Places to go on a date for teens

There’s something that I — as a partnered person, probably annoyingly — like to recommend to friends looking for first date ideas. And that is this: Choose an activity you’ve been wanting to do anyway.

Maybe you don’t need these kinds of first date tips. Maybe you’re in fact someone who loves going on first dates and requires no incentive other than the prospect of maintaining “I’d definitely rather be here than home!” eyes at a stranger in a mediocre restaurant of their choosing. If so, more power to you!

For the rest of us, a bonus perk or two can sweeten the deal if we’re going to put on real pants for a person of unknown dud-or-not status. First dates can get draining, after all, if all you ever do is a rinse and repeat of the same dinner and a movie formula. Even worse, enough hours spent chatting up strangers across from interchangeable restaurant tables, and your dating life can start to feel like a series of job interviews.

Enter: Good first date ideas for people who want to get more out of their Thursday or Saturday night — and, in the process, potentially form a more exciting connection with someone, too. From adventurous daytime dates to less-expected nighttime rendezvous options, you’re sure to find something that floats your (perhaps literal) boat below, regardless of what ultimately happens with Alex from Tinder.

But hey, if they play their (again possibly literal) cards right — several of these would make great second date contenders, too!

In this article you’ll find:

Fun first date ideas

Cute first date ideas

Unique first date ideas

Fun first date ideas

1. Go to an arcade.

It’s fun, it’s casual, and it’s a perfect opportunity to see how this person holds up to you absolutely creaming them in pinball.

2. Visit an aquarium.

When’s the last time you actually went to one? That’s kind of what we thought. A first date could be your perfect excuse!

3. Outsmart them at trivia night.

Trivia can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it takes some of the pressure off a first date since there’s pretty much guaranteed to be banter material supplied. On the other hand, if you’re not feeling your date and want to call it quits early — that’s a little harder to do mid-trivia round. Choose wisely.

4. Take a hike.

If your dating app filters are open to cis-het men, they’ve probably got a photo of themselves hiking anyway. (I don’t make the rules.) See if their money is where their mouth is!

5. Challenge them to a karaoke-off.

Not everything’s a competition (despite my use of “cream them,” “outsmart them” and “challenge them” this early into the list). But taking bets on who gets the better crowd response to their karaoke song can add a fun layer to the night.

6. Break out your ice skates.

Or, you know, go to a rink that rents them.

7. Listen to live music.

Make plans for a second date based on nothing other than the fact you couldn’t actually hear each other for your entire first date.

8. Take them dancing.

You get to choose what that means. Salsa? Swing? The Shrek-themed dance party inexplicably happening this weekend in my neighborhood? Anything could happen!

9. Head to the zoo.

Maybe it’ll revive your childhood enthusiasm for zoo outings. Maybe you’ll notice for the first time as an adult just how small the habitats and cages are.

10. Go to the ballgame.

I suppose I mean baseball here, but any sporting event that involves balls and/or nets works!

11. Go to a hockey game.

Having just thought of a sport that involves not a ball but a puck, this is going on the fun first dates list, too.

12. Go on a big bike ride.

Throw some picnic supplies into a backpack and off you go!

13. Try out a new cafe.

A cozy new cafe can provide the perfect atmosphere for some get-to-know-you banter..

14. Head to the dog park.

Don’t have a dog? Don’t need one! I’m pretty sure Abbi and Ilana did this in Broad City and it went well for them.

15. Go to a drag show.

This should really be topping any list of fun first dates. Go support your local queer scene (and the queens who perform in it). Whoever's song pick gets performed first buys dinner later.

16. Play “Would You Rather?”

Yes, yes. We know this is something you’d likely play for a few minutes rather than the span of a whole date. But why not take the conversational pressure off for a spell by breaking out a throwback game of Would You Rather, Truth or Dare, 21 Questions or Never Have I Ever?

17. Strike a flirty mood while bowling.

But maybe spare your date from your extremely bad bowling puns.

18. Ride a rollercoaster.

A ferris wheel is an acceptable alternative. During your ride, one of you can exit the ferris wheel car, dangle in front of the other and demand a second date, since we can all recognize that as romantic and fully hinged behavior.

19. Rent jet skis.

While maybe not the most practical of suggestions for all reading this list — my roommate-slash-best-friend and I have been trying to rent jet skis for at least a year, and we live by the ocean — imagine being the person to suggest this for a first date and pull it off! Magic.

20. Meet at a bookstore.

Go full Rory Gilmore on them.

21. Check out a thrift store.

Make a game of finding each other the best (or wackiest) outfit for under $25.

22. Play putt putt.

Evoke the date Shauna and Adam go on in Yellowjackets and hope for a happier ending!

23. Try a cuisine neither of you has had before.

While it’s not not your typical dinner date, this still adds at least a little adventure to your evening (and your palette) while allowing for ample get-to-know-you time, too.

Cute first date ideas

1. Go antiquing.

Even if your date’s a dud, you’re still going to come out of this one with something new for your walls! Make a game of finding each other the kitchiest under-$20 item you can.

2. Pick out library books for each other.

This one has definitely got to be a multi-stop date, since you can’t really, you know, converse at length in a library above a certain decibel.

3. Go on a picnic.

A picnic is gold-star date material for a reason — even more so because you don’t have to put a ton of thought or effort into it for it to feel elevated from your standard movie date. Plus, if you’re one of the many who invested in better picnicking supplies during the pandemic, you’re kind of just pointblank required to suggest this.

4. Visit a botanical garden.

Ah. A classic among cute first date ideas.

5. Go for a long walk.

Another low-effort suggestion that can score you “I don’t need a capital-P Plan to have fun” points. Plus, you’ll get your steps in.

6. Plan a night at the carnival.

Even if you don’t live near a permanent carnival or amusement park, traveling parking-lot carnivals are pretty ubiquitous. Get cotton candy. Win a stuffed bear. Live your best is-it-a-first-date-or-corny-music-video life!

7. Go stargazing.

Download a constellation-spotting app and you’re set.

8. Check out a nearby flea market or tag sales.

Antiquing certainly doesn’t always veer upscale, but can. This one’s for the real rummagers out there.

9. Go for pie.

Or cheesecake. Or tiramisu. Or cookies. Pick a dessert category and, if things are going well, head to a few different spots for a progressive dessert tour.

10. Go for ice cream, with a view of the water.

While getting ice cream could totally be its own standalone thing, kick it up a notch with a water view — any water view!

11. Head to the drive-in.

We do realize: this one’s maybe a little more intimate than your usual first-date material. You wanted cute places to go on a first date, though! (In sum: maybe save this one for first dates with people you’ve already spent in-person, off-app time with.)

12. Meet at a record store.

Go full Before Sunrise with it and sneak a kiss (if you both want to!) in the listening booth.

13. Volunteer to walk shelter dogs.

A lot of shelters rely on volunteers to ensure their canine residents get enough exercise and fresh air, and that combo of sweet and genuinely helpful makes this outdoor activity an ideal first date.

14. Do breakfast for dinner.

There’s something pretty timeless about a diner date. Plus, the chance to get pancakes? You’ve already won.

15. Stage your own chocolate tasting.

At a park or on a roof, DIY it for a low-key date that still shows you put some thought into the occasion.

16. Seek out the best sunset spot.

Probably this involves finding one of the higher vantage points near where you live. Scout out some spots in advance and you’ll have a few different first date contenders!

17. Build a fire.

Let the ambience and the s’mores you’re undoubtedly making do the most of the work for you.

18. Check out your local farmer’s market.

It’s cute, and it’s basically running errands. Perfect!

19. Go sledding.

Obviously there’s some seasonal specificity to this one, unless you’re Nathan Fielder on The Rehearsal, in which case winter could be whenever.

20. Go somewhere with a jukebox.

And if that’s simply your nearest Waffle House, good! A jukebox and pancakes means you’ve jumped up a level.

21. Make a meal together.

This one, too, might be a little too chummy for some people’s first-date threshold. Which is A.O.K.! But if you’re at least somewhat acquainted with the person and both like to cook, why not bypass the whole interviewing-each-other-at-an-overpriced-restaurant vibe entirely.

Unique first date ideas

1. Go to a wrestling match.

The theater of it all! Even if the thought of purposefully watching wrestling makes you scoff, there’s always a chance the high-octane crowds will agree with you more than you’d think. (Definitely not speaking from experience here.)

2. Get your palms read.

Make your date wait outside so they can’t hear whatever this person is about to tell you about your love line.

3. Have a board game tournament.

Line up your favorite games and challenge your date to a match.

4. Go bird watching.

I include this only in the highly probable event that the next person to ask out my best friend Adam reads this. If that’s you, take Adam bird watching. Thank you.

5. Play shuffleboard or skeeball.

See also: pool, darts, foosball, bocce or whatever your nearest games spot is hawking.

6. Go to whatever the most random, wackiest-themed museum in your area is.

Every city’s got one.

7. Rig up your own outdoor movie.

Have a yard, a white sheet, and roughly $75 for an outdoor projector you’ll definitely use outside the context of this one date? You’ve got a whole evening planned. \

8. Get a tarot card reading.

Slip The Lovers card to the top of the deck like the card shark you secretly are.

9. Find a walking tour.

If you live in a mid-sized or slightly larger city, there’s bound to be one — whether it’s a street art tour, a ghost tour, or a local history tour.

10. Head to a rock-climbing wall.

Or, if you’re feeling especially adventurous, try bungee jumping.

11. Visit a cat cafe.

Revel in the perfection of your choice.

12. Go to a live podcast recording.

While these are a bit likelier to happen in bigger cities, a lot of podcast hosts today go on the road to do live recordings from new locations. Keep an eye on where your favorite podcasters are headed!

13. Play poker.

Do your best impression of Halle in The Parent Trap (circa 1998) and call whatever’s in your hand a royal flush (in their honor, of course).

14. Find a pool.

Whether it’s a neighborhood or community pool or one of the hotel variety — a lot of hotels will sell day passes for pool access only! — beat the heat together with this honestly ideal first date.

15. Plan your own food tour.

Is this effectively the same thing as doing a progressive dinner? Yes. Yes, it is.

16. Take a class.

Any kind of class! Intro to ceramics. A cooking class. Acrobatics. You name it.

17. Go ziplining.

Live near a lot of trees? There’s probably a ziplining course nearby. That’s just how this works.

18. Go on a scooter or Vespa ride.

By this we most likely mean: rent one. A lot of cities are getting ride-share e-scooter options.

19. Do the No. 1 most touristy activity in your area.

In my hometown, this would mean visiting a giant, golden disco ball that was featured in exactly one episode of The Simpsons. What’s your town’s equivalent?

20. Pick out flash tattoos for each other.

Bold. We know. Unique first date ideas were promised, after all! And it could make for a good story?

21. Watch the worst scary movie you can think of.

And there are some bad ones out there. Make a hate-watch night of it.

22. Play paintball.

Go for a round of paintball 10 Things I Hate About You-style. Read passive-aggressive poetry to each other after.

23. Take them line dancing.

Do I only think of this as something people have access to because I’m from the south?

24. Get on a boat, someway, somehow.

Maybe that’s a canoe. Maybe it’s a kayak, a ferry ride, or a sailboat. Figure it out. Make it happen.

25. Hex the Supreme Court together.

Now that’s grounds for romance.

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