Tandem bike for touring

Try one first. It can certainly help if one of you is a much stronger rider.

Just keep in mind the age-old wisdom about riding on a tandem: wherever your relationship with your boyfriend is going, the tandem will get it there faster.

My Great Grandfather and Grandmother were long term tandems though she was famous for resting her feet on the top tube (not easy) and letting him do the work. To be fair he was a competitor and free-wheel cranks hadn't been invented.
Different crank lengths seem like a good idea..

My wife and I tandemed in Australia and New Zealand for a number of years until she became unable to. It's a great way to travel together if you both have different ride strength. We both ended up with HR monitors so that I could see that we were both able to cope with the gears that I was using. It also meant that we were both carrying an equal effort but going much faster than 2 soloists. Tandems don't climb as well as solo's, so we pushed touring gear up quite a few hills and it's not possible for 2 to push and balance the bike at the same time. We rigged up a tow line for herself from our touring clothesline and a wide carrying strap for the handlebar bag. Wife then hooked it around the steerer tube and herself then pulled it while I balanced the bike and pushed too. We camped with a lightweight tent and carried food and kitchen stuff. We had 2 large panniers front and rear with a handlebar bag. The tent was carried on the rear rack.

We started out with a second hand bike and quickly bought a new one with a much stiffer frame. We travelled with our 14 and 10 y/o sons on these tandems for a few years. In those days they were drum brakes and 7 or 9 speed triples. Today I'd definitely get 10 speed triples. Don't let any bike shop tell you that you don't need that gearing on a tandem. You need as big a range as you can get, because they can go really fast, but need lots of extra teeth for climbing.

Ours was a flat bar which caused hand numbness, but it had advantages with steering, braking and gears. Steering is heavier than solo bikes, so it can add to the fatigue. Ours had drum brakes which were good but I'd get hydraulic discs now. Not sure if I'd go to drop bars or retain flatbars for a new buy. There are advantages with both. All of my solos are drop bars.

Many many years ago I toured around Scotland with camping gear and a stoker who was much less fit than me (she used to put her feet up on the frame for a rest quite often), we caugh the train to Glasgow and did Loch Lomond, Ranoch Moor, Glen Coe and Oban so not a flat route and it was fine.  All we had was a single ring, 5 speed and side pull front brke with a hub rear brake.  One small handlebar bag and all of our camping and cooking gear and clothes on a rear panier rack and a saddlebag.  It was great, no problems at all apart from the Scottish weather.  Go with the frame of mind that it is a holiday and that it is going to be fun and it will be fine, you will have agreat time.

As said , luggage is an issue, as is stoker comfort on older tandems. Are you both similar strength and do you ride with a similar cadence, if you do then once you mesh on the tandem it is amazing how easily you can get it moving, if you don't then neither of you will be happy. If you post your location and sizes you might find someone willing to lend you one to try.

We have a flat-barred tandem that came with front and rear pannier racks.  So long as you can be sure you can carry enough luggage - perhaps 'credit card touring' rather than full on camping - I think it would be fine.  The advice to try before you buy is arguably even more relevant than with a solo bike.  Go for it! 

My in-laws do tandem touring. They have a bike with couplers so that they can still do parts of a leg on the train.

My wife and I have tried using the tandem a couple of times but didn't get on with it. It's not for everyone. They're pretty expensive too - my recommendation if you're new to tandeming would be to try before you buy, and if you can't, try a second hand one first - that way if you don't get on with it you can resell it and hopefully lose less money.