Couples Travel Tips: When One Of You Is Sick

Getting sick is a very normal and often expected part of travel. Not only does illness while travelling deprive you of time spent enjoying yourself being sick in a foreign country can be an alienating experience full of obstacles you didn’t think you’d have to overcome with a migraine.

One of the benefits of travelling with your significant other is that you have a (potentially) healthy person there to translate boxes of painkillers, tins of soup and daytime cooking shows for you while you heal. However, by doing so are you depriving them of their precious holiday time unnecessarily?

As someone currently travelling with my partner of nine years, I’ve been on both sides of this predicament and here are the three things I recommend for knowing if one of you should go out to explore if either of you get sick while travelling.

Katie in Nurenberg with a headache that may or may not have been related to how much I LOVE talking about castles.

1. Discuss This Before You Leave

As I said before, getting sick is a normal and expected part of travel, that’s why terms like Bali Belly and Glasgow Gut* exist (*Disclaimer: I made this one up). Don’t wait until one of you is chin deep in the toilet bowl before asking if it will just be you on the ghost tour, have this chat before you leave.

Any time before your first boarding call, talk to your partner about what their expectations are if one of you is sick. Would you feel comfortable if they left you sick at home to go out for a couple of hours, an afternoon or even the whole day? How about the other way around? How often might the sick person like to be checked in on with a message or a call?

Doing this before you leave allows you to clear some of the fog that comes with illness such as thinking your sick partner might be acting healthier than they are to make you feel better about leaving or on the flip side, understanding why your partner would want to stay with you even if you say you’ll be alright. Agree on some guidelines for both of you and keep them identical because double standards can lick a battery.

Felt sick in Rotterdam and the room was giving me a suggestion.

2. Make Sure Your Work Here Is Done

When Katie was sick while we were in Dublin, I wasn’t sure if I should leave her to go see a concert I was looking forward to. After a brief discussion (I hadn’t invented point 1 yet) Katie encouraged me to go because she knew I was looking forward to it and she pointed out there was nothing I could achieve by staying as all she needed to do was rest and drink water, both things she could do without me.

Before leaving for some unexpected solo adventuring, make sure your sick partner has everything they need including medications, food and anything else that will help them get better. Once your work is done, head out that door guilt-free.

However, if your partner requires things beyond basic amenities, is feeling too sick to even make themself a cup of tea or is in so much pain they may need medical assistance at some point, it probably is better to stick around and see how they do for a bit as there aren’t any sights in the world that are better when paired with the nagging thought of your partner is at home dying.

Not sick here but honestly, what was going on with my hair.

3. Bring Them Back Something Nice

No, you don’t have to do this but a little something from your time outdoors might be just the right amount of fuzzy feeling your partner needs to feel better. It’s just a little bit romantic and there’s loads of people who love that while on holiday.

A surprise gift not only shows you were thinking about them but help makes up for the day that they lost. It doesn’t even cost much, it could be a small bunch of wildflowers you picked while hiking or funny flier that reminds you of an inside joke you have. It can even be as simple as messaging them on your way home asking if they’d like a hot drink or anything to eat.

If you’re really unimaginative, souvenir shops always have some cheeky taff that’s funny for about three seconds and laughter is meant to be the best medicine. And if it still all sounds like too much work than you definitely need to do this step because it sounds like you never do anything for your partner and I don’t know how they would put up with you. You’re on holiday for Christ’s sake, be romantic!