Unique Ideas for Things to do on Valentine’s Day in Sydney 2025

Are looking for things to do on Valentine’s Day in Sydney that are a little more unique than a romantic meal with a view? While there is absolutely nothing wrong with wining and dining, personally I prefer to come up with something a little more unique to surprise my partner.

Enjoying a new activity together is a great relationship boost, so today I share my brainstormed list of fun things we have enjoyed doing and asked our Facebook Group to share their tips too.

Valentine’s Day falls on a Friday in 2025 so start planning early for the best options

If you have left it a bit late to organise for the day itself, there is nothing wrong with cooking a lovely dinner at home and presenting one of these ideas to be done in the future.

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Spend a night on a luxury yacht

For a very indulgent Valentine’s Day treat, Sydney By Sail offers a Romantic B&B experience on one of their 36ft luxury yachts that is pretty hard to beat.

Sydney By Sail Valentine's Day in Sydney
See Sydney with your own Skipper with Sydney By Sail, then spend the night on the yacht

Spend three hours cruising the harbour with your skipper and then, as sunset hits, you will anchor in one of the harbour’s sheltered bays for your overnight stay. Come daylight; the skipper will come and pick you up to bring you back to reality.

Choose BYO or request gourmet catering, the choice is yours. If you plan to propose, I am not sure you could find a better place to do it!

Check out our review when we enjoyed the platinum package on our wedding anniversary.

Get up close and personal with a panda or a meerkat

If your partner is an animal lover, then one of the behind-the-scenes experiences at Symbio Wildlife Park. We were pretty thrilled to see they have both a red panda and a meerkat offering.

Symbio Wildlife Park Panda
Get up close to a beautiful

Your encounter includes a chance to hand-feed and interact with one of the world’s most endangered wildlife species – the Nepalese Red Panda or experience a family of Meerkats climb all over you while you feed them by hand!

Head to Symbio’s website for details.

Dine on Sydney Harbour with the city’s best cruise operator

Captain Cook is renowned for the quality of their great harbour dining, and this Valentine’s Day they want to help all Sydneysiders “celebrate love, not just romance.”

Captain Cook Valentines cruise
Celebrate Valentine’s Day in Sydney on a dinner cruise

This Valentine’s weekend they will operate a range of lunch and dinner cruises.

  • Gold Dinner – 6-course degustation with matching wine
  • Brilliant Dinner – 4-course à la carte with a glass of champagne
  • Sunset Dinner – 3 course with a glass of champagne
  • Top Deck Lunch – 3-course à la carte Valentines menu and a glass of premium champagne on arriva

See more Valentine’s Day dining options

See stars with your lover

Make your way to Centennial Park for a sunset picnic and watch the skies as the resident bats leave the park for the night.

After dark, join Sydney City Skywatchers and, using their telescopes take a close-up look at the stars and the planets up close.

Starry sky date night
Is there anything more romantic than dinner under the stars?

Then listen to Drew Roberts from Shared Knowledge sharing Aboriginal knowledge of the night sky. This is a pretty romantic way to spend your Valentine’s Day in Sydney.

BYO picnic for a budget night out with tickets from only $15 per person.

Related: Get more romantic ideas on things to do in Sydney here

Taste Food Tours

First up, how about a walking tour that helps you discover new foodie hotspots? Perhaps a little different from the traditional Valentine’s Day meal, but a chance to learn about lots of new places in one afternoon, so you are armed with plenty of spots to come back to.

people of a food tour in Sydney
Taste Tours and guide Kunal

Spend 3.5 hours exploring a different part of Sydney with visits to cafes, restaurants, pubs and patisseries. Your guide will show you some of Sydneys’s best food and share stories of the people who create it.

Find out more here

Plan a surprise picnic

We think a romantic picnic is hard to beat. You can either hit the shops and put together your own picnic basket or treat yourselves with a pop-up picnic where someone does all the work for you!

Quiet picnic spots in Sydney Wendys secret garden
Wendy’s Secret Garden is the perfect romantic picnic spot

Take a walk by the water

There is no need to drop a bucket of money on Valentine’s Day. If you are watching your budget hitting a pretty waterfront walking track and taking in the sunset with drinks at the end is a lovely way to spend time together.

Little Sirrus Cove Mosman
Little Sirius Cove Mosman

If your plan for Valentine’s Day in Sydney includes some quality conversation, this is a great walk and talk choice.

Plan a Glamping Getaway

Is this the year you want to get in touch with nature? Well, a glamping trip is a good way to ease back into sleeping in the great outdoors. It’s the only way you will get some of us to agree to sleep in a tent!

There are plenty of bush and beach glamping options near Sydney, but here is one close to Sydney we really like.

We are not regular campers, but when your tent is furnished with queen size bed and a private bathroom we are on board.

Check out Ocean Beach Umina’s Safari Palm Tents for a quick weekend getaway on the Central Coast.

Seafood School Cooking Class

Last year we did a fantastic class at the Sydney Seafood School and learnt how to prepare several recipes that have hit regular rotation in our kitchen.

Lobster Salad from the Sydney Seafood School
Lobster Salad Credit: Anson Smart

Book a cute or romantic campervan

Enjoy a weekend in one of Camplify’s boutique campervans like Rosie The Vintage Viscount or One Lazy Sunday. The vans come fully equipped with everything you need for a romantic getaway.

Silver caravan called One Lazy Sunday
A perfect getaway with all the creature comforts

Camplify has a variety of vans on offer, many pet-friendly, so you can take any fur babies with you!

Book that hotel room with a Harbour view

With international travel on hold, there is no better time to grab a bargain on a room with a view of Sydney Harbour.

Hotel room with view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
The view from the Shangri La hotel is pretty memorable!

Hit up one of the outdoor cinemas

There is an outdoor cinema in Sydney to suit every taste from a boat in Darling Harbour to a seated viewing in the Botanic Gardens or beanbag seating in Centennial Park.

Moonlight Cinema Sydney
Outdoor cinemas usually screen a romance for Valentine’s day

More experiences to consider

Have questions about things to see and do in Sydney?
Head over and join our Facebook Group and we will be happy to help.

Paula Morgan

Paula Morgan, a born-and-bred Sydney resident, has been sharing this city and its secret spots for over 15 years. She's not just about the iconic landmarks; she's loves the hidden alleys adorned with street art, and the joy of discovering a new café or a fabulous restaurant.

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