We've all heard of holiday romances that quickly lose their sizzle when real life gets in the way. But what about the ones that worked? Kate Browne talks to some happy couples who found lasting love on the road.

His name was Mike. The first time I saw him at the hotel in Vanuatu my heart almost stopped. When he came over to strike up a conversation with me I was love struck. For the next ten tropical days I gazed into Mikes eyes at and hung on every word he said. I revelled in romantic sunsets and sun drenched days where the biggest decision we had to make was whether to have a swim or just gaze into each others eyes for a bit longer. It was utter romantic bliss.

Okay, I should admit I was only 14 at the time and when we met up back home the romance fizzled, but even so, twenty years later I can still recall the heady feeling of my first holiday romance.

Just about all of us have had some kind of romance on a holiday, whether it’s a moment over a cocktail in a glamorous resort or bonding session on a trek through a third world country or perhaps just a meeting of minds in the transit lounge at the airport.  But as fun as it can be, holiday romances are often like those colourful souvenirs that looked fabulous in the shop but tacky on your mantelpiece - they just don’t translate. Real life gets in the way, you have work or financial stresses; you might live in different cities or in different countries. After a few phone calls and some emails you lose touch and the romance becomes as faded as an old postcard.

But what about holiday romances that last the distance? There are couples who have turned a holiday fling into a long term relationship negotiating long distances, different expectations and hard work on the way.

Nicole Jennings, 48 has a long term relationship that started with a holiday. She and husband Michael 50, met in an airport twenty years ago. “We were both on our way to Shanghai to do a course at the East   China   University . About half way into the course several of us students decided to take an excursion to climb a mountain. Solo travel for foreigners in China at that time was just coming into its own, so we all took a train together to get there. We then found out we could either take a bus up the mountain, or hike. Michael and I opted for the hike. Somewhere along that trail, in the fog, in the rain, alone, we fell in love.” The pair stayed in contact when they returned home and married six months later. Although the pair were fortunate enough to live in the same city Nicole says that re-adjusting to life at home was difficult. “We almost had to start over again as a couple” she says “we weren’t the same people we had been on the road.”

Meg Ellis says when she took her first long term overseas holiday she fell in love twice. “I fell in love with travel and with Paul at the same time” she says. Meg, 22 who is now engaged to her 29 year old Paul Austin, says that as a Sydney “city chick” she would never normally had an opportunity to meet the Mudgee based miner if they had not met on the road.

The pair met in Europe in 2003 and within 6 months back at home Meg made the move to the country to be with be her now fiancée. “Another travel adventure” she says admitting that fitting into each others lives and routines back home has been difficult. And although she says her friends and family were initially suspicious of how her holiday romance would travel back at home Meg says she is convinced she has found ‘the one’. “We only lived three hours away from each other in Australia but we had to fly half way around the world to actually meet, it feels like a movie.”

Paul Wiseman, Managing Director of Trafalgar Tours agrees that travel can make us feel like we are in a movie. “When you travel it can be surreal, you live a life that is so different to what you have at home – you are totally focussed on the enjoyment of life, it’s a formula that creates romance.”

So successful has the Trafalgar formula been that they even feature a glowing testimonial on their website from Cobi Candy, 39 who met her husband David 42 on a Trafalgar tour of Europe. The couple have just celebrated the birth of their first child and their 10^th wedding anniversary. Paul Wiseman says this is common, “Our agents hear stories of people falling in love all the time.”

Simone McNamara of Lonely Planet Travel says that romance all is part of the travelling state of mind. “Travel is all about heightened experience - and that can certainly include romance. Travel is also a time you often feel more free to express your emotions and pursue pleasure and enjoyment.”

She also says that the internet often now provides the opportunity for holiday romances before bags have even been packed. With hundreds of ‘branches’ the Lonely Planet message board the Thorn Tree is constantly buzzing with members chatting, sharing travel tips and more. “An Australian man posted a message about travelling to Vietnam , a Vietnamese woman replied, he travelled to Vietnam to meet her last January and they fell in love and tied the knot in Darwin last December.”

Lonely Planet itself wouldn't even exist without holiday romance, co-founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler met in the UK when she was newly arrived from Ireland and then they traveled Asia . They wrote and self-published their first travel guide and with that, Lonely Planet was born.

And as we all travel more, and the internet allows us fast and easy global connections it seems that more holiday romances are inevitable. And according to Nicole Jennings whether it works or not is simply a question of how you look at life, “I view our life together like a travel adventure, we never know what’s around the next bend, but it's all been worth every step.”