The Travel-Inspired Tradition We Look Forward to Every Year
How we make our anniversary a core memory
Before my husband and I got married, we came up with a tradition that has become one of the things I most look forward to each year. Instead of exchanging gifts for our anniversary, we decided to switch off each year, planning a surprise trip we know the other would enjoy. Since I’m in planning mode for this year’s edition, I figured it was the perfect time to share.
The only rule of the tradition is that the person in charge of planning picks the destination completely independently, and it is up to them how to get input or share elements of the trip beforehand.
Over the years, we’ve made some incredible memories, and have adapted our plans as scenarios have arisen to ensure we have some time away each year, even when it has felt like a lot with young kids at home.
One of the reasons I most love this tradition is that there is real thought and effort that goes into planning a trip you know your partner will love. It is such an authentic and special gesture on top of getting to spend quality time together.
I want to be transparent: We don’t have a 100% success rate in executing this the way we originally envisioned (because, life). We did an easy one-night overnight staycation the year our first daughter was born, had to cancel an epic Italy and Switzerland trip in 2020 due to the pandemic, and opted to take a pass last year when our second daughter was born. Otherwise, we look forward to it with great anticipation each year and are headed for our 8th anniversary trip in June.
If you’re looking for a new way to celebrate milestones or add more intentional time to your relationship, I can’t recommend this tradition enough. There’s something magical about being surprised by someone who knows you well, and something equally joyful about being the one doing the surprising.
A few things to consider if you want to implement the “surprise anniversary trip”:
Just because it is a trip doesn’t mean it has to be far from home or extravagant. A staycation or road trip to a nearby hotel or resort could make this idea achievable for anyone, even over a two-day weekend!
We each keep an Excel of top destinations and experiences on our respective wish lists (more to come on this in a future post). This helps with trip ideation and selecting the best destination for what we are looking for that year. For example, there was a year that relaxation was the key theme of the trip, and this year we opted for hiking and the outdoors to be the key element.
We call this our anniversary trip, but we typically aren’t traveling on our actual anniversary. We aim to travel within 30 days on either end of our anniversary date.
Revealing the trip to the other person is a lot of fun! I made a PowerPoint presentation of one trip with clues to help my husband guess where we were going before sharing the destination. There have been a few trips where I may know several months ahead of time that it is a “mountain” destination or some other broad element, without yet knowing the specific destination.
We do aim to share the destination and some activity guidance about a month or so ahead of the trip to ensure the other person can plan accordingly.
My top three anniversary trip experiences:
A bucket-list meal: My husband planned our first anniversary trip, which included time in NYC and a surprise meal at Blue Hill Stone Barns in the Hudson Valley. It remains one of the most special, over-the-top dining experiences we’ve ever had, and it was lovely to combine it with time in the city. It also set a very high bar for future trips!
Glamping: Another memorable trip included a glamping experience at Alila Ventana Big Sur. We loved exploring the Big Sur and Carmel area, hiking, and eating at restaurants with beautiful views. To complement the safari-style tents, they built luxury camping facilities, including a coffee bar in an airstream and a bathhouse with rain showers and all the amenities you’d expect from a 5-star property.
R&R: We both loved a fall weekend in Highlands, North Carolina (more on that here). The weather ended up foiling a few outdoor plans, which was serendipitous because we needed to relax and reset. We loved a long afternoon spent at the bar at Old Edwards Inn, and cozy meals around town with fireplaces and great views.
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This is a brilliant idea, I might steal it 😁