Road Romances: Tales from Travellers

Valentine's Day means love is in the air! This week, we’re featuring tales from travellers who prove that love and travel go together like passport stamps and street maps. From the UK to the US, with transit through Tokyo, Tanzania and all points in between, here are four couples whose adventures continued long after they unpacked!

Daniel and Aaron

“Great things are done when men and mountains meet." — William Blake

In March of 2013, UK couple Daniel and Aaron were considering ways to celebrate Daniel’s thirtieth when they opted to trek Mt Kilimanjaro. After all, what better way to mark the occasion than from the summit of the highest freestanding mountain in the world? “Every now and again on our climb, I'd have to wipe tears from my eyes,” remembers Daniel. “Whether it was the views, the sense of achievement, or the bitter wind that swept down from the peak, I'm not too sure.”

Five days in, after an early morning of slow progress in twilight, the couple reached Stella Point, where they were rewarded with a breathtaking sunrise. Daniel recalls the moment with reverence: “Slowly, but surely, we could see the sun coming on. It felt like ages, but there it was—mesmerizing.” From there, it was a short but challenging hike for the two to the summit. At 5895m, Uhuru Peak (which means “freedom” in Swahili) is Africa’s highest point. “As we crested the final ridge, Aaron and I fell silent for a minute,” Daniel remembers. “We couldn't believe it! The sense of accomplishment was overwhelming.”

Ironically, Uhuru wasn’t the pinnacle of their time together in Africa. That would come a week later on the island of Zanzibar, on which the two would unwind and celebrate their climb. “On our final night there,” Daniel reveals, “Aaron asked me to marry him—and I haven’t taken the ring off since.”

So where to next for the couple? Together, they will begin a new adventure this September when, surrounded by friends and family, they are to be married. “We’ll never forget the view from the top of Kilimanjaro,” promises Daniel. “We were thrilled at what we had done. What we had achieved. All of it was worth every second.”

After climbing through the snows of Kilimanjaro on the Machame Route, Aaron and Daniel got engaged in Zanzibar.

Anna and Tom

"Distance is just a test to see how far love can travel." – Author unknown

Anna and Tom met first at a university in the UK and then travelled together for seven months. Confides Anna: “Living out of bags, getting lost and not knowing where our next bed would be (if we were lucky enough to find one) was a good test of our relationship.”

While on a G Adventures tour through Africa, Tom surreptitiously organized a hot air balloon ride, where he proposed to Anna in a basket above the Serengeti. “Travelling’s brought us closer together and strengthened our relationship,” says Anna. “We’re going to keep going. Our honeymoon’s up next, and the Inca Trail’s on our list.”

So, will the group’s other members be invited to the couple’s upcoming wedding? “Yes,” exclaims Anna, “our G Adventures group has quickly become a second family!”

Tom popped the ultimate question on our 54-day Ultimate Africa tour.

Christine and George

“We travel, in essence, to become young fools again – to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.” – Pico Iyer

American Christine met Canadian George while rolling solo on a G Adventures tour through Mexico. Partway through a nine-month round-the-world trip, George continued on while Christine returned to her native California. They stayed in touch, however, and agreed to meet in Thailand, where they shared yet another incredible experience together.

Not wanting the adventure to end, George returned to San Diego, where he and Christine were married. “We travel at least once a year to a new place,” writes Christine. “We’ve learned so much about each other through our travels.” As the saying goes, the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end. Three years on, Christine and George are still going strong. They recently tackled Mt Kilimanjaro to celebrate their honeymoon and, more recently, sailed the Dalmatian Coast. “Meeting while travelling was a dream come true,” remembers Christine. “After all, we were both doing something we were passionate about.”

Christine and George celebrated their love on the Sailing Croatia—Dubrovnik to Split adventure.

James and Jeanette

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck

“Eat well, travel often and drink coffee” is Australian couple James and Jeanette’s travel mantra. According to Jeanette, this was no truer than on their first date, which saw them cover over 300km trying to secure a table for two, enjoying cuisine from four different cultures and dancing the night away at a Spanish nightclub in Melbourne. “Travelling together has brought out both the best and the worst,” writes Jeanette, “but above all, it’s helped us understand what we value most in ourselves and one another.”

Indeed, they make a formidable travel duo. Whereas Jeanette can sniff out the closest espresso machine to satisfy James’s love of the finest bean, James is wonderful at locating women’s restrooms and ensuring that Jeanette’s formidable library of travel books is evenly distributed among their packs.

James and Jeanette made good on their motto on the Indochina Cycle tour.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to each of our couples who’ve found love on the road. May all their adventures be filled with the right ingredients: a heap of love, a dash of humour, a touch of romance, and a spoonful of understanding.

We want to hear your stories! Has one of your journeys ended in a love connection? Share yours in the comments section below!

Getting There

Travelling with G Adventures is the very best way to get up close and personal with your planet in a way you’d never manage on your own. For more than 20 years, we’ve brought together people from all over the globe to create lifelong connections. This is your planet, after all—and the better you get to know it, the more it'll give you in return. Explore our small group trips here.