Traveling the world is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. For many, traveling with a buddy can offer a level of support that can help one take that leap into the unknown. For others, they prefer to go it alone. No matter if you prefer to solo travel or travel with a friend or partner, travel is filled with ups and downs.
As established travelers, travel bloggers make it their duty to help others travel the world and learn from their mistakes. If you ask anyone who has made travel blogging their career choice, about their blog, they will most likely say that they run a blog that focuses on travel and something else. This is called a niche and it is 100% necessary if you want to have a successful blog.
A while ago I sat down with Lia Garcia, one of the founders of Practical Wanderlust, to talk about her and her partner’s travel blog which focuses on off-beat budget couple’s travel. I was curious about what it takes to travel the world successfully with your romantic partner. What challenges do they face because they are traveling as a couple? What is easier because of their relationship? Here is what I learned:
WHAT DOES IT MEANT TO BE A COUPLES TRAVEL BLOGGER?
It means I’m really, really terrible at solo female travel. (JK, but not really.) It mostly means that we typically travel together, and sometimes we cover destinations from a romantic angle! We’re also able to tell stories about ourselves and our relationship on our blog, which is great because our friends are all sick of hearing our favorite mushy anecdotes at every get-together.
WHAT ARE SOME ADVANTAGES OF TRAVELING WITH YOUR PARTNER?
Having a partner along on our trips allows us to get two different perspectives on places. It also allows us seek out romance wherever we go. But most importantly of all, it means having someone else to remember to do important things like bring snacks to prevent hanger fights or book tickets to stuff. Thank goodness!
WHAT ARE SOME CHALLENGES?
Traveling with a partner when you both have the same travel style is a breeze- the challenge comes when you both want different things out of a trip! If your partner wants to spend the day relaxing and you want to go out and explore, you’ll have to talk through it. I recommend discussing those expectations and having that conversation in advance so you have a game plan all figured out – and don’t be afraid to split up and sightsee on your own! It will give you more to talk about when you meet back up again.
Another challenge we’ve faced is spending a TON of time together. We literally spent an entire year together. Imagine being with your partner 24/7 – in the same ROOM – for an entire YEAR. Yes, we absolutely got on one another’s nerves at times! Being able to communicate when you need space and alone time is so helpful.
A lot of challenges that come up when you travel feel personal when you’re traveling with your partner. It’s important to recognize when an issue is situational and NOT personal. You are 100% guaranteed to get cranky, tired, hungry, overwhelmed, and irritated on a trip – it’s just part of travel. When that does happen – and it will – recognize that those are situational, they are not YOUR fault, and your cranky partner is not upset with YOU. I also recommend carrying around snacks: hanger is the #1 cause of travel fights, according to my very scientific personal experience.
HOW HAS TRAVELING IMPACTED YOUR RELATIONSHIP?
Travel is our love language, and most of our best memories are from trips we’ve taken together- we absolutely love traveling together! Travel has strengthened our relationship and communication, as well as allowing us to practice tackling challenges together as a team. We like to think those skills will come in handy when we have kids, but who knows.
WHAT STRATEGIES DO YOU USE TO BE A SUCCESSFUL COUPLES TRAVEL BLOGGER?
I work full time on my blog and I’ve managed to grow it quite a bit in the 3 years since I started it. There are a TON of things I do to be successful, from driving traffic to monetizing my blog. I write about all of those strategies on my travel blogging resource site, SlayingSocial.com.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW?
I’d love for you to follow along with our adventures on PracticalWanderlust.com or on Instagram @practicalwanderlust. And if you’re a travel blogger, we’d love for you to join our community at SlayingSocial.com or on Facebook! Https://slayingsocial.com/
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Meet Practical Wanderlust
Lia Garcia and her husband Jeremy founded Practical Wanderlust, an off-beat couple’s travel blog, just before taking off on a (disastrous) year-long honeymoon. Since then, the blog has grown into a full-time job and Lia and Jeremy have settled back down into live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Practical Wanderlust has been featured in Forbes, Travel & Leisure, Vice, the Washington Post, Fodor’s, & other impressive sounding publications across the web.
If you are interested in learning more about Practical Wanderlust click here: https://practicalwanderlust.com
