Maybe just an uninterrupted night’s sleep
By Eileen Ogintz
Tribune Content Agency
Taking the Kids
Maybe you’d like to watch a tropical sunset with a fruity cocktail in hand? Maybe you want to cozy up by a blazing fire after a day having fun in the snow? Maybe you want to explore the back-country away from crowds or a city you have always wanted to visit? Maybe as new parents, you just want to share a blissful uninterrupted night’s sleep?
The good news is you can have a romantic getaway any time of the year, not just around Valentine’s Day. In fact, you may find a good deal that better fits your schedule. In case you are wondering, Americans looking for a romantic Valentine’s getaway are heading to the sun with Phoenix and Cancun, Mexico, earning the top respective spots for domestic and international destinations, Cities, including New York, Honolulu, London and Paris also scored in the top 10, according to a new survey from Allianz Partners USA’s review of 2025 Valentine’s Day travel destinations.
Certainly, it is cheaper and less crowded to head to New York, London or Paris in the winter.
And if you are looking for a budget getaway, Wyoming takes top place for a budget romantic getaway with Maine and Vermont coming in second and third, according to research conducted by QR Code Generator, which analyzed data from hotels categorized as romantic on Booking.com and restaurants labeled romantic on TripAdvisor.
In Wyoming, The average price of a one-night stay at a romantic hotel is $169.69, which is 28.9 percent less than the national average.
If you are going away without your kids, plan to go someplace where you won’t be surrounded by other people’s children.
Southernmost Beach Resort & Guesthouses in Key West features adult-only recently restored guesthouses, complete with a personalized inn keeper, daily breakfast, private pools and the rest of the resort amenities (spa, private beach). You can walk to famous Duval Street and snorkel along a living reef system. Save the most when you book and pay in advance.
Sandals all-inclusive resorts welcome those 18 and older. (Beaches are their family brand.) Sandals St. Vincent is the newest resort. Hike through a rain forest, dive into the clear water to see unique black coral, jump into the water right from your swim-up suite, learn to scuba dive and take your pick of 11 restaurants. Sandals Royal Curacao (soaking tubs for two) and Sandals Dunn’s River in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, (complimentary green fees) are also among the resort company’s newest. Look for resort specials.
Virgin Voyages, nominated for Travel & Leisure’s World Best Awards, is also adult-only. There’s a private beach club in the Bahamas and for later in the year, plenty of options in Alaska and Europe, more than 20 eateries, plenty of entertainment and more. Get married or renew your vows on board. Deals can start as low as $129 a person. Here is what I wrote about our experience aboard.
Windstar Cruises are known for their small ships and they cater (mostly) to adults. There are now winter cruises in Europe (skip the summer crowds), a growing number of offerings in Tahiti and wellness and culinary- focused sailings. (Check out the special deals.)
While kids are welcome at NYC’s landmark The Lowell Hotel, near Central Park, activities and amenities cater to adults. There are special couples’ packages and Lowell Love Stories. During February, guests can visit their “Love at The Lowell” writing desk all month and share their love story or write a letter to a loved one on Lowell love stationary. (Stay for three nights and pay for two.)
Do something you wouldn’t do with the kids. Take a lesson. Tours By Locals, known for their local guides around the world, offers many cooking classes among its offerings as does Context Travel, focused on local cuisine and often including a market tour to select ingredients. Book with Tinggly for a unique experience – from a sunset sail in San Diego to a walking food tour in Charleston, S.C., to a Mexican Cooking Experience in Playa del Carmen. (You can choose a gift box starting at $129 and let your significant other choose one of the more than 1,000 experiences in that price range for your next getaway.)
If you are opting for some fun in the snow, take a romantic sleigh ride at Beaver Creek in Colorado up to Beano’s Cabin for a five-course dinner. In Aspen, The Gant Aspen with upscale condos at the base of Aspen Mountain offers unique excursions from Heli-snowmobiling and back-country skiing in the winter to private glassblowing and painting classes in the summer. (Save 25 percent on lodging for certain winter dates.)
Book a couples’ massage. (Scottsdale, Arizona, boasts more than 50 spas and more than 200 golf courses.) Indulge your taste buds in New Mexico during Santa Fe Restaurant Week, Feb.17 through Feb. 26 with specially priced lunches and dinners at participating restaurants, daytime tastings and demonstrations and lodging specials at several hotels. There’s plenty of time to gallery hop, too.
Head to wine country in Sonoma County, California, which has just announced a “Wine Country for All of US” initiative, dedicated to authenticity, connection and inclusion, particularly the LGBTQ community and a new partnership with Wheel the World, a global leader in accessibility travel experiences. One of my favorite hotels is the historic Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa with an ancient hot springs feeding five geothermal pools. I love Sonoma County because, besides all of the terrific wine (more than 100 wineries), breweries and distilleries, there are restaurants to please every taste, hiking and biking trails, redwood forests, 50 miles of coastline, canoe trips on the Russian River, kayak on Bodega Bay (see the bald eagles), even hot-air ballooning.
Wherever you go, there’s just one caveat – no guilt allowed. Enjoy and relax. You deserve the break.
(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)
©2025 Eileen Ogintz. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.