nrr: leaving earlier than my gf for vacation - is this a d*** move?

I think it makes sense. Like you say you'll lose your vacation time if you don't use it and it's a good idea to extend the vacation. I doubt your gf is worried about getting on a plane on her own. I've flown alone a few times, you just end up sleeping more.

You know you can use vacation time without going on an extra trip.

You can stay home. Run. Eat. Watch TV. Drive around. Watch movies.

Then fly off together.

The flying to Africa alone is not a big deal - most time will be with her head nodding off with some drool.

So....if you want to make points if you go ahead, find some places that she'll like - find some unique places - something that takes a little work. One per day. Then revisit them with her, so you know how things work....that always scores points.

But also be aware that women sometimes don't say what they mean. But if she insists she's ok with it, sounds like you've been given the green light...but don't waste it either, she's probably hoping you figure out the places to go without her having to ask...

It sounds like a good plan. After a week, you will miss each other and be excited to meet again. It's better to leave early than for you to stay late, in my opinion. I made that mistake in a trip to Bali, and didn't enjoy the last week by myself in Ubud as much--what with a giant rat (I thought it was a rabbit!) in my bungalow and the night visit of a staff member.

In addition, what's with the flying alone to Africa bit? Why not? I fly alone most of the time, and enjoy it. You can meet interesting people that way that you would have probably never met. Waiting for a JFK--> CDG flight, a NASA scientist came to talk to me, and at landing gave me his card. I called and then--well what happens in Paris stays in Paris.

Eh, I'm gonna have to disagree, I think for women part of the vacation is flying there too. The excitement of arriving is probably something she wants to share with you. I'd be careful here, because "man-logic" says that this makes sense, but females are a different species. She'll say it's fine for fear of sounding crazy, but I would bet that she'd much prefer to go with you. I've learned that most times, when things seem logical to us, women will see the opposite.

csdcs wrote:

Eh, I'm gonna have to disagree, I think for women part of the vacation is flying there too. The excitement of arriving is probably something she wants to share with you. I'd be careful here, because "man-logic" says that this makes sense, but females are a different species. She'll say it's fine for fear of sounding crazy, but I would bet that she'd much prefer to go with you. I've learned that most times, when things seem logical to us, women will see the opposite.

I would agree. The act of packing, getting to the airport, flying, arriving, seeing the hotel together, all of that stuff is part of the trip...

Plus, there is something about "discovering" a new place together than is really fun. If you have been there a week, it will seem like she is visiting you there. It won't be the same.

I would say take the week off before and get some things done to make the trip more fun. Do some in-depth research on the area, try to talk with some folks who have been there before. Make sure everything goes smoothly when the trip rolls around. Also, if you want to get out of town, go camping or something, you have to have some cool areas within driving distance.

I would be careful with the idea of arriving early. Don't mess this up.

I Dont Suck wrote:

Plus, there is something about "discovering" a new place together than is really fun. If you have been there a week, it will seem like she is visiting you there. It won't be the same.

my two cents - i think you should go early, morocco's a great place to visit and if you can have an extra week there you should. you'd resent sitting at home for that week (assuming you couldn't take a different trip, perhaps to visit friends nearby or something).

that said, i agree with the quote above - and i disagree with the earlier poster who suggested checking places out early so you can smoothly show her around. you don't want to be her tour guide. while getting lost and fighting about it on a trip does suck, avoiding that doesn't outweigh the discovering places together dynamic.

there is tons to do in morocco, and a decent network of trains and buses to get around. pick a place that you won't have time to visit with your girlfriend and hang out there for a few days. maybe essaouira or hiking in the atlas mountaings if you're flying into marrakesh, or an overnight desert trip if you're flying into fes, or something in the northwest (or maybe essaouira) if you're flying into casablanca.