Travel Tip: Don’t Surprise Women!

British Airways has some advice for all hopelessly romantic men out there: Don’t spring a surprise getaway on your partner; it will backfire.

The airline surveyed 2,000 women and found that planning makes perfect when it comes to jetting away for a few days, with six in 10 women absolutely hating surprises.

Why? The average woman, it seems, would prefer at least eight days’ notice in order to properly prepare. According to the survey, she needs to plan her outfits, sort out work, cancel prior engagements and go on at least three shopping trips.

A fifth of women surveyed claimed to have been whisked away when they weren’t given enough notice to prepare.

“The results emphasize the level of importance women place on getting the preparation before a trip exactly right,” said Abigail Comber, head of brands at British Airways. “The element of surprise is clearly a dividing issue amongst British women, but what has emerged is that the enjoyment of going away is enhanced if they feel they’ve been given enough time to get excited and can leave knowing things will be OK while they’re gone.”

The research also found that women require more than 12 hours of crucial preparation and feel their vacation will be less enjoyable if they forget a key item. Moreover, half of the women surveyed felt that baggage restrictions forced them to leave essential items at home.

“Even if it’s only a short-haul trip, a partner may not be aware of how much preparation their girlfriend or wife puts in ahead of a breakaway,” Comber said. “From researching places to eat and things to do as well as last minute beauty appointments and shopping trips, women have lots to do before they go on holiday.”

While this may be great advice for those whose partners are prone to surprise getaways, an unfortunate four in 10 women surveyed said that a romantic trip away “just wouldn’t cross their partner’s minds.”