Vitaliy and I survived a 19 hour trip to Ukraine and were still on speaking terms upon arrival. If we can do it, so can you!
Now, I’m not saying that we didn’t have any squabbles. Take a look at the picture of Vitaliy. That is how our trip began. But somewhere around hour 14 or 15 of the trip, we both began to break down a bit from lack of sleep. Me especially, look at that business face in my photo. Though neither of us were quite as chipper, we talked things out, made it to Ukraine and hit the ground running. Here’s how we did it.
10 Ways To Survive Traveling Internationally With Your Spouse
1. Invest in a neck pillow, blindfold, ear plugs and sleeping pills. The less sleep you get, the more likely you are to be irritable and impatient with one another. Come to think of it, these might be good for some of you to have at home!
2. Communicate. You are both unique individuals and your travel needs will be different. Talk things out, compromise, and find ways to stay together.
3. Share the armrest, metaphorically speaking. Find ways to give and serve each other.
4. Manage expectations. Traveling is no different than real life – things never go quite as planned. When you run into a snag, regroup, stay connected, and keep having fun.
5. Don’t focus on the destination. Make each step part of the adventure.
6. Give grace. Flying is extremely stressful. Expect your spouse to be a bit on edge at times. Be patient, give grace, and forgive when necessary.
7. Drinks lots of water and keep snacks on hand. Lack of food or drink will result in foul moods so plan ahead. This trip I brought an entire bag of fruits, trail mix, and beef jerky and it made it through security without a hitch. Bring empty plastic bottles to fill once you’re at your gate.
8. Be a gentleman and carry the heavy stuff. In exchange, be a lady and give him a good neck rub.
9. Plan individual activities. Though spending time together is highly recommended, there is nothing wrong with having some alone time. Be sure to bring along books, magazines, your computer, or take advantage of the on flight movies.
10. Toast to the good times! Traveling during the peek summer schedule made this trip to Ukraine quite the investment. In order to get our moneys worth, we took advantage of the free alcohol aboard our flight. We enjoyed a glass of wine with our meal and a little Cognac for dessert. It helped relax our nerves and assisted in putting us to sleep.
Our trip home has an extra flight in the itinerary with a total travel time of 24 hours. Yikes! I’ll be revisiting this post to remind myself what worked the first time around. Hope it helps you too!
