We often get asked for date ideas by our ‘silver surfers’, so we’ve decided to provide some guidance right here on your favourite online dating site, that you can read through at your leisure.

Top Ten First Date Activities

1. Coffee and cake – visit a local café
2. Park or beach – take an afternoon stroll together
3. Dinner date at a restaurant – a golden oldie for a couple of golden oldies!
4. Common interest activity – Take a dance or cooking class, or even a visit a gym together
5. Botanical Gardens visit – Most cities have one and on a sunny day you can couple this with a picnic
6. Art and culture – Whether it be a museum or some sight-seeing, you can’t go wrong with this one
7. Mini-golf – A great combination of fun, simple and inexpensive
8. Bowling – whether it’s ten-pin, carpet or lawn, this is a fun activity that anyone can do.
9. Aquarium – always an interesting place with plenty to provoke conversation and will usually have a café for a hot drink and a chance to get to know each other better
10. Double date – get your friends involved and reduce the chance of any awkward pauses with a couple of extra people. This also provides security and a chance to have someone to assess the date with the following day!

Dates to Avoid

1. Cinema/ Theatre – it never made sense when you were younger and it doesn’t make sense now. You can’t get to know someone without conversation and a little eye contact! Avoid these options until date two or three. Unless, of course, you combine it with one of our top ten and finish with the cinema or theatre. But not as a sole date activity.
2. Bar – This is a little controversial, but generally a daytime date without alcohol is advisable for that very first meeting.
3. Netflix and chill – that’s what the cool kids call it anyway…but essentially it’s getting together in one of your houses to relax and watch TV. We don’t advise this on a first date – use the first date to get to know the person better, as a supplement to the chatting you’ve been doing online. You’re still young, whether you feel it or not, and there’s plenty of time to move to a more intimate setting.

Remember to always go with your instincts and choose something that you believe you’ll both enjoy and be comfortable with, whether it has made our list or not. By the time you are considering a first date, you’ll already have been chatting and should have some ideas on what your date might enjoy. Go with it, be safe and have fun!