Valentine’s Day Vacations

While you are raising a family, juggling a career with home duties, chauffeuring children here and there, running errands, cleaning your house, doing the laundry, mowing the lawn, and preparing meals, your marriage can get lost in the shuffle. It can be difficult coming up with the time and energy every marriage needs in order to give itself a romantic boost and remain strong, but how can you give up anything you’re already doing? The answer is by taking a short getaway trip, just the two of you, and there’s no time more perfect than Valentine’s Day. In the middle of winter when everything is gloomy, cold, and gray, taking a long weekend for romance is just what the doctor ordered.

Now that you’ve made the decision to take some time away from the family, where should you go? A lot will depend on how much time you can be away as well as the type of climate you want to experience. Would to prefer to go to ski country where you can snuggle up by a roaring fire, or would you rather head for the warmer areas of the world? Once again, it will depend on the amount of time you have for a trip. If you can only manage a long weekend, you’ll need to find something a little closer to home.

One type of trip you can look into is a stay at a Bed and Breakfast. These lovely accommodations pride themselves on beautiful rooms and delightful amenities. Relax in a whirlpool bath for two, eat chocolate-dipped strawberries in front of the fireplace, and enjoy a leisurely gourmet breakfast for two while forgetting the cares of home and renewing your romantic union. B&Bs rent for a wide range of prices depending on where they are located and what amenities you want to have included.

Some websites will suggest romantic Valentine’s trips to foreign countries or to places halfway across the country, but it isn’t necessary to take a trip that costly in order to spend time alone together. A weekend stay in a local hotel could be just what you need (as long as you don’t tell anyone where you’re staying). There are also resort areas in most states which you can travel to relatively easily. Cruise lines are going to try and convince you that you have to book with them in order to have a delightful getaway, but you’ll find that there are nice spots to go within a couple of hours of home. Remember that it’s the time alone together that is what’s important here.

Best Romantic Get Away’s for 2012

Rediscover romance this year by stealing away to one of these hot spots.

Romance doesn’t always involve strolling a beach at sunset. Just ask Deanna Matyskiel, who went on a spa retreat with her husband in a gorgeous Palm Springs, CA, resort. “My therapist kept cracking his knuckles,” says Matyskiel. “And my husband was less fortunate: when he was on the massage table, one of the table legs broke and he fell off.”

Romantic? Maybe not at that time, but the Matyskiels were able to laugh about it later (at least, after the resort refunded their money) and connected through the shared experience. Of course, romance often springs from more traditional moments too: hiding away in a secluded hotel, sitting down to a candlelit dinner, and watching the sunset from a remote beach.

And traditional romantic hot spots still attract travelers in search of these experiences. “The Caribbean has really come back as a major destination in the last year,” says Georgia Johnson, director of marketing and sales in the weddings department at American Express Travel. “And the one island that is constantly requested for romantic travel is St. Lucia. Other popular islands tend to be Jamaica and Dominican Republic.”

It’s not surprising that beach getaways remain one of the most popular romantic vacation options: you can spend long, warm days snorkeling, enjoy afternoon naps in an over-water bungalow, and take sunset walks along the water. At least, that’s what you’ll find at the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort & Spa in the Cook Islands. Or head to another romantic locale, Bali, where the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay has perfected the seaside repose with its new Beds on the Beach nights. Barefoot waitstaff serve cocktails and Asian-inspired tapas on silk-draped canopy lounge beds located directly on the sand.

Some travelers may get antsy from all this beach time, but not newlyweds, according to Susan Breslow, a guide to honeymoons and romantic travel for About.com. “After the stress of a wedding, most couples prefer to finally relax at a tropical resort by the water,” says Breslow. “Those willing to fly further to arrive at a more exotic spot—still by the beach—are heading to Tahiti, the Seychelles, and the Maldives, among other destinations.”

Other couples like to turn their trips into epic adventure stories. For them, there’s the outstanding horseback-riding program at India’s palatial Mihir Garh hotel on the wild plains of Rajasthan. And if you literally want to go to the ends of the earth, take a cruise to Antarctica, following in the footsteps of explorers James Cook and Ernest Shackleton. From the cozy Prince Albert II ship, you’ll see hulking glaciers, blue icebergs, southern fur seals, albatross, and chinstrap penguins.

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