I started traveling without my partner after almost a year of dating, and it's one of the best things I've done for our relationship

• My partner and I have completely different approaches when it comes to traveling.
• While he enjoys vacations every now and then, I love to visit new places often.

Like many couples, my partner and I love to go on vacation.

But after dating for more than two years, I can now see that our outlook on travel is completely different.

My partner and his family are regulars at a caravan site on the west coast of Scotland, which is around a three-hour drive from our home in Glasgow. He tries to visit at least once a year, and it's one of the first places we went on vacation together as a couple.

I love the site's location, as it overlooks the sea. And the people — many who my partner has known since he was a child — are friendly and welcoming.

He also enjoys traveling abroad, and we've had some amazing trips together. But in his heart, he's a homebody who adores Scotland, which isn't a negative thing by any means.

Meanwhile, I'm the kind of person who rarely ventures to the same place twice. Travel reporting was always a big dream of mine, and I've been fortunate enough to visit some remarkable places for work as well as personal trips abroad over the past couple of years.

I started traveling without my partner after almost a year of dating, and it's one of the best things I've done for myself and our relationship.

Traveling without my significant other has helped maintain my individuality

My partner and I met in November 2020, after social distancing restrictions eased in the UK.

But even still, we had most of our dates at home for the first several months and rarely saw anyone else socially apart from each other. It meant we were able to form a bond quickly, as we were in our own little bubble.

Anyone who has been in a new relationship knows how easy it is to get wrapped up in the other person. If you don't prioritize the things and people you loved before the relationship, it can be easy to lose your sense of identity.

Luckily for me, I was given the opportunity to take my first solo trip in October 2021, which was almost a year after I met my partner. I had been assigned the task of reporting on the first luxury European cruise to leave the UK since the pandemic.

The experience was fantastic. I met some amazing people, got dressed up for the ship's formal evenings, and indulged in the food. When I went to dinner, I was often asked if anyone was joining me and was met by looks of surprise and sympathy when I told them I was traveling alone. This irritated me at first, as I thought it was narrow-minded to assume that you can't have fun without a partner or a group.

But after some time, I realized that those people were only projecting their own feelings onto me. After all, solo travel is certainly not for everyone, and I felt proud that I was independent and happy in my own experiences.

In the years since, I've been on several solo trips for work, as well as trips with my friends and family that didn't involve my partner. Similarly, he has also taken trips without me.

When we reunite, we have the best time sharing our experiences with one another. And when we do plan trips together, we make sure it's something we both enjoy rather than compromising on a trip because neither of us wants to go without the other.

It's something I believe everyone in a long-term relationship should try — even if only once.