Couple's Vacation Planning: How to Avoid Fighting Before a Trip

Every partner looks forward to a vacation with their partner and their kids, if they have already. You can imagine many beautiful places for your next vacation or may have looked them up on Google. This is the fun part of vacation planning.

Planning a vacation with your partner demands making certain decisions, considering expectations and probable constraints you didn’t anticipate.

A family getaway is to escape the stress and have a stronger family connection while you are all relaxed. But it can be the other way around.

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For instance, family vacations involve choices like location, budget, activities to do, etc. You and your partner will likely experience some tense moments while planning.

To prevent any sort of conflict that may arise during the planning phase, you can follow the guidelines below to protect your relationship from unnecessary tension.

1. Identify your expectations

The clearer you are about your expectations, the better you will be able to communicate them to your partner. This helps to agree on matters around your vacation easily.

You want to be clear on your vacation location, the duration, the budget, etc. Identifying them also makes it easier for you to have a mental image of the vacation.

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2. Vet your expectations

You also want to vet your identified expectations. Make sure your expectations are feasible before communicating them to your partner. Also, be willing to take a reasonable level of responsibility for the possible outcomes of your expectations if your partner eventually agrees.

3. Plan in bits

Planning a vacation is not another board meeting. Make attempts to break your planning into mini-meetings to reduce the odds of tension that can ensue while trying to plan everything at once.

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4. Delegation

Once a partner starts to feel like they are pushing for the vacation and their partner is indifferent, there is a likelihood of tension. After discussing your expectations, it is important to be clear on each other’s roles.

Delegate functions and share the mental labor that comes with organizing the vacation depending on your strengths and weaknesses.

5. Your Kids’ involvement

It can be a great idea to involve your kids in the decision-making, especially if they're old enough to communicate their expectations clearly. This should be after you must have established your goals and expectations with your partner. You may want to consider your kids’ expectations depending on the feasibility.

In cases of unrealistic expectations, you may as well just ask them to assist with the initial decisions you have made with your partner. An example is to ask them to choose the beach toys to pack if it is a beach vacation or the kind of games to play etc.

Final Words

Joint decision-making requires a commitment to compromise.

Be willing to be reasonable with your partner. Prioritizing each other’s happiness will go a long way in ensuring you both plan and organize the vacation of your life.