First dates are an exciting time when you get a chance to experience what could be the start of something special. If you want things to go well, you’re probably wondering what the best first date ideas are that are fun, inviting, and give you the best atmosphere for connection to thrive. Today, we’ll share our top picks for good first date ideas that check all of these boxes.
A Free List of 500+ Preplanned First Date Ideas
We’ll be highlighting a few of our favorite first dates today. However, if you want to see the motherload of amazing first date ideas that are already fully planned out for you (where you literally don’t have to do anything!), you’re going to want to download the free LoveTrack app.
The app has over 500+ unique date ideas that are planned out for you from start to finish! Additionally, through a really neat partnership with Ticketmaster, you’re also able to see the perfect date night events going on in your area. You’ll never miss a thing.
And yes, it’s free! Here’s the link to check it out now.
Something About First Date Ideas That Needs to Be Said
Before we list off the good first date ideas we want to highlight, there’s something important that needs to be said. First dates don’t have to be complicated. The goal of a first date isn’t to impress the other person.
The entire goal of a first date is to see if there is enough chemistry and connection to warrant a second date.
Take this mindset to heart, and you’ll never have an unsuccessful first date. If there’s chemistry and you decide to go on a second date, great! If there’s not chemistry and you decide not to go on a second date, great! You successfully achieved your goal of the date figuring out it wasn’t a good fit. Too often, people get wrapped up in trying to impress the other person and ‘put on a show’ for them.
Good First Date Ideas They’re Going to Love
Now that we’re off our soapbox, let’s get into our list of the best first date ideas.
1. Head to the local farmer’s market
First dates don’t just have to take place at night! Having a daytime date can be fun, unique, and offer feelings of safety that are important for a first date to flourish. One of our favorite options is heading to your local farmer’s market.
While there, you have a lot of options of what you can do.
- Keep it simple and just walk around.
- Pick out foods and have some snacks or even a light lunch if things are going well.
- Grab a lemonade, smoothie, or coffee (depending on what they have) and walk and talk.
2. Go on a dessert date (instead of out for dinner).
If you still feel like going to a restaurant on your first date but you don’t want to be locked into a long dinner (in case it doesn’t go great), you still can! Plan a dessert date at a restaurant where you just come by for dessert. The best suggestion here is to find a restaurant that has a popular or neat dessert option so it makes it feel special.
We’d recommend sitting in the bar area (where they have tables, not the actual bar), so you don’t take up a table from a server. This also gives you more time to talk without feeling pressured to leave.
3. Head to a local arcade or pinball hall in your area.
Lately, we’ve seen a reemergence in the popularity of local arcades with classic games and pinball halls. These are amazing spots for a first date as you have some fun things to do together, but it’s not too immersive that you won’t have time to talk and get to know each other.
4. Check out a local festival or town event.
Special events or festivals are great spots for a first date. Not only are they great places to connect, but they’re usually a ton of fun for both of you, even if the connection isn’t the best. You can try searching for events coming up in your area, or if you get the free LoveTrack app, we show you everything that’s good for a first date or date night happening in your area.
5. Meet up at a dog park (even if you both don’t have dogs).
If you both have dogs, this is a slam dunk first date. If only you have a dog, you can invite your date to come along with you to the dog park. If neither of you has a dog, you can still head to a park with a dog area and plan to watch the pups play. It’s a great way to connect, enjoy some good weather, and who doesn’t love hanging out with dogs!
6. Keep it simple with coffee.
As we mentioned, the goal of your first date should be to see if there is a connection. Often, this is best achieved by keeping things simple so you can really start to get to know each other. One option? Coffee. It’s a classic option, but it’s fantastic, especially when you don’t know much about each other.
It’s extremely safe (in a public place) and it can be as short or as long of a date as you’d like.
One pro tip here, find a unique local coffee shop if possible.
7. Check out a museum for an educational first date idea.
If you have any concerns about keeping the conversation going on your first date, a museum is a great option to consider. You’ll have endless things to talk about, you can go at your own pace, and doing something that involves learning is always a good look.
If you want to save a few bucks, look for museums offering discounts or special event days. There are also several programs that offer free admission like Bank of America’s ‘Museums on Us’ program.
8. Go to a board game lounge (or “make” your own).
Board game lounges are a ton of fun and make for awesome first date spots. If your town doesn’t have one, though, you can always bring your own game and pick a lounge, restaurant, or coffee shop to play at! Just make sure you pick out a game that’s good for two people and doesn’t take 20 years to play (we’re looking at you Monopoly).
9. Enjoy a scenic bike ride together.
If your town has a neat area where you can safely ride bikes, this is a lot of fun. Now, keep in mind that logistically, you’ll both have to have bikes to make this happen. Or! A lot of towns have places where you can rent bikes for a couple of hours and ride around. We highly recommend looking for one of these spots so you don’t have to worry about the logistics of transporting bikes.
10. Toss a frisbee at the park.
Continuing on the vein of keeping a first date simple, one of our favorite ideas is tossing a frisbee (or a ball) around at the park. It gets you both out doing something active, keeps you close enough that you can talk, and let’s you have plenty of time to connect.
Pro tip, this is not about proving how great of a frisbee player you are or your athletic prowess. Keep it casual and focus on getting to know each other.
11. Speaking of parks, you could always fly a kite!
If frisbees aren’t your jam or you want to throw it back to your childhood, you can fly a kite together. This first date idea does require a little wind, but other than that—it’s a breeze (all puns intended).
12. Bowling with a twist can be a great first date idea.
A question we hear a lot is whether or not bowling is a great first date idea. The answer (with some caveats) is yes, it is. Now, the twist we mentioned? Bring along a small novelty trophy. When you get to the date, tell them that this is going to be a championship match and the winner gets the coveted trophy!
It’s a fun and quirky way to elevate this date from a good first date idea to a great one.
13. Do the same with mini golf.
Bowling isn’t the only great date idea you can do this with. You can also do it with mini golf! Remember (for both), it’s not actually about the competition. It’s about a funny little twist that shows your fun side.
You can read more about mini golf as a first date here.
14. Look for night markets or “First Friday” type events.
Most towns, especially when the weather is good, have night markets or what they call First Friday or Second Thursday (or something like that) events. These are usually a blast to walk around and have live music, food trucks, and neat vendors. Oh, and most of these events are usually free, making them great for a first date.
15. Go to a local garden, especially if there is a special event.
An often overlooked amenity of many towns are the local gardens. These are usually non profits or run by the city and are large gardens of flowers, plants, trees, sculptures, etc. that you can walk around and enjoy together.
Just search for local gardens in your area and you’ll find a ton. There’s a reason this type of date makes our city-specific lists all the time (like Leu Gardens as a date night in Orlando as an example).
16. Grab ice cream together for your first date.
We mentioned a dessert date earlier in the list, but that referred more to going to a sit-down restaurant to order dessert. With this first date idea, you’re going to an ice cream shop and grabbing a tasty treat. What’s nice about this option is that it’s fun, delicious, nostalgic, and can be as long or short of a date as you want.
17. Find a local food truck or food truck gathering.
If you’re still wanting to eat on your first date but you don’t want it to be a traditional (boring) dinner, look for food trucks! Use social media to scout these out in your area. Often, you’ll find a truck by itself, a group or trucks, or even a full-on food truck gathering!
18. Walk through your local aquarium.
There are plenty of fish in the…okay, we’ll stop with the cheesy pun. The point we do want to make, though, is that aquariums are fantastic local spots for first dates. You can go as normal visitors or many aquariums have unique after-hours events that you can check out together.
19. The zoo is awesome for first dates too!
Speaking of animals, the same goes for the zoo! This also falls into the category of daytime dates, which we really think is a good characteristic of a great first date idea. Plus, most people love animals, which makes checking out these unique creatures together the start of some fun memories.
20. Live music is a great first date idea (depending on the set up).
So, it’s important to point out the difference between a concert and live music here. Technically, yes, concerts are live music. However, we’re referring more to how they’re referenced in marketing ads. Concerts are full on band performances where it’s all about the music. Generally, they’re really loud, and we don’t think that makes for a good first date idea.
Live music, on the other hand, usually refers to a background band or acoustic performer that comes secondary to whatever else is going on. This is something we think makes for a great first date. It’s enough stimulation that it’s exciting, but it’s usually quieter on the volume level so that you have an environment to talk and connect.
21. Go on a picnic (if you already have some chemistry).
This first date idea can work with someone you just met, but it’s one we like a bit more for people who have some chemistry (already know each other). The date idea? Simple. Set up a picnic, enjoy some food and snacks together, and get to know each other.
Why do we like this more for people with some chemistry? It’s because the outside stimulation of this date is very minimal. What we mean is that it will be up to you and your date to carry the conversation and keep things entertaining. Some of the other first date ideas on here have a ‘bit more going on’ so if the conversation lulls, the activity usually fills in the gaps (not that silence is bad).
22. Be tourists for the evening.
If you live in a town that people visit as tourists, it can be fun to pretend you’re a tourist for the date. Find the most touristy thing in the city and go do it together.
Pro tip, make sure you explain to your date that this is what you’re doing. If you don’t, they might just think you don’t know much about your own city if you’re only picking a big tourist spot.
23. Literally just go for a walk together!
Lastly, to close out our list of the best first date ideas, we wanted to share something simple, free, and great for connection. We’re talking about going for a walk together. This is an incredible way to talk, get to know each other, and see if that chemistry is there.
Ideally, pick somewhere nice like a park or a fun people-watching shopping area. You can always mix this with coffee or a smoothie or something like that if you want, or you can just keep it as a walk. This date also exudes confidence that you don’t need any help keeping the conversation going (if that’s important to you).
Key Things to Remember with a First Date
The last thing we want to talk about are some tips to help you get the most out of these first date ideas.
The goal isn’t to impress, it’s to assess.
We already said this, but we’re saying it again. The goal of your first date is to assess chemistry. If you determine that there is or that there isn’t chemistry, the date was a success. Don’t get caught up in trying to impress them. In reality, if you do a lot to impress them and they have fun, you won’t know if they had fun because of you or just because of the date activity (which means you didn’t accomplish your goal).
Simplicity is okay.
Don’t feel obligated to do anything super creative or over the top. One, for the reason we just mentioned about how it can make it hard to assess chemistry. Two, you may end up going on several first dates and over-the-top can get expensive and take a lot of time to plan each date.
Let LoveTrack Help
If you want to master the first date (and all other subsequent dates), you want to get the free LoveTrack app. Not only does it have hundreds of free preplanned date night ideas, but it has a ton of other great features designed to help your potential budding relationship succeed.
Safety is important for safety sake and for connection.
It goes without saying (but we’re saying it anyways) that you want to be safe on your first date. But, what a lot of people don’t realize is that safety isn’t just about being safe. It’s about making your date feel comfortable. When they feel safe, they’re more likely to open up, making connection much more likely If they feel unsafe (even if not because of you), that becomes a whole lot harder.
Why Dinner Isn’t a Great First Date
The last thing we want to talk about is why you won’t see any dinner date options on our list of the best first dates. Here are a few of those reasons:
- If it’s immediately clear there is no connection, it can be awkward sitting through a whole meal.
- If you are going on several first dates, it can get expensive.
- While the purpose of a first date isn’t to impress, dinner still feels like a low-effort choice.