When we took our couples trip to Scottsdale in December, I got a few questions about planning a couples trip. I thought hmm…I never really thought planning was that intriguing, but the questions I got were mega insightful! I figured instead of keeping the details to myself, I would share them here for anyone who is also planning a couples trip or is thinking about the logistics of it all. Shoutout to Erica for really pushing me to do this post 🙂 Today I’m sharing how we pick destinations, how long we plan for, who cooks, activities planning and more if you’re interested!
FAQ: Planning A Couples Trip
How do you pick destination?
If we aren’t getting together at someone’s house, we typically try to figure out a place that is equidistance for all of us. This year it wound up being Scottsdale, but Napa was also a contender! When we find places that are about halfway for all of us, we narrow it down by figuring out what each city has to offer. For this particular trip, we wanted golf and spa days, so Scottsdale won by a landslide!
Who books the place?
This one kind of depends on who may or may not have points at a specific hotel chain or connections in the area. For our Scottsdale trip, we knew that renting a private house would be more beneficial since the whole point of the trip was to spend time with one another. (More on house rental vs. hotel here if you’re interested :))
How do you set up each day’s itinerary?
This kind of depends on where we are in terms of destination (for example if we are in someone’s hometown or in a new place) or if there are any special occasions (birthdays,etc), but for the most part we make a list of the top attractions we all can agree upon for visiting. From there, we work those into a running itinerary that we all (mostly the ladies) have access to on Google docs. Another fun way to set up the itinerary is for each couple to have a full day to plan, where they cover everything from the activities to the meals. We also make it a priority on all of our trips to work in some downtime since one or more of us is usually trying to get a bit of work done here and there.
How long is the trip?
We typically shoot for long weekends, so 3-4 days. This is enough time to get together, catch up and spend quality time without feeling rushed, but not long enough to deplete all of our vacation days.
From a financial perspective, how do you budget?
This is a good one! I would say that for the most part, we are all on the same page about how much money we typically want to spend. That said, if you are planning a trip and are unsure about everyone else’s budget – just ask. Make sure everyone is on the same page about expectations for spending. There is nothing worse than arriving somewhere and realizing you don’t want to spend the amount of money for a meal, museum, etc. Be open and your friends will understand. If you aren’t willing to be blunt and ask, set up an anonymous Google doc that everyone can fill out so monetary expectations and budget can be set with some anonymity.
Do you buy groceries or eat out?
I would say a little bit of both! For us personally, this is dependent upon if we stay at a hotel, house rental or someone’s house. If we are staying at someone’s house it’s much easier to all chip in for groceries and eat meals at home. For a house rental, it kind of depends on how equipped the house is with pots, pans and staples. For our Scottsdale trip, we ate out more than we cooked in simply because by the time we bought cooking staples, the cost would have evened out. We cooked breakfast at home one night and bought some snacks for happy hours, but eating out proved to be the more popular option.
I feel like that covers most of the questions I got, but if I missed something you’re dying to know – feel free to drop it below! Happy traveling 🙂
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