Vacations are supposed to be fun, but sometimes traveling with a significant other can be difficult. Case in point: the three-month camping trip I took with my long-term boyfriend (now ex) through Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, last summer.

We’d been together for more than a decade, so it wasn’t like we didn’t know what we were getting ourselves into. Maybe our relationship wasn’t rock-solid at the time, but we enjoyed each other’s company well enough, and the prospect of an extended period of time in the great outdoors seemed exciting. I could not have been more wrong. I walked away from the trip (a) never wanting to travel with him again, ever, period, and (b) never wanting to travel with anyone for that long, ever, period. And this is coming from a person who once traveled half the year for work. I’m not afraid of distance, but I’m an independent woman who likes a big, wide berth of uninterrupted alone time and space. The Great Canadian Road Trip was our death knell.

Heed the tips ahead (and learn from my mistakes), so you and your S.O. can survive (and thrive) during your summer getaway.