Here’s a list of some of the most impressive inns, bed and breakfasts, and resorts that I dug up while I was doing research for my anniversary vacation with my wife.

First off -  you simply have to visit TheRomantic.com.  I had visions of doing something like this, but Michael Webb has compiled the most amazing list of … well, anything romantic that you might possibly want to do.  Good luck!

Crazy awesome luxury resorts:

Cave B Inn.  I’ve been communicating with Carilyn from Cave B, and I absolutely must take my wife here some day.  It’s everything that a luxury resort should be.  Instead of just staying at a hotel, why not go to a place that has great food, beautiful scenery, tons ot do, and is supremely romantic?  Amazing.

Bucuti - A luxury resort in Aruba.  I think that’s pretty much the definition of a luxury vacation.  Caitlyn has a staff of people who will, almost literally, bend over backwards to make sure you have an experience that you’ll never forget.

Travel agents with cool romantic ideas:

A quote from Kelly DeMarco.  “We are running a romantic fine wine and food trip to Alsace, France in October as well as a trip to india that Culminates in a Valentine’s day stay in a suite overlooking the Taj Mahal in February.”  Wow.  They still have spots available for that trip.  jhcbh.com

RomanceConcierge.com - specialized packages like Tantra for Two, his and hers makeovers, Murder Mystery Tours, and more.

TheSociety.com - How about a travel group dedicated to only renting out the “world’s most exclusive luxury vacation rental properties.”

Kitschy, unique romance ideas:

Pre-packed bags that hold all the supplies you might want for a night or two out with the one you love.  YourBagsArePacked.com

Get a personalized romance novel packed with all the juicy details about you and your spouse.  YourNovel.com I would never do this because my wife would hate it, but I think it’s a great idea!!

On the Oregon coast (close to where I live).

The Gilbert Inn.  Recommended to me by several travel agents.

TuTuTun Lodge.  Near the Gold Coast.

A reader sent in this story about her Good Husband who planned what turned out to be a really wonderful trip.  In my opinion, it’s not the things themselves that are all that romantic, but instead the way that he carefully planned it all.  Pay attention to that guys, and see if you can understand why this wife is so happy about this trip.

Of the two of us my husband, Jason Ries, is much better at planning romantic trips. While our adventures do not follow movie scripts or fall into cliches, they are romantic because they involve things that we are each passionate about.

For instance, in the Spring of 2005, he planned a trip to Philadelphia for us. He is a huge baseball and he wanted to go to see a game in the Phillies ballpark. By researching the Philadelphia tourism site, though, he
discovered that some of the hotels had package specials that included tickets to see the sold-out Dali exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This was the only place in the States to catch this comprehensive show of one of my favorite artists.

As luck would have it, the Philly Fanatic was at our gate to greet our flight and then an airport employee insisted on driving us through the terminal to our bags. I know that he didn’t plan either of these events but they helped to make the trip feel slightly surreal and magical.

After we hopped a train into the city center and checked into our hotel, we stumbled onto an exquisite boutique named Linu filled with handmade Latvian linens.  Since Jason’s mother is from Latvia, we had chosen to travel to Latvia on our honeymoon. Linu’s owner, Karina Sotnik was delighted to discover our Latvian ties and gave us a gift of some pieces of raw amber (which Jason had mad into a necklace for our first anniversary).

She gave us many tips for our time in Riga as well as some suggestions for Philadelphia.

When we left there we roamed down to Abode, a now defunct furniture shop, to view some of the whimsical pieces by Richard Dunbrack. Jason had purchased one of Dunbrack’s pieces for my birthday that year and the store evoked many wonderful memories.

At the game that evening, I was happily knitting while Jason cheered.  After a while, however, Jason realized that I would be more interested in the game if I understood the strategy. He began explaining how he was recording plays in his notebok in a way that related to my work as a choreographer. When he went to get a hot dog, he was very touched to find that I had filled in the plays that he had missed. As someone who
didn’t play sports growing up, I hadn’t understood why they were exciting to Jason, but now I found myself getting swept up in the drama.

I could prattle on and on about this quick 36 hour jaunt to Philadelphia but the point is how we traveled is what made things romantic. I don’t know perhaps this isn’t even what you are looking for. If you have more questions feel free to let me know.

My anniversary is coming up and I have been racking my brain trying to plan a romantic trip for the two of us.  While doing some research, I found some great resources that I thought I would share with all of you.  Some of this may be old hat to you, but to young guys without trust funds like me, these are invaluable resources.

Hotel and Resort staff can help plan amazing trips. Caitlin from Bucuti Beach Resort in Aruba told me that her staff planned a treasure hunt, a snorkeling excursion, and a candlelit dinner for two (with rose petals on the bed). “One unforgettable moment created at the resort led to a surprise proposal while on a snorkel excursion in the Caribbean Sea . Carefully planned with the Bucuti resort staff, the ring was packed into a special box and hid beneath the water in a nearby snorkeling site. Bucuti staff coordinated with the snorkeling charter regarding the ring’s location and made sure the couple was dropped in the correct spot enabling the fiancé-to-be to discover this treasure beneath the sea.”  Every detail was handled by the staff, leaving the husband and wife free to enjoy the trip.

In a similar vein, James Hillis from Mantripping.com suggested that you can try finding the convention and visitor center websites for the areas where you want to travel.  They usually have local hotels featured there, with concierge services who know the local areas.

There are a plethora of trip planners out there. Many of them specialize in planning romantic vacations.  You might try looking for a Virtuoso luxury travel certified agent like one of the partners at RomanceConcierge.net.

There are all sorts of random ideas out there - like these pre-packed bags that contain everything you’d need for a weekend getaway.

Try visiting TheRomantic.com.  This guy has compiled a stunning list of great romantic getaway ideas from all over the world.

Tomorrow I am going to put up a list of helpful trip planners that I consulted with for this series on romantic vacations, and some examples of the wonderful things that they have done for couples all over the world.

This is the first post in a series on how to plan a romantic trip for your wife.  To start off with, I thought I’d share with all of you the results of a survey that Tiffany Fessler from Kayak.com shared with me (Thanks Tiffany!).  It’s a little bit long, but if you’re looking to plan a romantic trip with your wife, you may want to glance over the bold points to see if you need to make any adjustments to your initial plans.

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