10 Guaranteed Kisses At These Can’t Miss Travel Spots

Last fall my hubby and I did something outrageous: We took off on a trip. Without our three kids. Without our dog. For only the second time in fourteen years as parents. It was a big deal for us, especially, because we’re family travel bloggers. But we needed the getaway, new experiences that we could share together, just the two of us. Time to cook and curl up together. Hours of uninterrupted time (every parent’s dream) to talk, dream, think, talk, dream and think. It’s what I think of when I think of travel more, and in fact I wrote about that luxury of time aspect in my trip report from Tuscany. And it got me thinking about other dreamy backdrops and romantic places we’ve been or want to see someday…

Tuscany, Italy

In Toscana, the winding, cypress lined roads, the ethereal light, wine, fantastic, rustic food, wine, great weather, friendly, engaging people, historic villages to explore…and did I mention the wine? It all forms a recipe for some delicious romantic fun, hence the reason it tops our list of romantic places. We stayed at a fantastic villa on the Terre di Nano, just outside of Montepulciano and Pienza. It had fantastic views and its own private garden. We dragged ourselves away for terrific day trips to Montalcino, Pitigliano, and the towns our backyard, picking up pecorino cheese and pici pasta as key ingredients for dinners we made in our tiny kitchen, eating in front of a roaring fire. Highly romantic.

Venice, Italy

Do the obligatory gondola ride (you can bring aboard a bottle of wine and plastic cups) and kiss on the Rialto Bridge (or anywhere, as the photo above implies), but dare to engage this city beyond the surface find your own romantic places. Take a vaparetto out to Torcello, the birthplace of Venezia, get lost among the winding streets and find your way by following the sun (while poking your head into churches and shops that intrigue). Go across the laguna to San Giorgio Maggiore to see the city as many artists have portrayed her. Hire a water taxi for a sunset cruise in and around the Rialto to get a full sense of her fish-like layout and the interconnectivity of the islands. Take in a Vivaldi concert in an old church—this city was his birthplace. Dee Anne, who named Venice as her #1 romantic destination, recommends the Hotel Gritti for a romantic getaway. We stayed in an apartment on the Grand Canal, part of an old palazzo, and adored it.

Belize

I’ve heard a lot about Belize lately, and the stories have left me with romantic visions of kayaking between islands, riding horseback through pristine rainforests with exotic birds flying overhead, exploring old ruins (Belize was the heart of the Mayan culture in the Classic Period) and relaxing on fabulous Caribbean beaches.  As far as romantic places go, what’s not to like? My traveling friends who’ve been there say it lives up to the hype…and even surpasses it, as our travel concierge Donna suggests.

Whistler, Canada

Wait out the Winter Olympics (they end February 28^th) and then head on into Canada to grab some suddenly-empty condo space to enjoy this fantastic resort—sans the Olympic-frenzied crowds. You can ski on the same runs as the Olympians you saw on your flat screen, then cuddle up inside a cozy ski-in/ski-out condo to watch the mountains grow deep in evening shadow before heading off to the hot tub (one of the best romantic places for a kiss!). For the high-adventure couple with good experience, you can opt for the day of heli-skiing for another $600/pp. Nothing says love like “first tracks” intertwined behind you.

Perhentian Islands, Malaysia

Looking for romantic places that are more exotic? You might spend a hefty amount on getting to Malaysia, but once you’re there, it’s fairly inexpensive. Exploring these two islands, with their dense rainforests and pristine coral reef, sounds like a no-fail risk on the romance front to me. You could spend the morning hiking a challenging trail in the interior, and the afternoon swinging in a hammock beneath a palm on the white sand beaches beside the South China Sea. The Perhentians are famous for their green turtles, inhabitants of the earth for over a million years, surviving even the extinction of the dinosaurs, so I’d want to be snorkeling a lot there, beside my hubby.

Marrakesh, Morocco

Mmm…for Westerners, imagine a city painted in hues of red ochre, the exotic sounds of a muezzin in his minaret, calling people to prayer, the smells of spices like saffron and curry and garlic, the exotic Jemaa El Fna filled with snake charmers and dancers, souks packed with the goods to tempt you before even the heckling salesmen do (“For you, for you, a special price!”)… Add to that a camel ride beneath the towering, iconic Atlas Mountains and a moonlit night in a Bedouin tent, lounging among mounds of pillows, and you have engaged the senses on all fronts. If your travels are feeling same-ol’ same-ol’, the journey to this, the wildest of romantic places, will shake you up. In a good way.

Isle of Skye, Scotland

My good friend Liz Higgs has fallen in love with Scotland, and has returned eleven times and looks forward to going again. When I asked her, “If you had a private jet and you and Bill could go anywhere in Scotland for a romantic weekend, where would it be?” She turned to her husband and asked him; together, they responded, “The Isle of Skye.” Sigh. Even though I’ve seen my fair share of romantic places, just the name makes me want to take my husband’s hand and walk for hours within view of the spectacular loch. Liz recommends Kinloch Lodge in Sleat, which won “Romantic Hotel of the Year” and “Best Breakfast” from the 2009 Scottish Hotel Awards.

Paris, France

I admit to feeling a tad melancholy when I was there last Spring with my girls…but only because I was missing my husband. When you’re in the city of love, the most romantic of all romantic places, you want your lover beside you! I can see why people adore this city for reconnecting with their soul mate. Sharing a cup of espresso at a roadside café, poking through the famous flea market goodies, spotting the Eiffel Tower peeking between buildings from all over the city, riding bikes along the Seine…Ooo la la, someday I’m returning with the man to whom I committed a lifetime of love.  Don’t miss sitting by the Seine at Sunset, a winning travel experience in the recent ‘inspirational places’ contest.

Agra, India

You gotta love a place where a ruler spent twenty-two years (and utilized the skills of 22,000 craftsmen and 1,000 elephants) to erect one of the most famous buildings in the world, the Taj Mahal, for his wife. Seeing the white marble monument at various times of day would give a couple perspective that only the locals have—from the rosy hues of sunrise to the laundry-white of noon to the warm peaches of sunset and finally the deep shadows and ghostly ivory in the moonlight. Before you go, read up on how people might prey upon you as a tourist—so that doesn’t ruin your romantic excursion. And I’d also head out of the city for a more relaxed pace and experience to round out your getaway— the dense population and poverty can get a bit overwhelming, which is far from romantic, if you don’t plan just the right amount of time.

The Nile, Egypt

Exploring lands of the ancients gives a couple a sense of making history themselves, tiny dip though it may be. I’ve only been to Egypt once, but when I return, I’d love to tour Cairo with my hubby, but then dive deeper into the country via the principal waterway, cruising the Nile from Luxor to Aswan spotting new untouched romantic places, just as Cleopatra and her rumored lover, Julius Caesar, once did in celebration of their victory in the Alexandrian War. (But they spent two months doing so!) Languid nights on the water, explorations of tombs and monuments by day, would make for some fantastic, romantic memories.

Photo Credits: lo.tangelini (Tuscany), yanivba (Venice), jonrawlinson (Belize), joe shlabotnik (Whistler), irene (Malaysia), geoftheref (Marrakech), Bert K (Scotland), panoramas (paris), babasteve, Michael Gwyther-Jones

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