When you have the entire concrete jungle at your disposal, why would you make date night a regular old dinner and movie? Fun activities for couples in NYC go way beyond the classic carriage ride through Central Park, so there’s no need for your date night to be boring.
From soaring through the sky to wielding ancient battle weapons, there’s an activity for every type of thrill-seeker. There are plenty of unusual date ideas in NYC — you just have to know where to look.
To get you started, here are seven unique date ideas for adventurous couples.
1. Hit a Bullseye at Live Axe
Move over, darts — axe throwing is the new favorite bar game of skill. Bars that offer axe throwing have been steadily growing in popularity for a reason — it’s an awesome way to try a daredevil sport in a safe and social setting. Axe throwing is an exhilarating way to test your strength and accuracy.
If you’re in New York City and looking for a thrill, places like Live Axe offer a daring and exciting environment to throw axes. Access your inner Viking by taking up the axe and showing off your skills. What better way to make a date more memorable than an evening of axe throwing? By booking a time at Live Axe, you’re sure to showcase your ability to go off the beaten path and try something more adventurous.
After throwing axes, catch your breath while getting some food and drinks from Live Axe’s bar. With a full selection of rotating craft beers and artisanal cocktails, you can keep the mood upbeat by toasting to your victories in the throwing cages. We’ve filled our social areas with unique installations, custom artwork and a wall decked out with 200 life-sized skulls, giving you multiple selfie-worthy backdrops. Picture or not, there’s no way you’ll forget an electrifying night at Live Axe.
2. Catch a Wave
With all the water surrounding New York, a water sport is an obvious date night option. You can rent jet skis on the Hudson River to see the cityscape from an angle you’ve never experienced before. You and your date will get to see other classic tourist attractions in a new light too, such as the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, as you skim across the water at heart-racing speeds.
If you’re looking for a more chilled out water sport, take your date to the New York Surf School in Rockaway Beach and learn how to hang ten together. Couples new to surfing can sign up for private lessons while those more experienced can rent a board and hop straight into the water. Rockaway Beach naturally features a range of large to rolling waves, making it the perfect location for surfers of all levels.
3. Rock On
If you want to get active but don’t want to have to come up with a backup plan in case of rain, rock climbing is the perfect date night idea for you. Whether you’re new to the sport or a seasoned veteran, rock climbing is a great way for couples to get their blood flowing while getting to know each other. And with outdoor and indoor options, your ability to go rock climbing doesn’t depend on the weather.
If the weather is nice, you can enjoy the fresh air from an outdoor rock climbing facility like Dumbo Boulders or Governors Island’s impressive adult-sized playground. But if it’s raining or dreary, you and your date can still enjoy rock climbing at an indoor site like Brooklyn Boulders. Check out this list of NYC’s best rock climbing locations to find a facility that fits your date night.
4. Zip Over the Zoo
What’s better than a place with wild animals? A place with both wild animals and ziplines. The Bronx Zoo Treetop Adventure offers exactly that with its 400-foot long zipline that sends you sailing over the Bronx River from 50 feet above the Earth.
You can spend the day walking around the zoo together, then head on over to the Treetop Adventure when you’re ready for something a little less tame. If you and your date can’t get enough of the breathtaking views from above, pair your ziplining with a ropes course expedition.
5. Fly Through the Air
Elevate the romance and your heart rate at the same time at Trapeze School New York. Highly skilled trapeze artists may make the activity seem daunting, but learning to do trapeze couldn’t be more beginner-friendly. Because the key to trapeze is good timing, first-time flyers can master several basic tricks without needing much training or strength. You’ll have no trouble impressing your date by gracefully soaring through the air as their dashing trapeze partner.
If you and your date enjoy your trapeze lessons, consider signing up for a silks class or trampoline tutorial for your next date. On days you can’t enjoy the fresh air at the school’s outdoor facility located at Pier 40, head over to its indoor Brooklyn facility that’s open year-round.
6. Solve a Crime
If you and your date are looking for some excitement but prefer to keep your feet on the ground, go on a different type of adventure with Accomplice New York. Accomplice is an interactive production that gives you clues to follow throughout lower Manhattan as you try to solve a crime mystery. You and your date will become part of the cast, winding your way through multiple neighborhoods to complete the whodunnit challenge and crack the case together.
Asking strangers for clues while not knowing whether they’re one of the Accomplice actors or an unassuming tourist is sure to create some fun memories for you and your date to look back on and laugh. And because they know solving crime is hungry work, Accomplice supplies participants with light appetizers and two drinks each.
7. Touch the Sky
The ultimate adrenaline rush will always be skydiving. Jumping out of a plane with Skydive Long Island offers a bird’s eye view of NYC’s world-famous skyline along with an unforgettable bonding experience for you and your date.
Another aero-sport date option is hang-gliding. Equally as thrilling as skydiving, hang-gliding lets you soar thousands of feet above the Earth with wings of your own. Although most hang-gliding take-off points are a bit of a drive outside the city, there are some companies like Xcelerated Adventures that will pick you and your date up in the heart of the city to drive out to its hang-gliding site.
Before booking a skydiving or hang-gliding appointment, make sure you talk with your date to double-check that extreme sports are something you’re both comfortable with.
Of all the unique date ideas in NYC, axe throwing is the only way to end the night. So if you want to really wow your date this weekend, book a time at Live Axe in advance to make sure you get an axe throwing session with a coach. Although we take walk-ins, our sessions fill up quickly, so we recommend making a reservation a couple of weeks out.
If you have more questions about how Live Axe can help you take date night to the next level, contact us today.