They say planning for your holiday is just as important as when you are actually away. So starting with these romantic travel traditions before you leave will make your next trip all the more memorable.

Travel is one of our passions and it’s one of the main reasons we’re together in the first place. As we’ve kept on our journey together and keep travelling together, we’ve created a few traditions.

These small habits and traditions help to create stronger memories on our holidays. They also keep the trip alive when you’re back home.

Travelling with your partner can be the biggest test of your relationship and if you need some tips, here our top 10 pieces of advice for travelling together as a couple.

And if you don’t have any travel traditions or are looking for some more to add to your journeys, we’ve put together a list to give you a bit of inspiration.

Romantic travel traditions

Romantic travel traditions to start before you leave

1. Plan your trip together and set up a countdown timer on your calendars

As the saying goes “getting there is half the fun”, but I think the anticipation of the trip can be even more exciting.

2. Have a travel themed date night before you go

Watch a movie related to your destination, go to a restaurant with that cuisine or play music from that destination in the background before you go.

3. Start to learn a few useful phrases in the language of where you’re travelling

You can do this together and help each other or you can do it as a secret to surprise your partner when you can order perfectly at the bar when you arrive.

4. Add a really funny out of office message to your email

We have a friend who travels a lot for work. It sounds strange, but we can’t wait for her go away again to see what her auto-reply says!

You can also add a funny voicemail for your phone while you’re away… just remember to change it when you get back.

Romantic travel traditions for the start of your trip

5. Toast the occasion

For us the holiday begins as soon as we’ve checked in at the airport and we have cheeky champagne at the bar.

If you’re driving to your destination or you don’t like to drink when you fly, call ahead and ask for some champagne to be waiting in your room for your arrival.

Romantic travel traditions when you’re on location

6. Create a photo series of your trip

It could be doors, windows, dogs or any thing that takes your fancy. These series give cohesion to your photos and turn everyday holiday snaps into great travel photography albums that’ll take you back to your time away.

7. Take a photo together in the same pose or position everywhere you go

Similar to creating photo series, having the same pose in each location makes a place uniquely yours. Make sure to take photos with the people you meet too. So often it’s the people you meet when you’re away that makes a holiday memorable.

8. Lock it in

Drawing inspiration from the Pont des Arts in Paris, take a padlock with you on your trip and lock it to a place you visit. Write your initials on the lock – and don’t forget to take a photo!

Make sure it’s not breaking any local laws though and be mindful that not everyone finds this to be a romantic gesture.

If you’re looking for an alternative to a lock, write your initials on a stone and hide it somewhere out of the way. If you ever go back to that place, it’s fun to see if it’s still there.

9. Keep a travel journal

It’s hard to take it all in when you’re travelling and you won’t remember it all later. Take a special notebook on each trip to record the days and reminisce over them later.

10. Give your trip a signature scent

Scent is so closely linked to memory, so choose a particular fragrance to wear for the entire trip. Wear it back home to be transported back in an instant.

This is also a great tradition for your wedding day that you can bring back on anniversaries too.

Romantic travel traditions for when you get home

11. Collect meaningful souvenirs

We don’t buy a lot when travelling anymore, but we do like to buy something special that we can keep in our home to remind us of the trip.

We also have a tradition of buying Christmas decorations so that when we decorate the tree, we get to talk about all the places we’ve been to together. It’s a great way to reminisce at the end of the year and to plan your travels for the year ahead.

12. Buy a special item of clothing from the destination that you’re travelling

Every time you wear it back home, it will remind you of your journey together. Just be mindful that this item may only ever be a house outfit.

We’ve all got holiday purchases like that, haven’t we? Caught up in the moment, we get the item of clothing home only to realise the floppy linen tie-dye fisherman’s shirt, which looked amazing in the remote coastline you were visiting, actually makes you look an impossibly strange shape.

Romantic travel traditions that’ll keep the trip alive

13. Make your own souvenirs with your camera

Don’t let your photos go stale on your hard drive. Print your favourites to frame on your wall or create a photo book of your trip. You can even create your own holiday fridge magnets.

14. Recreate your favourite recipe from the trip

Jim is now making these taralli from our last trip to Italy and every taste takes us back to Puglia.

Romantic travel traditions to add to your relationship

15. Plan a trip for each other’s birthday every year

Even a staycation is a great way to celebrate. You might not think it’s ‘travel’, but even a trip away in your own city is a journey.

16. Choose a destination to become your regular spot

Make it an annual trip and it will be the perfect place to completely relax and unwind. With so many places to go and to see, the decision to go somewhere new over a destination you’ve been before and love leaves you torn in two.

We love going back to Port Stephens up the coast from Sydney. We’ve been going there for years and it feels like a home from home. Amazingly we still manage to find something new about the place each time we’re there.

17. Plan a trip just for yourself

It might seem selfish and not so romantic to travel alone or with your friends, but it’s a great way to do something for you. And by filling your cup, you’ve got more to give back to your relationship and can freshen up your day-to-day with each other.

We’d love to know what your travel traditions are. Do you have travel habits from your childhood or something that you have to do at every destination? Share your travel traditions in the comments below.