Travel Tips for Couples Who Are Total Opposites: From a Columbus County Wedding to the Honeymoon Abroad
- Christine
- May 28
- 7 min read
Being from Columbus County means you know the value of community, tradition, and a good front-porch breeze. After your Columbus County wedding has wrapped up—maybe with a last dance under the bistro lights at The Cellar at Grapefull Sisters Vineyard—you’re now setting off on your first big adventure as newlyweds: the honeymoon. But if one of you had a wedding spreadsheet color-coded six months out and the other didn’t even read the registry, chances are your travel styles are probably just as different. Whether you're headed to Paris, South America, Poland, or the Middle East, traveling as a planner-adventurer couple comes with its own set of joys (and occasional challenges).
Once you've left your Columbus County wedding, here's how to make your honeymoon unforgettable—no matter how different your travel vibes might be. This guide is for the planner-and-adventurer couples out there—one who thrives on structured schedules, and the other who lives for spontaneous detours. You may be opposites, but that contrast is your greatest asset. This blog is full of our own pictures and experiences. We like most couples are opposites and look at travel differently. One loves history, museums the attractions the other loves adventure, culture and everything off the beaten path. However, with a little planning and give and take you can both come home having checked off the bucket list.
1. Start with a Shared Bucket List of activities outside of Columbus County!
Why it works: When you both list your dream experiences, it sets the tone for a collaborative trip. The planner gets the information they need to start mapping things out, and the adventurer gets a chance to throw in wild-card ideas without being boxed into a rigid plan.
How to do it:
Each partner lists 3–5 "must-dos" for the trip.
Include both cultural and emotional goals. For example:
Planner: “Tour the Eiffel Tower, visit the British Museum, pre-book a cooking class in Florence.”
Adventurer: “Dance to live music in a Dublin pub, get lost in a souk in Morocco, find the best random street food in Lima.”
Tip for Columbus County folks: Do your homework ahead of time so you are sure to get a few favorites like dinner in the Eiffel Tower that may need to be booked 3 months in advance, but also leave open room in the schedule and ask locals for their recommendations as your sure to find a hidden gem away from the tourists.
2. Plan “Anchor Days” & “Adventure Days”
Why it works: When abroad, every day feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. That can quickly lead to burnout if one person tries to pack too much in or if the other just wants to drift. Alternating between structured and spontaneous days helps you stay balanced.
Anchor Day Ideas:
Paris: Louvre in the morning, Seine cruise at night.
Poland: Auschwitz-Birkenau tour in the morning, Kraków old town walk after.
Jordan: Guided Petra tour with timed entry tickets.
Petra, Jordan
Adventure Day Ideas:
Peru: Head out to the desert of Lima and enjoy a dune buggy excursion and sandboarding in Huacachina Oasis. If you time it right you can catch sunset over the desert. (This adventure was one of our personal favorites. See pic below)
Ireland: Rent a car and just drive west. Stop when you see something beautiful (which will be every 10 minutes and it will probably be sheep or another castle).
England: Skip the itinerary, grab a coffee, and get lost in Notting Hill’s antique shops.
Pro Tip: Name your days! “Museum Monday,” “Freedom Friday,” “Wander Wednesday.” It sounds silly, but it helps both partners understand the vibe of the day before it starts.
3. Leverage the Power of Apps & Offline Tools
Why it works: Technology can be the bridge between your styles. Planners get their control, and adventurers don’t have to remember every tiny detail.
Apps to Try:
TripIt: Upload all reservations, tickets, and times.
Google Maps (offline mode): Download maps for each city before you leave Wi-Fi.
Rome2Rio: Great for last-minute transportation planning.
Notion or Google Docs: Collaborative space for plans and wishlists.
WhatsApp: Crucial for international communication if one person gets separated on a spontaneous detour.
My personal favorite is Rick Steves- You can watch episodes ahead of time about your destinations and depending on the country, pre order the accompanying book that gives great lodging, restaurant, transportation, and sight seeing tips as well as a few off the beaten path options.
4. Learn the Art of the “Soft Plan”
Why it works: A “soft plan” gives the planner enough structure to feel secure and the adventurer enough freedom to follow their curiosity.
How to create a soft plan:
Choose a daily theme: “History,” “Nature,” “Street Food,” “Coastal Views.”
Set general times: “Explore between 10am–2pm,” or “find dinner around sunset.”
Use open blocks: “Afternoon: Wander. Evening: Dinner reservation.”
Dublin, Ireland
Example Day in Paris:
Morning: Visit Montmartre and Sacré-Cœur.
Afternoon: Grab lunch from a bakery and wander through the Marais.
Evening: Optional: Seine River cruise or a spontaneous wine bar find.
Real Talk: Be intentional about how you spend your travel budget. One of our favorite personal tips is to always say yes to local food and drinks—and invest in an experience, like sleeping in an Irish Castle, that you could never have back home.
The night pictured below was one of those unforgettable moments: a stay at the Bubble Luxotel, tucked beneath the vast, starlit sky of the Wadi Musa desert. While we usually prioritize adventure experiences over luxury accommodations, this was the exception that proved the rule. Sleeping in the bubble under the stars, surrounded by the quiet magic of the Jordanian desert stars, was pure wonder—an experience worth every penny and one we’ll never forget.
5. Schedule Alone Time
Why it works: Traveling together 24/7—especially internationally—can wear on even the best relationships. Scheduling solo time lets you reset and reconnect.
Ideas for healthy space abroad:
Consider a his and her massage or spa treatment
Let one sleep in while the other grabs a quiet morning espresso at a sidewalk café.
Split up in an art museum or castle: meet back at the gift shop in an hour.
6. Give Each Other the Benefit of the Doubt
Why it works: Not everything will go as planned. You will miss buses. You will get hangry. You might even get a little lost in a Polish neighborhood trying to find pierogis'. But blame won’t help—grace will.
Tips to handle mishaps:
Keep snacks on hand for “hanger” moments.
Designate a “calm voice” person for tense situations.
Decide ahead of time that some moments will go in the “blooper reel.”
Real Story Inspiration: Photo below was a professional one we had taken at Cliff of Moher, Ireland. While the photos were slightly windblown, and maybe not perfect, the memory of climbing over the barrier and having security run us down as we attempted to get the photos is priceless.
7. Pack Patience with Your Passport
Why it works: You’re navigating foreign languages, new currencies, unfamiliar foods, and cultural differences. Patience—especially with each other—makes the journey not only doable but beautiful.
Reminders:
Be kind to strangers. Locals often go out of their way to help if you’re respectful.
Accept that your partner’s travel style is their way of loving the experience—even if it’s different from yours.
Let the quiet moments be as important as the big ones.
Slow mornings in Italy Heart of the Matter: It’s often the quiet moments that leave the deepest imprint on your soul. There’s nothing quite like the haunting beauty of a Chopin concert echoing through a historic church, sharing a simple coffee together in the heart of a bustling foreign city, or savoring a candlelit dinner tucked beneath the shadow of the French Alps.
But just as powerful are the moments that humble you—the visit to Auschwitz and the gas chamber ruins that leaves you speechless and heavy, witnessing the harsh realities of poverty in South American shantytowns, walking the same steps as Jesus and being baptised in the Jordan River, visiting the Wailing Wall in quiet reverence, or standing among the crosses at a foreign military cemetery, honoring the U.S. troops who never made it home.
Travel changes you—not just through its beauty, but also through its heartbreak and truth. The good, the hard, and the raw parts all become part of your story. And you’re never quite the same after.
Final Thoughts: One Passport, Two Styles, One Journey
Whether you’re sipping mint tea in Morocco, chasing waterfalls in Peru, or dancing in a rain-soaked Irish street, your differences aren’t obstacles—they’re superpowers. The planner gives the trip shape. The adventurer gives it soul.
And at the end of the day, the best part of the journey isn’t the Eiffel Tower or Machu Picchu—it’s standing next to each other, 4,000 miles from home, saying, “We actually did this.”
You’re not just a Columbus County newlywed couple anymore. You’re global citizens—with southern charm and a suitcase full of memories.
Thanks so much for stopping by our blog! We hope you found these personal travel tips helpful. We're passionate about using our blog to shine a light on locally owned wedding venues. These venues offer bring a higher level of expertise, service and dedication to your big day. Plus, with less staff turnover than corporate or investor-owned venues, they're able to provide a more personal touch. As you plan your wedding, we'd love for you to consider a locally owned venue like ours. Check out this wedding venue map to discover amazing locally owned venues across the country. And a big shout out to all the incredible locally owned wedding venues out there. We've listed a few beautiful locally owned venues below.
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