Taking a trip together is a good way to reconnect and make memories with a loved one. But regularly jet-setting with your partner across the globe is not always a realistic possibility. From clashing travel preferences to financial limitations, are couples’ on the same wavelength when it comes to how – and how much – they travel together?
We conducted a survey of 1,051 people, including 934 respondents currently in a relationship, to find out how often couples are traveling together, whether they would like to travel more or less with their partner, and how traveling can cause conflict in relationships.
Key findings:
- The majority (81.1%) of people are dissatisfied with how much they travel with their partner.
- 15.2% of romantic relationships are “travel-less”.
- 86.3% of respondents said they had experienced conflict with their partner over travel.
- Those in ‘extremely happy’ relationships were most likely (37.7%) to always share travel preferences – respondents in ‘unhappy’ relationships were more than six times more likely to be on completely different travel pages to their partner (16%).
- The primary sources of travel-conflict are travel budgets (53.7%), destination preferences (47.5%) and frequency of travel (42.7%).
- Trouble in paradise: 43.8% said they had ended a relationship whilst on vacation.
- Flying solo: 58.4% said that their partner had expressed jealousy because they had travelled without them during the relationship.
- A third (32.6%) of fathers wanted to travel more often together without the kids, compared to 18.6% of mothers.
What is a travel-less relationship?
Being in a sexless relationship (a relationship with little to no sexual activity) is a commonly discussed concern and it’s estimated that one in seven married adults are in relationships with little to no sex. [1] But did you know that according to our survey, almost as many (15.2%) of people are in a travel-less relationship?
A travel-less relationship is a relationship with little or no vacations together. But at what point a relationship is deemed to become ‘travel-less’ is subjective to the individual and their own individual preferences.
But at what point does a relationship become travel-less? Opinions varied. Nearly a quarter (23.3%) believed a year was the cut off point, and a similar amount (21.6%) believed that it was two years. Considering all the answers, if you haven’t taken a vacation with your partner in the past two years, 71.6% of respondents would deem your relationship as ‘travel-less’
| At what point is a relationship considered “travel-less”? | |
| Frequency | % of respondents |
| 6 months without travel | 14.1% |
| 12 months without travel | 23.3% |
| 18 months without travel | 12.7% |
| 2 years without travel | 21.6% |
| 3 years without travel | 9.9% |
| 4 years without travel | 3.3% |
| 5 years without travel | 3.9% |
| More than 5 years without travel | 3.6% |
| I would never consider a relationship ‘travel-less’ | 7.6% |
How important is travel to a relationship?
When asked how important it was to have a partner who has the same travel preferences, the average score was 7.1 out of 10 (with 10 being highly important). For context, respondents gave sharing sexual preferences with their partner an average score of 7.8 out of 10. But to what extent do couples who share the same travel preferences also report having a more satisfying relationship?
Respondents who felt ‘extremely happy’ in their relationships were most likely to always be on the same page with their partner in regards to travel (37.7%). On the other hand, respondents in ‘unhappy’ relationships were more than six times more likely to be on completely different travel pages to their partner (16% compared to the study average of 2.5%).
| Correlation between travel compatibility and relationship satisfaction | |||||
| How often respondents shared travel preferences | Extremely happy | Happy | Satisfied | Unhappy | Study Average* |
| Always | 37.7% | 28.9% | 21.0% | 4.0% | 31.5% |
| Never | 0.9% | 3.1% | 3.8% | 16.0% | 2.5% |
How often do couples travel together on average?
Scrolling through social media, it can appear like some couples never stop traveling. From romantic city breaks in Paris or Rome, to luxurious snaps of island escapes, it’s difficult not to compare yourself to what you see online. 72.1% of respondents admitted to having felt envious of other couples’ vacation posts online, including 51.1% who say they often do.
So how much is a normal amount to travel? When asked how often they travelled with their partner, the average amount respondents gave was 2.2 times a year. And if you don’t manage to squeeze in an annual trip, you are in the minority. Only 15.2% of respondents in a relationship said that they don’t travel with their partner annually.
| How often do people travel with their partner? | |
| Frequency | % of respondents |
| Never | 15.2% |
| 1-2 times a year | 49.2% |
| 3-5 times a year | 29.4% |
| 6+ times a year | 6.2% |
Despite most couples traveling at least once per year together, the vast majority (81.1%) of people are dissatisfied with how much they travel with their partner. This includes 59.8% of respondents who would like to travel more with their partner – but also one in five people (21.4%) who would like to travel even less with their loved one.
The reasons preventing couples from traveling together varied. For those unable to travel together as much as they’d like, money is the biggest barrier (70.6%). The second and third most common obstacles are lack of time (51.4%) and lack of childcare (43.1%).
| What prevents couples from traveling more often together? | ||
| Rank | Reason | % of respondents |
| 1 | Financial reasons | 70.6% |
| 2 | No time to travel | 51.4% |
| 3 | Trouble finding childcare | 43.1% |
| 4 | Disagreements on where and how to travel | 29.7% |
| 5 | My partner does not want to travel more with me | 19.0% |
The good news is that most couples are already traveling more often together than they were in the past. Only 29.2% reported traveling less with their partner than they used to, with two in five (42.2%) saying that they have been traveling more together and the remaining 28.6% the same amount. The lifting of COVID-19 restrictions prompted a resurgence in travel in the past few years – although economic uncertainty may slow down this travel boom. [2]
Who do people like to travel with?
For just over the majority, traveling with a partner is the preferred choice. When asked who they would most likely to travel with, half of respondents (53.2%) chose their partner. The next most popular options were family (21.3%), friends (19.6%) and finally, traveling alone (5.9%).
Looking at the gender splits, a romantic partner was still the top traveling companion for both men and women (55.6% and 51.9% respectively). However, a higher percentage of women opted for family as their first choice (26.9% compared to 14.9% of men) whereas men were more likely than women to prefer traveling with friends (22.3% compared to 16.4% of women) or prefer traveling solo (7.2% compared to 4.9%).
And having children can make it more difficult to find time and money to get away just as a couple. For those with children, half (52.2%) said they were on the same page with their partner on deciding when to travel as a family or alone together. A quarter (25.3%) said that they would like to travel more alone together, but their partner prioritises family vacations. A similar amount (22.5%) said they prioritise family vacations, but their partner wants more trips alone.
And there was a clear gender split to these results. A third (32.6%) of fathers wanted to travel more often just with their partner, compared to 18.6% of mothers. Mothers were also more likely to believe that they were ‘on the same page’ than fathers (61% compared to 43.2%).
The study also revealed that many respondents won’t let their partner hold them back if they don’t share the same attitudes towards travel. Two thirds (66.9%) of people said if their partner did not share their travel preferences, they would consider taking a solo trip instead. Men were more likely to consider this alternative than women (73.6% compared to 60.9%).
This doesn’t come without risks to the relationship. Considering those who had taken a solo trip whilst in a relationship, 58.4% said that their partner had expressed jealousy because they had travelled without them. On the flip side, 57% admitted to feeling jealous when their partner had done the same (61.3% of men, and 52.7% of women).
Conflict and travel
For the majority, being on the same page with your partner 100% of the time in regard to travel is unrealistic. 86.3% of respondents said they had experienced conflict with their partner over travel. Over a third (38.4%) said this was occasional, 29.1% said it happened but was rare, and less than one in five (18.8%) said disagreements were frequent.
The most common cause of travel–related conflict was with travel budgets. When asked to choose which aspect of travel caused the most tension in relationships the top answer was travel budgets (53.7%). This was followed by destination preferences (47.5%) and frequency of travel (42.7%).
| The travel aspects that caused the most tension in a relationship* | ||
| Rank | Topic | % of respondents |
| 1 | Travel budgets | 53.7% |
| 2 | Destination preferences | 47.5% |
| 3 | Frequency of travel | 42.7% |
| 4 | Planning styles | 42.6% |
| 5 | Travel habits | 26.7% |
When it came to compromises, the biggest compromise respondents had made to accommodate their partner’s preferences were altering the dates (39.5%), spending more money on the vacation (37.5%), and spending less on the vacation than planned (36.6%).
| The biggest compromises couples make on vacation* | ||
| Rank | Topic | % of respondents |
| 1 | Altering the travel dates | 39.5% |
| 2 | Spent more than I initially planned | 37.5% |
| 3 | Traveled on a tighter budget than I initially planned | 36.6% |
| 4 | Giving up on certain activities or experiences | 33.7% |
| 5 | Changing the destination | 33.4% |
| 6 | Doing activities I wasn’t interested in | 22.2% |
As some conflict over travel is nearly inevitable, knowing how and where to compromise is a valued skill – and might just save your relationship. According to respondents, 45.2% said travel incompatibility has caused a breakup in one of their relationships. And, two in five (43.8%) said they had ended a relationship whilst on a trip.
Methodology
The survey was conducted in January 2025 and asked 1,051 Americans questions about how travel impacts their romantic relationships.
These questions covered a variety of topics, including the frequency of couples traveling together, the importance of travel in a relationship, and the conflicts that arise due to differing travel preferences.
The demographics of the respondents were:
Gender:
Female 51%
Male 47.8%
Non-binary 0.9%
Prefer not to say 0.4%
Relationship status:
In a romantic relationship 88.9%
Not currently in a romantic relationship 11.1%
Sources
[1] Psychology Today, ‘How Couples in Sexless Marriages Cope’ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-myths-of-sex/202309/how-common-are-sexless-marriages
[2] Business Insider, ‘The weird economy has finally come for travel — just in time to screw up your summer plans’ https://www.businessinsider.com/travel-demand-slowdown-economic-anxiety-summer-airlines-cruises-2025-3
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
