According to US Vogue, 'turbulence test' trips are a 'romantic travel trend' for new couples. The magazine spoke to two women who decided to stress-test their fledgling relationships with trips, and a hotel in Charleston, South Carolina, that offers a 'turbulence test' package including $100 worth of cocktails and conversation cards. While travel can indeed be a trial for new romance—with cramped spaces, disrupted schedules, and destination disappointments—Emma Beddington argues that seeking out such stress is unnecessary.
Travel as a Pressure Cooker
Beddington recalls a near-split with her husband after a horrific trip to Italy in their second year together. They faced a thunderstorm, no trains, and a fortnight of rain and fights. Yet, she notes that early incompatibilities can blur over time. 'It would have been a shame if we'd shaken hands and gone our separate ways back in 1995,' she writes, adding that they now accommodate each other's travel quirks.
Life Provides Enough Stress Tests
Beddington lists many natural relationship challenges that arise in the first year: sleeping together with its unsexy baggage, seeing each other's slobbish home selves, getting sick, meeting friends and family, and navigating holiday traditions. 'Relationship turbulence is as much of a certainty as death, taxes and delayed flights,' she says.
She concludes that couples should relax and enjoy the honeymoon period instead of seeking expensive, stressful tests. 'Turbulence will find you anyway; there's no need to seek it out.'
