Every love story is special, but ours is my favourite

This is what I firmly believe in. But this is not about our love story, this is about travel and love stories. I totally understand that there are perks of travelling solo. But there are a few of our tribe who loves travelling together with their partners, enjoying the life on the road. This blog is all about travel love stories.

These days it is difficult to find someone who has the same interest as you. So if you can actually find someone who is as crazy as you to live a life on the road and accept you as you are, there is nothing like it.

For my part, I was always the wild and crazy girl who would do things that she was told not to do. I always loved to wander around and climb mountains. And I was sure that I would probably not get someone in this life who would understand my zeal to explore the unknown, to be on the road and be attracted to all the oddities of life that others run away from. Until one day, Agni came barging right into my class and later into my life. We were like chalk and cheese. We still are. Yet love found us.

For most in the list, travel brought them together. But it was not so in our case. Agni was not so fond of travelling, but he too had the same enthusiasm to explore the unknown and do all that others might not want to venture into. While we discovered the adventures of life together, we also discovered the joys of travelling together. And today we travel together with wonder and abandon.

Love and travel bind us together. And I am sure all the couples who travel together!

Here is a list of … such couples who have shared their travel love stories. And yes, every love story is special, but ours is my favourite!

Travel Love Stories

The Averett family from Bring The Kids

I was getting onto a chairlift at Snowbird ski resort when my future husband literally skied into my life.  After both being impressed with how the other one skied, we started dating and soon got engaged on the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.  Fast forward almost 14 years and we’ve now got 5 new travel buddies ranging in age from 2 to 12.  We’ve lived on 3 different continents and have taken our kids to almost 40 countries.  Travel with kids is COMPLETELY different than our days of travelling solo or as a couple, but it’s an experience that we’d never trade.  When you travel with kids you get to see a new and unique side of other cultures.

In Thailand, our baby was kissed and hugged by more people than I could count, in Saudi Arabia my boys learned new soccer moves from the locals, and when we visited Turkey our daughter got to be the assistant chef for the night at the restaurant we were visiting.

Patrycja Ryniak from Keeping it Curious

We started to talk just like any regular young couple does nowadays: on Tinder. But we already knew one another beforehand because we worked at the same video game company. So, our first date went as well as it could have for two shy birds such as us. But one thing we found out during our date: our passion for travel. He lived in Spain, Czech Republic, Ireland, Australia and me in Canada, England, and France. We loved to travel, couldn’t see a life without it, and often swapped so many little anecdotes. 2 years, moving in, and 2 cats later, we are still as travel-crazy (and in love) than ever before. We recently went on a trip to Asia for over 5 weeks and we travelled to Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Japan. We are always looking for the off-the-beaten-path trips to do although my boyfriend does enjoy the touristy side of things as well. What I love about us travelling together is how well we complement one another and bring up ideas to do on our trip. We are both environmentally conscious. We hope to continue exploring different continents together, specifically the South Americas and Africa.  When we are at home, we often contemplate where we will travel next and our fridge is littered with magnets we found from our various trips. For us, life is too short not to meet the locals. We can’t wait to see where we will travel to next.

Sophie & Adam from Travels of Sophie and We Own the Moment

Prior to meeting, both Adam and I had been travelling for several years as solo backpackers.  We both loved the liberation that comes with travelling solo and were honestly reluctant to give it up at first.

Adam is from Oregon in the US and I am from London in the UK… and we met in Melbourne, Australia.  Our meeting was a serendipitous one at a busy bar on a Monday night in Melbourne (perks of being a backpacker – partying on a Monday night!).  However, it wasn’t until 6 months later in Cairns, Australia, that we met back up and started dating.  Since then we’ve travelled together to over 10 countries in 4 continents.

Transitioning to travelling as a couple had its bumps, to begin with, like any new relationship.  But as we are both photographers, our interests while travelling are so similar that we rarely have to compromise.  Both of us are night owls – we’ll happily stay up all night photographing the stars and chatting away.  However, if we’re waking up to shoot sunrise, we’ll barely say a word to each other!

I think the most romantic place we’ve visited together is Iceland.  While it might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of romance, there’s something truly magical about being with someone you love while watching the northern lights dance above you.  Plus, if you visit in winter, it gets pretty cold, so it’s nice to have someone to snuggle up to!

Ruby & Peter from A Journey We Love

My husband and I met in 2013 in Jacksonville, Florida. I came in October 2013 for work, and he moved to the city in 2009. We met at work and were on the same team. On our first date, he then realized how much I loved to travel, as we went to a bookstore and I was giddy looking at all the travel books and pointing out countries I have been to.

He was not keen on travelling by himself, so he mostly traveled to visit his brother, who was living in Los Angeles, at the time, or Spain and Slovakia, where his other relatives were living in. He was not spontaneous, but I was, and he got caught up with my travel bug. Pretty soon, he and I were looking for airline and deals to anywhere and everywhere: we didn’t really care much where we’re going as long as we haven’t been there before. It was an adventure, and something new, which was what counts.

Travel is a big part of our relationship. He dove into the travel bug with me pretty quickly: we went on a weekend trip to Charleston on our first month together, and he committed to flying to New Orleans for his birthday even if we’re only together for 3 months. He even went as crazy as booking a trip with me to Brazil to see the World Cup in 2014 eight months after we started dating! That takes some commitment! We have lied low for now since I’m expecting a baby and can’t travel anymore, but that has been our life from 2013 until early 2019.

I have a tendency to get too wound up and stressed during travels, and he tends to be the more relaxed one. It works out between us. Not many quirks between us, except that I need to get a souvenir from every single destination we’ve been in!

Our most romantic place to visit is definitely Bratislava, Slovakia – that’s where my husband was from and it was where he proposed (in a ruined castle near the Austrian border).

Michael & Brent from Brent and Michael Are Going Places

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the Captain intoned over the PA system, “we’re diverting to Boston for an emergency landing.”

These aren’t words you want to hear flying over the Atlantic from America to Europe. The burning smell inside the airplane cabin wasn’t helping either.

But that’s exactly what happened to my husband, Brent, and myself earlier this year. Even worse, we weren’t seated together.

As the next thirty minutes dragged by, the flight attendants rushing around with oxygen masks and fire extinguishers, my mind raced with different thoughts, including how we’d wound up on this flight.

Two years earlier, unhappy in our lives and careers, Brent and I decided to reinvent ourselves as digital nomads. Since we’re both writers, we could work anywhere in the world. So we sold our house in Seattle and set off to see the world.

And now our plane might be about to crash.

I looked across the cabin, desperate to tell Brent different things. Some of them were a little silly, like the fact that he needed to have his shoes on in case we evacuated, or that the odds of surviving a plane crash are actually higher than most people know.

But mostly I wanted to tell him I loved him.

We obviously landed safely, if heavily perspired. And even now, we both agree: nothing is certain in life, and if we ever die, we’d rather have it happen doing what we love than being unhappy back in America.

Hanna & Boyan from Solar Powered Blonde

I met my partner in London last year when he was there for a videography job. We had a mutual friend on Instagram, also someone I had never met before. Through this person, I had followed him and we had been following each other for a while. He never shows his face as he only posts drone photos and I had never shown my face on Instagram either. When he messaged me asking for recommendations on where to stay in London, I said worst case scenario there is always my floor! He did indeed end up sleeping on my floor. A moment of madness, letting a total stranger stay at my house has resulted in full time travel together since! Since last year we have visited over 15 countries together already. We both quit our jobs to focus on moving forward with videography and what is now our blog. We are both travel obsessed and love living out of our suitcases. I have a rock obsession and Boyan loves to drone boats. This got us into some trouble in Mykonos, as one of the boats he was taking a photo of clearly had some famous people on it! We love that we both share the same passion for photography and documenting our travels. But I think Boyan hates my enthusiasm in the morning. I used to be a nurse so have no body clock, he is definitely not a morning person! The most romantic place for me was watching the sunrise while standing above the clouds in Madeira. I just asked Boyan and he said Bali!

Luke & Roxy from The Coastal Campaign

In November 2015 my girlfriend and I met while backpacking in Western Australia, in the coastal town of Dunsborough. I was supposed to move to New Zealand a few weeks later, but after meeting Roxy, decided to stay in Australia for another year. We have been travelling the world full time for the last 4 years and have had the most incredible adventures.Before meeting we had travelled solo for a couple of years so it was essential for us both to keep travelling. Luckily we wanted to keep exploring the world together. Roxy is the organiser and trip planner and has discovered some amazing off the beaten path destinations for us to visit, while I am just happy to go with the flow. Our personalities, while very different, allow us to be an amazing travel couple that (almost) never fights.

Our favourite thing to do while backpacking is to rent scooters and embark upon epic road trips in lesser known destinations. Riding through Flores in Indonesia and completing the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam are amongst our favourite adventures. The most amazing place we have visited together was the Maldives. I would recommend it as the ultimate romantic getaway for couples and we even managed to spend a week there on a budget.

I couldn’t imagine travelling for this long with anybody else and count myself lucky to have such an incredible partner in crime.

Jade & Kev from Two Tall Travellers

As unromantic as it sounds, we met in a pub through a friend!

Long term travel was never on the agenda but soon we realised that working and living in the UK wasn’t for us. In 2015 we packed our bags and left for the bright lights of Beijing. It was a big decision, but one that we have never regretted!

Since then, we have travelled to over nine countries together, including a year living and working in Australia.

We have decided that we aren’t ready to settle down in the UK so travelling is really important to us! Our plan is to work abroad for as long as we can in order to fund our travels.

When we’re on a trip, we have different ways of approaching things but we always manage to balance each other out!

I (Jade) am much more organised in the planning process. I’ll trawl through Instagram, binge travel YouTube videos and read all of the reviews!

Kev on the other hand could easily turn up to a destination without even booking accommodation. We’re very different in that respect but it works because sometimes it’s good to plan ahead and sometimes it’s good to be more open to unplanned adventures!

The most romantic place that we have ever visited has got to be Koh Ta Kiev – a remote Cambodian island with limited electricity and no WiFi. In the evenings, we enjoyed sunset cocktails in a hidden treehouse listening to the peaceful ocean.

We would love to visit the Maldives – can you get any more romantic than that?!

Jessica & Ron from Unearth the Voyage

Ron and I met at a bar where we both went to university. At the time I was completing my last year of school and he has already graduated. I had always dreamed of travelling and the night I met Ron I told him I really wanted a travel buddy to explore the world with. Ron wasn’t fascinated with travelling like I was but on our first big trip, we were both smitten. Travel plays a huge part in our love story. After dating for a year, we decided together to sell all of our things and take a job teaching English in South Korea. Ron had never travelled outside of the USA and I had only travelled overseas once. We fell more in love with each other while teaching together in South Korea and learned so much about each other through that experience. After leaving South Korea and while we were backpacking Southeast Asia is when our love really became apparent. Of course, backpacking was amazing, but it was also hard moving to a new city every other day and not having a home base, but we leaned on each other and it definitely took our love for each other to not get into lots of fights and have a bad time. We backpacked Southeast Asia 5 years ago and now we are getting married in 3 days! I would say we won the travel couple lottery!!

PS: They are quite happily married now on the date of publishing of the post!!

Ed & Jennifer from Coleman Concierge

Our love story is simple, modern, and digital. We met on an online dating site. I razzed Ed for his tagline “The Most Adventurous Nerd You’ll Ever Meet,” and it was on. He was adventurous but also very nerdy. Nerd was not usually my go, but there was nothing not to like. We each were a little unsure of each other until we went backpacking at Havasu Falls, that’s where the magic happened.

He was strong and competent, but very patient too. I was never a fast hiker, but this time was even worse. I was one year out from having my left knee replaced and a year past due for my right knee replacement. Between the titanium and complete lack of cartilage, not to mention the 30lb pack on my back, I wasn’t setting any speed records on the downhill.

Ed hiked right beside me carrying his much heavier pack as the day got hotter and hotter. I’m sure he could have already been swimming in the waterfall by the time our sweaty selves got into camp, but he stayed right there with a smile on his face. On the way up, I showed him my mettle (no pun intended). I climbed 2000′ up out of the canyon an hour faster than I did on the downhill. He realized that, even if downhills aren’t my thing, I can still hang. That’s why Havasu Falls will always be our special place.

Betsy & Pete from PassingThru.com

We met in an online chatroom in 1999. I had done some internet dating previously, but had decided to give it up entirely. I really liked him because he was funny and could spell, so I finally gave in and consented to meet him for lunch. We had a lot in common, dated for six years and got married in 2006.

We both love to travel and early on in our marriage, we decided to build a location independent business. The goal was two-fold: prepare for an unconventional retirement and incorporate more travel in our lives.

Our travel quirks are that we don’t really care about the “must-see” locations or “must-do” activities. We’ve been to close to 50 countries, but have yet to visit Italy, for example. And we’d much rather while away an afternoon at a sidewalk cafe than spend it in a museum. I’d say we love that the other is always up for an unusual adventure. We hate each other’s idea of when it’s appropriate to arrive at the airport. He likes to be way too early, and he’d say I like to push being late.

The most romantic place we’ve visited is Fiji. After having lived on Kauai, we think Fiji has just the amount of exotic to take “island paradise” to a new level! Now in our sixties, and after traveling the world full time for four years, we’ve repatriated to the United States and are planning our post-nomadic lifestyle.

Bret & Mary from Green Global Travel

When Mary and I first met at a Christmas party back in 2008, we had no idea we’d wind up living, working, and travelling together 24/7/365 for the better part of the next 10 years. But after our first big trip together, during which we spent a week on an incredibly romantic road trip around Hawaii’s Big Island, we realized our mutual love of travel and adventure made us a perfect match. We quickly discovered how our differences made us complement each other well: I was more adventurous and tended to fly by the seat of my pants (which made sense, as I’d spent the last 5 years studying and performing improv comedy), while she was more reserved, more organized, more practical. I also learned that she had major FOMO (fear of missing out) as well as a stubborn streak: Rather than cajole her into doing crazy things, I realized if I just let my naturally exuberant enthusiasm show, she’d do it just so she wouldn’t feel left out on the adventure! In the 9 years since we launched our responsible travel blog, Green Global Travel, we’ve travelled to dozens of romantic places around the world, from Tahiti and the Philippines to fairytale castles in Ireland and the Czech Republic. But if we had to pick our favourites, hers would be the Greek Islands and mine would be our first safari in Tanzania. But the truth is that, even as we approach 11 years together, we still find romance together no matter where we are.

Ollie and Candi from Ollie and the Captain

If you’re looking for Ollie, you’ll find him shredding epic waves on his surfboard. If you’re looking for Candi, she’ll be close behind, bopping in the water pretending to know how to surf. The best part about this scenario is that we’re together, and it is repeated in multiple countries across the world!

Together, we make up Ollie and the Captain, a pair of passionate travel bloggers that met in the corporate office space and ignited a flame in one another to take our skills and careers abroad.  For the past year, our life has been on the road, documenting our digital nomad, surfing and travel adventures as we go.

Despite Candi being called the Captain, Ollie often takes charge of logistics – including mixing a blend of languages in an attempt to communicate with locals. Leaving Candi with the navigating could find you kilometers from where you are meant to be. Instead, her name is dubbed from her school days when she was convinced she was a pirate. It’s no wonder that some of our favourite spots are coastal!

Our love for one another allows us to find romance in every city. From watching the sun dip beyond the water on the black sands of Canggu (Bali) to grooving in the streets of Rio, indulging in new experiences has brought us closer together, allowing us to fall in love all over again. Often we find ourselves erupting in laughter when we think of what our lives could have been stuck behind a desk (becoming a digital nomad was the best choice we ever made – after loving one another).

Frank & Vera of FrankAboutCroatia.com

We have met 18 years ago, on a cruise ship, where we both worked. I sometimes joke that a cabin with a porthole was all he needed to seduce me. Since then we have travelled to over 30 countries together, and we lived in two. Our new project is to travel around Spain for three months in our camper.

On our travels, Frank is always ready to take it easy and have a coffee, and I am always rushing to visit the next place. These things we love and hate about each other at the same time. I like that he reminds me to slow down and enjoy the moment, and he likes that I make him experience things he otherwise wouldn’t do on his own. At the same time, he drives me crazy with his slowness, and I drive him crazy with always running after the next experience.

Although Frank was a navigation officer, he can’t find his way around in any town we visit. He always seems lost and heading in a wrong direction.

We visited many romantic places on our travels, but we keep especially fond memories of Dubrovnik. Dubrovnik is a beautiful medieval town and a must-visit place in Croatia. We are lucky enough to have family living there, so we could explore it at various times of a year, not only in summer when it gets overcrowded.

Katherine & Hali from Tara Lets Anywhere

My boyfriend and I met during a  voluntourism trip in a then-unknown island community in the Philippines. I was tasked with handing out goods to children, while he was there as our events photographer. We dated after this and started the blog soon after. I’m mainly the one who writes, while he’s the boyfriend behind-the-scenes. That saying, we look at the blog as — not just a project — but our baby.

Travel is one of the common things we both love doing, so it’s definitely an activity that bonds us — whether in tagging each other in interesting travel posts in IG, planning an itinerary, or actually enjoying a trip together.

I tend to make impromptu decisions, while he prefers everything planned out beforehand. It drives us both crazy sometimes. e love that we have the same preferences in travelling. We like nature or off-beaten locations and we don’t mind doing rough backpacking. During our past voluntourism trips, we had to trek to the mountains to reach communities or walk on chest-high water between islands to reach the school. We also have a lot of experiences going on rough boat rides and pitching camps on remote islands.

I hate that when we’re facing a difficulty on the road, I have to be the one who makes decisions. On his part, he has to contend that I don’t like adventurous activities (e.g., cliff jumping, canyoneering, etc).

We both agree that the most romantic place we visited is Siargao (Philippines). We slept on an island and during the sunset, the sky was a gorgeous canvas of oranges and pinks.

Inma & Jose from A World to Travel

Long before we launched A World to Travel, Jose and I met while we were still in our mid-20s. For that one, I was already in love with traveling alone once in a while, but without a doubt getting together was the trigger to start traveling more as a couple.

In the beginning, we had to adjust and learn to live together, making decisions that were satisfactory for both parties. He leads a more ‘orderly’ life than me, and I quickly knew that things, like eating at the right time and having good accommodation, were essential for his well-being.

Some of the destinations we have enjoyed together (although, each and every one of the trips we have taken has been special) are Morocco (because we were quite young and it was an adventure) and Indonesia (for the wonder that is the country). Both exotic if you live in the West, and highly recommended to enjoy with your significant other if you ask us.

Fast forward 12 years and we’re still going strong. If you are curious, here’s what a year in the life of a travel blogging couple like us looks like.

Sue & Reggie from Travel for Life Now

It all started with a request for a phone number. We were at an LGBT weekend camp in the Berkshires and had just met. The answer was no, but an email address was offered instead.  Then, a dinner invitation. Again no, but maybe a movie with a bunch of friends. From this beginning has come 21 years of adventures in 50+ countries.

Our first year together, we went on 4 trips and discovered our love of travelling. In Paris over Valentine’s weekend, we had an outdoor picnic with wine and Brie in the gardens at Versailles. Did we mention that it was February?

In words of Reggie

Sue comes up with more farfetched ideas like sleeping in the snow hotel or jumping into the ocean in Antarctica. She is Curious George and she will wander off anywhere. This drives me crazy.

In words of Sue

Reggie is a planner and once created an hour by hour spreadsheet for our first trip to Asia. Curious George has a hard time following schedules. Reggie finds all of the travel deals and hacks, like the time we flew first class to London for close to nothing. We wouldn’t get anywhere without her.

We’ve had so many wonderful trips travelling as a lesbian couple that it’s hard to pick our favourite and most romantic. Essaouira in Morocco was lovely. In Africa, we did a walking safari and had drinks in the bush while watching the sunset. The balloon ride over the Serengeti at sunrise was breathtaking. One of our most magical evenings was spent watching a dance performance in Angkor Wat at night. Mainly locals and a few tourists. This was long before the crowds discovered Siem Reap.

We are looking forward to continuing our travels for (at least) for the next 21 years.

Oksana & Max from Drink Tea & Travel

Max and I met in 2008, back when we were both studying at University in Canada. We dated briefly but went our separate ways shortly after graduation. Max moved to Australia to pursue a Masters degree and Oksana stayed in Toronto, working a regular 9-5. We stayed in touch, but it wasn’t until 2012 that our paths crossed again, when our passion for travel brought us together in sunny Australia. We rekindled our relationship and took many trips around Australia, Southeast Asia and beyond while still working a typical 9-5.

We always dreamed of a life of travel, so in 2014, we started our blog, DrinkTeaTravel.com as a way to share our passion for travel with others. A hobby quickly turned into more and by in 2015, we decided to take a leap, quit our jobs and try to make it as full-time travellers and bloggers.

After many years of full-time travel, we have finally learned to appreciate each other’s weird quirks, like Oksana’s desire to eat 6 meals a day or Max’s need to find the absolute best deal on every flight, every hotel and every tour. We find that our personalities are quite complementary, which makes it fairly easy to travel and work together 24/7. Together, we have visited over 50 countries and shared many incredible experiences.

One of our favourite destinations and one of the most romantic places in the world is Tanzania. We absolutely love the country, the people, and the wildlife there. The eco-lodges in Tanzania are some of the most romantic places we have ever stayed in and the experience is one we recommend to every couple.

Jeremy & Kate from Our Escape Clause

More than 12 years ago, we met and fell in love as high school students who had never left the USA–but travelling together was always part of our dreams.

The day after our wedding in 2013, we set off on our first-ever international trip: a week at a resort in the Bahamas.

We were immediately hooked on the joys of travelling, from trying new foods to exploring new cultures to the challenges and quirkiness of taking taxis abroad, and before the year was out, we had booked a trip to Paris, too.

When in Paris, our love of travelling escalated dramatically, the trip blurring into a delightful kaleidoscope of memories that include crepes and cathedrals and catacombs.

While we visited with the intention of it being our only trip to Europe for at least a couple of years, by our third wedding anniversary, we were celebrating in Seville, Spain–a month or so into our life of full-time travel.

Now, we’ve been traveling full-time for more than 3 years, visiting around 45 countries, living for a month or more at a time in some of our favorite cities (Rome, Florence, Istanbul, Boston, Cape Town–just to name a few), and learning more about ourselves and the world around us every single day.

Travel has become synonymous with love to us–it’s something that we do together, and has been woven so intricately into our love story it’s truly difficult to imagine our story without it.

Sarah & Nigel from A Social Nomad

My husband Nigel and I met on Christmas Day in the ski resort of Courmayeur, Italy.   Skiing holidays in Europe and North America formed a big part of our travel together and it was Big White Mountain in British Colombia, Canada where we eloped to in order to get married.  I say eloped, but it was a surprise for Nigel that I arrange in secret.  We married at the top of the ski lift and then proceeded down the worst ski run of my life.  My legs never shook like that before or after!

Nearly 6 years ago we decided that after talking about long term travel for over 10 years that we’d either get on and do it or shut up.  So we packed two 40 litre backpacks and set off.  We’ve spent wedding anniversaries on delightfully empty hot spring beaches in New Zealand, in airports in India and plan to be mid-Atlantic on a boat this year, our 20^th anniversary.

We complement each other when we travel – mostly – we have our own styles of research and it works for us.  I’m still ready for the bus/plane/train 30 minutes before I need to be, agitated that we might be late, he’s always heading for a last-minute toilet break 2 minutes after we need to leave.

We have visited some stunning places – we’ve stood at Everest Base Camp, hiked the Great Wall of China, tasted Sake in Japan, marvelled at Uluru and stood at Iguazu Falls together, but no matter how spectacular the place, it would mean so much less if he wasn’t there to share it with.

Jen & Ryan from Passions and Places

We’ve been travelling full-time for about three years now, married just a little longer than that, and together for about ten years. Even though we didn’t start dating until after college, we actually met in high school and had been friends for years before we got together.

Early in our relationship, we had to do long-distance while Jen was serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda. Ryan came to visit twice, and Rwanda was the first country he visited outside the U.S. and Canada.

We’re fortunate that travelling together has usually come pretty easily for us. We have similar travel styles, and we’re both always willing to step up when the other person needs a break. But there are some things we don’t see eye-to-eye on. For example, Jen says: Ryan’s backpack seems to explode every time we arrive at a new place! But Ryan says: Jen is insistent on documenting every expense in an elaborate spreadsheet, always asking me, “How much did that cost?”

We both agree that the most romantic place we’ve been is Zanzibar, which we visited together while Jen was in the Peace Corps. It’s a really special island with a unique blend of cultures and so much to do. The beaches there must have just about the softest, whitest sand and the clearest, bluest water in the world. More than any other place we’ve visited, it’s the one we always dream of returning to.

Lyn & Steve from A Hole in my Shoe

Our love story began later in life, having met online and married at 50. We first travelled for our honeymoon in 2010, cruise throughout Southeast Asia and immediately knew we wanted to travel more. We were determined that despite working fulltime and living in Perth, the most isolated city in the world nothing was going to deter us from fulfilling our passion for travel.

I can’t think of anything better than travelling with someone who loves you, quirks and all. We may not be perfect, but we are perfect for each other. I am the dreamer, planner and storyteller, he is the technical advisor and carrier of the bags. If I’m stressed, he calms me, if I’m sad, he cheers me and if I’m lost, he finds me.

We know each other really well and it is nice to know that I have Steve’s total trust to plan where and what we’ll do, and he will plan how to get there.

We agree the most romantic place we’ve been is in Budapest, at Fisherman’s Bastion. It was a freezing cold day with breathtaking scenery, and we ended the day with hot chocolate to warm us up.

The place I recommend for travel would be Japan, Kyoto to be specific. Allow yourself several days to absorb yourself in the peaceful atmosphere, the history, traditions and culture. There is some spectacular architecture too. From the futuristic Kyoto train station with its modern design of glass and steel to the traditional Higashi-Hongan-ji temple, one of the largest wooden structures in the world. This is a city of contrasts, numerous temples, impeccable gardens and UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Madhurima & Sayantan from Orange Wayfarer

Sayantan and I first “virtually” met on Facebook, while discussing a rather political movie. I was in the first year of MBA. Sayantan was fresh out of college and had joined a bank. If I recall it correctly, it was the vague end of Diwali, 2014. We were busy travelling in our individual capacity for the next couple of months, meaning only one or two weekends were left in Bangalore before 2014 ended!

Our Kolkata roots had inspired us to find a “Prem Korar Jayga”, (shady translation: a lover’s den?) in Bangalore which was an unending search. The city had the swanky malls and highrises, freshly brewed beers and rooftop dining but no Victoria Memorial if you know what I mean!

Desperate, we decided to run away from Bangalore and meet in Pondicherry!

Turned out, Pondicherry was awaiting us with all her bright yellow-hued walls and serene waves of Bay of Bengal. It was Pondicherry where we first walked for miles, hand in hand, often without a clue of where the road would take us. I laughed my heart out as Sayantan kept cracking those lame jokes. Sayantan almost fell asleep as I was talking about sweet nothings. We tasted culinary delights from the roadside joints to the French cafes. We shied away from the busy queues, picked up Rabindranath’s book from second-hand book stores, and amidst all these, our love blossomed.

It is almost 5 years since the trip to Pondicherry and together we have been to 10 other countries. Yet, that winter weekend in Pondicherry remains vividly beaming in my memory! And, we have gone back a countless number of times to let Pondicherry cast her spell on us!

Agni & Amrita from Tale of 2 Backpackers

“When I will be quite able, I will propose you, hope you will not say ‘no’ to me at that time”, these were his words. Which girl who is hopelessly romantic can say “No” to someone who is as earnest and lovable as him? So I very diplomatically and meekly replied, “I will not say ‘no’ to you, but please remember what you said.”

And so it all started in 2006 when we were in college together. Since then we were together for most of the time and finally got married in 2011. After college, we both had to live in different cities for making a career. During this time, we used to visit each other and travel a lot. Infact, I once ran away from my house to meet him. Finally, we decided enough was enough. We took the reins in our hand and decided to stay together for the rest of our lives, even if it meant to sacrifice a part of our career growth.

I was more outdoorsy kind while Agni was just the opposite. But somehow I managed to convince Agni to venture into the unknown and unchartered territories. Now we both enjoy our experiences and adventure on the road. Love and travel bind us together. While we are in love with each other, we both are totally, madly in love with the road, the adventure and uncertainties of travel.

While Agni is the more laidback traveller who prefers to experience things as it comes, I am more of the fussy planner. The best part is we complement each other in our ways of travel. While I am fond of sunshine and everything bright, Agni loves the snow and ice. Thus we seem to get the best of all. We understand each other and our preferences. We have strikingly different personalities and the fact that we are so different appeals to us the most. We complement each other in ways that help us to travel and work together.

To us, Darjeeling is the most romantic place that we have visited. There is such a romantic nostalgia about the place that we travel to Darjeeling on every anniversary! Quirky or not, it is for you to decide! While we would love you to visit Darjeeling and its surroundings, we would also recommend you to visit Northeast India. After Darjeeling, it is our next place to go whenever we are happy or sad. In fact we do not need any reason to travel to these places!

So that was a few love stories of a few travel couples. Each story inspires us to be better and more understanding of each other. Well, travelling together is not very easy. One has to tolerate the other’s quirks and eccentricities. Things get tough especially when there is some mishap on road or things does not go according to plans. However, facing these problems on the road together is a different joy.

Did you like these stories of love and travel? Do you have some interesting stories to share? Do let us know in comments below. If you want your story to be included here, contact us.