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Episode: 10 Years & 40+ Countries: How to Travel Well as a Couple with Gabi and Shanna of 27 Travels
Pub date: 2026-04-28

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What does it actually take to travel well with a partner, and what are the hidden layers of that experience when you're also navigating the world as a queer couple?

Gabi and Shanna Meit-Sciara are a Brooklyn-based couple and the creators of 27 Travels, a platform launched in 2016 to document their adventures while building more visibility and resources for LGBTQIA+ travelers. Gabi is a photographer and graphic designer; Shanna is a videographer and video editor. Together, they've visited 40+ countries and built a full-time creative business rooted in their relationship and their shared love of the world.

In this episode, co-host Dianni Hall sits down with Gabi and Shanna to talk about what it really looks like to build a relationship through travel, how their partnership has been tested and strengthened on the road over ten years, and what the experience of traveling as a queer couple actually involves beyond what most people see.

This conversation is for anyone who's ever taken a trip with someone they care about and had to figure each other out in real time. Gabi and Shanna get specific about the roles they've each naturally fallen into, how they handle conflict during work trips without letting it ruin the experience, and the invisible, exhausting decisions queer couples make constantly on the road that most people never think about. If you've been wondering what traveling as a couple actually looks like when applied to a real, long-term relationship, this one goes deep.

What's a trip that revealed something unexpected about someone you were traveling with? I'd love to hear your thoughts, and I hope you'll share by sending me an audio message.

Co-host Dianni Hall is a queer, second-generation Latina, solo budget backpacker, freelancer, and host of the While She’s Away podcast, where she interviews women on their travel experience and expertise to help women live their best lives exploring the world. Learn more about her work here.

Tune In To Learn:

Why matching travel styles is one of the most meaningful early tests of a relationship, and how Gabi and Shanna discovered theirs on their first big trip to Arizona

How the roles partners naturally fall into on the road tend to emerge without anyone actually choosing them

Why adding content creation to a relationship and a trip is its own challenge, and what Gabi and Shanna have learned about navigating creative disagreements

What to actually pay attention to on a first trip with a partner, including the green flags most people overlook

How queer couples are constantly making decisions that straight couples rarely have to think about, from safety research to coming out to a stranger in a taxi

What the invisible labor of queer travel looks like in everyday moments: hotel check-ins, ride-shares, tour sign-ups

Why a loose itinerary almost always beats a rigid one, and why missing something can actually be the best thing that happens

New York City hidden gems from two lifelong locals: the case for Brooklyn, vegan food in Chinatown, and more

And so much more

Resources:

27 Travels

Instagram

YouTube

TikTok

Want More?

LGBTQ+ Travel and Making A Difference with Ravi Roth

Top 7 Cities for LGBTQ+ Travelers and Finding Your People Around the World with LGBTQ+ Travel Expert Alicia Valenski

Choose Travel NOW! Lessons from the World’s Longest Honeymoon with National Geographic Authors Mike and Anne Howard of HoneyTrek

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