If you like to walk along the beach with a view of the mountains, drink fine wine, shop, and walk along streets with intriguing architecture you may want to consider Santa Barbara for your next romantic getaway.

Santa Barbara is only a couple hours drive from Los Angeles but it might feel like worlds away. The attitude is very laid back and courteous which is ideal for a romantic getaway. The beaches are a focal point, but the shops and art galleries that are found throughout downtown are equally as visited. For all of these reasons, Santa Barbara is often called The American Riviera.

The architecture is Spanish-Mediterranean and there is even a self-guided walking tour called the Red Tile Walking Tour of which you can pickup maps at the visitor’s center. Some of the highlights of the tour include the Santa Barbara Courthouse, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The main street through downtown is State Street and has a variety of shops and boutiques and even has a shuttle if you get tired of walking.

My wife and I always find that for romantic moments, you just can’t beat a walk on the beach. Santa Barbara has some beautiful beaches for all tastes and moods. If recreational activities and people watching is your cup of tea, East Beach is probably your best bet. If you enjoy watching surfers and watching boats going in and out of the harbor, Ledbetter Beach is ideal. But if you are looking for a little more seclusion, Hendry’s Beach may be just right for you. All of these beaches have beautiful gold-sand beaches lined with palm trees and adequate surf. As a side note, those of you who love art and the water, you may really enjoy the Arts and Crafts Show that takes place every Sunday along the Santa Barbara waterfront. Finally, the sunsets in Santa Barbara are breathtaking and many locals and visitors gather on the waterfront every day to watch the sun go down.

Santa Barbara also has a lot of options for those of you wanting to look for those romantic moments on the ocean. There are whale watching tours that take place from December to March (your best bet to see whales on land would be from Shoreline Park) and there are a variety of other boat tours including some to the Channel Islands and others of the shoreline. If you are looking for a little more romance and seclusion, you can rent sailboats or take a cruise on a 50-foot Catamaran called the Double Dolphin.

If you and your sweetheart are wine lovers, Santa Barbara is the place for you. There are a lot of great vineyards in the area and a variety of ways to see them. There are bus tours, bicycling tours, private tours, and also self-guided ones. The wineries provide beautiful scenery and tasting of a wide variety of wines. The Santa Barbara wine country was actually a large part of the 2004 Oscar winning film Sideways and you can even pick up maps of the actual filming locations.

There are numerous fine romantic restaurants in Santa Barbara which combine ambiance, wonderful food and service, and world class wine lists to make for a very special evening. Some of these romantic restaurants include Bouchon, Aldo’s Italian Restaurant, Seagrass, and Blue Agave. There is also a Melting Pot and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse if you are looking for some familiar romantic restaurants.

There are several romantic lodging options in Santa Barbara whether you want to stay by the beach or closer to downtown. The nice thing is that whichever you choose, the downtown and the beaches are just a relaxing stroll away. For those of you looking for a romantic retreat where money is no object, you may try the Four Seasons Resort if you want to be closer to the beach or The Canary Hotel or Simpson House Inn if you want to be closer to downtown. Some other lodging options close to the beach that aren’t as pricy include the Casa Del Mar Inn, Franciscan Inn, and Hotel Oceana.

For couples looking for a romantic getaway to a beautiful oceanfront town with a relaxed atmosphere and a wide variety of choices for lodging, dining and activities, Santa Barbara may be just the place for you.

Insiders’ Guide to Santa Barbara, 4th: Including Channel Islands National Park (Insiders’ Guide Series)

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My wife and I have always enjoyed traveling to National Parks for vacations. We find that being so close to nature can be very romantic. There is nothing quite like taking in a scenic view together and just being in the moment. The first National Park that we ever vacationed to together was the Everglades National Park and it still brings wonderful memories to us today.

The Everglades National Park has two main entrances, one close to Naples and the other closer to Miami. We visited the eastern portion of the park that was closer to Miami and that will be the basis for this blog. If you are interested in other portions of the park, you will want to visit the Everglades National Park website. The best time of year to visit is from November to April to avoid the mosquitoes that overwhelm the park in Summer.

To get to the eastern portion of the park, you can fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale. You will travel to Homestead or Florida City which is just outside the park entrance. There are many mom & pop and chain hotels in these two cities if you are interested in staying close to but not inside the park.

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Once you enter the park, we would suggest that you visit the Royal Palm visitor center. At the Royal Palm, you can access the Anhinga Trail boardwalk which is a must to get a good feeling for one of the types of ecosystems in the Everglades. You will also be very likely to see many different types of wildlife including birds as well as alligators congregating in watering holes along the boardwalk. Adjacent to the boardwalk, is the Gumbo Limbo trail which allows you to experience a stroll through a hardwood hammock.

The main park road from the park entrance to the Flamingo Visitor Center travels through eight distinct ecosystems. Some of the highlights of the drive include a dwarf cypress forest and multiple ponds filled with wading birds. There are multiple trails and boardwalks which allow you to visit these areas of the park where you can get out of the car and maybe share a romantic view in a secluded area with that special someone.

We stayed at the campground near the Flamingo Visitor Center which many campsites have views of the bay. My wife and I still fondly remember our campsite where we were able to setup a couple of chairs and watch the sunrise over the bay. After the sun came up, we then enjoyed eating breakfast while watching the many birds flying over the water. There are many hiking and nature trails for you and your sweetheart to find some scenic views and some quiet, romantic moments. At the end of the day, we enjoyed going for a moonlit walk along the bay and then enjoyed cuddling next to each other in our sleeping bags while looking up at the starry sky.

One of the highlights of our trip to the Everglades was a guided sunset cruise that we took from the Flamingo area. The sunset views over the bay were beautiful and we really enjoyed seeing all of the varied species of birds while learning a little about the wildlife and ecosystems found in the Everglades. It was very peaceful, romantic, and relaxing and is something that we would highly recommend doing.

The other highlight of our trip was when we rented a canoe in Flamingo. I had canoed several times before but my wife had never been in one. They gave us a quick instruction and we pushed off in the canoe. We passed alligators, birds, fish, and turtles along the way. We traveled under mangrove trees and saw various ecosystems during our trip. We were alone most of the time and just found ourselves enjoying the sounds and sights that nature provided us.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to the Everglades and hope that some of you couples who find being at one with nature romantic, consider traveling to the Everglades National Park.

For my birthday several years ago, my wife took me on a romantic getaway for the weekend to the Mad River Valley in Vermont. Since my birthday is in February, you may have thought my wife was taking me to Sugarbush and Mad River Glen for a weekend of great downhill skiing! When my wife told me where we were going, I was a little puzzled because I have never downhill skied before and frankly don’t think I am coordinated enough to make it down the mountain without breaking something. However, she told me that we weren’t going skiing but we would have a great time, and she was absolutely right!

New England is full of romantic Bed & Breakfasts and we stayed at a great one this weekend called the Inn at The Round Barn. The first thing you notice as you drive up was the unique architecture of the round barn attached to the main building. When you enter, you hear classical music playing and smell cookies and hors d’oeuvres to welcome you. The guest rooms are very comfortable and romantically decorated. There is a lap pool, a game room with an antique pool table, and a lot of books. The food is very good and very fresh as much of it comes from local farms including their own. The grounds are beautiful and you can go snowshoeing in the winter and hiking when it gets warmer where scenic views of the mountains are everywhere you look!

My wife arranged for us to go cross country skiing at Ole’s cross country skiing trails. Neither of us had ever been cross country skiing but they had a nice program for beginners. Within a half hour, we were out on the trails and it was a lot of fun. My wife was a natural but even though I fell a few times, we were laughing as she came over to help me up every time! It was very peaceful to be out on the trails surrounded by the beautiful scenery. We both enjoyed it immensely!

The next day, she arranged for us to have a horse drawn sleigh ride in the mountains. She called ahead to the Mountain Valley Farm to arrange for a private, romantic, sleigh ride. We were pulled by a team of two horses and we were given a bunch of blankets to keep us warm. We really enjoyed cuddling under the blankets while we observed the breathtaking scenery provided by the Mad River Valley and the surrounding Green Mountains. When it’s not snowing they have hay rides, wagon rides, and even formal carriage rides for weddings or other special events.

Even though we went to the Mad River Valley in the winter for our romantic weekend, it is a great place for romantic getaways year round. The scenery provided by the Green Mountains is always beautiful and provides for many outdoor activities. In the spring and summer, there are great hiking trails and places to go road and mountain bike riding. There are opportunities to go canoeing and kayaking on the Mad River, nice area golf courses, and even glider rides. For you fans of ice cream, you can take a tour of the Ben and Jerry’s factory in nearby Waterbury, VT.

If you have not been to Vermont in the fall, you have really been missing out! Throughout the state, there are no end of scenic drives where you can see beautiful mountain vistas full of the vibrant fall foliage colors. There numerous small towns which provide interesting architecture and covered bridges. We heard of a tradition where you have to kiss when you pass through a covered bridge and we always figure that we will do our part to keep the tradition alive!

The Mad River Valley is a beautiful place year round for a romantic getaway and provides you with a wide variety of outdoor activities to satisfy any couple!

My husband and I recently escaped to the beautiful beaches of Florida. We live in Michigan and this time of year we deal with temperatures in the minus degrees. So when my husband mentioned escaping to mid-70 degree weather I was overjoyed.

Cocoa Beach is a short ride from the Orlando International Airport. Flying into Orlando is one of the cheaper airports to fly into. Please see our link below for some great prices on flights to Florida.

I love staying in romantic inns, but they can be costly. An alternative is staying in a condo or timeshare. These places allow you to have a little bit of home while on vacation. It’s fun to eat out at nice restaurants, but my husband and I also enjoying making our breakfast in the mornings. Having a full kitchen is wonderful. We opted for a time share condo at the Ron Jon Resort. Our condo overlooked the Atlantic Ocean. It’s very romantic watching the sunrise over the Atlantic, especially while watching it from your balcony!

If you can’t find a condo or timeshare or would prefer a hotel, there are a great many hotels in the area, many of which are oceanfront. Click on the links below for some good oceanfront hotels.

Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront


Courtyard by Marriott Cocoa Beach


Doubletree Cocoa Beach Oceanfront

If you’re a nature lover, don’t miss the Cocoa Beach Kayaking Guided Nature Tours. All the guides are incredible (and girls all the kayaks are tandem, so you can sit back, relax and take in the beautiful scenery while your beau does all the work). You’ll paddle at a leisurely pace along the Thousand Islands of Cocoa Beach. Bring your binoculars to observe the bird life in the most diverse estuaries in the Indian River Lagoon. Don’t forget your camera for your up close and personal view of bottlenose dolphins and the Florida manatees. If you forget your hat, sunglasses or bottled water don’t fret because there provided free of charge.

Another romantic sight seeing tour is Space Coast River Tour on the Blue Dolphin leaving from Merritt Island. It’s a relaxing and enjoyable two hour tour departing through the working Port of Canaveral and into the Banana River to see wildlife. The wildlife ranges from bottlenose dolphins, huge lovable manatees, brown pelican, osprey, endangered bald eagle, great blue heron and many more.

If your really into seeing the endangered Florida manatee and would like to know where to see many of them in one place, please email me and I will send you the directions.

A romantic restaurant not to miss is Milliken’s Reef, it truly has it all. The dining room is very romantic from its white tablecloths, candlelight and piano jazz bar. The ambience is relaxed. The seafood is incredible. You should definitely try their conch. They also have a Tiki bar outside overlooking the water. Milliken’s Tiki Bar has it all: from palm trees to tiki torches, live island music and sand for a dance floor. If you are just looking for good food and not the romantic ambiance, there are many great restaurants in the area including Grills, Jack Baker’s Lobster Shanty, and Slow & Low Bar-B-Que.

If you are looking for a room with a great view, a romantic dinner, a relaxing tour on the water looking at wildlife, Cocoa Beach is the place for your next romantic excursion. And by the way, there is nothing more romantic than just walking hand in hand with your sweetheart on the beach! Enjoy your trip!

Within easy travel from the big city hubbub of New York City is the Mid Hudson Valley in New York State.  When you arrive, you won’t believe you are still in New York.  There are beautiful mountain and river views, great restaurants, historical sites to tour, wineries, and did I mention great restaurants?

To get to the Mid-Hudson Valley you can take the commuter train or Amtrak from NYC to get to Beacon, Poughkeepsie, or Rhinebeck.  The train ride takes about two hours and travels along the Hudson River.  The further away you get from the city, the more scenic the Hudson gets as you begin to pass riverside mansions, mountains, and you can even get a view of West Point along the way.  It is about two hours by car from any of the NYC area airports as well.  For assistance in planing your travel to the Mid Hudson Valley, you can click on the link below.

You will notice the beautiful natural scenery when you arrive at the Mid Hudson Valley (especially after spending some time in NYC).  The Catskill Mountains can be seen along the west side of the Hudson River and they provide opportunities for hiking and sightseeing and skiing in the winter.  Some beautiful parks for hiking, biking, and having an afternoon picnic are Lake Mohonk and Lake Minnewaska in the New Paltz area.

Hyde Park is home to the Culinary Institute of America which has trained the world’s greatest chefs for years.  One of the great things about the Mid Hudson Valley is that many of these great chefs stay in the area and open up restaurants.  There are romantic restaurants for all tastes.  The Culinary Institute has 4 restaurants with Italian, French, and Regional cuisine and the Apple Pie Bakery (a great coffee shop/bakery) but make sure to make reservations in advance.

For history buffs, visits to the Franklin D Roosevelt Home or the Vanderbilt and Staatsburgh Mansion in Hyde Park are both educational and have beautiful grounds for scenic walks and picnicking.  If you are in the area around Christmas be sure and check to see if any of these mansions offer Candlelight Christmas tours as these mansions are beautifully decorated and the candlelight definitely sets a romantic mood.

There are some great wineries throughout the valley as well which offer tours, wine tastings, and some have restaurants.  One of our favorites is the Cascade Mountain winery in Amenia which has a really nice restaurant (see above) and a variety of wines with interesting names.  A good website with a list of 21 wineries with brief descriptions of their offerings is found at A Visitor’s Guide to Wineries in the Hudson Valley.

The Mid Hudson Valley has a lot to offer a couple looking for a romantic getaway.  The food, history, and scenery all contribute to its appeal.  One final note, there is probably no more beautiful time to visit the Mid Hudson Valley than in the fall.  The colors of the leaves are breathtaking and rival the colors seen in Vermont and New Hampshire!

If you can’t make it to the Culinary Institute, there are great restaurants throughout the valley for a romantic dinner and night out.  Here are some of the real romantic ones for you to try.

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