Planning a Romantic Getaway When You Live in Different Cities

One of you is in Miami. The other is in Los Angeles. You see each other once a month — maybe twice if the flights align. And every time, one person does all the traveling while the other cleans the apartment and picks a restaurant.

It works. But it gets stale.

The visiting loop

Miami one month, LA the next. Back and forth. You know each other’s neighborhoods, favorite coffee spots, the brunch place that’s always packed. At some point, you’re not really traveling anymore — you’re commuting.

And it’s uneven. The person flying is spending 5 hours on a plane plus TSA plus the Uber. The person hosting is… home. That imbalance adds up, even if you’re alternating.

Go somewhere neither of you lives

Third-city trips fix most of this. You both fly, you both arrive, you’re both somewhere new. No hosting duties. No “I have to work until 6, here’s the spare key.” You’re on the same schedule from the moment you land.

For Miami and LA, the overlap is bigger than you’d think. Both are major airports with routes everywhere.

A few that work well for a long weekend:

New Orleans. Three-hour flight from Miami, direct from LA. Walkable, great food, enough to do without a plan. Hard to have a bad time here.

Mexico City. Direct from both, and once you’re there, everything is affordable. Neighborhoods like Roma and Condesa are made for wandering. A four-day trip here costs less than a weekend in either of your cities.

Cancún or Tulum. The obvious beach option, but obvious for a reason. Short flights, all-inclusive deals if you want them, or rent a place and do your own thing.

Denver. Not the first city that comes to mind for a couples trip, but hear it out. Direct flights from both, great restaurants, breweries, and the mountains are right there. Winter or summer, it works.

Nashville. Live music, good food, a walkable downtown. Easy flights from both coasts. A weekend here doesn’t need much planning.

The math favors it

Two people flying 2–3 hours each is better than one person flying 5 hours. Total travel time is similar, but the burden is shared. And shorter flights mean cheaper flights — especially if you book a few weeks out.

Budget carriers serve a lot of these routes. Miami to New Orleans on Spirit. LA to Mexico City on Volaris. You don’t need to spend $400 each on airfare to make this work.

Midway shows you every destination with direct flights from both your cities, so you’re not guessing which routes exist. Useful when you’re trying to plan something quickly between two busy schedules.

Make it a rotation

The real unlock is turning this into a pattern. January in Mexico City. March in New Orleans. Summer in Denver. You’re building a shared travel history that’s more interesting than “I visited your apartment again.”

Some couples alternate: one month someone visits, next month they meet somewhere new. Keeps the familiar comfort of each other’s cities but adds variety.

Timing matters more than the destination

Long-distance couples know this already — coordinating schedules is the hard part. A destination with daily direct flights from both cities gives you more flexibility than one with flights only on certain days.

Friday evening departure, Monday morning return. That’s the window for most working couples. Pick destinations where the flight times make this realistic. A 6 AM Saturday arrival after a red-eye doesn’t set the tone you want.

Stop commuting. Start traveling.

You’re already spending the money on flights. You’re already blocking the weekends. The only difference is where you point the plane. Next time, instead of booking the same MIA–LAX route, check what’s in between. You might land somewhere you’ll want to go back to — together.