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This Valentine’s Day, consider giving the gift of a travel experience. Traveling offers memories that you can share, ones that have a lasting value and can be scheduled at your convenience. No gift wrap is necessary. Not even roses or chocolates to accompany it. Just determine the date and pack your bags for a sweet vacation for you and your sweetie. Oh, you might want to buy a cute card where you can include a note with your romantic travel gift.
Here are 14 ideas guaranteed to bring smiles and hugs on February 14.
The No-Passport-Needed Eiffel Tower
No, it’s not, Paris, France. And it’s not Las Vegas either. But you can tell your sweetie you’re going to Paris for a little Emily in Paris-style holiday.
Pack your beret and head off to the “City of Love,” Paris, Tennessee, a Victorian-style town tucked in West Tennessee where you can grab a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower replica in Memorial Park (yes, I’m serious).
Beyond posing for selfies, you’ll have a great time exploring downtown Paris’s antique shops and restaurants, and rivaling a trip to France sampling 26 different wines at the Paris Winery. It may not be the Seine, but you’ll still have an Instagram-perfect setting for watching the sunset at Paris Landing State Park.
A Place for Animal Lovers
Saugerties, New York is the home of The Homestead at Catskill Animal Sanctuary, one of the world’s leading farm animal sanctuaries. You’ll stay among rescued farm animals at the vegan bed and breakfast, originally built in 1813 and restored with eco-friendly materials salvaged from the sanctuary’s own original barns.
Bring your dog, too, as there’s plenty of space to run on the sanctuary’s 150 acres. You and your sweetie are guaranteed smiles that don’t quit as you meet the 200+ animals at the sanctuary. A personal favorite, Tucker, the gigantic, rescued steer, loves bananas and acts like a gentle puppy.
California Dreaming
Here’s a travel gift for a golfing couple with one partner who doesn’t golf. While partner one plays a round on the world-famous golf links at Pebble Beach Resort, partner two can test out his or her own championship course driving a Lexus on iconic 17-Mile Drive.
Both can reunite to shop and sightsee in charming Carmel-by-the-Sea, play tennis, and relax with a well-deserved treatment at the resort’s world-class Spa at Pebble Beach. The final touch: an al fresco seafood dinner overlooking the sunset at Stillwater Bar & Grill by the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.
Valentine’s Day Mermaids and Burlesque
Have you ever seen a mermaid? I don’t mean a cartoon version like Ariel or a costumed one from Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade. B Ocean Resort in Fort Lauderdale will give you something to talk about with its live, underwater mermaid performances.
On Friday evenings and Valentine’s Day, the mermaid show at the Wreck Bar becomes a burlesque experience that you won’t forget. Aptly named to suit an off-color evening, the Naked Crab Seafood Kitchen & Bar offers a special menu.
If you book the B Mine romantic getaway package, you’ll enjoy complimentary breakfast, complimentary Champagne and a signature sweet treat.
Valentine’s Day Barefoot Romance
With their location along the dramatic Overseas Highway, the Florida Keys are the epitome of American romance. Set among the Upper Keys, the beachfront Playa Largo Resort & Spa in Key Largo will make you feel like you’re on an island escape miles away from any mainland.
Playa Largo’s dining options complete the illusion with a new Water Table Dining experience at Sol by the Sea. You’ll want to kick off your flip flops and dip your toes in the calm bay waters while you enjoy coastal favorites like lobster mac & cheese, island ribs and jerk chicken under the soft glow of string lights.
Time your reservation for a front-row seat to one of the Keys’ breathtaking sunsets.
Tee for Two
TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida needs no introduction to sports fans. Offering their Links of Love V-Day package, TPC Sawgrass has an over-the-top package to win the hearts of golfers both on and off the fairway.
In three nights and four days, you’ll enjoy luxury accommodations at the Sawgrass Marriott Resort & Spa Villas, with complimentary Champagne, chocolate golf balls and TPC-embroidered robes and slippers to take home. Golf on TPC Sawgrass’s PLAYERS Stadium Course and Dye’s Valley Course is only the beginning of your stay.
In addition to having access to bikes, you both will enjoy lunch on NINETEEN’s patio, a five-course dinner with wine pairings on the Ponte Vedra balcony , a spa massage and signature facial, and a private sailboat ride from nearby St. Augustine.
Valentine’s Day Fitness and Spa
If tennis and biking are more of your passion, book a holiday at Southern California’s oceanfront The Ritz-Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara resort. Activities and relaxation are paramount here with elevated spa treatments at The Ritz-Carlton Spa Bacara, exquisite dining at Angel Oak, tennis, and the new BCycle program.
The resort’s partnership with the all-electric bicycle subsidiary of Trek Bicycle offers guests a chance to zip along the scenic Pacific coast on a new Trek e-bike. After, rekindle your romance at the spa with an indulgent and healing Love Rose Quartz Facial designed to balance the heart chakra, the center of love and compassion.
Wellness is the Word(le)
In the Sonoran Desert of Carefree, Arizona, you and your significant other can renew your romance at CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa. The resort’s A Path to Connection package is all about connection, perfect for Valentine’s Day, rooted in principles of approachability, flexibility and personalization.
The healing energy of the desert encourages bonding and intimacy and is incorporated into multiple programs focusing on sharing and understanding, breathwork and intention setting with activities like yoga and hiking taking advantage of the beautiful, healthful outdoors.
The location is well-named and you will be carefree, too, after a getaway here.
Valentine’s Day Over-the-Top Luxury
The new Hyatt Centric Buckhead Atlanta is celebrating its first Valentine’s Day with a bucket-list package for those who prefer a city holiday.
Included in the exclusive Valentine’s Day Suite package are luxury car service to and from your deluxe hotel accommodations where you’ll be welcomed with chocolate-covered strawberries, a bottle of Champagne and a $100 dining credit at either of the hotel’s two restaurants, the steakhouse-inspired Mount Royal or the rooftop Spaceman.
If that isn’t enough, you’ll fly high in a deluxe nighttime helicopter ride for two with Atlanta Helicopter Tours while a personalized airplane banner from FlySigns shares your message of love overhead.
You have to look the part so you’ll select one item from Atlanta-based designer Cedric Brown and arrange a session with a personal shopper to use your $250 gift card at Lenox Square Mall. The package is so exclusive that you have a special email address to book: [email protected].
Design in the Mountains
A charming winter getaway awaits in Lenox, Massachusetts in the beautiful Berkshire Mountains. Originally, three standalone buildings built between 1777 and 1888, the historic Cornell Inn is now the setting for 28 completely distinctive designer rooms, decorated by 23 BIPOC artists.
It may be snowing outside, but you’ll enjoy cozying up indoors with a home-cooked breakfast and later with a bottle of Champagne by the fireplace in your room (most have fireplaces) or the reception area. After an invigorating hike outdoors, you can warm up with spirits in the inn’s historic and stunningly decorated tavern.
Who Said You Need to Fly to Paris for Shoes?
Here’s a package that would make Carrie Bradshaw and her gal and guy pals drool: guests of Brown’s Hotel in London can celebrate Valentine’s Day in style with its new, exclusive suite shopping experience in collaboration with luxury Italian women’s footwear brand, Aquazzura.
With the Head over Heels with Aquazzura package, a one- or two-night stay in a suite prepares you for your own en suite design consultation and shoe fitting with a pedicure at The Spa at Brown’s. You’ll finish your shopping with an exclusive VIP shopping experience at the Aquazzura store after hours
Fairytale Romance
After two years of feeling landlocked and perhaps a bit jaded, Ireland welcomes you for a three-night stay steeped in glamour and romance. Rivaling the likes of the fictitious Downton Abbey, the 19th-century manor entices you even further with the Adare Manor Celebration for a holiday of country pursuits at the 840-acre estate.
After a formal welcome with a bottle of Champagne served Carson-style, you’ll enjoy elegant breakfasts in The Gallery followed by activities like falconry, archery, clay shooting and golf. Balance it indoors with pampering at the Adare Manor’s 111SKIN spa and four exceptional culinary destinations.
Valentine’s Day Flowers Everywhere
Instead of a bouquet of flowers, immerse yourself in a festival of flowers this May on the Portuguese island of Madeira, appropriately known as “the island of flowers.” The annual Flower Festival is a riot of living color that includes floral installations, a flower parade, and performances of folk groups and musical concerts.
You’ll be part of a 43-year-old tradition of magnificent floats and costumes all decorated with thousands of flowers.
Fly Me to the Moon
You don’t have to book a space trip with Jeff Bezos or Sir Richard Branson to see the moon close up. If you book a night in the futuristic rooms of Miluna in remote Hormigos, Spain, you’ll have a panoramic view of the moon and the stars from the resort’s eight “bubbles.”
A little over an hour from Madrid in the province of Toledo, Miluna asks you to keep your eyes fixed on the sky as dusk falls. You can experience the night sky in a hydro-massage bath outside the bubble, surrounded by aromatic plants.
Or create your romantic evening indoors using the telescope to search out the mysteries of the universe. By day, the experience includes a spa session and breakfast made of local, organic ingredients.
Valentine’s Day Bonus: A Colorado Escape
Do you both need an escape from the pandemic and really feel like a lot of nothing? Just south of Colorado Springs, The Royal Gorge Cabins in Cañon City invite you to experience their socially distanced Romance Package.
Available through April, the package includes two nights in a luxury cabin designed for two, a box of chocolates from Cacao Chemistry, a bottle of non-alcoholic sparkling cider and a complimentary wine tasting at The Winery at Holy Cross Abbey.
Your only responsibility, besides enjoying the fine spirits, is to kick back in front of the indoor or outdoor fireplace and enjoy the beautiful gorge and mountain views while you enjoy each other’s company.
Book a Romantic Holiday
Start planning your Valentine’s day travel or just a romantic vacation today. Learn more about each destination, the best sights to see, restaurant reviews and more through TripAdvisor and Travelocity.
Find the perfect place to stay whether that be at a hotel, hostel or home rental through Booking.com. Then, check out CheapOair for exclusive flight deals and the best car rental options.
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