Looking for a Valentine’s Day Getaway? Choosing a destination for a romantic day trip

Valentine’s day trips are a wonderful way to celebrate that special, once-a-year. ever-so-slightly-cheesy holiday with your significant other. Whether or not you are into roses, chocolates and heartfelt poetry, the 14th of February is a great opportunity to give voice to your love and regard for one another, and what better way to do so than going on a marvellous adventure together?

Here’s the thing – Valentine’s day places to go vary a lot, so it can be a little tricky to choose Valentine’s day travel destinations if you haven’t planned a trip together before. Happily, there are few simple ways to narrow down your options that won’t cause a needless fight, and might even end up being quite fun. These insider tricks have been tried and tested by our seasoned in-house travel team, so you can rest assured that it has been proven effective in real-life couple situations with great success. Here goes!

Take a good long look at both your calendars

First things first – take a look at both your calendars. If you are one of those super-organised couples with a shared Google calendar, good on you; this is going to go a lot faster. Although most Valentine’s trips are scheduled to coincide with the 14th of February (for obvious reasons), there is no rule that says you can’t postpone the adventure a little if that timeline does not quite suit your life schedule. After all, you may have kids of school-going age, work responsibilities or a study schedule to factor into your planning. Choose a time that will give both of you plenty of breathing room so you’ll be able to relax and enjoy the experience, instead of worrying about stuff happening back home.

Compare your calendars

Get a handle on your budget

Next up (brace yourself!) is the dreaded budget discussion. In an ideal world, we’d all like to be able to type ‘what is the most popular valentine’s day destination’ in the online search bar, choose a spot and book a trip right there and then. However, in real life, there are things like mortgages, car repayments, school fees and grocery bills to consider. As such, it makes sense to figure out how much you can spend on a romantic Valentine’s day trip (without breaking the bank) before you choose your destination.

Once you know what your ideal number is, you can use it to narrow down your travel options. For instance, if your budget won’t allow for lengthy air travel, you may want to stick to a destination in your own country or choose a country nearby. This will allow you to spend more of your cash on excursions and experiences, rather than clearing out half of the kitty just getting where you’re going.

TOP TIP: Travel providers often offer great deals on Valentine’s trips. Keep an eye out for special deals. It’s always nice if you can score big on a package deal that includes accommodation, transport, a tour guide and a pre-planned itinerary that has been tailored to make the most of the time you have to explore a given country or countries. It also cuts down on a lot of planning, which leaves you free to concentrate on the romantic stuff.

Plan your budget

Rule out the deal-breakers

Rule out the deal-breakers early in the game. For instance, if your partner does not deal well with humidity or dislikes huge crowds of people, you may not want to head to Thailand and Cambodia for a Valentine’s Day trip. Similarly, if one of you currently has some mobility issues, travelling to South America to see Machu Picchu is not going to be your best bet. Lay these no-go’s out on the table during the first part of the decision-making process to narrow down your options.

Factor in your interests

Now comes the fun part – it’s time to list what you really want to do. Every couple has interests they share – it’s probably one of the things that brought you together in the first place. You may, for instance, be a foodie couple who wants to discover the inner workings of a certain cuisine (Croatian, Finnish, Spanish, French – the options are endless!). Or you might be an adventurous duo who want to go skiing from the Jungfrau or hiking along the edge of waterfalls in South America. Choose one of your shared interests and let this be the inspiration for your trip; this way you’ll know that both of you will have a great time on your journey.

Romantic gifts are always the best

If all else fails – pin the tail on the globe

Still stumped? It might be time to go completely rogue! Take a world map, toss a coin, blindfold the lucky winner and stick a pin in a globe or a world map to find a likely spot for your Valentine’s day trip. It may seem a little crazy, but some of the very best journeys are enjoyed on a completely random whim. However, this approach is best suited to adventurous folks, so if you’re chicken…

There you have it – a few tried and tested trip-planning tips that will have you and your significant other choosing the best valentine’s day destinations without breaking a sweat. Now all you have to do is put it into practice! Go on – make a pot of coffee, put on some tunes and plan the best valentines trip ever. Now is the time to go out there and make some truly epic memories.