“Who’s the boss?” – travel couples tell you how they organise their travels.

In this final week of our series “Who’s the boss?” we see how Heather and Chris of A Brit and a Southerner work things out. During this series, we have looked at travel couples’ organizational abilities and whether one is more dominant in this field. I think that throughout the series there have been some interesting revelations about who does what. In the main it appears that all of the couples play to their strengths.

 

I think that sitting down and discussing who does what was quite a revelation to some coupes as it was to us. When I first did this myself, I assumed that I did the majority of the organizing. However when we sat down and actually started ticking boxes, that was when I realized that Gordon did a lot more than what I had thought. Do you think that he has let me forget this? Not a chance. This is how we came to ask other travel couples to also do this and see if, like us, they got a surprise. It has been a great serious with some very humorous responses, so make sure you catch up and find out who’s the boss from many of your favorite travel couples.

 

So, “Who’s the boss?” at A Brit and a Southerner?

 

“When it comes to making decisions over where we go, it is pretty much a joint decision. Chris has a little more knowledge in terms of global destinations so makes more suggestions in that respect but Heather is always willing to do her research and throw out spontaneous travel plans.

 

That’s why we are such great travel buddies!”

“Chris is generally much more flexible because he has more vacation time accrued through work so we usually look at Heather’s schedule to determine when we can venture on our travels, especially for longer trips. Weekend and long weekend breaks are usually fairly easy to plan.”

Heather says,“Chris is the Internet guru and is always looking to find the next great deal. He is never satisfied with a price whether it is directly through the airline or through a third party such as Expedia so he is always on the lookout for another great scalp!”

With aiport lounges, they responded with “if we ever stay in an airport lounge it would be because Heather suggested to, probably because Chris is more economically stubborn and unlikely to spend money in a lounge!”

With stopovers, “Chris frequently plans our trips and always calculates whether a layover or stopover will require an overnight stay in a hotel at the airport. We have had many close calls on our connecting flights so now tend to book longer layovers and sometimes overnight stays to ensure we don’t miss that all important connection.”

With organizing getting to the airport : “We are both very equally involved in this process of arranging how we get to the airport. Deciding whether we will ask someone to take us or whether we will drive and leave our car there depends on the length of our trip.”

When researching “Heather is generally the expert in planning our trips in terms of activities, attractions and key landmarks worth visiting. Whilst Chris is always willing to do some research, Heather usually has the deciding factor here!”

Regarding accommodation, “Chris will generally do much of the research in terms of hotel options and then we discuss the possible options before making a final decision.”

With transport between places, “Overall when it comes to transportation and accommodation options, Chris is the researcher on this one. We always come to an agreement on transportation between countries and domestic travel because at the end of the day our love for travel overrides any issues we have with transportation arrangements!”

“Heather is the expert packer for sure! If it is left to Chris, he will likely just throw a few shirts and shorts in a bag and then deal with the consequences later. Heather is a little more meticulous which is good for both of us because it ensures we plan accordingly and take adequate supplies with us. Chris does contribute however in terms of ensuring baggage is kept well under the max weight capacity – do not like extra baggage fees!”

With security and locks on cases “Sorry on this one I think neither of us are much of a boss because we rarely lock our cases. However, when it comes to security and keeping our belongings safe Heather is probably more cautious and careful.”

Passports and visas, “As Chris has experience with visas and passports primarily because he moved from UK to USA, he is pretty much the expert with any type of official documentation. Would say he handles 100% of all this legal jargon!”

Also, “Chris is also good at handling money in general. He usually determines how much cash we need to carry in the local currency and will determine prior to traveling if credit cards can be used at no extra cost etc.”

With leaving house neat etc, “Notice the extra cross – this certainly applies to us too! Despite neither of us being neat freaks, Heather is very good at ensuring everything is kept in order especially prior to us traveling. Chris, well he would just leave it and not care!”

Chris and Heather say “We are both very good at coordinating with necessary parties prior to traveling especially if we are going for a sustained period. Heather’s parents will generally take care of keeping an eye on our apartment and mail etc. whilst Chris is good at ensuring credit card companies are notified of travel arrangements.”

“Chris is the bill payer in the household so always takes care of this. As we pay the majority of our bills online, we can usually take care of them as and when needed especially if we are in a location with solid Internet connection.”

Heather is very good at finding some local festivals that are going on especially those that are iconic of the area. Both of them are into sporting events so they are always up for visiting one when in a new location.

They both love technology “… so this is a must for both of us for sure! Laptops, iPhones, iPads and Cameras are travel essentials for both of us!

Both Chris and Heather like trying new things when they travel.

“Chris is the social media and website guru for the most part though Heather is the expert in Pinterest and Instagram so it works out pretty well! During our trips, Chris will usually be the one to post updates etc. but we try to focus more on enjoying our travels and leave updates until we return home or at least back to the hotel that evening.”

So, Who’s the boss?” at A Brit & A Southerner?

“Well, we would probably both agree that we are pretty even but if you don’t want us to sit on the proverbial fence we would go with Chris because when it comes to travel he is a little more experienced. But the majority of decisions are ‘joint decisions’ (hope Chris doesn’t get into too much trouble for saying that he is the ‘boss’).”

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Catch up with all of our participants and see whether you were correct in your assumptions.

 

Samantha and Yeison of My Tan Feet,

David and Veronica from GypsyNesters,

Mike and Luci of 1000 Places to Fight before you die,

Rob and Lina from Erohisms 

Josh and Liz of Peanuts or Pretzels 

Sam and Zeb at Indefinite Adventure

Tamara and Donny of  Turtles Travel

Marie and Joey of Seriously Travel

Oh and us ..Contented Traveller