THE ECONOMICS OF COUPLE TRAVEL: A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

THE ECONOMICS OF COUPLE TRAVEL: A COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

When I graduated from college 10 years ago, I decided to travel the world alone for a year. I was young and full of anticipation for the adventures ahead, all on a tight budget. Seeing other people travel as a couple made me wonder if having a travel companion would be cheaper. Although that’s not why I have a boyfriend now, we’ve done a lot of traveling together.

We’ve taken a 9-month motorcycle trip from Guatemala to the US, spent 5 months traveling around Europe, and then went back for another 2-month trip. We’ve also enjoyed numerous shorter trips within Guatemala. Now that I have experience with both solo and partner travel, let’s compare the expenses.

Savings with a Travel Companion

Accommodation: We usually rent rooms on Airbnb or stay in basic hotels. A single room is rarely half the price of a double room; it’s often just around 20% cheaper, and sometimes there’s no discount at all. For example, in France’s budget hotel chain F1, the room rate is the same for one to three people. So, traveling with my boyfriend, we’ve saved about half on accommodation compared to traveling alone.

When I traveled solo, I sometimes camped but rarely felt safe enough to pitch my tent in the middle of nowhere. I would ask families if I could camp on their land. With my boyfriend, we feel comfortable camping anywhere.

Shared Items: When traveling as a pair, you only need one of many items, such as a camera. We share one motorcycle and even one toothbrush. Sharing items means packing lighter, which reduces baggage fees and the cost of the items themselves.

Food: In restaurants, we can share a main dish and each have a dessert, or during picnics, there’s less food waste compared to when I’m alone. When traveling solo, I often ended up throwing away food because I couldn’t eat it all and didn’t have a fridge to store leftovers.

Additional Costs of Traveling as a Pair

Compromise on Activities: Sometimes we have different interests. If I want to see one thing and he wants to see another, we either part ways for the day or visit both places together, doubling the expense compared to choosing just one place on our own.

Touristy Activities: Things like getting a portrait in Paris or riding a gondola in Venice feel more appealing as a couple. While I might have been content reading in bed alone, as a pair, we seek out memorable experiences, which often come with added costs like dinners out and souvenirs.

Less Kindness from Strangers: Traveling alone, people often help out by offering rides, food, or advice on the best restaurants and hotels. As a couple, we appear more self-sufficient, so strangers are less likely to approach and help us. Even using Couchsurfing becomes tougher.

Increased Food Costs: While we do save on some food costs, we also tend to make meals a special time to talk and share experiences. This often leads to ordering extra food or drinks and sitting in restaurants more often instead of grabbing street food.

My Boyfriend’s Preferences: My boyfriend, who I jokingly say is used to the good life, prefers certain comforts. While traveling in the US, we alternated between camping and motels, which offered private baths and were quite comfortable. In Europe, he couldn’t get used to small rooms and shared bathrooms, so we often upgraded to more luxurious accommodations.

He also has specific food preferences, needing a steak meal daily, whereas I could go days on bread and cheese. We also traveled by my motorcycle instead of using public transportation like I did during my student days. When we didn’t have a bike in Europe, I ended up buying one, which now gathers dust in my mom’s parking lot, although I did rent it out last summer for a small profit.

Have you ever traveled with someone else? Was it cheaper or more expensive than traveling alone?