Where to travel in your 30s

Romance is the number one priority when it comes to travelling in your thirties according to recent research by Booking.com. *

Whether that means going on holiday as a couple or having a holiday romance, Booking.com dug into its internal data to find the world’s most romantic travel destinations; the perfect places to travel in your 30s. **

Verona, Italy

The cobbled streets of Verona are considered romantic for more than inspiring Shakespeare. The city’s enormous Roman amphitheatre is still used for operas and concerts under the stars; watching the audience wave candles to the music is an unforgettable experience to share with a loved one. Opportunities for aperitivo and fine dining are everywhere, and Lake Garda is only an hour’s drive away.

San Antonio, USA

An underrated city in Texas’ hill country, you may have heard of San Antonio for its River Walk. This three-mile promenade is peppered with primary-coloured parasols and fairy lights and makes for a romantic stroll by day or night. Margaritas and Mexican food are San Antonio’s culinary forte, best enjoyed al fresco enjoying the city’s eternally-warm weather and blue skies.

Bruges, Belgium

An easy weekend break destination, Bruges’ perfectly-preserved medieval city centre is inherently romantic, even when you’re travelling solo. Canals weave between the ivy-covered, gabled houses, with cobbled alleyways and stone bridges making it very walkable. But if you want to fully embrace being a tourist, horse-drawn carriage rides are everywhere – you might need to be carried after all that Belgian beer and artisanal chocolate.

Banff, Canada

In the middle of one of the world’s most extraordinary national parks, Banff is encircled by stupendous scenery. The evergreen forests covering the Rocky Mountains provide a fresh alpine aroma, with hiking trails running through them up to panoramic viewpoints or down to aquamarine lakes. You can kayak, hike, cycle, climb, or drive through the park. Or all of the above.

Koh Lanta, Thailand

Small, friendly, and less touristy than the neighboring Thai islands of Phi Phi or Phuket, Koh Lanta is the best of the bunch for 30-something travellers. This is a place where you can afford daily Thai massages and cocktails in quiet beach huts lit by lanterns. You can also kayak through mangroves, hire a moped or cycle through the jungle of the Koh Lanta National Park, before cooling down in the balmy Andaman Sea.

Bled, Slovenia

Lake Bled’s serenity and relatively low footfall make it a real rarity in Central Europe. The slopes of the Julian Alps fall steeply down to the glacial water, in the middle of which is an islet with a small but perfectly-formed Romanesque church. One of the most popular things to do here is to take a trip around the lake in a traditional Slovenian ‘pletna’ boat, resembling gondolas but wider and more robust and covered in brightly-coloured awnings.

Salzburg, Austria

Though sadly you won’t chance upon Christopher Plummer dressed as Captain Von Trapp, the streets of Salzburg have barely changed since the filming of The Sound of Music. Aas the home of Mozart, the city has a compelling cultural heritage, visible in the Baroque churches, palaces, and mansions that line the Salzach River. A city of refined restaurants, the summertime Salzburg Festival of opera, concert, and theatre, and impressive architecture, Salzburg is perfect for sophisticated 30-something travellers.

*Booking.com asked 30-39-year-old travellers what kind of trips they hadn’t taken yet but wanted to in the future. ‘Romantic trips’ was the most selected answer.
* The data analysts at Booking.com looked at endorsements for ‘romantic’ by Booking.com customers. They then found the destinations that were most highly rated for this endorsement.