If you live in Vancouver, BC, you won’t be at a loss of creative things to do with your love on Valentines Day. Some ideas may include snowshoeing on Mount Seymour,taking a romantic boat ride around the harbour, ice skating in Richmond or on Robson Square or taking a romantic stroll around Stanley Park Seawall.   Of course you can do the traditional dinner and dancing too, but why not take it one step further and add a bit of flair by combining dinner with a unique venue or adventure?

Last year for Valentine’s Day we decided to go on a Vancouver wine tasting and tour.  We spent the day touring Vancouver’s nearby wineries, many of which offer free wine tasting, or tasting the finer wines for a small price.  Many of the wineries have restaurants where you can have lunch or dinner and if you decide to buy a bottle of wine to enjoy it’s a much cheaper gift then if you were to buy one at a restaurant.

Another one of my personal favs is a home made picnic and snowshoe. All three mountain in Vancouver offer excellent snow shoeing trails and during Valentine’s Day they often offer a fondu and hike.  Or if you want to keep the price down, I like to pack my own wine and food and find a good little spot with a view to have a Valentines picnic.

This year my sweetheart and I decided to try something a little bit out of the ordinary and a little bit old school to celebrate our Valentines evening.  We booked a dinner on a Valentine’s Day Dinner Cruise.  Probably one of the more affordable events to do on Valentine’s Day in Vancouver if you want dinner, champagne, dancing and a cruise.  I found a cruise that  includes some old traditions – like dancing, campaign, dinner and roses – with a heck of a view, cruising around Vancouver Harbour.  The boats seem quite luxurious and the staff are young, attentive and fun!

Whatever you do this Valentines Day 2014, as long as you remember it, put in a little effort and plan ahead, you’ll find plenty of unique ideas for you and your sweetheart.