I can buy myself flowers.

Write my name in the sand… at a romantic destination, no significant other needed. Whether you’re flying solo or are coupled up, now is the perfect time to book a spur-of-the-moment trip for Valentine’s Day. Keep reading for all the deets on our beloved hidden-gem tool.

The pre-check

The week’s latest travel stories and news.

• Scroll away.
  Desserts and new routes aren’t the only things added to Delta’s menu – they’re now offering free WiFi on most domestic flights (yeah, even for basic).

• Less than super.
  Now that we know which teams are facing off for the big game, many travelers are scrambling to find a place to stay – and VRBO isn’t having it.

• Thrifty travels ahead.
  Though tourism is scoped to reach up to 80% to 95% of pre-pandemic levels, rising costs are causing travelers to spend less while away.

• More foot traffic.
  Issues between local Uber and taxi drivers in Cancún have caused transportation problems, resulting in a travel advisory from the US gov.

Trending travel

Love is in the air (and so are affordable flights).
File under reasons why we love Explore: it can help you find flights to romantic destinations that are also within budget – just in time for Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re eager to get away with your S.O. or need a reason to escape this Hallmark holiday, Explore has swoon-worthy flights that won’t cost a fortune. Here’s how it works:

• Step 1: Enter your flight info.
  Plug in your starting airport and which days you’d like to be away – if you’re flexible, you can also filter flights by the month.

• Step 2: Enter your budget.
  Use the budget filter (found on the left hand side for desktop or the upper left corner for mobile) to set how much you’d like to spend.

• Step 3: Select the type of trip.
  This is where you choose the “romantic” option. And while this isn’t available on mobile, we’d recommend checking “beaches” under “themes” instead.

• Step 4: Zoom in and out.
  Ready to reveal your results? See what came of your search by zooming in and out of the interactive map to decide on your final destination.

New to Explore? Not a problem – here are the full details on how to use this gem of a tool.

Tricks of the trade

Save your rezzies to your itinerary.
Speaking of Valentine’s Day, have you secured your dinner reservations yet? We love to browse restaurants on OpenTable. And if you turn on email sync in your KAYAK Trips, any reservations you make – for romantic dinners, excursions and more – are automatically saved to your account. This gives you easy access to all your plans (no flipping through your inbox day-of).

Community voices

It’s officially Black History Month. To celebrate we chatted with Sydney Powell, Designer on the KAYAK Marketing Team, about her experiences, advice and perspectives on what the travel industry can do to be more inclusive of Black travelers. Head over to our blog to read the full conversation.

Links in this Newsletter are for informational purposes only, and there is no affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement by or with KAYAK Software Corporation whatsoever.