Traveling with friends and family can be fun, but there’s also risk involved.

Some say you don’t really know someone until you travel with them.

In this case, a couple keeps arguing during holidays since one of them keeps taking his family along and spending way too much time at tourist shops while ignoring (and dissing) the other’s preferences.

Well, he grew tired of being ignored and finally stood up for himself, but after some pushback is now wondering if he should have.

Read the story and see how things played out.

AITA for refusing to visit a tourist shop on my recent weekend away?

I (M36) and my partner (M35) have been together for 12 years and have had lots of holidays, some as just a pair, other times as a family.

Most recently, we’ve had 4 consecutive holidays with his family where we visited their desired location, did their desired activities and I didn’t get any real say on any element of anything we did.

He was basically just being dragged around like a child.

A common theme in the family holidays is looking around tourist-tat shops, charity shops, sitting around eating greggs sausage rolls, incense and crystal shops etc. or sitting in a pub or on a beach.

I appreciate the pubs, but I don’t like the beach and will spend most of my time on holiday stood outside a shop staring into the middle distance.

That sounds painfully boring. He had had enough.

This weekend just gone I arranged for us both to go away to Portsmouth, I don’t know what he had expected, but I had made plans to go to visit HMS Victory, see the Mary Rose museum and a few local sites and spend the evening drinking and relaxing.

Immediately after we arrived (we were there one night) I said we needed to get a wriggle on and go to where I wanted to visit.

I was told “it would be nice to find some souvenirs” which I dismissed straight away and made a direct route to the museums (the intention of the holiday).

He had started asserting himself, but it was still a struggle.

After visiting them, we had to wander around looking for tourist tat shops because he had promised his mum something with “Portsmouth” printed on it.

Turns out, the shops were closed.

Later that evening, we were having a drink and I was told the following day we had to “find a shop selling fridge magnets for my mum”.

I pulled up a Portsmouth fridge magnet on amazon and said we can just buy that and save 45 minutes of faffing around.

It’s understandable she wanted a souvenir from the actual place, but he wanted them to consider his side, too.

I then said “this isn’t a Smith holiday, it’s an us holiday” (pretend Smith is his family name) and he got very offended.

I explained how all previous family holidays I spent 90% of my time being dragged to tourist shops and would like a weekend away without that.

He claimed I was being an ******* and unappreciative as his family “always do what you want to do”.

They disregarded his preferences and imposed theirs.

I mentioned a time when we visited Cornwall and I wasn’t allowed to visit the Eden project and he replied “who the hell wants to go there?”

I feel like I’m not being unreasonable, seeing as I paid for the train to Portsmouth and the hotel for the night.

AITA?

He is basically being bullied into doing their itinerary. But his partner’s mom also has the right to do what she wants.

Let’s see if Reddit has any insight into this situation.

A reader shares their thoughts.

Exactly.

More good tips.

This commenter shares their opinion.

Another reader chimes in.

This person has a different take.

They need to start respecting each other’s preferences and freedom.

And just because they’re a couple, it doesn’t mean they can’t do things separately sometimes.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.