Vacations with an intimate partner has benefits such as increased well- being which leads to greater work productivity afterward, but time away also has relational and health benefits. There are many studies which report that couples who experience novel activities together during vacations have increased passion, communication and relationship satisfaction. Other studies reveal that close relationships protect people from life’s discontents, help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives than social class, IQ, or genes. One such study with that conclusion was entitled The Grant Study (named for W.T. Grant). The study tracked 268 Harvard sophomores from 1938 onward in an attempt to reveal clues leading to healthy and happy lives. Some participants went on to become successful businessmen, doctors, lawyers, and even a President (John F. Kennedy) while others ended up as schizophrenics or alcoholics. Through the years, the control groups expanded to include the original participants children and also inner- city residents. The study of both Harvard men and inner-city participants revealed that close intimate relationships are the best predictors of long and happy lives. The overwhelming amount of research on the benefits of couple excursions led me to develop a research based private personalized couples retreat at two locations (Jekyll Island, Georgia and Washington, D.C.), with excursions tailored to their leisure interests and private sessions on relationship topics such as communication and intimacy. While not all couples can plan a getaway such as this, I recommend that all the couples that I work with at least plan an excursion for a weekend to unwind and reconnect in addition to taking a longer trip together.