Most of us have our standard date activities which typically included dinner, drinks, maybe a movie or some dancing, a go-to club or lounge—outdoor types may love to go on a couple’s hike, but sometimes we need a little inspiration to try something new on a date. One area where we can get some great ideas is to think like a tourist. Whether you live in a big city or small town, there is always something that out-of-towners do. Become a tourist in your own town and you will have original date options.
One litmus test for relationships is going on vacation together. Why not test the waters and almost go on vacation by just planning a tourist type date instead? You may discover that your date is boring or impatient, or he or she may discover that you are funny and resourceful. These types of dates can tell you a lot about each other and you can reconnect with the city or town in which you live.
So, the first question is where do you take guests who are visiting your city for the first time? Is there a park or a museum, maybe an aquarium, a park or something of interest that everyone wants to do or see? Perhaps there is a restaurant that has been featured on Food Network that is worth checking out.
It is easy to take tourist activities for granted when you live somewhere. Sure, many of these activities can be cheesy, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun.
Most big cities have tourist-friendly activities that can easily convert into a cool date that can be easily found online. Type in something like “things to do in [enter your city here].” There you will get pulled up some staple activities that tourist would likely do. There are often coupons and visitor information sites where you can get a day-pass for a bunch of activities popular with tourists.
Tourist destination cities have many options for visitor passes. Some need to be used in one day, but if you are looking for a month’s worth of different date ideas, you may want to check out Go City Cards by Smart Destinations. These passes are a little different is that you can choose how many attractions you want to explore and you have 30 days from the first time one is used to use the rest of them. These passes are available for Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Oahu, Orlando, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington DC.
If your city has a Hop-on Hop-off bus tour, you may want to check it out as a different date option. There are usually many coupon options to save money. The night time rides can be very romantic, but the day trips can be entertaining too. You can learn something new about your city and have fun while getting to know your date better. Spending good money on a tour may seem silly for a place in which you already live, but it is a couple of hours of good fun where you will be able to talk and discover your city in a different way.
Some things that you may find by checking out a city’s web page may have a nostalgic element for you and your date. Perhaps you will find a museum or historical house that you may have visited when you were in the fourth grade. It might be fun to explore these kinds of activities with a new set of eyes, especially if you are trying to get to know someone better while on a date.
Scavenger hunts are a great way to explore your own city on a date. You get to solve puzzles and become a historian and detective for a day. There are many scavenger hunt groups available, but there are two that seem to have the best feedback and serve the most cities. They are city hunt and Big City Hunt. Both are fun, but Big City Hunt can be done at any time by just using a smartphone.
Some tourist activities aren’t as obvious. There is always at least one restaurant that has a certain appeal unique to your town. Even if you visit this place regularly anyway, go to it and plan to order something different. Take pictures and have fun being silly. Really creative types may choose to adopt new personas and pretend to be other people while going on your tourist adventure. Even if you pass a landmark every day on your way to work, it could be a lot of fun to make a plan and stop and look at it and read the plaque.
Checking out your local Chamber of Commerce may also lead you to discover something you didn’t know about the city or town in which you dwell. They usually have lists of places of historical significance or may have an element of human curiosity.
Think like a tourist and you can find many great date ideas of fun things to do in the place where you live.
