Poppy James, 24, was going through a bad break-up when she met a Swiss man while out dancing at a bar in London. On their first ‘official date’, she says, she flew out to Zurich to meet him.Sounds crazy to you? Well, she’s far from alone.While most people assume holidaying with a partner is a milestone moment that happens when you’re firmly, officially, an item, a growing number of Britons say dating and travel are often intertwined – and they don’t think twice about heading overseas in pursuit of a potential romance.The Daily Mail has spoken to jet-setters who say they agreed to go on holiday with a prospective partner, despite only just meeting them. Aged between their 20s and 60s, these hopeless romantics say they’ve had a range of experiences. For some, the outcome has been a happy one and they’ve found lasting love. However, other escapades have ended badly, with horror stories ranging from extremely awkward first-meets abroad to embarrassing ‘meet the parents’ scenarios – because they were also on the trip. ‘We went to Zurich for our first date – no regrets!’ Poppy, who lives in London, met Jordi Moresi, 23, on a night out in a London bar and, on their third meeting – their first ‘official date’, she flew out to Zurich, where he lives, to stay with him.They dated for a year, and Poppy says it was more exciting than dating someone locally – plus, there was no pressure of constantly having to fit someone in. She said: ‘I didn’t know that he lived in Zurich – the day after we met, he asked me out for a drink and he told me he lived abroad. I was a bit angry about it, because I was going through a bad breakup. Poppy James met Jordi Moresi while he was travelling in London – and jetted off to meet him in Switzerland for their first official date The couple have since visited other cities together, such as Porto, pictured as they feelings have grown stronger’But he said he wanted to show me the Christmas markets as he thought I’d like them – so I flew out four weeks later to see him.’ Initially, Poppy’s friends were ‘very stressed’ about her flying to meet up with someone she hardly knew.’Straight away, I knew he wasn’t a threat’, Poppy tells the Daily Mail. ‘We were both quite open about how crazy it was.’She added: ‘My parents met on holiday in Hong Kong doing the limbo in a bar – and after that they went to Vietnam together. That’s the main reason I tried this. ‘When I told my mum about Jordi, she said, “Why not?” and was so relaxed about it. I think everyone was so bored of me being heartbroken.’ After that, the pair dated for a year, travelling each month to meet each other in places such as London, Porto and Zurich. The duo are no longer together – but found dating fun’I even started trying to learn a bit of Swiss German as I was spending time with his mum and dad – but I was terrible,’ Poppy says. ‘It was so much fun, though. If I had a boyfriend in London, we’d probably go out two or three times a week, so probably would spend a similar amount of money – as with Jordi I was just paying for one return flight a month, around £150.’ Poppy says the advantages of this kind of dating were how ‘exciting’ it was – the pair were relaxed and in ‘holiday mode’ every time they flew to meet up. What about the downsides?’It can be difficult to really get to know someone,’ Poppy says. ‘You don’t see all the negatives – so when they do appear, it can lead to arguments.’ It was hard to speak enough due to the distance, and expensive to travel, so it eventually fizzled out. There were some humorous moments along the way, though.Poppy says: ‘The first time I went, I met his mother, father and brother. His mother made dinner, a spaghetti bolognese, but he didn’t even know yet that I was vegetarian – so he obviously hadn’t told her. So I had to sit there picking at pasta.’I thought to myself, I’ve flown all the way to another country to meet a guy who doesn’t even know that I’m vegetarian!’ Overall, Poppy concludes, dating someone in this way can definitely work – but distance can also be a barrier. She says: ‘I didn’t really like Zurich, so couldn’t see myself living there. But it was so fun, and I don’t regret it.”I hoped it would be “how I met your father” – but he was so socially awkward’ Zack Balzan, 22, went travelling with a man he met on Tinder to Milan for five days in June last year.Zack, who is from Paris, had high hopes, telling the Daily Mail: ‘I thought that this would be such an original way to meet someone. Imagine if I would have children with this guy. “This is how I met your father.” It would have been such an amazing story.’However, the five-day adventure was in fact ‘filled with drama,’ Zack says.He explains: ‘When he arrived, I saw the issues already. We cooked together, and the man could not even cut a pepper or an onion. I was like, “What is happening?” He was the same age as me! Parisien Zack Balzan, 22, hoped for a love affair with a handsome foreigner he met on Tinder’He was very socially awkward. It was very strange to interact. Then he was mad we couldn’t sit together on the train to Milan.’Slowly, more issues started to appear. We walked to the Airbnb, which was super nice and central. I realised he was depending on me to create all the plans. And yet, at the end of the trip, he was not happy that I was leading. So all of that was a bit confusing. I slowly realised how immature and childish he was.”During all our trip, he was still swiping on Tinder in front of me too’. However, cracks began to appear from the get-go on their trip to Milan, due to his date’s awkwardness, he saysThings got worse when they visited Crema, where 2017 film Call Me By Your Name, which shot Timothee Chalamet to fame, was filmed. ‘He didn’t like that I smoked,’ Zack says, and when he befriended two American girls Zack’s date felt left out – and even disappeared. When he found him, he was furious, accusing him of abandoning him.’I thought, this is just childish. I tried my best, I can’t do everything.’How does Zack feel about travelling with someone he doesn’t know in future? ‘Never again,’ he confesses. ‘I would never do it again. I think this experience has been a lot. ‘People have done it because they’ve seen a trend on TikTok or something and, let’s be honest, because our generation have such a hard time meeting people.”My Tinder date whisked me off to Italy – it was like a fairytale’ Scot Lisa Shepherd, 25, who lives in Edinburgh, had been using dating apps for a few months in the hope of finding her ‘dream’ man when she matched with an American visiting the UK. After matching with the man, who hailed from San Diego, California, Lisa went on a date with him on New Year’s Eve and the couple agreed to meet the following day after getting on ‘like a house on fire’.Saddened that he was soon returning to the US, the couple decided to meet again the following day and that’s when he suggested the pair book a spontaneous holiday.To decide on the location, the pair asked ChatGPT to generate a list of European countries and cities they were able to fly to from Scotland and then match these results with numbers on dice. Lisa Shepherd matched with an American on Tinder – and had their first date in Italy Lisa said the four-night trip to Sicily with her partner was like a ‘fairytale’, and very romantic She said despite ending the relationship, she had a fabulous experienceAfter rolling the dice, Lisa and her date landed on Sicily, Italy – and jetted off to the Mediterranean island the very next day.Lisa said the four-night stay was like a ‘fairytale’ – admitting they slow-danced on the street and read each other love letters by the end of their stay.After nearly a week together, Lisa says it felt like they’d ‘been together for years’.She said: ‘I’m very spontaneous and absolutely love travel. I felt so safe and we got on so well.’It was a magical experience. We had the most amazing time, I thought I’d met the love of my life.’After their holiday, Lisa flew home to Scotland and her Tinder date returned to America but sadly the romance ‘faded out naturally’ after their magical trip away.Lisa said: ‘Him being from America also made it a lot more fast-paced because we both knew he was going to go home.’We did have small talks about the distance but were more enjoying the moment.Despite ending up apart, Lisa insists she has no regrets about her Italian date – and would consider another date holiday with the right person. ‘It was a magical thing that I’m thankful happened. Not everyone gets to experience something that magical.’It’s kind of a trend on dating apps. A lot of people say to ‘skip the small talk and meet at the airport’ and you think it’s something you just say.’The fact I’ve actually done it is so special. I had no regrets going on the holiday, I had the best time.’It was just an exciting thrill of a time. I would do it again but only if I was in the position where I instantly clicked with the person again.”Keep a credit card and a means of escape if needed!’ Mel Hudson, 61, met her now partner Carl Turpin, who is in his 70s, online last year. After two dates, she flew out to Antigua, where he had a home.Mel says: ‘We had a couple of dates, and on the second date, he told me that he happened to be off to his house in Antigua for six weeks, and did I want to join him. Mel Hudson, 61, met her now partner Carl Turpin, 70s, online’I had bits of work on, but nothing that I couldn’t necessarily do from Antigua. So I went. Who can blame me?’I thought, oh, I’m just going to go, because I’m at a stage in my life, I’m 61, my children have grown up and moved away. I’ve been separated from my partner for 15 years, and I am at the stage where I say yes to things, and if you get offered the opportunity to travel, you shouldn’t turn it down.’At that stage, we weren’t a couple. He made it very clear in his messages to me, he said, you’ll have your own suite.’Once I was there, I found myself touching his hand, grabbing his hand in the taxi home afterwards, and things progressed from there.’Was it all smooth sailing? She joined him in Antigua for their third date – and they have been together ever sinceMel reveals: ‘At the time, it took a bit of adjustment. I did think, oh, what the hell have I done? I’m thousands of miles from home, and in fact he had two other friends there staying with him, two other good female friends of his, so I was getting used to a whole load of new people that I’d never met before.’Despite a small argument where Mel’s independence and Carl’s caring nature clashed, it mainly ran smoothly. ‘He’s got a really adventurous spirit, and that rubs off. I think I’m quite good at judging people, first off, on a couple of meetings, and I knew he would be a gentleman.’Mel, who is a comedian and is currently performing at Edinburgh Fringe with her new show ‘Richard Ashcroft Revived My Libido’, does have words of advice for anyone considering a similar adventure: ‘Keep a credit card on you, make sure you’ve got access to it, and some means of escape if you need it.’Obviously, if at any point I thought, this really isn’t working out, I’d have needed to put my big girl pants on, take responsibility for myself, and get out of there. ‘I would have worried if it was my daughter going off with a man quite a few years older than her that she’d only just met. So I don’t want to advise people to ignore safety risks.”I was staggered that we clicked so perfectly – but share your location with people that can save you!’Charlotte Wilson, 24, from Leicestershire, met her now partner of one year, Ciaran in Scotland.’We met at the Edinburgh Fringe a couple of years ago. He’s a musician, and I walked into a bar, and he was playing his guitar in the corner,’ she told the Daily Mail.’We got to talking, and chatted the whole night. And then, because of the distance, nothing really happened for the next few months. ‘We talked, on and off, and then realised that we were falling quite madly in love. I had this period of time where I could come and see if it was workable. Charlotte Wilson met Ciaran in Scotland – and visited him in Glasgow for their second date’So we had the first night in Glasgow, and then from there, we stayed in a cottage in Kenmore. It blossomed from there.’How did she feel about travelling with this relatively unknown man?Charlotte says: ‘Weirdly, I didn’t feel nervous about it at all. I think we clicked so perfectly that there just didn’t seem – and we were both quite staggered by the fact that there was no awkwardness. It was completely easy.’ The pair have been together for more than a year – and say it was smooth sailing from the startHer family and friends quickly got on board too: ‘Honestly, my mum was very for it,’ she says. ‘I think she’s a real, old-school romantic, and was overjoyed that I’ve had this kind of whirlwind romance that’s worked out so well, and he’s now definitely the favourite child of the family, as far as she’s concerned.’What advice would she give to anyone who was also thinking of going on holiday for a second date?Charlotte says: ‘Share your location with the people that can come and save you. And make sure that they have the other person’s phone number, and you know the address you’re going to be staying at.’But ultimately, if you are sure in yourself that you’re going to click, then there’s little that you need to worry about on that front. ‘For us, because we’d been texting before, we knew that we had that rapport to bounce off, and it just was as easy in person as it had been online.And Charlotte moved up to live with Ciaran earlier this year – so clearly, some things truly do play out like the movies.