As a married couple, it might be difficult to find the time to travel as often as you may have before marriage. Add children to the mix, and it might be even more challenging to take a break away from the routine of life. It is in the solitude of these breaks, though, that a couple can truly find contentment and connection in the relationship. The depth to which a couple’s connection to one another can grow is magnified when taking the time to change environments and surroundings, and to expose their lives to new adventures. The following paragraphs identify specific ways in which travel can enhance both your physical intimacy and emotional connection with your spouse.
Sharing special places with one another
Traveling together can afford you the opportunity to show one another the places that have special meaning. Once you have established a routine of day-to-day life, the time you each used to spend traveling to the locations that hold memories may decrease, but that does not mean that those special memories must fade away or disappear. As quite the opposite, couples who engage in healthy relationships desire to show one another all of the places and things that hold special meaning. Whether it is about the place to which you are traveling, a certain site you might be able to see, or the culture to which both of you will be exposed, your past experiences can be shared in a way that brings your spouse closer to you mentally and emotionally.
Exploring new adventures
Just as traveling can allow you to share those special memories with one another, traveling can also afford you the opportunity to explore new adventures together. There is something to be said about the benefit of spending time exploring something new and different with your spouse. Whether that something new is as routine as parenting, or is as exciting as zip-lining in Costa Rica, having things to look forward to with one another is an important part of maintaining a healthy relationship. Besides, who is better than your best friend with whom to share all of those special adventures!
Trying new things along the way
In addition to seeing new things and having new adventures, it is important to try new things together as well! This can be something like trying new foods, especially those from another culture, or trying to learn the traditional dance of the culture you are visiting. Spending time with people who are not tourists and exploring the Great Outdoors can also be beneficial not only to personal growth and development but to the growth and connection of your relationship.
Being alone among people
One of the greatest benefits of traveling the world together as a married couple is that though you may be with a large group of people, you will likely feel as if it is just the two of you. And that’s a good thing! There is absolutely nothing wrong with feeling as if you are the only two people in the room, especially for a couple who spends much of their time around too many people. Additionally, traveling and being in new and exciting places can enhance your desire for intimacy. Because you will probably know few people during your travels, public displays of affection are more likely. Journeys to colorful and romantic destinations can promote a sense of closeness and enhance both your desire for physical intimacy and the quality of the intimacy itself. Traveling offers a sense of sexual freedom with your spouse that you might feel obligated to mute or soften when in your traditional home setting.
Working as one on your journey together
Probably one of the more challenging tasks that you might encounter while traveling with your spouse, is that of compromise and working together. There is nothing easy about learning how to cooperate with your life partner after the wedding. However, couples who spend several weeks of the year traveling will oftentimes be able to communicate more fluidly once they have experienced one or two trips together. Similar to the process of moving from one house to another, the process of learning to travel alongside someone rather than alone can be challenging but very rewarding when you finally learn and appreciate your rhythm with one another. Working together as one in the course of traveling can also provide more consistency in connectedness during physical intimacy. When you are able to work as a unit outside of the bedroom, your ability to move as one unit will likely translate to the inside of the bedroom as well!
Traveling can not only be an adventure but a journey as well. The two of you have become one and must now learn how to be one in a variety of situations. Traveling together can have the benefit of things like seeing, hearing, and tasting new things, but it can also award a couple the healthy communication patterns and positive interaction that are required as part of the longevity of a healthy relationship. Do not sell yourself or your relationship short by anticipating the best will never happen. Instead, be very intentional about your travels and you might find that you reap more physical, emotional, and mental benefits that you could possibly imagine.