We know, we know, everyone hates Valentines Day. But when it comes down to it, if you have a significant other, you really don't get the option of skipping it completely. The good news for V-Day slackers is that while it still promises to be one of the busiest restaurant nights of the year, the battered economy means a lot more romancers will be offering to cook at home, and it's markedly easier to get a table out than in past years.

For example, just browsing through OpenTable New York this morning, we see you can't get seats at any of the super-obvious V-Day restaurants like Greenwich Village proposal hotspot One if By Land, Two if By Sea or under-the-bridge Brooklyn beauty River Café, but if you just search for what restaurants still have space Saturday night, you'll see there is plenty of room at the next tier down; say, trendy Village wine bar Cru or Midtown foodie fav BLT Market. Not exactly wow-inducing settings, but trust us, you could not get reservations at restaurants this nice two days before V-Day last year, and the same holds true searching most cities.

Of course, the whole reason all these seats are available is because no one has any damn money. But don't worry—cheap Valentine's dates are in this year. Restaurants that would have never aimed for the romantic crowd in years past are betting they can reel in cheapskates in this economy. Example A: The Waffle House, which will be serving candle-lit steak dinners at 32 of its restaurants. And no, reservations are not needed. Did you want that scattered or smothered, sweetie?

· How Do I Hate Thee? Let Me Count the Ways [Jaunted]
· Valentine's Day Hotels [HotelChatter]

Photo: [Stringbot] ]]> BS 2009-02-12T14:36:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/1/21/5182/69364

If your boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other hasn't taken you to Prague yet, we recommend dropping seriously heavy hints. This weekend's UK Times reported that it's a bargain time to go, which will appeal to those looking for a cheap date, and also romantic because for once, the streets aren't too jam-packed.

Prague in winter is cold but undeniably pretty with a layer of snow, and what better weather is there for snuggling up with your sweetheart? It helps that most of the best hotels are offering rooms for nearly half price right now after tourism's dropped off (there goes that bad global economy again).

Apart from wandering the snow-dusted cobblestone streets hand in hand, you can also explore Prague Castle, gaze lovingly at art in the Veletrzni Palac, or take a walk through the woods of Petrin. If all that fails, there's always Czech beer to put you in the mood.

Related Stories:
· Instant Weekend: Prague [UK Times]
· Czech Culture: Czech Beer [Jaunted]
· Prague Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: alan.devlin] ]]> amandak 2009-01-22T13:40:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/11/3/21478/7960

So you've been eating local, biking to work and using those light bulbs Al Gore said we had to. Being eco-conscious is feeling pretty good, right?

Wrong. Apparently, we all have one more thing to feel eco-guilty about. Well, at least those of us in long-distance relationships.

Slate reports that locawhores are now the new locavores, and you had better quit those every-other-weekend cross-country flights to visit your sweetheart:

The same type of environmental logic has already been applied to our eating habits. The Local Food movement encourages us to cut CO2 emissions by calculating food miles—the distance a meal travels from production to the dinner table—and eating only what's produced within a 100-mile radius. Isn't it time for a Date Local movement, too? Let's start thinking about "sex miles": Just how far was this person shipped to hook up with you? And how many times more efficient would it be to date someone within a 100-mile radius?

Cleary, Jaunted can't get behind this kind of anti-travel, anti-long-distance-hookup stance--particularly now that a new website is here to help get us some action--but we just wanted to make sure everyone knows there's one more thing we're supposed to not be doing.

Related Stories:
· The Environmental Case Against Long Distance Relationships [Slate]
· Romantic Travel coverage

[Photo: Kossy@FINEDAYS]]]> BS 2008-11-04T11:05:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/26/125232/275

This week, our Cambodia embed, Tim Patterson, is giving us the inside scoop on the country, live from a guesthouse in Sihanoukville.

If my girlfriend was in Cambodia, I would go to Kep tomorrow, rent a bungalow and spend a week eating seafood and making sweet, sweet love.

There's something about this classy little seaside resort town that's hopelessly romantic. Kep is one of my favorite spots in Cambodia even when I'm traveling solo, but with a partner... Ay! It's like a steamy bath of crab meat and rose petals.]]> Yamabushi 2008-08-26T16:00:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/2/12/17639/8573

How did we not already hear about this?! Apparently a couple that met on a Virgin America flight on New Year's Eve is now vlogging their relationship. (That or the pair is virally marketing the airline!)

The initial video introduces them, and then things start getting weird. A still-frame clip set to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is from what looks to be a creepy road trip to Santa Cruz. The pair goes camping in Joshua Tree National Park. And things start getting really strange when Alexandria drives Harlan to an airport on "Day 26." What's next? WHO KNOWS??

UPDATE: We just got off the phone with Sir Richard Branson himself as he's about to step on for an interview with Jimmy Kimmel. The big man assures us that these videos are real and not produced by VA.

Related Stories:
· We Met on Virgin [Official Site]
· In-Flight Dating on SkyEurope [Jaunted]
· Airline Dating Tested by Lisa Loeb [Jaunted]
· Global Warming Travel: No Joshua Trees National Park [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-02-12T17:10:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2007/11/4/221011/128

Those cozy quarters... the scarcity of armrests... the potential to get (six inches closer to) horizontal... What isn't romantic about airlines? The new Central European carrier SkyEurope must be banking on that as it builds up its SkyDate program on flights within Europe.

On the first SkyDate in June, passengers traveling between Brussels and Vienna were given the opportunity to meet 10 singles over the course of the flight. But those traveling on the upcoming London-Prague SkyDate (November 28 and 29) will have the opportunity not only to speed-date on board, but also to stay overnight in Prague and take a city tour. So in case you don't make that instant connection during the flight, maybe solid ground will be kinder.

As aisle-seat fans, we've been burned a couple of times by middle-seat passengers who needed to get up every 10 minutes during transcontinental flights, but apparently that isn't a drawback to Europe's lonely hearts. The overnight stay is a genius idea, though. If nothing else, it's a chance to play High School Tour Group again, sans chaperones.

Related Stories:
· SkyEurope Has Routes, Deals and Denim [Jaunted]
· SkyDate [SkyEurope.com]
· Airlines coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: pterjan]]]> egw 2007-11-05T13:30:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/