The most romantic places for lovers – where to go inexpensively in February together, where to get amazing feelings and memories.
To the end of the world – Cape Cabo da Roca
The ocean, rocks, wind and waves – where could it be more romantic? To do this, you need to go to the ends of the Earth. Or, to be more precise, to the extreme point of Europe – Cape Cabo da Roca, located near Lisbon in Portugal. This fantastically beautiful place will not leave indifferent even those who are used to restraining their emotions.
Getting to Cabo de Roca
It’s not that difficult to visit the edge of Europe – it’s in Portugal and there are regular buses to get there. From Lisbon, take the train to Sintra, and from there take bus #403 to the Cape Roca viewpoint. You can’t miss it – it’s the final one, after that it’s just rocks and the ocean. Cape Cabo da Roca can be reached from Lisbon as follows: from the Cais de Sodre station by train to Sintra (€ 2.25 one way), then by bus 403 from Sintra (€ 4.1).
Things to do in and around Cabo de Roca:
Seeing off the sun at Cape Cabo de Roca
There is a lighthouse on the cape, the waves are constantly making noise and the wind is blowing incessantly. You can come here during the day, but die-hard romantics traditionally come at sunset. And the sunsets here are unforgettable – the main thing is that the weather doesn’t let up, it’s the ocean after all, and it’s so unpredictable.
Dedicate the whole day to visiting castles in Sintra
Visit the colorful Pena Palace – the red and yellow creation of Portuguese architects is more reminiscent of Snow White’s castle in Disneyland. But it’s not a fake, it’s a real palace with crenellated towers that once belonged to the Portuguese royal family (entrance fee: €7.5 to the park, €14 park + palace).
On the neighboring hill is an equally significant attraction of Sintra – the castle and landscape park of Quinta da Regaleira. This mystical place keeps the secrets of the Freemasons, the Templars, and the Monteiro family. The garden is literally crammed with grottoes, labyrinths, and underground towers. But the most famous place is the initiation well or the inverted tower of the Freemasons, where rites of initiation into the secret order used to take place.
Check your luck at the casino
Estoril Casino is located in the Lisbon suburb of Cascais. Spend at least a few coins – maybe you’ll get lucky?
Trying Ginjinha, a Portuguese cherry liqueur served in chocolate glasses: drinking and eating right away.
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Road trip in Portugal – from Lisbon to Porto
Algarve – the best beaches in Portugal
A hotel for lovers near Cabo de Roca:
Book an ocean view room at the hotel Arribas Sintra Hotel. ***, located near Cape Cabo de Roca in the village of Colares (€110/night).
Getting to Lisbon
There are flights from Poland, Germany, Romania, Hungary and other European countries Ryanair and Wizz Air to Lisbon (one-way tickets from 40 euros in winter).
Cappadocia – live in a cave and fly on a hot air balloon
Go to Turkey in winter is not the first thing that comes to mind when planning a romantic trip. But there is one place to go on Valentine’s Day. This is Cappadocia – is an area in Central Anatolia where volcanoes erupted millions of years ago, subsequently creating lunar landscapes with tuff weathering and caves.
People come here to stay in cave hotels, walk among tuff columns, and watch dozens of balloons rise at dawn every morning in Capadocia. And to fly over this beauty is a dream come true.
What to do in Cappadocia:
Fly in a hot air balloon
To see the earth from a height, soar over the beauty like a bird, enjoy the first rays of the sun and experience what ballooning is when a balloon slowly glides through the air. To do this, you need to contact one of the travel agencies in the village of Gerem (the tourist center of Cappadocia), choose the day, the airline company and the type of gondola in which the flight will be carried out. Everyone offers the same prices, the only difference in price is the number of people in the gondola: the fewer people, the more expensive it is. The gondolas are designed for 16, 20 and 28 people, respectively.
Price from €80 per person in a 16-seater gondola. An exclusive flight costs from 300 euros for two people.
Read more – How to organize a hot air balloon flight in Cappadocia
Meet the sunrise on the hotel terrace
Wrapped in a fluffy blanket, drinking hot tea, watching dozens of balloons rise into the sky at the same time. You can see such a colorful show every morning in Cappadocia. Take a hundred photos of this wonderful moment.
Walking among the fairy fireplaces
The amazing landscapes of Cappadocia were formed by the weathering of tuff rocks. Once upon a time, volcanoes covered the entire valley with volcanic ash, but later the sandstones were eroded by wind and water, and in their place canyons were formed, inside which there are giant tuff pillars covered with basalt caps.
The locals called these creatures of nature fireplaces for fairies, through which they fly out at night to give people bright happy dreams. In ancient times, people built caves inside sandstones and stone statues – sandstone is fragile and easy to process even the most primitive materials. Now they are building romantic hotels. And in the valleys, you can spend more than one day walking among the bizarre sculptures that nature itself has created.
To see stone phalluses. In the immediate vicinity of Goreme are the Valley of Love – with the famous white giant phalluses made of tuff, the Valley of Doves – a canyon where flocks of doves once lived, the Pink and Red Valleys – the name corresponds to the color of the sandstones – they have stunning sunsets and sunrises with sunlight. You can get to the valleys on your own or hire a guide at one of the travel agencies who will show you the routes and tell you many legends (guide from €25 per day).
Visit cave cities
Cappadocia is home to a huge number of cave Christian churches and monasteries with frescoes, altars, and other surviving rooms where religious rites were performed and monks lived. Some of them are freely accessible, while the ones that have survived have become open-air museums. Entrance to museums is paid, but for those who are interested in Christian history there is a Museum Card, which can save you a lot of money after visiting 3-4 museums (a 3-day museum card costs €17, a tour of cave cities and monasteries from €20).
Go to the Turkish hammam. Most hotels in Goreme have hammams – Turkish baths where you can steam for hours, order peeling and massage. After a few hours in the hammam, you feel as if you’ve been reborn. (cost from €10).
Hotel for lovers in Cappadocia:
Sultan Cave Suites – the observation deck alone at this cave hotel is worth seven out of five points. It offers a fantastic view at dawn – the photos against the backdrop of balloons are just perfect. Traditionally, the rooms at this hotel are carved into the rock – cozy modern caves have heating, luxurious bathrooms, TV, and flying wi-fi (night in a double room €150).
Getting to Cappadocia:
Pegasus and Turkish Airlines fly from Ankara and Istanbul to Kayseri Airport. Turkish Airlines (one-way ticket from €15). Istanbul can also be reached by these airlines from various European cities (from 150 euros). To make it easier to get around the interesting places of Cappadocia, it is better to rent a car – on Rentalcars.com.
Verona – a visit to Romeo and Juliet
Everyone who travels to Verona has a common goal: to visit the places where Romeo and Juliet lived and loved each other. Shakespeare had never been to Verona, but he used his imagination to create the perfect setting for his play. Such that centuries later romantic films are shot here, and the theme of love is imperishable and excites people in all times and centuries.
Things to do in Verona and the surrounding area:
A visit to Juliet
There are several places in Verona associated with Romeo and Juliet, but the main tourist attraction is Casa di Giulietta. Juliet’s house once belonged to the Dal Capello family, but in 1907 the municipality bought it from the impoverished relatives and turned it into a tourist attraction. Romantically-minded couples from all over the world strive to get here to feel like the main characters of the play. The girl can go up to the balcony and listen to her lover’s declarations of love.
Juliet’s house: Verina, Via Cappello 27. Entrance to the courtyard is free, full ticket to the Juliet House: full ticket – €6.
To lock up feelings. Lovers leave heart-shaped locks in Juliet’s Courtyard as a sign of endless love. – Write a letter to Juliet. They do write her notes – their secret desires. There is indeed a Juliet Club in Verona, where volunteers read and answer letters from all over the world. The first notes were left near the tomb, and its guard began to answer them. Since then, the flow of letters has only increased annually. As well as a stream of people who want to touch the medieval stones of Verona and become part of an eternal love story.
Visit the ancient amphitheater
The Arena di Verona amphitheater was more fortunate than its Roman counterpart, the Colosseum. Where gladiators fought, today there is a theater with excellent acoustics. The arena has been transformed into an open-air theater, where daily concerts, festivals, and opera performances are held every summer: Aida, La Traviata, Romeo and Juliet. In winter, you can stroll through the cool arcades of the stands and see the amphitheater from the inside – a grandiose structure. Address: Piazza Bra, 5, Verona. Entrance fee: €10.
Walk along the walls of Castelvecchio Castle
The castle was built by the Scaliger dynasty, which ruled Verona for more than a hundred years between 1262 and 1387. This family greatly influenced the current appearance of Verona, although it was famous for its bloodthirstiness. The castle of Castelvecchio is adjacent to the famous Scaliger Bridge, spanning the Adige River, with dovetailed stone teeth.
List all bell towers in Verona
Climb the hill of Castel San Pietro to see the panorama of Verona, which will combine the impressions of squares and tall bells, medieval bridges and ancient Roman arches, green hills and the Adige River, which washes the stones of the ancient city.
Hotel for lovers in Verona:
Hotel Milano & SPA *** is a hotel in the heart of ancient Verona, with a view of the ancient walls of the amphitheater from its roof. The hotel has its own spa center, and the upper terrace, among other things, has a Jacuzzi for especially romantic spa treatments. A room for two costs €120 per night.
Getting to Verona
The easiest way to do this now is to fly from Chisinau to Verona on a direct flight Wizz Air flight.
Jordan – night under the stars in the desert
Jordan – is a magical country where the rainbow has dropped its bright colors. And nature, as if playing, scattered mountains and deserts, surrounding it with the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. If you like to spend your time actively and seek vivid impressions, you should come here. And there are plenty of romances here! They go to Jordan to hike the Petra Canyons, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. To see and swim in the Dead Sea. And, of course, to find yourself in the beautiful Wadi Rum desert, which looks more like Mars.
What to do in Jordan:
Spend the night in the Wadi Rum desert
Stay in a domed, almost space-like hotel. Red rocks and sand, stone arches and mushrooms are just a small part of what you can see in Wadi Rum when you come here on a romantic trip for two. You can ride camels across the dunes, take a jeep ride to see the Lawrence of Arabia Cliffs and the endless expanse of red rocks and sand. And finally, to come to the sansetoshna to watch the sun go down behind the mountains, the desert turn from pink to crimson-red. That’s what we did last year, and it was an unforgettable journey that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
Visit Petra
Petera is the former capital of the Nabateans kingdom, which is included in the list of 7 Wonders of the World.
Walk through the Sik Canyon, at the end of which stands an incredible temple – Kazna. This is the name of the tomb where, according to legend, countless treasures were hidden, but no one has found them yet.
The pink tomb made in the sandstone rock is a beautiful business card of Petra. Go on a short trek to the so-called Monastery – at the end of the route you will find a giant temple carved into the rocks of incredible shades of delicate ochre. You can also see Petra’s night show under the light of a thousand candles, where a Bedouin will tell Petra’s stories and legends to the songs of a Bedouin flute.
Visit the Dead Sea
The eastern part of the Dead Sea belongs to Jordan. And this is another wonder that should not be missed when traveling in this country. There are many salt lakes in the world, but this is one of the largest and is also located at the lowest point in the world – minus 430 meters from sea level. The water in the sea is so salty that it feels like you’re swimming in oil – the water is so thick and viscous. But due to this concentration of salt in the water, fantastic patterns and salt crystals are formed on the shore. There are even beaches where the salt has turned into small stones, so the beach looks like white salt sand.
Steam under thehot waterfalls of Maine
While on the Dead Sea, do not miss another Jordanian wonder – the hot waterfalls in the Ma’in tract. Even if you have already seen the thermal springs, this place will still impress you. Because only here does water with a temperature of +45 degrees not just come out of the ground. It falls from the mountains in huge cascades, turning the mountain desert into a green oasis of palm trees. It is an unreal pleasure to sit in mineral water that flows down from the mountain slope in hot jets onto your shoulders.
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A hotel for lovers in the Wadi Rum desert:
Wadi Rum UFO Luxotel in Wadi Rum is a hotel in the heart of the desert. During the day, even in February, you can sunbathe in a lounger at the edge of the pool. And at night, warm up in a warm room built in the form of a space dome. Through the huge window you can look at the stars and watch the sun rise in the morning, illuminating the mountains and dunes with red rays. Night in a double room €100.
Getting to Jordan
There are flights to Amman and Aqaba from Poland, Germany, Romania, Hungary, and other European countries Ryanair and Wizz Air flights. By the way, in winter, tickets are very cheap – from 35 euros round-trip. This is how we flew from Budapest to Aqaba and back in 2022.
Useful articles and links:
- Road trip in Portugal – from Lisbon to Porto
- Paris – a mini-guide for a romantic trip
- The most beautiful villages in France – a route through Burgundy
- 10 European destinations where it’s warm in winter
- Warm shores – where to go on vacation in March
- Cinque Terre – how to visit, where to stay, what to see
Find train tickets in Europe conveniently on Trainline
Booking of hotels and apartments – Booking.com
