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How One Man Used Online Dating To Find True Love — And A Travel Partner

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Trevor and July on their travels

Who doesn’t want to find a life partner they can travel the globe with? Heck, I’ll be the first to admit that’s my #1 goal in life. I’d heard of MissTravel before, though most press around it labels it as a site for sugar daddies to meet beautiful women and exchange trips to exotic destinations for you-know-what. Apparently that’s not the case, at least not for one (at the time) lonely electrician, Trevor, who was working at an oil field in Alberta, Canada. He met his now-wife, July, a Colombian woman who dreamed of finding the perfect guy to share global adventures with, on the site. They’ve been traveling together for over two years now, and have racked up seven trips and counting. I caught up with Trevor and July to learn more about their atypical courtship, finding true love online and the rewards of exploring the world with the one you love.

1. What prompted you to sign up for MissTravel.com, and what were your first impressions?

Trevor: When I decided to sign up for MissTravel I was working a camp job in northern Alberta, where I would work two weeks on and one week off. I wanted to start traveling and to find someone to do it with. So I Googled “traveling with someone” and MissTravel came up. I decided to give it a shot. My initial impressions were that it was an interesting concept and that there are lots of women from all over the world to chat with that wanted to travel. It was just a matter of finding someone that shared similar views and had the same relationship goals as I did. I was looking for something more long term than just a one time travel fling. July: Living in Colombia all my life I always was intrigued by other countries. I love Europe and hope to visit there one day. I had just gotten out of a relationship with a guy I met from England, who was living in Colombia at the time, a few months prior to joining MissTravel. After things ended with him I wanted to continue learning English and maybe meet someone new from an English-speaking country. So I found MissTravel and I was fascinated by the concept of traveling with someone.

2. You’re now married to a woman, July, you met on the dating and travel website. Where was your first trip to, and what was it like planning a getaway with someone you didn’t really know?

Trevor: Well to start, the first time I went on MissTravel I met someone from the USA and we started chatting through Facebook and eventually planned a trip to Vegas together. That was my first real online dating experience and, all in all, the trip went fairly well; but we were just too different from one another to make a relationship work. Overall, I was happy with the experience, and the opportunity to meet someone for a trip.I signed back up for MissTravel and within a couple of weeks I started talking with July. July and I talked and Skyped for about four months before our first trip. July is from Colombia and myself Canada, so the distance and available places to travel was what made it take a little longer to plan a trip. For our first trip we went to Panama, neither of us had ever been before and we stayed at a resort for five nights. I remember waiting for her at the airport, because my flight got in before hers, and then seeing her for the first time wearing a black skirt and yellow shirt — which are my favorite colors. I knew she was a special girl and we had a great time together. I couldn’t wait for the next time we could travel and see each other again.

3. There is an idea that MissTravel.com is a website for sugar daddies and attractive women looking for freebies. What are your feelings on this?

That impression may come from a minority of people using MissTravel inappropriately who then give the website as a whole a bad reputation. My experience with the site has obviously been largely positive. As with other dating sites, there are some people who use the site for the wrong reasons. It is usually really easy to see through the members who do not have the right motivations, and the site makes it easy to report these people for inappropriate behavior.
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Photo: dronepicr/flickr. Trevor and July love Cancun, Mexico!

4. How did you (or she) propose?

We both started talking about marriage around our second trip to Mexico and discussing the future of our relationship. Because she still lived in Colombia and myself in Canada we only saw each other about every three to five months when we could meet in a destination. On our third trip to Mexico, and our fifth trip overall, I decided to propose to July. It was just the two of us walking on the beach late at night in Cancun, when I gave her a ring and asked her to marry me. She said yes and here we are today almost a year later. We just got married on December 1, 2015.

5. Where was the wedding, and what was it like?

Originally we thought about a simple wedding in her home town of Ibaque, Colombia; but after going there and realizing the difficulties of a Canadian marrying a Colombian in Colombia, we decided to do a destination wedding with friends and family in Mexico. This would be our fourth time going to Mexico, so we knew the area fairly well and enjoy it. We got married on December 1, 2015 at the Blue Bay Grand Esmeralda in Playa Del Carmen. We had 21 friends and family come down for the week — it was amazing. Everyone had a great time and the wedding went perfect.
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Photo: Evan Kirby/Unsplash. Panama was Trevor and July’s first trip (and meeting!).

6. Have you and July continued to travel? If so, what have been some of your most memorable experiences together on the road?

Mine and July’s travel experience has been as follows:
  • We met on MissTravel June 2013
  • 1st trip – Panama, October 2013, 5 nights
  • 2nd trip – Peru, December 2013, 18 nights
  • 3rd trip – Cancun, April 2014, 18 nights
  • 4th trip – Cancun, Oct 2014, 6 nights
  • 5th trip – Cancun, Dec 2014, 26 nights
  • 6th trip – Colombia, May 2015, 18 nights
  • 7th trip – Cancun, Dec 2015, 36 nights
We have had many great experiences traveling together. Peru was a great experience because we traveled throughout the country to Machu Picchu and Huacachina. We also met up with a friend of mine and his girlfriend in Peru and spent Christmas and New Year’s together with them. Most of our trips, we find an apartment to rent — instead of a resort — and we spend lots of time in the main city and getting to know the culture of the country.

7. For those hoping to turn a potential travel fling into something more, do you have any advice?

I guess I would have to say that if you’re serious about a relationship, you need to find someone that shares the same views of traveling and not being tied down to one place. You also have to be willing to make a long distance relationship work because most people you meet on MissTravel aren’t going to live in the same city, or even country as you. When July and I aren’t traveling together, we talk everyday on Facebook and Skype. It can be hard at times, but the plan for the future will be for her to eventually move to Canada.
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Photo: Babak Fakhamzadeh/Unsplash. Machu Picchu was a destination Trevor and July both really loved.

8. What destinations have been your favorite/least favorite for romantic travel? Why?

Peru was our favorite destination. It was the most most interesting and we had our most memorable romantic experiences. Visiting Machu Picchu was amazing and spending New Year’s camped out on a beach was quite the experience. We really got to know each other more on that trip, as it was just our second trip. As far as least favorite, I’d say our first trip to Panama. Only because we stayed at a resort that wasn’t too busy and it was just a short trip of five nights. Even for just meeting someone for the first time, those five days went by extremely fast. I should mention, we did go parasailing in Panama and it was both our first times doing that. I’m a little scared of heights, but I wanted to impress July and it turned out to be so much fun and a great experience!

9. What is your wildest story from you and July’s travels?

I guess our wildest story would have to be getting married with family and friends that, for the most part, hadn’t met July yet. For her it was the first time meeting most of my friends. She had met my parents a year before in Cancun, but this was the first she had been around so many people that spoke only English. Everyone loved her right from the start and the whole week was just a giant celebration of our love.
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Photo: Iván Erre Jota/flickr. Despite living in different countries, Trevor and July make it work. Shown above is Medellin, Colombia.

10. For those who think you need to “settle down” in the traditional manner to make a relationship work, what would you tell them?

I would say to the people that are more about a “traditional relationship,” that’s fine and all of you can meet someone the way you want. With the way the world is now, technology and the Internet are such a large part of our everyday life, online dating seems natural. If you’re looking for a different and fascinating experience, MissTravel is perfect for an adventure. Who knows? You might find that special someone like July and I did.

Do you have a ‘love on the road’ story of your own? Please share in the comments below!

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