Romance on a Budget

from How to Make Every Trip a Honeymoon

Bring along some five-star amenities like special soaps and lotions to your one-star budget motel.

Can’t afford a getaway? Create your own at home. Pick a destination and live there for a night. Serve French food and French wine. Have a fiesta with margaritas and Mexican food. Learn a few words of the local language. Get a CD of local music or rent a movie shot on site.

Consider house trading with friends for a low-cost vacation.

Dine at a local restaurant you’ve never visited or have a picnic in a park you’ve never stopped to enjoy before.

Can’t afford that trip to the Louvre? Turn your home into an international art gallery dedicated to romance. Decorate with copies of famous romantic works of art by Renoir or Monet.

Learn a region’s off-peak season for lower prices.

Visit a local market and shop for native fruits and vegetables for an authentic picnic.

Visit an exclusive restaurant—and split an entree. You can always use the excuse that one of you is on a diet.

On a time or money budget? Take a mini-vacation in your hometown. Call your chamber of commerce or convention and visitors bureau and get a visitors guide.

Find one place where the two of you have never been.

Plan a dream vacation—as a daydream, money is no object!

Set up an indoor picnic in your hotel room.

Spend an entire day in your hometown visiting places you’ve never been, from restaurants to shops to attractions.

Staying at an inexpensive motel? Send your partner to the ice machine then do your own turndown service. Turn back the covers, put chocolates on the pillows, and light some candles.

Visit a budget restaurant—in formal attire.