Amelia Edelman

What's the secret to a successful couple's trip itinerary according to the experts?

Build a balance of alone time and together time.

Sure, traveling across the globe with your partner sounds romantic, and it can be.

But particularly for newer couples or for those who are busy parents getting away for the first time since kids, it can also be a crash course in how you each make decisions, spend money, and yes, how you fight.

So I wanted to find out, how do you balance different travel styles?

Like one person who loves a packed itinerary and one who just wants to wander.

How do you talk about money before you're faced with splitting a $1,000 hotel bill?

And what do you do in those inevitable moments when expectations don't match reality?

That's takeaway number one.

Find your why.

Marissa and the other experts I spoke with recommend not just talking with your partner about where you want to go, but about how you want to feel when you're there.

Are you looking to explore, reconnect, try new things, do absolutely nothing?

Because if you skip this step, you're not just planning a trip.

You may well be planning a set of mismatched expectations.

That's couples therapist Will Messer.

For Will and his wife, their travel why was partly a why now.

Not long after they first got together, nearly 18 years ago, she had a summer break from grad school, and he had a job that was willing to let him take a mini sabbatical.

So they decided to do a five-week backpacking trip, just the two of them.

Their trip was about experiencing adventure and novelty together.

Maybe yours, on the other hand, is about reconnection or relaxation.