Alphabet date ideas: 26 dates from A to Z

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best foractive couples
• Time1 to 2 hours

Many ranges offer beginner sessions where an instructor shows you the basics. Hitting the target for the first time feels amazing, and missing it together is funny.

Or: an arcade night, apple picking in fall, an art museum with a "pick the piece you'd steal" game.

• Budgetlow
• Best forlazy weekends
• Time2 to 3 hours

A long brunch, then a bookstore where you each pick a book for the other with a sticky note explaining why. Two B's in one morning.

Or: bowling, a bonfire, baking bread from scratch.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best foroutdoorsy couples
• Timeovernight

A campsite an hour away, a tent, a camp stove and a deck of cards. If that's too much, camp in the backyard or on the balcony.

Or: a comedy club, a chocolate tasting, canoeing.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forany couple
• Time1 to 2 hours

Salsa, swing, line dancing or a beginner ballroom class. Nobody's good on the first night, which is the point. Stay for the social dance afterward if there is one.

Or: folding dumplings, a drive-in movie, disc golf.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forcompetitive couples
• Time1 to 2 hours

An hour of puzzles, a ticking clock and a good look at how you work as a team under pressure. Debrief over a drink afterward: who found which clue?

Or: Ethiopian food eaten with your hands, an evening ferry ride, an "everything starts with E" dinner (eggplant, enchiladas, eclairs).

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forfoodies
• Timea day

Shop the market in the morning for bread, veggies and fruit, then dip all of it in cheese or chocolate fondue at home in the evening.

Or: a flea market, fishing, fireworks.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forplayful couples
• Time1 hour

A few laps, a lot of trash talk and a podium photo at the end. Loser buys the gelato, which is conveniently also a G.

Or: geocaching, a glassblowing workshop, a gallery opening.

• Budgetfree
• Best foractive couples
• Timea half day

Pick a trail with a payoff: a lookout, a waterfall, a lake. Pack hot chocolate in a thermos for the top. Our ideas for hiking dates have trail picks by mood.

Or: horseback riding, hot pot, a haunted house in October.

• Budgetlow
• Best forwinter
• Time1 to 2 hours

Indoor rinks work all year, outdoor rinks are pure winter magic. Holding hands is a safety measure, obviously.

Or: an improv show, an ice cream crawl, an Indian cooking night.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forromantic
• Time2 hours

A small room, low light, live music. Even if neither of you knows anything about jazz, it's one of the easiest ways to feel like you're in a movie.

Or: a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle, a Japanese dinner, a trampoline park (jumping counts).

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forsummer
• Time2 hours

Rent a tandem kayak and see who's really steering. Calm lakes and slow rivers are perfect for first-timers.

Or: karaoke, Korean barbecue, flying a kite.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forplayful couples
• Time1 hour

Team up or go head to head. Laser tag is ridiculous, sweaty and the kind of date you'll still laugh about at Z.

Or: a library date with a book challenge, a lantern walk, live music at a small venue.

• Budgetlow
• Best forany couple
• Time2 hours

Eighteen holes, one scorecard, then milkshakes to celebrate or console. A double M for the price of one.

Or: a museum, a movie marathon, a massage night at home.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forfoodies, city couples
• Time2 hours

Lights, music and a dozen stalls. Pick three dishes to share and rank them. No night market near you? Make it "nachos and a nature documentary".

Or: a nature walk, a nostalgia night with your favorite childhood snacks, Nepalese food.

• Budgetfree to low
• Best forcurious couples
• Time2 hours

Many observatories and astronomy clubs hold public viewing nights where you can look through a real telescope. When Saturn is up, seeing its rings with your own eyes is something else.

Or: an outdoor movie, an open mic, oysters by the water.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forcreative couples
• Time2 hours

A wheel class for two is messy, hilarious and gives you two lopsided mugs to drink from for years.

Or: a picnic, paddleboarding, pizza from scratch.

• Budgetlow
• Best forcompetitive couples
• Time2 hours

Pub quiz or bar trivia as a team of two. Pick a team name that starts with Q for bonus points (the Quizzly Bears? Quiche Me Quick?).

Or: quesadillas and a movie, a quick-sketch drawing class, a quiet date with phones switched off for the whole evening.

• Budgetlow
• Best fornostalgic couples
• Time2 hours

Disco lights, old songs and a lot of holding on to each other. Adult skate nights are worth looking for.

Or: rock climbing, ramen, a road trip with no destination.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forromantic
• Timean evening

Roll your own sushi at home (or order it), then drive away from city lights with a blanket. Two S's, one very good night.

Or: a salsa class, sledding, a sunrise breakfast.

• Budgetlow
• Best foractive couples, trust exercises
• Time1 to 2 hours

Rent a bicycle built for two and find out who leads and who complains. End at a taco truck to stay on letter.

Or: a thrift store challenge, a theater show, a train ride to a town you've never visited.

• Budgetlow
• Best forplayful couples
• Timean evening

Everything backward: dessert first, then dinner, then appetizers. Watch the end of a movie first. Wear your clothes inside out if you're brave. It's silly and that's exactly why it works.

Or: a U-pick farm, a ukulele lesson, ultimate frisbee in the park.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forcouples who like wine
• Timea half day

A tasting at a vineyard or winery, ideally with a picnic on the grounds. Prefer no alcohol? Make it vintage shopping instead.

Or: volunteering together, a VR arcade, Vietnamese food.

• Budgetfree
• Best foroutdoorsy couples
• Timea half day

A trail that ends at a waterfall feels like a reward. In winter, a frozen one is even more dramatic. Pack waffles for the top if you can.

Or: a water park, a weekend workshop, wildlife watching at dawn.

• Budgetlow
• Best forsurprise lovers
• Time2 to 3 hours

Draw a treasure map of your neighborhood or a park. Each stop holds a clue, and the X at the end is a picnic, a small gift or you with two drinks. It's the classic X date for a reason.

Or: xiao long bao (soup dumplings) at a dim sum spot, the X-ray exhibit at a science museum, an "eXtreme" night with the spiciest wings in town.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forweekend mornings
• Timea half day

A morning yoga class to stretch, then yum cha (dim sum brunch) to undo all of it. Balance.

Or: yard games like cornhole and giant tumbling blocks, learning to knit with yarn, a "yes day" where one of you agrees to every reasonable suggestion.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forany couple
• Timea half day

Pick a favorite animal each and make sure you see them both. A zoo is a sweet, low-pressure way to finish the alphabet.

Or: zip lining, a Zumba class, a "Zzz" date: a slow morning with breakfast in bed and nowhere to be.