Taking your spouse on the road with you can be twice as much fun as traveling solo, according to many couples who enjoy the travel lifestyle. Of course, with any relationship, it requires making some adjustments. Here's a look at how three couples make it work as they travel from one nursing assignment to another.

Compromise, planning are key

Thomas and Jonita Canavan met in nursing school and have been married to each other for six years. While they initially set down roots in Fayetteville, NC, and took staff nursing positions (Thomas as an OR nurse, and Jonita as a cardiac nurse), Thomas soon wanted to move around. "After about two years, my feet started to get itchy," he says.

His first assignment was in Milwaukee. Before he left, he and his wife agreed that she would join him after five weeks for a visit to explore the city together. His next assignment was closer to home, in Chapel Hill, NC. It was there that Thomas was able to convince Jonita to quit her staff position and join him as a traveler.

"She's more used to being planted in one place," says Thomas. "She took tiny steps (into travel nursing)."

Since then, the Canavans have been traveling with the same company—NovaPro—and with their two dogs and a cat. Besides Chapel Hill, they have been to Indianapolis and Virginia Beach, VA. Their experience is similar to those nurses who travel solo, except that they have to find facilities with two open positions and similar shifts. So far, there have been plenty of these opportunities, according to Thomas.

He adds that planning and compromise are important factors when traveling with your spouse. Before they move to another assignment, he says, they research the location and agree to a certain length of stay. Advises Thomas: You should also consider what each other's needs are. If your spouse will want to take a trip home in the middle of an assignment, you'll have to set aside some money for that.

And when it comes to money, Thomas says there are benefits to both spouses working as travelers. That's because both are entitled to housing benefits. So, before the Canavans take an assignment, they decide who will take the housing package and who will take a housing stipend. Since the travel company usually pays the rent and furnishings in the housing package, the couple is left with a housing stipend to spend as they like.

Together, the Canavans say they have made the most of life on the road. "We're just enjoying life and getting paid to bounce around the country," says Thomas, adding that he plans to travel with his wife on nursing assignments "until there aren't any more places to go."

There are two of you to consider

Pat Gosselin, RN, has been a travel nurse for five years. But it wasn't until recently that her husband, Tom, joined her on assignments. When his employer shut down his facility in West Palm Beach, FL, the couple decided to take to the road.

Traveling with her husband has required some adjustments, admits Pat. When she traveled alone, all she had to worry about was herself. Now that her husband has joined her, she needs to think of him, as well. Also, she's noticed that when you travel with your spouse, you spend a lot of time together—especially if you go to an area where you don't have family or friends. "If you don't have a really solid marriage, it probably won't work," she warns, adding that it's sometimes difficult to find time for yourself.