Seat of Our Pants

I think Shaun gets weirded out by my ability to remember places. However, the one thing I definitely need him there for is his overwhelming optimism even in the worst situations when traveling. I tend to get stressed out pretty easily and he is always there to remind me that we are living our dream. <3

Right on! That's just another reason why having a built-in travel support system is oh-so-good. It's easy to get stressed out on the road, for sure. I find myself yelling at a tuk-tuk driver over a $.50 discrepancy. It's Martin that steps in and smooths it over (usually when I haven't had a proper meal – I'm ruled by food apparently).

Yay for Shaun (and all the travel partners that have made things just a little bit easier)!

-Jame

We started our 'couple-hood' with 4 years backpacking around Asia. Now, 15 years later we're 3+ years into our ???year Trans-Americas Journey – http://Trans-Americas.com

Thanks for adding us on the list! I have found that the best part of having someone with you is being able to share the small moments in a trip that you wouldn't be able to explain later on. When I traveled alone there would always be these little moments or sights where I would think “You know who would love that…” Having someone you can share these little moments makes it seem even more “real.” Also he's much more practical than I am so that has helped!!

Thank you so much for including us on this list. We are stoked! Craig and I have been traveling and living around the world together since we married in 2002. We have so many memories that we have created together, I couldn't imagine life on the road without him. When it comes to bartering, Craig can be very playful and charming and always manages to get a great price. He turns bartering into a fun game, where for me, I find it stressful, so I leave it up to him. Craig and I have the same outlook on life- it's all about fun and creating awesome memories. I think it would be very difficult to find another partner who has the same attitude to life.
Thanks again!

Thank you so much for including us on this list. We are stoked! Craig and I have been traveling and living around the world together since we married in 2002. We have so many memories that we have created together, I couldn't imagine life on the road without him. When it comes to bartering, Craig can be very playful and charming and always manages to get a great price. He turns bartering into a fun game, where for me, I find it stressful, so I leave it up to him. Craig and I have the same outlook on life- it's all about fun and creating awesome memories. I think it would be very difficult to find another partner who has the same attitude to life.
Thanks again!

Thanks for adding us to the list
Poi is my best friend, so for me it's having him there for company! He's also good to rationalise a situation that I have taken to heart and started getting annoyed at, and sometimes I would like to think that I do the same for him, but he is far too chilled.

I totally agree Aly!

When the experiences are too big – as they are sometimes when you're out in the world – it's nice to have someone beside you to see the things that you might miss.

Happy trails you two!

-Jaime

If I wasn't traveling with Alex, I probably wouldn't be traveling because I am awful with maps and directions. Thankfully, he is amazing. I make up for it with my bargaining skills and charm. I don't think I would ever want to travel without him. Traveling around the world as a couple seems like a unique thing to do – but there are so many of us!

Hey Karen & Eric!

Thanks for the heads up. It seems you two are the ones we should be looking to for long-term advice.

We haven't made it the South and Central America yet. We'll have to follow your journey until we do.

So glad we could connect with you!

-Jaime

I hear ya on the bargaining front. The problem is neither of us like to bargain. It often ends in us glancing back and forth to one another, trying to make the other one name a price. We're terrible!

Anyway, it's great to connect with you and are really happy to hear about couples out there making it work!

-Jaime

Darn men and their rationality! They always want to make life so simple

I have a sneaking suspicion that you two will do great on the road. I'm so looking forward to reading all about it!

-Jaime

Thanks for including us. We wouldn't travel any other way – we'd miss each other too much and wouldn't be able to appreciate where we were alone. It makes things a lot easier – you always have someone to watch your bag and save your seat, and if you are having an off day you can just let the other person take charge. It's also great to have one person who understands what you've been through, as when you return from a big trip you'll realise that noone else does.

Hi there! Just found this post on Never Ending Voyage's twitter, and I'm glad I did. I always think about the differences between travelling as a couple or alone. Felipe and I are a Brazilian couple living in New Zealand and travelling around the globe sometimes…
I have travelled alone before, but I can't imagine doing that again after doing it as a couple. Sharing each moment seems to be the most important thing now, it's so sad when I experience something new and there's nobody there to share.
Being a woman, I remember how crucial it was having him with me in places like India, Morocco or Lombok.
Also, without him I wouldn't appear in any of my photos.
Now I'm going to check the rest of your site!

Oh man… I don't know what happened here that my name disappeared… heheh
All right, this comment wasn't supposed to be mine.

Thanks so much for including us on this list – we are very flattered! It can be tough on occasions but we get along really well when we travel because mainly we are happy. I would have to say though that Randy is the more level headed of the 2 of us and sometimes I need him to bring me back to the ground. He's also really good at rationalizing things which can help out a lot. I think I bring an uncanny sense of direction to the team. He would not agree with that though! hahaha

What a great point about being happy. That's really what is at the core of a good relationship/travel buddy isn't it?

Thanks!
-Jaime

oh crap, I meant it WAS supposed to be mine! lol

No worries! So good to meet you. I've added your link to the above list.

I love what you say about the photos! Our problem is that we never seem to get photos of the two of us together. We just forget – busy snapping away at the scenery or each other.

Happy and safe travels to you two!
-Jaime

Hi Erin!

Yes, that's so true. When I got home from my solo travels and blabbed on and on about it I could see that people (try as they might) just couldn't relate. It is SO nice to share travel with someone and there is a higher chance that more details will be remembered with two than with just one.

Happy travels!
-Jaime

Thanks for your thoughts, Mina.

Bargaining skills and charm will go a long way! Who needs a map when you can charm a direction out of a local?

Cheers,
-Jaime

Thanks so much for including us on this list with other traveling couple greats! Although being with someone 24-hours a day can pose challenges, the benefits of traveling with a partner are so great. We both look at situations differently and experience differently, so at the end of the day it's interesting to compare perspectives on the same day & situations. Also, we do well with “Good Cop/Bad Cop” for bargaining and just getting out of uncomfortable situations. Unfortunately, neither of us has a good sense of direction so we always get lost.

I couldn't imagine not traveling with my wife, Megan. She has the patience and level head that I sometimes lose from time to time. It helps that we pretty much like to do the same exact things while traveling, and we just complement each other so well. I can only stand a weekend away with anyone else, and when I do go somewhere without her, I'm always wishing she was there.
Our blog from our RTW trip is http://thewanderyear.com
We don't update it much anymore, but I am going to be launching a new site specifically designed for traveling couples, hopefully with a few weeks. Feel free to include this one if you like.

Hey, thanks to include us, Jaime! And thanks to introduce these other awesome travel couples!! As a person that never do world travel alone, I can't imagine doing a solo travel. Every time I look/experience something new, I will want my husband to be around to chat about it. I can't do without him – weird not to share with him. Also he is the crucial part of the trip – he deals with finding accommodation, transportation, and paper works in the big scale. (I hope he finds me useful too )

Nice to be introduced to so many new travel blogs! I'll definitely be checking these out. Though I don't think it's 'brave' for couples to travel together at all. If couples can live together and work together they should be able to travel together. Terence and I have been together since 1985 and we've always travelled AND worked together on and off. We put our things in storage in Dubai 4.5 years ago and have been travelling continuously ever since working as travel writers (Terry is also a photographer) and bouncing around the planet from one assignment to another. In 2010 we're on a grand tour for a year we're calling Grantourismo with the aim of living like locals, doing and learning things, and inspiring others to do the same. You can read our blog here: http://grantourismotravels.com/

My husband and I dream of a life on the road someday…For now, he's happily (well, usually) running a company in L.A., and I'm traveling both with and without him every 3 weeks or so. My goal is to encourage workaholics to keep their travel muscles primed until a day when they finally feel free to cast it all aside and roam endlessly.

I salute your journey — and those of all these other couples — and invite you to check out Travels With Two: http://www.travelswithtwo.com/

Thanks Audrey!
You know, sometimes getting lost is the best way to figure out a city – but I'm sure you know that! It is great when you can compare perspectives. I find that Martin will have a totally different take on things, which makes me rethink what we've just seen. Happy trails!

How did we miss this!? Thanks for the heads up @SeatOfOurPants

We're taking off on our RTW Trip in just 8 days! First stop: Cairo, Egypt! Whoa! Feel free to add us to the “traveling couples” list! Well… at least right now we're still a couple. LOL. Check back in a month or two to find out if we're still traveling together! Just kidding…

Check us out at: http://www.pausethemoment.com

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If anybody is interested in doing a link exchange feel free to contact us!