27 Creative Long-Distance Relationship Ideas

Published August 25, 2020
Video call with the girlfriend

Dating ideas for a long-distance relationship don't need to be challenging. Creative ideas for a virtual date night can introduce couples to new experiences, cultures, and knowledge together.

Long-Distance Relationship Date Ideas

Date ideas for long-distance relationships can be highly creative to provide each of you with challenges and lots of fun. You can change things up to maintain the excitement and enjoyment of each other's company when separated by distance.

1. FaceTime During the Day

Feel closer to your beloved by having several cellphone calls during the day using FaceTime or other video chat app such as WhatsApp, Google Duo, or Facebook Messenger, so you can see each other. This type of connection can keep things real between you by sharing your day-to-day activities. Share your morning coffee or a meal, take a shopping trip or a walk through a park, introduce your partner to your friends and colleagues, or simply share a beautiful sunset, even if there is a time difference.

2. Stay in Touch

Not being able to touch each other is one of the biggest challenges for anyone in a long-distance relationship. Bond Touch bracelets to the rescue. This Amazon's Choice pair of connected bracelets makes it possible to touch each other. Simply tap your bracelet and your partner will feel it. The bracelet will light up and vibrate whenever your partner sends you a touch. You get to choose the color.

3. Selfies of the Day

This is an idea that takes many forms, but it's a lot of fun for couples in long-distance relationships. Come up with a code word both of you can use to alert the other one to stop what they are doing at that very moment and take a selfie that also shows in the background what you're doing. Place the week's selfies in an album that you can review together virtually at the end of the week over a glass of wine or beer. This provides you another way to share your lives. The end of the week review allows you to share more information about each photo and your activity.

Woman taking a selfie

4. Surprise Day

Plan a surprise day and shop for gifts for each other. You can spice up this game by setting a theme for the gift and/or a price limit. Select a gift that reveals how well you know your partner, so a gift certificate isn't allowed. You want to make this extra special, so choose the gift option when ordering online if gift wrapping is provided. Send the gift to your beloved and arrange a date and time to video chat for the big reveal. This way, you can share in the build-up of excitement and the surprise when each of you opens your gift.

5. Where Am I?

You and your partner may enjoy playing Where Am I. This is a spontaneous activity you can enjoy in whatever version you prefer. Call your lover and let them hear the sounds around you and then guess where you are. Another version is to take a photo or a series of photos that give clues and then have your partner guess where you are.

Best Date Ideas for Long-Distance Relationship

You can plan a killer date for long-distance relationship. Just because you aren't together physically doesn't mean you can't be together virtually.

6. Learn Together

Take an online class together to learn a language, a computer skill, or improve your cooking skills. Choose a class both of you will enjoy and then have loads of fun with it.

7. Movie Night

Watch a live streaming movie video together. Just choose one of the many apps that allows you to watch a movie in real time and pause or rewind. Netflix Party is a popular choice that allows you to interact during the movie through text chat interface.

8. Enhanced Web Cam Date

Use a web enhancement app to make your virtual date a little more exciting. For example, on Zoom you can use various screens. ManyCam gives you several live cam features you might enjoy using once the bloom of virtual dating fades. Manycam.com gives you several fun options such as virtual static or dynamic backgrounds, animations, various CGI effects like snow or fire, the ability to stream live on Facebook or YouTube, and picture-in-picture feature. Share playlists or add hats, eyebrows, masks, and other items to your face. You can also draw over the video picture and add borders, flags, funny items, or holiday objects.

9. Fun Art Project

Take an online art class together. Yaymaker offers Virtual Paint Nite. Order the paint kit and then jump online for the class.

taking an online art class

10. Play CATAN Universe

If you're familiar with the highly popular game CATAN, you and your partner will enjoy playing it together online. Work together in the settlement race on the island to create cities and build roads and various industries. Use the Custom Match feature to play together with the remaining players manned by the AI system.

Fun Virtual Tours and Performances of All Kinds

Going on a virtual tour or attending an online concert or performance is fun, but it's more entertaining when you do it together. Choose from all kinds of virtual tours, concerts, performances, museums, and others.

11. Go on a Virtual Museum Tour Together

There are a couple of ways you can enjoy a virtual tour with your lover. Google Earth Tour Builder allows you to record a tour and then share. Use your favorite video conference and screen sharing app to go on a virtual tour at a museum. You can take advantage of several museum tours listed on Travel.Earth.

12. Mars Virtual Tour

What could be more exciting than an off world, out of this world tour? Go on a virtual tour of Mars and get a look at your future date when Mars is colonized and open for tourists.

13. Virtual Tour of Yellowstone Park

Explore Yellowstone Park together with a virtual tour. You can visit and discuss the main part attractions. Each attraction tour is based on a map and provides you with additional information so you can plan for the day you can visit the park in-person, together.

14. Out of This World

If you're a stargazer, you can go virtual with star maps. Try a planetarium interactive website that lets you explore constellations, planets, comets, and a 3D solar simulator.

Zodiacal constellations

15. Street Art Around the World

Share a love for street art with the Google Art Project Street Art. You not only have a Google map with determined designations, but you can see the actual street art in a split screen.

16. Night at the Opera

If you've never been to an opera or you're an opera fan, then you can share a virtual opera experience. The Metropolitan Opera offers several OnDemand operas you can watch. You can rent for around $5 or join for an annual fee and see for free.

17. Dance Performances

You may decide a ballet or another type of dance performance is a good choice for date night. Dance Magazine offers several virtual dance performances from their website.

18. Virtual Symphony Concert

If symphony concerts are your passion, then you're in luck. The Philadelphia Orchestra features OnDemand virtual concerts guaranteed to pluck your heartstrings.

19. Virtual Music Concerts

A livestream concert is a great date as long as you're in the same time zone. You may prefer to select an OnDemand concert or find one on YouTube that you can both enjoy.

20. Virtual Theater Performances

If you love the theater, you can find OnDemand performances as well as livestream ones. Playbill is a great clearinghouse for upcoming virtual theatrical and livestream performances, panels, and interviews.

Long-Distance Relationship Skype Date Ideas

If you're using Skype to connect with your long-distance lover, there are some fun virtual date ideas you can explore. You may want to alternate who gets to choose the theme and surprise the other one. If you need specific items for the date, plan ahead and ship them to your beloved with a note not to open until date night.

21. Shake It Up With Milkshakes

You may enjoy a milkshake date where each of you learns to mix your favorite milkshakes. This will take a little planning, so it's not a good candidate for a surprise date night. Decide on the milkshake you want to mix, buy the ingredients, and be prepared to shake it up with a lot of fun and laughs!

Mixing milkshake online

22. Christmas Cookie Exchange

Being apart at Christmas can be difficult. You can bake Christmas cookies, decorate them, and then send half of them to each other. Choose a cookie recipe both of you like and bake the cookies together. When it's time to decorate the cookies, end your date and decorate the cookies without the other one knowing what you're doing. This way, each of you will be surprised when you receive those special Christmas cookies. Schedule a Skype date for the big cookie reveal. You can have fun opening your tin of cookies made just for you. Make sure you each have a hot chocolate to go with those delicious cookies!

23. Intimacy Questions

If you're wanting to move your relationship forward, you can still have fun while getting to know each other better. Try a game of intimate questions to ask your partner.

24. Questions for an Engaged Long-Distance Couple

If you're considering getting married or are engaged but currently living long distance, you may want to turn your Skype date into a game of pre-marriage questions. While the questions are serious, you should approach this as a game and have fun with your answers while getting to know each other a little better.

25. Getting to Know All About You

While you may know your partner, you can see just how well you know her/him. Try a free relationship worksheet for couples where each of you downloads the worksheet, prepares it ahead of your Skype date, and then shares with each other your responses. Mix it up and try to guess how the other answered a specific question to test how well you really know each other. This can be a fun tool to get to know each other better.

Woman getting to know her partner

26. Formal Virtual Dinner Date

Plan a Skype date where both of you dress up as though going out on the town. Pre-plan a meal together that you order from a restaurant. For example, you may decide to order from the same or similar steakhouse if it is a chain restaurant with locations in both your cities. Set a nice dinner table complete with candles and wine and enjoy your meal together over Skype.

27. Halloween Date

Whether it is really Halloween, or you just want to pretend it is, dress up in a Halloween costume and set the stage with low light and burning candles. If you have trick or treaters, include your beloved in passing out the candy so you can share the evening fun together. Have the trick or treaters wave and call out your lover's name to wish him/her Happy Halloween!

Creative and Fun Ideas for Long-Distance Relationships

Explore creative ideas for long-distance relationships to keep the excitement and fun going. If you are passionate about something, you can share it with your beloved for a truly bonding experience.

27 Creative Long-Distance Relationship Ideas