Valentine’s Day is coming quickly, and many couples love to plan a quick weekend get-away to honor the patron saint of LOVE!

So my thoughts turn to 1) how to plan that perfect trip and 2) what will I need to help make it perfect?

How to plan the perfect weekend trip

Choose your destination

This will depend on a couple of variables:

What do you want to spend the weekend doing?  If you like clubbing and excitement, you’ll probably choose someplace like Las Vegas.  If you like outdoor activities involving snow, you’re probably NOT headed to Miami Beach.  The choice is yours.  What says romance for you and your significant other?

One of our best Valentine weekend trips was spent at Niagara Falls quite a few years ago.  I’m sure you’re thinking — “Niagara Falls in the winter?”  But it was gorgeous!  Sure, you can’t ride the Maid of the Mist in February.  But you can’t see icicles that are horizontal on light posts in the summer!  There were so few tourists that we almost felt like we had the place to ourselves!

How far away do you want to go?  This could be determined by whether you will drive, fly, take a train, etc.  It could also be limited by your finances.  If you are able to jet off in your private plane, you can literally go anywhere.  If you have $5.34 in your bank account until payday, you’ll have to stay a little closer to home.

Since this will just be a weekend trip, I wouldn’t spend more than half a day getting there.  After all, you want to be able to relax and enjoy the company of that special someone.

Make your reservations

Once you choose a spot for your weekend trip, you’ll have to find a hotel with an empty room.  If you haven’t booked your space by the end of January and you’re not independently wealthy — good luck to ya!  Many places fill up quickly for this holiday, especially this year.  Valentine’s Day is on a Friday in 2020.  So if you have the opportunity to get away a different weekend to celebrate, you’ll probably save some money and have no trouble finding a room.  Many years, we went away the weekend before or the weekend after.  Working in foodservice and retail, we usually couldn’t get the time off to celebrate actually on Valentine’s Day.

Pack your stuff

You’re going to need the usual stuff – clothes, toiletries, etc.  Check this post if you need the list again.

Some additional items to help with anxiety

Whether you’re flying or driving, here are some little things I’ve discovered that make the trip more enjoyable.  The distraction provided is helpful when I feel I start overthinking things. I personally don’t want people to talk to me in the airport or on the plane — and, let’s be honest, sometimes even in the car!  So I pop on the headphones.  That seems to be a universal signal for “don’t talk to me!”  It doesn’t really matter what type you choose.

This is the kind that I have. It just goes around my neck.  The earbuds are attached, so no extra wires that snag on things, and I don’t have to worry about losing them.  But if you prefer over the ears or completely wireless, go with it!  Amazon has plenty to pick from, in all price ranges.

So what do I listen to in those headphones?

Well, I’m a hopeless romantic.  So I’ll confess my guilty pleasure – I’ve been reading those “trashy romance novels” since high school.  But if I happen to be driving and Hubby is asleep (which is almost always when he isn’t behind the wheel!), I can listen instead.  The Audible romance package is perfect for me.  You can try it free with this link:

I always take my tablet on trips, which has a Kindle app. If you prefer, you can just get a Kindle.  This one is a pretty good choice:

Either way, Kindle is great.  It’s a lot easier than carrying around several books!  And if you’re not into romance, just get Amazon Prime.  It includes Prime reading, which lets you borrow up to ten books at a time and return them when you’ve finished.  It also includes some free movies and music.

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

If I’m not listening to or reading a book, I probably have some sort of playlist going, creating the soundtrack for any given event.  Music has always been a big part of my life.  (Yes, I hear some of you very sarcastically saying “No … really?”   You know who you are 😉 … And the rest of you are saying it without the sarcasm.)  So I like my Google Play Music or the Amazon Prime music option.  When I know I’m going on a trip, I’ll usually create a playlist for travel time.  I try to choose songs that are relevant to our destination.  I have a pretty good pirate playlist that I made when we were headed to the Lake Erie islands last summer!  Leave me a comment if you’d like to know what’s on my list. Or give me your suggestions in a comment that starts with “I’ll bet you don’t have …”

And if you’d like to try Prime music for free, click on the link here:

Other necessities for the weekend

Since this is the weekend trip for romance, don’t forget to bring along some good chocolate, a great bottle of wine, and your favorite romantic music or movie.  (Amazon Prime also includes free movies!)

Are you ready?  Let’s Go Somewhere romantic!