. And that is for damn sure. And I always know what Brittany wants just again, cause we’ve been together for so long, but if you’re giving up packing, always ask somebody. And even if you’re going as a twosome amongst friends, girls, Hey, are you bringing the blow dryer? Are you bringing the straightening iron that way you guys can divvy it up and you’re not bringing double of anything. And so always just discuss that way. There’s not duplicates of anything.

2 (19m 32s):
I think what’s cool too. If you don’t actually plan it out, the benefit of going as a twosome is someone usually has what you didn’t bring. So you’re going to forget Q-tips maybe or tweezers and the other person has happened to have product.

3 (19m 44s):
Yeah. And rely on the accidental for God. And don’t just omit it, thinking the other person will without

2 (19m 49s):
The conversation. Yeah.

3 (19m 51s):
You don’t want that.

1 (19m 53s):
They’re bringing out toothbrush.

2 (19m 55s):
Sometimes you have to share community toothbrush.

3 (19m 58s):
You’ve done that.

1 (19m 59s):
And as we were talking about divide packing tasks, number 10, you can actually divide planning tasks as well. So Jamal is really great with maps and transportation planning. And I’m really good with booking hotels and activities.

2 (20m 13s):
And I’m really good with high tea, Thai food

1 (20m 16s):
Rooftop bars,

2 (20m 17s):
Bars.

3 (20m 19s):
I know when we’re on vacation, we’re going to know where the best type places to eat. And if there’s high tea sure as hell, no, we’re going to know that there’s also

2 (20m 27s):
Hot Springs too. I’m pretty good at finding those

3 (20m 29s):
That you are. I will give you that, you know what? We all have our niches and that is yours. But again, just divide the planning tasks. And I think a lot of these really tie into pass things and future things that we’re going to talk about. I mean, figure out what it is that you guys are going to want to do and then plan those tasks and activities also. So,

1 (20m 48s):
So I’m going to share something with you. We are currently planning a trip because of previous trip that may be canceled. So we are planning a backup trip. And so I tell him, I said, why don’t you go ahead and go for it and start planning it because he had a day off of work and I was going to work that day and he looks at me and he goes, but you plan all of our trips now. And I don’t even know where to start.

2 (21m 7s):
Oh, you lost your touch.

3 (21m 9s):
Well, a combination of factors can partially lost the touch. I don’t really know where to start. If I really wanted to start, I could have started, but I was busy editing an episode. And so that really occupied a lot of my day. So I’d really, didn’t get to the planning of the back-up trip. And I’m also very hopeful that the backup trip being planned won’t actually be taken because the trip that we have in place will actually be allowed to go through with new COVID restrictions and entry requirements to countries. So I was kind of put it into fruition by not doing it was really my train of thought on that one.

2 (21m 43s):
I see.

3 (21m 45s):
And kind of lost the touch. Maybe

2 (21m 46s):
Sometimes you have to do assignments like, Hey, you research Hotsprings and then they know where to start.

1 (21m 52s):
That’s true. That’s true.

2 (21m 54s):
Tip number 11. We’ve all fallen to this one. And that is to pack a lot of snacks so that no one gets hangry. Cause sometimes like something’s delayed. You think you’re going to make it to lunch at two and ends up being five. And you don’t want hangry counterpart. Yeah.

3 (22m 11s):
Or not even that maybe you have a connection in the airport and it’s long enough for you to get to your actual gate, to board the plane, but not long enough for you to actually get food in the airport too. So you do need those snacks. We know domestically, they don’t really serve food anymore. So you’re definitely going to need them for that or road trips or anything for that matter. Do have the snacks to prevent the hangry. I’d like to say and point out Jamal avoids the hangry. But these two ladies sitting next to me right now, they get hangry. I remember one time when we were in Lebanon and Kim just was like, I don’t even care what we eat anymore. We could’ve put

2 (22m 47s):
Mushrooms a long ass day.

3 (22m 48s):
It was, but we could’ve put mushrooms on it. And Kim would have eaten it. She

2 (22m 51s):
Was

3 (22m 53s):
A mushroom meatball,

2 (22m 54s):
Meatless, musher, maple.

3 (22m 56s):
Oh, okay. Well I’m proud of you. You got

2 (22m 58s):
Just saying, but you know, I think women are a little more susceptible to blood sugar drops because of our hormones. So give us the stacks, people,

3 (23m 7s):
The point being number 11, pack the snacks to prevent the hangry attacks. Ooh, that kind of rhymed. Now that we said it again,

2 (23m 13s):
They start rapping saying his job.

3 (23m 17s):
I wish he was here to do it. Cause I can’t rap. Don’t have that skill

2 (23m 20s):
Tip. Number 12. Co-pilots especially when you’re as a twosome, it’s not fair to make one person do all the driving so you could swap off. But if that is not an option, as some couples have their dynamic and one drives, the other should be navigating GPS. Don’t make the driver do both.

3 (23m 37s):
Yes. And be on point about it. If the turn is coming up, tell me it’s coming up. Don’t tell me five miles away that in five miles, you’re going to need

2 (23m 45s):
To make this argument all the time. Like where’s you, why you didn’t tell him what the turn .

3 (23m 51s):
Yeah. Well I’m glad you subtly brought it up because I was trying to be subtle without throwing anybody under the bus. But now that you did, I’m just going to go ahead and say it. Brittany will be very good about telling me like, oh, in five miles, you need to take this. But sometimes Google fails us and we’ll say, take exit 32 B. And it won’t even say the name, which I think is trash on Google maps. So if anybody from Google is listening, fix that. I mean, that’s absolute trash. But point being Brittany will tell me like five miles. This is what you’re going to want to take. Well, you know what? Not five miles and three minutes. That’s taken me to get there. I fucking forgot. Why don’t you? Why don’t you tell me when the exits here? So we just need to work on that dynamic. So even though we’re giving you this tip, it’s a good tip to carry for.

2 (24m 30s):
Well, the GPS should be able to say aloud the directions so you can hear them. And your copilot could also direct

3 (24m 37s):
You.

1 (24m 38s):
I don’t like it.

2 (24m 39s):
Hey, well then you better be on

3 (24m 41s):
0.2

2 (24m 44s):
Miles, one mile.

1 (24m 46s):
And the reason why I don’t like it is because I used to connect it to my car. And then like every time it would do turn, it would like interrupt the music. And it’s like your music and the new it’s like in one mile, turn air in half a mile, turn here. And I’m like tertiary.

3 (24m 59s):
They have a tick talk with that video. And it’s like, when Google maps ruins your vibe and it’s playing a,

2 (25m 5s):
You know, mine now, it just makes this beep noise. It doesn’t even say the directions. And I actually would prefer they’d talk to me and ruin the vibe. So I guess do some digging in the settings of your stuff before you take off

3 (25m 19s):
Number 13, very important one that I need to work on, be patient and communicate with each other. And a lot of times Brittany and I can really mishear each other. And sometimes that will create a dynamic where we’ll start a little bit of bickering. So you do want to try to communicate as best as you can and not assume the other person is a mind reader. It’s going to make your trip a lot more enjoyable that way.

1 (25m 42s):
Yeah. A lot of the times I’ll be thinking in my head, but I won’t actually say my thoughts out loud. And so

3 (25m 48s):
Like take this exit,

1 (25m 49s):
Like take this exit where I see it and I process it, but I don’t say it out loud. So yes, sometimes I do need to work on that

2 (25m 56s):
Tip. Number 14 sounds really formal, but it really isn’t. It is to every night, go over what you’re going to do the night before now you don’t have to pull out your printed itinerary and call attention with a gavel or anything like that. But just say like tomorrow we’re going to the elephant sanctuary our reservations at nine. Discuss what time you should wake up. I actually love doing that when we go on trips as a squad to say like, okay, we have to be there by nine. So it takes an hour to get there. And then we need an hour to get ready. And so we like decide together what time to wake up an

1 (26m 29s):
Hour for both bullshit and wrong turns.

3 (26m 33s):
So all that

2 (26m 34s):
Good stuff. And it’s helpful to go over that. Cause if you have any open time than the two of you can say, oh, well, I actually saw this and I might want to do that. And you can have those discussions ahead of time. You’d be on the same page the next day,

1 (26m 45s):
Whenever we were on cruises, I would love to go to over the itinerary for the next day to see like what’s going on the cruise ship. That would be like our favorite part,

2 (26m 53s):
Like circle what you want to do.

1 (26m 56s):
But when you’re on a regular trip, yeah, it’s nice to be like, okay, tomorrow, this is what we have planned. We have this, this, and this. These are the timeframes we need to be ready by. So

2 (27m 4s):
Change to if your counterpart is like, oh, I saw this and I want to change it. Or I don’t feel like doing that anymore. Or I want to sleep in cause we’ve been going hard this whole weekend. You can change your plans too, but have those discussions,

1 (27m 18s):
Number 15 on our list is have the bucket we’re on the vacation mentality.

2 (27m 23s):
Yes. I love that mentality. That is what I live for.

3 (27m 27s):
It’s one of my favorite mentalities. And when it comes to traveling as a twosome, you know, you can equate it any way you want. But one thing that I will just say in the terms of the fuck, it we’re on vacation mentality is when you’re in the moment. Sometimes you can think to yourself, fuck, it’s a lot of money. I don’t really want to do it. And obviously spend within your means. I’m not saying don’t spend within your means, but I’ve never come back from vacation and said, Jesus, I shouldn’t have spent all that money, but I’ve come back from vacation and saying, Jesus, where did my fuck it? I’m on vacation mentality. Go. And I didn’t do something that I should have done.

2 (27m 59s):
Yeah. I mean, I overspend on vacation all the time and I say, okay, well that’s what happened. But I do have regrets of not spending $5 on a mariachi song on the phone next go city.

3 (28m 12s):
Yeah. Or even being totally screwed out of a hundred euros and Venice to not ride the gondolas. Like I thought to myself, what a joke. And then here I am thinking to myself, I should have just spent the hundred euros and written the gondolas

2 (28m 25s):
Number 16, very important. And this is when you get into little tiffs because they do happen, forgive and forget quickly and get on with your trip and have fun. You know, it could be something little, like you went in the shower first and I wanted to shower.

1 (28m 41s):
You know what I was just thinking like the shower rotation,

2 (28m 45s):
Or it could be something more major. Like you left me at the train station or some shit like that, you know?

3 (28m 52s):
Well, I wouldn’t forgive and forget quickly. Somebody left me at the train station.

2 (28m 55s):
You’re taking too long. You got both bags, pick it up.

3 (28m 59s):
No, but you really have to do that. I mean, freak outs happen. So forgive and forget, Brittany knows all about the freak outs. She’s the one who has them if I’m not being over here. No, but one of my favorite things, I shouldn’t say it’s a favorite thing. It’s almost like I do it now. Two more. So it’s kind of upset, Brittany, but in a friendly way is when we get upset. I just tell her I’m over this. I want to go home. Cause I used to do that all the time before I got to the forgive and forget quickly. Yeah. Because I like to fuck with you sometimes. So Maybe 25% of the time now it’s still true. 75% of the time. It’s me just saying it. Like I want to go home, but don’t, don’t be like, Jamal, don’t have the freakout forgive and forget. And when I say I want to go home, I meet it in a moment.

3 (29m 41s):
But I, it real quick, after that five minutes later, I’m ready to hammer on through.

1 (29m 45s):
Yeah. Sometimes you just gotta know when to pick your battles and sometimes, you know, someone showers before you, you’re like, all right, I’m not gonna say anything. I’m just gonna power through this. And yeah.

2 (29m 53s):
And I would say, if you’re going with a girl, especially two single girls going out, sometimes girls are in the vibe of let’s go meet guys. Let’s go party. And one girl might not be in that same vibe. And I’ve actually run into little, not freak outs or anything, but just like difference of opinion, I would say. And refer back to previous tips. Either go your own way, compromise. But if it does lead to any issues forgiven, forget quickly,

3 (30m 19s):
What’s your position on forgive and forget if you ladies are both out on the prowl for a man at a bar, you call dibs and the other one’s swoops at Kim. I need to ask the single one. Yeah. Where’s the forgive and forget on that one.

2 (30m 33s):
To be honest, I think I would forgive and forget quickly because out on the prowl meeting somebody or not even meeting them and just calling dibs, like I have no emotional attachment to that guy.

3 (30m 43s):
That’s true. I just guess as a man there’s man code amongst bros,

2 (30m 48s):
Girl code comes in when there’s like an established connection already. If I’d been like swooning, we made out and then I turned around my friends making out with him, then I’d be like, I could go either way. Honestly.

3 (30m 59s):
It’s a little side tangent. I just thought I’d throw that out there. Cause you mentioned about going out at night. So it just came to my mind real quick. But number 17 is take turns, picking trips. So if trip number one went well, you enjoyed it. And somebody else picked it for you. You pick it this time or vice versa. There should be equal decision and share of ideas on what it is that you guys are all doing.

2 (31m 22s):
Not only that, like you guys are talking, that makes sense for you to deciding trips. But if this is a friend and you had a trip and it went well, keep the momentum going, suggest a trip as the next one. And don’t wait for that person to plan another one. If you like traveling with them, like throw out something else.

3 (31m 39s):
That’s true. And if that one goes good, then you know the idea of yeah. Bounce ideas off each other to take those turns. But definitely you don’t want one person choosing everything. It is that you’re doing for you

2 (31m 51s):
Learn from your mistakes. Number 18. This is if you’ve traveled with someone that wasn’t a good traveler, don’t do another twosome trip with them. Maybe that’s a squad trip. Not everybody that you travel with is going to be your best travel buddy. So if you took a trip with somebody didn’t work out, maybe you just pass on the next one.

3 (32m 8s):
Yeah. And don’t let it ruin your friendship. You still may be good friends with them. You just can’t really travel with them. It’s the same thing with roommates, right? You could be really good friends with somebody, but you can’t be a good roommates with them. So learn from your mistakes. And if it’s fixable, try to fix it, have that conversation. But if you don’t think it’s really worth it just, it is what it is and don’t let it ruin any of your other trips and just learn from your mistakes.

1 (32m 30s):
Tip number 19 is plan where to eat ahead of time. This is going to save you guys. So many arguments. It’s like trying to figure out what to have for dinner every night.

2 (32m 39s):
Oh my God. And

1 (32m 40s):
This is the biggest time-saver because you know, when you’re on vacation, the last thing you want to do is spend time like scrolling through like, where are we gonna eat tonight? Oh, this place looks okay. Oh no, I don’t like this place. So if you kind of have an idea of where you want to eat or what you want to eat in advance, it’s going to save you time and an argument.

2 (32m 58s):
Actually, if they’re like places that are noteworthy. When I went up to Tahoe, we had planned to go to this on the lake steak house, pasta place, the food looked amazing. We’d all agreed. That’s what we were doing Saturday night. So it made it easy. And when I went to Austin with Jamie, there was this place that had beautiful pink decor, like pink flower phone booth. We wanted to go there for that restaurant specifically. So having those little milestones along your trip, make it easier to,

1 (33m 26s):
Yeah, I know this wasn’t a couples trip, but when we went to grand Teton and Yellowstone, like we were so hungry after like our first day in Yellowstone. Cause we had our dry from the Tetons and we were out all day and we get to the hotel and we’re like, what are we going to eat? And then we just kept like bouncing restaurant when

2 (33m 43s):
You’re really hungry. It’s hard to choose.

1 (33m 44s):
Yeah. So we were like struggling there. We made a decision.

3 (33m 48s):
Yeah. And it doesn’t need to be a rigid and schedule. Like I’m eating this at this location from breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but just have ideas of where it is that you do want to eat. Especially too. If you know the person that you are traveling with is more picky in what it is that they want to eat. For example,

2 (34m 5s):
Reservations are always a good idea too, because it keeps your trip on some type of a schedule and gives you something to look forward to. And then in COVID times, reservations are just recommended all around.

3 (34m 16s):
Number 20, take pictures and ask others to take pictures of you too.

2 (34m 22s):
Yes. Because you’re going to be taking pictures of each other, but you need pictures together and make sure to be careful about who you choose to take that picture.

3 (34m 29s):
Yes. We’ve had many discussions about how trashy people are when it comes to taking photos of you. And what I mean by that is they’re just not good photographers and I’m not asking for professional, but I mean, if I’m standing in front of a building and you could get the whole goddamn thing in it and you cut it halfway off, what are you doing with yourself? Right.

1 (34m 48s):
This is a trick. You go up to the couple and be like, would you like us to take a photo of you? And then you could take a photo of us afterwards and they’re going to be like, yes. And then you’re going to take this amazing photo of them. And then you’re going to say, go ahead and take a look. Could you get that same shot for me? And you kind of like put that angle there for them. Like just frame it, us, frame it up and then it can’t go wrong.

2 (35m 9s):
You can always go for a gen Z person too. You know, they know the angles, they get multiple shots.

3 (35m 14s):
Yeah. But sometimes the baby boomers are the only ones around. But yeah, don’t be afraid to tell them what it is that you want in the photo. But definitely do take pictures of others and ask them to take pictures of you too. You’re definitely going to want it. You’re on a trip with that person. You need to put it in stone in a way, if you will and get that photograph of you to

2 (35m 34s):
Tip number 21. I love this tip. If you’re going as a romantic couple pack, a little something sexy for the trip, a little lingerie, perhaps a little bath bomb for the bath.

3 (35m 47s):
We see where your head is at cam. I like it. I like it.

1 (35m 51s):
Yeah. So I don’t pack one Dre often, but I do love to cross countries and states off places where, you know, we have a little sexy time had

2 (35m 60s):
To stop at Love’s an Idaho.

3 (36m 2s):
Yeah. The gas station is my favorite place. Kevin didn’t she know that, especially loves it. Just says it in the name.

2 (36m 8s):
It’s a romantic, it’s a

3 (36m 9s):
Classy place. But no, I really liked that idea. You’re right. I mean, again, if it is one of your first trips you’re taking as a couple, I imagine somebody would do this without even really thinking about it. But the longer time goes on, yes. You want to spice things up. But then, you know, I don’t want to say it’s not important.

2 (36m 25s):
I think you too, if you did that on every trip, it’d be like every other weekend, Brittany has some new lingerie she’s busting out in. Jamal’s like, again,

3 (36m 35s):
I’d

2 (36m 36s):
Hope it at least be on like a Valentine’s day or an anniversary trip.

3 (36m 39s):
Oh, of course. Or Vegas, certain cities limit itself to be like that. Right.

2 (36m 44s):
Okay. Tip number 22. Talk to other people while you’re on your trip. Yes. You two came together, but you can definitely meet people while you’re on that trip.

3 (36m 53s):
One of my favorite things to do, I feel like I am a social butterfly in a sense I could talk to anybody. I really love to talk to people. And Brittany and I have done this so many times. And when we’re on solo couple trips, when we were invited to Guadalupe, we met and talked to people who were on our tour. We ended up becoming friends with them. We went out to dinner with them that night, when we were celebrating new year’s in Shawmanee in the French Alps, we met a couple, was staying in our hotel. We did a few things with them, celebrated new year’s with them, had our new year’s toast and everything like that. So you’re right. Even if you’re on a couple strips, you do want to have that social aspect with other people. And so just try to make friends, put yourself in those social settings to do so. And you’re not going to regret it.

2 (37m 34s):
And finally, our 23rd tip is to have some alone time while you were on your twosome trip. This could be something as simple as you’re taking a walk to get coffee in the morning, or you want to stay home and journal or read. I know Zayna does that. Sometimes when we go on trips, Brittany, I think you were having some hammock time on our last Ecuador trip.

1 (37m 54s):
Oh my God. So I was so into the Netflix series Selena, well,

2 (37m 59s):
We got a good one

1 (37m 60s):
Ecuador and I had some episodes, you know, loaded up, downloaded on my phone. And so sometimes when you’re on and off the bus, you don’t finish an episode. So like at the end of the night, I would go lay in the hammock in the Amazon and finish up an episode. And then once I was done with the episode, I would just lay in the hammock and just listen to all of the animals and birds and noises and river in the Amazon, because we had this balcony that was like overlooking the river. And it was amazing.

2 (38m 30s):
Yeah. Lone time is good. Especially if you’ve made it to the balls, to the walls phase of your twosome trips. And you’re on like a two week trip. You might want a little lone time during that period.

3 (38m 39s):
Yeah. And I know we talked about number 21, if it’s a romantic couple, some sexy time and the lingerie and you would think, oh, couple’s bath and a jacuzzi or hot tub. But even that alone time could be your own personal bath or anything like that. Just to really relax and decompress because a lot of people are just maybe afraid to have this conversation or they think, oh, well I’m on a trip with this person. I need to do this. But even if it’s something romantic alone, time is something that’s very healthy and you shouldn’t be afraid to have it. Even if you’re on a vacation with your significant other or somebody,

2 (39m 11s):
I absolutely need alone time. I love to be social. It powers me up. But at a certain point alone time is absolutely needed. All right. It’s my favorite time of the week question of the week. Question number one, coming in hot. What are some romantic places to visit as a couple?

1 (39m 37s):
Really, really great question. We actually have an episode all about romantic places to visit it’s episode 70. So definitely go back and check it out.

2 (39m 46s):
I actually have a city recommendation and this is one a Watteau in Mexico. And it is actually the perfect place for romantic couples. It’s like the place that you want to hold hands and sit at a twosome table in a courtyard, overlooking some music. And there’s just so many like cute couple of things to do there. I would highly recommend it for couples.

3 (40m 5s):
You know, one of my favorite places to go, if it’s a romantic destination, isn’t even a specific spot. Yes. We have episode 70. We list several places in there and we really do mean those locations. But one of my favorite things to do is really go to a winter destination because

2 (40m 22s):
Yeah,

3 (40m 23s):
Because you’re cold. When you get back to the hotel room or your cabin or wherever it is that you’re staying, you want to cuddle hot sit and have hot chocolate. You write fireplace maybe. And I think when you need this snuggle up, it makes it a little bit more conducive for those romantic vibes. So yes, certain cities have those romantic factors and vibes to them. But if you’re looking for something even just simple for that matter, I would say winter destinations lend themselves to be a little bit more romantic because you need to have that snuggle moment for the warmup.

1 (40m 54s):
So question number two is what do you do about the bathroom situation when you’re traveling as a couple?

2 (41m 0s):
Oh my God, this is stressful.

3 (41m 3s):
Do they mean as a new couple first time having

2 (41m 6s):
We’ll be friends, maybe it’s a friend. You’re not like super comfortable with to blow it up. So popery for sure.

1 (41m 14s):
what chip of taking some toilet paper and making a hammock so that your, when you poop it, doesn’t splash the water and make noise.

2 (41m 29s):
That is creative. You could also just put it on the water, lay it on top. The

3 (41m 34s):
She’s talking about, oh,

2 (41m 35s):
Okay. I was imagining like you’re draping it across the sides and putting the toilet seat on top. Like very dramatic.

3 (41m 42s):
No, no, no, yeah, yeah. Putting it on top of the water, but that’s a little much Brittany. Wow. But you know what? Yeah. If you’re worried about the noises, but I wonder if you’re going through that much effort, the plop noise, isn’t going to be as big as what, maybe the coming out noise, but

2 (41m 56s):
To do it before the shower on the water. Yeah. You have the bathroom for a long time, so it can kind of get aired out. So when I was in one a Watteau on a couples trip, it wasn’t that I was afraid to use the bathroom in the same room as this person. It was just that the room that we got the bathroom door was see-through and it also was open on the bottom and the top. And it was like a swinging thin door. So there was no privacy and the bathroom was very small. So the toilet was like right in front of the door. So when I needed to use the bathroom, I just simply asked my ex-boyfriend to leave the room. And he did like, he knew what was going on, but I was like, you need to go,

3 (42m 36s):
You just need the privacy. I get it. You know, what’s really, really funny though, is two bathrooms really stand out and I know I’ve experienced it in other places. Ironically, both of these were in Africa and we were in Johannesburg at a really, really nice hotel yet the shower had no privacy whatsoever. It was like a clear shower. And the shower was the, one of the things that was like out in the open and the toilet was private. So if you’re traveling with somebody who’s just even a friend and you know, you’re not at that comfort level or like two dudes, do you want to just shower right. Of each other or anything like that? Like literally there was no privacy because of that. And then another place when we were in Africa kind of same situation, as you were describing that bathroom and want to walk though, it was almost like a saloon door that where it’s like three feet off the ground.

3 (43m 22s):
And so there’s no privacy whatsoever the doors just so you can’t see. Not so you can’t hear. Yeah. So, but yeah, that’s a tough one. Poo-Pourri or just straight up ask for that privacy. Otherwise you gotta be at the real comfort level, you know, Brittany and I are 15 years. We don’t care no more.

2 (43m 40s):
All right. And on that note, thank you. Squaddies for tuning into this week’s episode, keep the adventures going with us by following us on Instagram and YouTube. Send us in your questions of the week and tag us in where you’re going.

3 (43m 51s):
Have you found the information, this episode would be useful, or if you thought we were just playing funny, please be sure to share it with a friend that would enjoy it too. And as always, please subscribe, rate and review our podcast and tune in every travel Tuesday for new episodes,

1 (44m 4s):
Stay tuned for next week’s episode, we have some more amazing adventures and tips in store for you. Bye