There are many obvious advantages of travelling as a couple: you spend less proportionately on accommodation than if you’re travelling alone, you can share carrying stuff you both use meaning you have less in your backpack each, you can look out for each other’s stuff on travel days and you have someone to talk to on those long bus, plane or train journeys, among others.
But there are also some less obvious advantages specific to travelling as a same sex couple. Of course not every single moment of your travels with your partner will be all rainbows and unicorns, but here are some of the more subtle benefits.
Share clothes
Assuming that you and your partner are a roughly similar size and have similar styles and tastes in clothing, this could be the greatest advantage of travelling as a same sex couple. Being able to share clothes means fewer things to pack in the first place, making your packs smaller and easier to carry on as hand luggage on flights, which in turn could save you money.
Sleep together
If you’re choosing to stay in dorm rooms on your travels, you won’t be separated by hostels that require male and female guests to sleep in different rooms, meaning one of you can keep an eye on your stuff while the other uses the bathroom without having to worry about locking everything away in your locker, for example.
Meet other LGBT people and allies
Being an openly gay couple on the road, you’re likely to attract the attention (and friendship) of other gay, lesbian, trans, queer and and gay-friendly people who are also travelling. If you’re used to having a large, open LGBTQI community back home, but are travelling to a more conservative region of the world where such communities are not well established, having this kind of travellers’ camaraderie with like-minded people may become very valuable, especially on long term travels.
Pass for siblings
At first, I wasn’t sure there was a positive way to spin this assumption that my husband and I have often been the subject of, but if you are in a conservative country where being openly gay is not acceptable or could even be dangerous but still want to share a double bed in a hotel, it may prove useful. If you and your partner are physically similar enough, you might be able to convince people that you’re siblings and that your interest in sharing a double room is simply to save money!
