Wine, Sunsets, and Spa Days: Our Favorite Romantic Destinations
In this episode of Her Travel Expert, Kirsten and Meagan explore romantic travel, sharing their favorite destinations for couples and fun getaways with friends. They discuss experiences from hot springs in Montana to luxury glamping in Texas and Mexico, along with anniversary trips and a Christmas market river cruise.
They highlight top romantic spots, including adults-only all-inclusives and Galentine’s getaways. With plenty of laughs, they prove that romance isn’t just for couples—sometimes, the best trips are with friends!
Meagan Wristen
Hey, y’all. Welcome back to Her Travel Expert. Today, Kirsten and I are talking about all things romantic travel.
Kirsten Maxwell
It’s funny because we’re talking about like, oh, it’s Valentine’s Day. Let’s talk about romantic travel. And then we’re both kind of like, uh, what’s the last thing you did that was romantic?
So I’m going to give this to Meagan since so she’s single and probably does way more romantic things than I do with a marriage of 26 years. So Meagan, you have any fun, romantic experiences you’ve had lately? PG ones.
Meagan Wristen
Yeah, you you know what, if I’m honest, I have all my most romantic experiences with you, my other friends, or my children. But, you know, that’s okay.
Table of Contents
Hot Springs
Meagan Wristen
So, I mean, if we’re thinking recent, you and I were at a ah ah hot spring in Montana, in Western Montana, at Quinn Hot Springs.
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh, that was very romantic.
Meagan Wristen
And there we were. And I’m sure everyone thought maybe we were lesbians, but we’re not.
Kirsten’s happily married.
Kirsten Maxwell
We roll with it.
Meagan Wristen
I’m happily divorced.
Kirsten Maxwell
We roll with it. And it wouldn’t be the first time.
Meagan Wristen
It was very I thought it was very romantic.
Kirsten Maxwell
I think hot springs are very romantic. We had such a great time at the Hot Springs. I wish we had more here locally. I think they’re the ultimate outdoor spa day. So if you can make a vacation out of it or just a Valentine’s Day getaway, why not?
Meagan Wristen
I love to like hike into the woods, like a beautiful hike. And then when you get there, you can like either swim in a waterfall or swim in a hot spring. I know when our family was stationed on Adho, there were a bunch of places you could pull off the road along this, think it was the Snake River and there were like all these hot pockets and we could jump in and there were always other people there though.
Kirsten Maxwell
Ooh, love it.
Meagan Wristen
So it wasn’t that romantic, but, I have stayed at some places that I think are super romantic.
Retreat on the Hill
Meagan Wristen
One that came to mind instantly when we decided to talk about this today was Retreat on the Hill. It’s in Marble Falls on Cottonwood Shores the along the lake there.
And so you’ve got lake views from most of their units and there’s no unit the same. So one time when I stayed there, I stayed in a teepee. But it’s like a really posh glamping TP, um, with air conditioning, which is important Texas.
And then it was a set of two teepees because the bed was in like one room, all set up with pillows. Then in the other room was an oversized jacuzzi tub that had like multiple settings.
Meagan Wristen
It was great. So had I been with somebody, it would have been very romantic. I was with my friend Lindsay, so it was, you know, it was fun.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah. That’s okay.
Meagan Wristen
They have they have other units too that are like, I don’t know, different types of like glamping type things. So you can stargaze.
Rancho Cacachilas
Kirsten Maxwell
Perfect. Yeah, I think you remind me of, you know, my favorite glamping experience of all time is probably with you when we went to La Paz and did Rancho Cacachilas. It had these beautiful glamping tents. The food was phenomenal. Beautiful views out looking out to the water.
Just, you know, it was glamping. I mean, your bathroom is not in your tent. You have to walk in the middle of the night to go get to the bathroom with your flashlight or take a cold shower the next morning, but it is beautiful. I mean, I think glamping is a really great idea for a romantic vacation.
Meagan Wristen
Plus, it that ranch was really good hiking, I thought. And the food, I thought the chef on site was really good.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah, the food was good.
Meagan Wristen
And I feel like the food was included.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah, I think so. It was great. We did the star gazing one night. Remember that? That was fun. All of our romantic getaways are with each other, it seems like, but we do do some fun stuff together.
Meagan Wristen
Yeah, the astronomy lesson was too in-depth for me, I’m like.
Kirsten Maxwell
So we were talking about beforehand that my romantic getaways with my husband are usually to celebrate big events.
Anniversary Trips
Kirsten Maxwell
For our 10th anniversary, we did Montreal and Quebec City. And then for our 20th anniversary, we did Croatia. And then for 25th, we did and the Ama River cruise for the Christmas markets.
We don’t really celebrate much of Valentine’s Day during the year, but if it’s a big anniversary year, we’ll kind of go all out and do some fun things.
Meagan Wristen
And so on a big anniversary like that, is it because that’s just a place y’all wanted to go or you had heard it was going to be super romantic? Like what, what made you choose it?
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah. That’s a great question. I think definitely the romantic part kind of played into it, destinations where you didn’t, you would enjoy it more without your kids.
I mean, I think you would enjoy both of them with your kids, but I feel like Montreal, Quebec City kind of tends to skew couples. I don’t know why, but I mean, it just seemed like it. And we lived in Chicago at the time, so it was a close getaway when we were leaving little kids behind.
Croatia was more of a ah bucket list trip, same probably with the river cruise. And, you know, yes, my kids would have enjoyed it, but it was also nice to just have one-on-one time since we really don’t make a lot of time for each other that way to do romantic stuff.
Meagan Wristen
My daughter and I did a river cruise, and honestly, it was very romantic. I mean, we were like the only people there that was not a couple, but that’s fine.
Like the food, the wine, the sightseeing, the cozy kind of experience, kind of from morning to night, a very just kind of a romantic vibe on those river cruises.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah, they are. They’re great. Very intimate.
I was going to ask you, do you have any like romantic Galentine’s things that you’ve ever done like with your friends? I know you’re planning a girls trip coming up here soon. So maybe talk about that because I think that would be a great fit for a Galentine’s day or any, you know, kind of get away with your friends.
Fredericksburg
Meagan Wristen
So I will say it’s funny that you bring that up because I already had Fredericksburg on my list to talk about as a romantic destination for couples because it’s a wine region. There’s a ton of different wineries you can go to as well as a ton of great places to eat and boutique shopping. There’s one winery with, giraffes. There’s one with the rhinoceros. There’s, you know, it’s like you can see different animals and have like an interesting animal experience there as well, which is kind of unusual.
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh wow.
Meagan Wristen
You can take a cooking class at Das Peach Haus. So it’s perfect for women too. And I’ve been doing an annual trip a year with my friend Lindsay and we head down to Fredericksburg and it’s It’s grown so much that every year we do something like completely different, stated different.
There are tons of cute Airbnb’s that are all themed out. The last one we stayed in was super pink and there’s Brooks Bubbles Bar is all pinked out too.
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh, fun.
Meagan Wristen
So, I mean, it’s very much a destination for your girlfriends too. So yeah, I’m gonna, I decided to expand the trip and then instead of taking one friend, I’ll be taking 17 friends.
Kirsten Maxwell
I think it’ll be great.
Meagan Wristen
We’ll see how that goes.
Kirsten Maxwell
It looks like a great time. You had me thinking, have I done a girls trip recently? And I did last year, I went with my mom and my sister and we did a Charleston girls trip. And that is a great destination for a girls trip. The food is fabulous. We did a spa day. We did shopping. We went to tour one of the historic homes in the area. Cocktail bars. We did a ghost tour. I mean, literally something for everybody in Charleston.
And it’s fairly easy to get to from a lot of places around the country, epecially if you’re in the central part of the country to the East coast, but that’s definitely a destination. I mean, I know we’re not talking girls destinations, but if you’re doing a Galentine’s Day trip, that would be ah a great one to add in the mix.
Adult’s Only All-Inclusive Vacation
Meagan Wristen
When I think of places for couples, I think of an all inclusive vacation and adults only all inclusive vacation.
Like I know the Breathless chain is, very high end, but not terribly expensive. And that’s for adults only. I had the most amazing time with Lindsay and El Dorado Royale in Rivera Maya, and they have gourmet experience dining. The food is elevated at a level. So every meal is like a beautiful meal. And they had a cooking class and they had yoga down on the beach. Check current rates.
Meagan Wristen
And again, it was adults only. They had several resorts in the area. And so it kind of connected so you could take advantage of their sister resorts. There’s a newer one that they’ve added since we were there with cabanas over the water.
And this is in Mexico, so you don’t have to go to the Maldives or Jamaica.
Kirsten Maxwell
Right. This is Cancun.
Meagan Wristen
You could just go to Mexico.
Meagan Wristen
It’s ah it’s south of Cancun and Riviera Maya, so pretty close to Cancun, like 35 minutes south.
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh, okay. You said that. Yeah. Okay. and Okay. Perfect. Is it closer to the new Tulum Airport or Cancun Airport? Do you know?
Meagan Wristen
So until they change the rules, you’re probably still going to fly into Cancun Airport. And I do think it is closer to the Cancun Airport. But once the Tulum airport opens up and starts doing more direct flights. Right now, most of their flights go through Mexico City.
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh, I didn’t know that.
Meagan Wristen
Yeah, because they decided to build a new airport in Mexico City and nobody wants to use it.
Kirsten Maxwell
Okay, that’s how you get more traffic.
Meagan Wristen
Yeah, but literally, I mean, any day now, they should open up direct flights to Tulum.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah. Okay, good. Well, and I was gonna say, I i swear you told me this hotel and in Puerto Vallarta, which is adults only, which I think would be, would be great for couples.
Meagan Wristen
Kirsten Maxwell
So I’m gonna let you talk a little bit about that. Because I know you’ve always raved about this property. You hold it at such a high standard. So tell people why.
Meagan Wristen
I mean, I’m never going to get a boyfriend, but let’s say I had a boyfriend and they’re going to propose to me. Here’s what they should do. He should surprise me with the trip to Puerto Vallarta to stay at Hotel Moussa.
Meagan Wristen
I did recently find out that they opened one in Cancun and I have not tried that one, but I bet it’s the same experience.
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh! Okay.
Meagan Wristen
They should get the room on the corner. So I’ve got a great big balcony and all the hammocks are sized for two people so you can cuddle. It has a hot tub on the balcony. You know how I feel about a hot tub. That’s like one of my top hobbies is to hot tub and hammock.
Kirsten Maxwell
Meagan Wristen, hot tubber, professional.
Meagan Wristen
Yeah. They’ve got, just this amazing sushi restaurant on the base level and with really incredible cocktail creations.
And so there’s just, it’s really high end. It’s spendy, it’s not cheap, but it’s so fantastic.
It has an affinity pool on the roof. So you can sit there at sunset and they always have live music going. It might be like some smooth jazz trumpet playing while you have chips and guacamole.
And so as the sun sets it’s perfect and sometimes you can see whales.
I didn’t see any whales, but that would be cool. So, and then they have water sports. You can kayak out to the, that popular rock formation in Puerto Vallarta.
I can’t think of the name of it, but the paddle board around, I wouldn’t go that far on the paddle board, but because it was pretty far to kayak.
And they include daily activities. So they’ll take you on a very extensive hike through the, through the woods there. So yeah, it’s a, it was a great experience. I was alone, but it was still great. Check current rates.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah. So, so tell me, would you, yeah, I know, right? We do all these trips alone. the fun thing is that, you know, sometimes we do get to match up together. Let’s say you had three destinations you would pick that scream romantic getaway. What three are we talking about? What would you pick?
Willamette Valley, Oregon
Meagan Wristen
I would go to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Tons of wineries and independently owned eateries, so really good dining. Boutique-y type, really small hotels.
The last one I stayed at was called The Setting Inn. They have two locations and one happens to be in Willamette, Oregon and very cutesy.
I think an 18 year old and up property. It might be 21 and up. It’s adults only and all the rooms are just for two people. So you go to King bed and A beautiful patio, they bring you a breakfast tray to your room so you can have breakfast together.
There’s a tasting room on site, so you could do a wine tasting. They have a kind of a recreation room where you can play board games together, shuffle board, and more. Yeah, very, very beautiful out there. It’s just these sprawling vineyards. It’s a beautiful area.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah, yeah, I’ve never been.
Meagan Wristen
You’ve never been to Oregon?
Scottsdale, Arizona
Kirsten Maxwell
Never been to Oregon. We’ll take turns and then I’ll give you one of mine. So one of mine would be Scottsdale, Arizona. I may be a little biased since I’m from Tempe, but it has beautiful resorts with amazing pools, wine bars, restaurants, hiking, outdoor activities. You can take a hot air balloon ride in the morning. I mean, talk about ultimate romantic, you know, they do champagne breakfast, they do all kinds of different tours.
Then shopping, of course, because who doesn’t love shopping? Some great spas. Hyatt Gainey Ranch has a great spa. So does the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess. So both of those would be great just for a weekend getaway. I think it would be definitely worth checking out.
Meagan Wristen
Okay, back to Hotel Mousai. I didn’t even mention their spa. Y’all, this is my favorite hotel. like they They should make me an ambassador. I want to be there every month.
Kirsten Maxwell
That’s right.
Meagan Wristen
In fact, I’m going to send them this podcast.
Kirsten Maxwell
Maybe you will be after this, yep.
Meagan Wristen
They have just the nicest spot. Again, it’s like an infinity pool overlooking their hydrotherapy. It’s like an infinity pool type area where you’re overlooking the ocean. And oh my gosh, it’s all in gold.
Kirsten Maxwell
What’s not to love?
Meagan Wristen
Again, I was alone, but it felt very romantic.
Kirsten Maxwell
Okay, so is that gonna be your number two or you still have another number two destination or maybe that’s your number two.
Gruene, Texas
Meagan Wristen
I’m gonna kick it back to Texas again. I mean, I said Fredericksburg, that’s Hill Country. I mentioned the Retreat on the Hill in Marble Falls, that’s Hill Country. Y’all, I am from Texas and I love Texas.
So let’s go with Gruene, Texas pronounced like green.
Kirsten Maxwell
Yes, you need to spell it.
Meagan Wristen
It’s G-R-U-E-N-E and it is pronounced “Green”.
Kirsten Maxwell
Right. Because I did not know that.
Meagan Wristen
They have the oldest dance hall in Texas. So you can, you’re gonna you’re gonna bring your cowgirl boots and you’re man or whoever and go dancing at the oldest dance hall.
Meagan Wristen
You’re going to stay at Gruene Mansion, also spelled Gruene Mansion, but it’s pronounced Green Mansion. They had these units that are just adorable. They’re like super old school, very like Western, super cozy and romantic.
Depending on the room you stay in, you might have river views. The town is itty bitty. It’s a tiny historic section of New Braunfels.
So you can head there, park your car, and walk to literally everything. They’ve got some good restaurants. There’s a little winery right there. And then you can float on the river, which is super fun. There was a lot of different river companies that will run you back and forth. They’ll pick you up right there and drop you off. So it’s great. So yeah, I think that’s it think that’s a good one.
Porto, Portugal
Kirsten Maxwell
Perfect. Yeah. So, you know, so while you’re talking, I’m my racking my brain, like where would I recommend? And I came across Porto in Portugal and the Douro Valley. I think it’s kind of a two for one because Porto, you get the city, but Douro Valley, you get the vineyards and port and all the wine tastings and stuff.
You can hire a private driver to take you out and do a day trip to the Douro Valley, but I would highly recommend staying for a couple of days at the Six Senses Douro Valley.
Kirsten Maxwell
Its one of the most impressive properties I’ve probably ever seen. They do wine tasting on site. They do cooking classes. I mean, it’s just such a romantic setting. It overlooks the river and it’s top of the line. I would definitely say that’s great.
There are some really cute boutique properties in Porto that you could also stay at. Don’t remember the name of it, which shame on me, but there’s, I will put it in the show notes.
There’s a property that I would recommend there that’s very intimate and they had amazing food (IT’S VILA FOZ). And then, you know, you have tons to do in the city, just outdoors exploring, city has history and you can’t go wrong with Portuguese food. And usually the weather is pretty good. So that would be my second choice.
Meagan Wristen
I’ve never had Portuguese food. What is that like
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh, seafood, lots of seafood, like fish and, little bit of fried fish but like they’re really heavy on grains too, almost like Italian. So arborio rice and risotto that kind of thing. They also do meat of course, it’s just really good.
Belize
Meagan Wristen
Sounds good. Okay. So then my number three destination, I’m gonna go with Belize. Belize is amazing.
I remember I saw it, there used to be this show on TV called like Temptation Island or something. I’m dating myself decades ago. I actually think maybe they brought it back, I’m not sure. They had the most romantic experiences I saw on TV and I was like, wow, I wanna do that.
Meagan Wristen
So a couple of years ago, I finally went to Belize with Lindsay. And we had a very romantic time.
Meagan Wristen
Lindsay, so for those of you listening, Lindsay’s my lifelong best friend since I was 11 years old. She is my fill-in spouse for the last decade, decade and a half.
But yeah, we went down there. The snorkeling is incredible. That reef, the reef that runs from like Honduras, past Belize and then up into Mexico is is the second best reef in the world. To be honest, it, in my opinion, is better than the Great Barrier Reef because so much of the Great Barrier Reef is dead.
The best snorkeling I’ve ever done has both times has been on that reef once in Honduras and then in Belize and it’s just, it’s, it’ll blow your mind. You don’t even need, you don’t need to be a diver to, to be able to really get a phenomenal experience.
Then the sunset, you’re at the beach, you can do jungle hikes to waterfalls or tube through caves, but then the lodging, they have these really, I mean, it’s very much set up as a romantic destination and that especially shows in a lot of the lodging. It’s very private, very intimate.
Puerto Rico
Kirsten Maxwell
Yeah. Sounds perfect. That’s high on my bucket list is Belize. But I’m going to go kind of that same direction with my third recommendation, which would be Puerto Rico.
San Juan, old San Juan is just super charming. All the Spanish colonial influence. The food there, again, fantastic food. I’m a little bit biased since I’m Puerto Rican, but that’s always gonna be top of my list for a great place to be.
They have food tours. I have highly recommended tour with Spoon. They do a phenomenal job of balancing history with local cuisine and local places that you should know about.
Kirsten Maxwell
And then stay at probably Ritz Dorado. and They have residences there, which you wouldn’t need if you’re on a couple’s getaway, but if you’re with a family, that might be something to look for.
Go kayaking in the Bioluminescent Bay, hiking in El Yunque Rainforest. I mean, there’s just a lot of things there that can entertain you, whether you want to be relaxing on the beach or you want to be, you know, getting your thrills riding down the zipline. So that would be my third choice for a destination.
Meagan Wristen
Excellent choice.
Kirsten Maxwell
Well, thank you. Thank you.
Meagan Wristen
It makes me think of Panama.
Meagan Wristen
I’m like, ooh, I should add Panama to the list.
Kirsten Maxwell
We’re just going to add all of them. Well, so, I mean, I think we probably came up with more destinations than we even thought we’re going to when we started, but hopefully we’ve said something that inspires you and somewhere you want to go on your romantic getaway.
You know, now Meg and I are both planning to swap out and be like, okay, where are we going on our next romantic getaway together? So we’ll have to think about that and get back to you.
Meagan Wristen
Where should we go? Hawaii.
Kirsten Maxwell
Oh yeah, Hawaii’s a good one. Always romantic. You’re right.
Meagan Wristen
No, that’s all I’ve got.
Kirsten Maxwell
Okay, so.
Meagan Wristen
Will you be my Valentine?
Kirsten Maxwell
Yes, would you be mine.
Meagan Wristen
Yes.
Kirsten Maxwell
Thanks everybody for joining us. Have a great one.