First vacation for two: how not to ruin a relationship

1. Choose a seat together

You won't even notice how “no, you hang up first” turns into “no, you didn't check it out when it's rainy season in Thailand”. That is why you need to choose a vacation spot together.

Better that none of you have been there before. If you insist on going where you've already been, get ready to take responsibility for everything: bad coffee, a long queue at the museum, or ugly rolled swans out of towels.

Surely each of you keeps in your head a list of cities and countries where you want to visit the most. Transfer it to paper, rank the places in order of importance, and compare your lists. Just select the country of your first crossing and don't forget to check how you are doing with the weather, currency and visa.

2. Decide who pays

Thought you sorted out the money issue on the first date when you split the restaurant bill? No matter how it is. It depends on the budget where you will go at all, in what conditions you will live and what you will be able to see. Therefore, you need to agree on everything before you find plane tickets.

Talking about money will almost certainly make the top 10 most difficult conversations in your life. In my personal rating, he is somewhere close to explaining to my mother the difference between a hashtag and a cashback.

Otherwise, there is a risk that the vacation will end with the eruption of Vesuvius, which will fill up the ashes of the relationship. It is better to save the little things until the day when the level of trust will be maximum, otherwise the partner may be offended and withdraw into himself.

8. Be Afraid of Shopping

Remember to grab whatever patience you have. And yes, sometimes not only men need it.

When my boyfriend asked me to go with him to the store of his favorite football club, nothing boded trouble. Everything went well as he examined the caps and sweatshirts. The real challenge began when I tried on seven identical T-shirts and asked which one was better. Now I can imagine how men usually feel when they go shopping with us, and why sometimes it is easier for them to pretend to be dead.

If your partner is a shop lover and you don't share this passion, think over compensation for yourself in advance, wait for your couple in a cafe or download a meditation app.

9. Make sure everything suits you

This is what you really set out to do. It is after this trip that it will become clear how serious everything is with you and whether you want to continue the story. It's like playing Minesweeper, where every step counts. You didn’t give her a seat by the window on the plane, you refused to sit in a cafe for an extra half hour while she charges her phone, and you almost let her starve to death while looking for a cafe with a TripAdvisor sticker - and that's it, the game is over.

Some are "lucky" more than others: their lover loses luggage or steps on a sea urchin. Then you need to decide what to do quickly, keeping outward calm and optimism.

On our first trip there was a short connection and we were terribly late for our flight. Before I could panic, my boyfriend said "let's run" and rushed forward like Forrest Gump, collecting other passengers on the flight. We were late for the plane, but it looked impressive.

10. Travel with those you love

No matter how hard you try to perfect the previous nine points, this is the only one without which nothing will work. Hemingway couldn't be so wrong, could he?