40 Long-Distance Relationship Activities to Deepen Your Connection

Keeping the flame alive in a long-distance relationship takes work! All relationships take work, but being in different locations, or maybe even time zones, presents a unique set of difficulties. While you should definitely make every effort to see each other in person whenever possible, let this guide help you in the interim. We have gathered all the best ideas to keep you and your partner connected and engaged. Our hope is that until you meet in person again, you can not only maintain your love but deepen it by using some of these inventive long-distance relationship activities!

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Long-Distance Relationship Activities

1. Virtual Date

Date nights are important in any relationship. Every couple needs a night that is devoted to each other and your love … without distraction. Unfortunately, most of your interaction on this list is going to have to be virtual, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be special. Many LDR couples get into a funk of just taking each other along via skype to whatever they are doing, and there is nothing wrong with that! But, every once in a while, do something special. 

We recommend that you have a weekly designated date night. Dress up. Plan a nice meal. Send flowers to your SO. Have a romantic movie lined up. Cook a meal together, or have your favorite meals delivered to each other, watch movies or play games. Then finish off the evening with something romantic. Perhaps you do a little dance for your partner via webcam and let the fun activities ensue. Make sure you are devoting all attention and time to your date. This isn’t an everyday chat. Tonight is date night! 

2. Send a Care Package

Nothing makes you feel more special than getting a gift in the mail, especially if it is from your favorite person. No matter how old you are, a package on the porch is still exciting! For every special occasion (and for no reason at all), send your partner something special to say “I love you.” It can be a small home spa package, a new robe, something that reminds them of you, or some new lingerie if you are at that level of intimacy. Get creative!

3. Tune into Your Favorite TV Show

Many long-distance couples like to enjoy the mundane together, just as you would if you lived in the same home. Set up a “this time every week” when you come together and watch your favorite Netflix show. Watching a show together puts you on the same plane. It gives you and your loved one something to be invested in together, something to look forward to, and conversation material because sometimes in a long-distance romance, you run out of things to talk about. 

4. Video Chat About Everything … Or Nothing

Facetime is important in a long-distance relationship. A “normal” couple spends a lot of time just doing nothing together, or very mundane things like dishes and laundry. Make sure to include your distant partner in the everyday things you are doing. Go grocery shopping together. Load the dishwasher and argue over the appropriate place for the bowls. Make the bed. Clean the bathroom. 

However you are spending your day, do it together. These little things deepen your relationship. It’s what you would do if you were with each other in person. They normalize your situation because, let’s be real, trying to make every interaction something special, and compensate for being apart, gets exhausting! Sometimes you just need to be, and that’s okay. These little unscripted moments are where you really get to know each other.

5. Make a Joint Spotify List

There is something about just knowing that you and your love are listing to the same beats, at the same time, though you are far apart. Create a joint playlist on your choice of streaming app, and set up the notifications. Each of you adds songs that make you think of each other! We guarantee your heart will beat a little faster when you get that notification that your significant other is thinking of you. 

We love this activity because it not only lets your love know you are thinking of them, but it also helps deepen conversation. Many of us have trouble putting words to the feelings we have in the romance department. Great songwriters can be your best friend. If a lyric reminds you of your partner, add it. Later, discuss which lyrics triggered you to add the song to the list and why. This will open up intimate conversation and allow you to share your feelings in an organized and effective manner.

6. Join the Same Book Club

If you are both readers, you might as well read the same books together. Joining a book club does a couple of things. It gives you a goal to complete together. It encourages conversation, as you can read on your own and then discuss it over Skype later. Like watching your favorite Netflix show, it allows you both to invest in something together and get to know the same characters. Some couples even choose to read their books out loud to each other at night, as you would if you lived in the same home. We love that idea!

7. Make a Travel Bucket List

Everyone looks forward to a vacation, and having time away together is one of the keys to making a long-distance relationship work. Each of you can make a list of your top ten travel destinations and why you want to go. Then compare lists and see if you have any matches! 

Once you have both made a list, create a virtual photo album on a platform like Canva, where you can both pin pics of the places you want to see and the things you want to do. This fun long-distance relationship activity is one of the best ways to maximize the short time you have together!

8. Make a Vision Board

In the same manner as the bucket list scrapbook, you and your long-distance love can make a joint vision board. You could do it virtually on one of the platforms, or get an actual physical board for each of your homes. Cut out couches from magazines for your future joint apartment. Post pics from your next vacation destination. Pin up a list of possible future baby names. If you see a beautiful home that you love, pin it to the dream board. Whatever it is that you are dreaming about together, manifest it by putting it before your eyes each day.

A quick look at your board each week strikes up important conversations, helps you set goals, and reminds you to keep working towards them!

9. Play Video Games

The best couples, whether traditional or long-distance partners, make time for fun! If you are gamers, spend your evenings on your favorite multiplayer, online game. Not only can you do something you love together, but it encourages a little healthy competition and probably some playful banter. Just make sure not to get too serious. If you are a hyper-competitive one, you might want to skip this activity with your significant other. The goal is to bring you closer, not to make an enemy!

10. Enjoy a Good, Old-Fashioned Phone Call

While we do recommend seeing each other’s faces as much as possible, for a change of pace, consider a regular old-school phone call. Absence makes the heart grow fonder right? Perhaps it works the same with your face. 

Plus, video chats can be distracting as you are constantly moving around and the screen is jumping or lagging. This can diminish the quality of your conversation, and sometimes being on video call just isn’t possible or socially acceptable for where you are. The conversation is often more dedicated and meaningful when the only thing you have to focus on is the voice of your partner.

11. Write Each Other Letters

There is nothing more romantic than receiving a letter by good old snail mail. Do you remember how excited you would get on your birthday as a child when the cards came in the mail? Did you ever have a pen pal? There is just something about checking the mailbox and having something other than a credit card offer or bill. 

Romantic feelings are easier to express with writing for a lot of people. An added benefit to love letters is that your partner can go back and read them at a low moment in the day, or a stressful time at work. Sometimes the words of your favorite person are just what you need to make it through the day!

12. Maintain a Healthy Text Message Feed

Talking all day long isn’t possible for most of us, nor is it really healthy. Text messages are a simple and easy way to stay in contact with short and easy messages. “I love you.” “Have a great day.” “Good morning babe.” It doesn’t have to be anything impressive, just something to let them know you are thinking of them.

Text messages are also great because they are a running feed of your thoughts and activities. How often have you come home at the end of the day, and you can’t even remember what happened. You try to have a conversation about your day, but you can’t even come up with anything to say. When you send your love a quick text as the event is happening, it puts into a visual that you can go back and discuss later. It also keeps your partner in contact with you in real-time, which makes it feel like you spent your day together.

13. Dream About Your Next Visit

Dreaming together is healthy for your relationship. Take some time to plan your next in-person visit. Whether this is traveling to one of your hometowns or a joint vacation together, it doesn’t matter. Having a future plan to see one another produces all those anticipatory butterflies and gives you both something to look forward to. 

Start by picking a destination. If you have never visited each other’s hometowns, start there. Introduce your love to all the best restaurants and bars, and maybe find some new favorites together. If you already tackled the hometowns, then plan a destination meet-up. Pick a place where you will both enjoy and begin to research activities to do together. 

14. Take a Bubble Bath Over Zoom

For an intimate long-distance date night, consider a joint bubble bath via webcam. Just be sure to take the appropriate online safety measures. You don’t want your naked partner flaunted all over the web. Bubble baths are great because if you haven’t been physically intimate yet, the bubbles will keep your birthday suit covered, with just the right level of sneak peek. If you have, then you can let the night proceed in any manner that you and your partner are comfortable with. Bubble bath night is a fun way to spice up your weekly date night!

15. Arrange Surprise Visits

No matter how creative you get with your date ideas, at some point, you just need a physical hug. Take a long weekend and surprise your partner with an unplanned visit. You might just hint around the week before and make sure they don’t have anything going on. 

Warning: While surprises can be extremely romantic, and most long-distance lovers would be exceptionally excited to see you on the porch at a moment’s notice, not all will. Some people hate surprises. Some partners would be mortified if you showed up at their dirty house and they were in their rattiest pajamas. Know your partner and adjust appropriately.

16. Send Gifts to Their Workplace

Make your partner the envy of the office with a romantic gift sent straight to his or her desk. Almost anything can be delivered these days. You could certainly go with flowers or chocolate. But you could also have Uber Eats deliver their favorite meal. You could have a personalized cookie made to sweeten up their day too. If you really want to look good, go ahead and buy a whole box for them to share with the office. 

17. Let Them See Your Face

Sending frequent selfies to each other is a great way to keep your partner’s image on your mind. Seeing someone you love’s face rekindles the spark every time. However, selfies don’t necessarily have to be of your face. As long as your phone is kept private, and you trust your partner, you can send whatever pics you are comfortable with. There’s nothing like sitting down for lunch break and opening a text full of saucy surprises.

18. Compete On a Scavenger Hunt

A scavenger hunt is the perfect fun activity to do with your partner without leaving your home. The Let’s Roam Indoor Couples’ Scavenger Hunts are expertly curated to provide a night full of laughter, competition, and fun. While the hunts are designed for a couple in the same location, by simply adding a virtual party pack, you can both connect from wherever you are!

We love this long-distance date idea because you get to engage in a little friendly competition. You’re sure to learn a lot about your partner, and you don’t even have to wear pants!

19. Virtual Game Night

We don’t just have couples’ scavenger hunts—we also host full-on virtual game nights! With our huge selection of online games and competitions, you can have a different game night each week. Compete in location guessing games, trivia challenges, or our unique emoji decoder game. Our experts have had a blast creating these game nights, and we just know you’re going to love them!

20. Happy Couple App

Saying “I love you” is important, but you can really impress your partner by saying it in a new language every day. The Happy Couple App will translate the phrase into most languages, and it will send you a notification to remind you to send it. You can set your notification to alert you once a week, a month, or whatever interval you prefer. It’s a fun way to get the important message across without being monotonous. 

21. Air Your Dirty Laundry

Sometimes the influence of a new partner will change our style a bit, especially if clothing and fashion really aren’t your thing. Take a Saturday and clean out the closet with a fashion show. Put on some outfits for your partner and see what they think. If they hate it, maybe it’s time to toss it, or maybe you should wear it anyway. That’s up to you, but it’s a good bonding experience and makes the chore of cleaning out the closet a bit more fun!

22. Do Virtual Tours

Sure, regular vacations are awesome. However, if that isn’t possible for your guys right now, then travel together virtually. Virtual tours were on the rise before the COVID-19 pandemic, and now they are everywhere! You can take a walk through Windsor Castle together. Do a virtual tour of the millions of artifacts in the Louvre. If you aren’t sure where you want to go today, Amazon Explore offers a plethora of virtual tours around the world to choose from.

23. Go House Hunting Together

Have you ever gone to an open house with a partner? It’s super fun. It’s a great way to dream about your future, figure out what you like and want in your future home, and talk about your future. Since you and your love are in different time zones, you can each find an open house in your area, and give each other the tour via video chat. 

If you don’t feel like going out, hop on Zillow and explore houses together. It will let you in on your partner’s style and dreams. Once you are ready to take the plunge and move in together, you will know exactly what you want. 

24. Make Couple’s Tik Tok Collabs

Oh, TikTok … our favorite social media time sucker. Are you really even a couple if you aren’t TikTok official? Just because you’re not physically together doesn’t mean you can’t compete in those fun couple’s dance challenges and funny competitions. You can either record them separately and one of you splice them together with a video editing app like Inshot or use the TikTok “remix” or “duet” feature. 

Making something together is a great way to express your creativity and deepen your bond. Plus, you are guaranteed to hit your laugh quota competing in some of these crazy challenges. 

25. Create an Email Scrapbook

Good stuff should be written down! We all get busy and tend to forget things, even things that seem important at the time. Open up a joint email account and write each other letters every now and then. Attach pics of the event or the moment you are writing about. Don’t open them at this point. Use it more like a time capsule. Years from now, you can open them together and reminisce on your time as a long-distance couple. 

26. Share Your Talents

Are you a songwriter? Poet? Artist? If so, share your talent with your partner. Write them a song and have the lyrics printed and delivered to their home in a framed piece of home decor. Write a poem and read it out loud. Have the voiceprint etched into a piece of art for your partner’s home. If you are a painter, make a custom piece for your significant other’s workspace or bedroom, that way they get a stunning piece of art that reminds them daily of you. 

27. Have a Karaoke Night

Nothing has the potential to stimulate belly laughs like a good karaoke session. If you can’t hold a tune in a bucket, great! Share your lack of talent with your favorite person over whichever platform you love. Just look up the karaoke version of your chosen song on YouTube and put on a show. Make a friendly competition out of it. If you don’t know the words, you lose a piece of clothing. If you mess up big time, you lose a piece of clothing. The game just gets more and more fun as the night goes on! 

28. Work Out Together

If you were living in the same house, you would likely take a daily run or hit the gym together. With all the amazing workout programs online, there is no reason you can’t work out together as a long-distance couple. There are plenty of great paid platforms out there, or you can just perform the same HIIT workout together on YouTube. With thousands of creators out there, it is pretty easy to find a professional and effective free video. You can cheer each other on, challenge each other, and make sure that bod looks hott for your next in-person meeting!

29. Stargaze

There is something special about the night sky. It’s comforting to know that wherever we are in the world, we are being looked down upon by the same moon. We can wish on the same star. Spend time on your patio or climb up to your roof and see if you can find the major constellations together.

30. Cook a Meal “Together”

Most important conversations and special occasions are celebrated over food. Food is a cultural binder, a base for romantic conversation, and well, a necessity. For a simple, yet fun, date night, consider cooking a meal together. Start with picking a menu the evening before. Make a shopping list and head to the store—for a fun game, see who can get the supplies the cheapest!

Once back home, set up your zoom and begin the process. Consider an online cooking class for a meal you have never made!

31. See What Your Kids Will Look Like

Several apps our there, like Apple’s Baby Generator, can do a lifelike rendering of how your future children may look. The apps basically combine the features of you and your partner and present you with a possible face of your offspring. It’s a fun way to spend a few minutes. Make it even more fun by uploading baby pictures of yourselves.

32. Play “Truth or Dare” or “Never Have I Ever”

Start a text feed that helps you get to know the inner depths of your partner. You all probably know how “Truth or Dare” works. Interested in “Never Have I Ever?”

Send the message, “Never have I ever _________,” filling in the blank with something you’ve never done, but want to know if your partner has. If your partner has done that particular activity, they have to explain the details, and they get a point. Then it is their turn. 

Whoever has the most points at the end of your game gets a special prize. Depending on how creative you get with your prompts, you might find out some crazy stuff about your significant other, which will spark some interesting conversations.

33. Take a Class

Learning to do something new together is a great bonding experience. Take a cooking class. Join a class on Skillshare together. Take a college course or religious study together online. If you want to learn it, there is an online platform that will teach you! 

34. Try a Personality test

Get together with your partner and take an online personality test. Personality tests are a wonderful way to learn more about your partner and about yourself! Take the test simultaneously and then discuss your results. If you have been together for a while and have a stable relationship, consider flipping the test and filling it out as if you were your partner. It is very interesting to compare how you see your partner and how they see themselves! 

The DISC test, 16 Personality Types, Myers-Briggs, and the Enneagram are all popular options and each one delivers slightly different nuances into personality. Schedule time to take them all! By the end of these babies, you will definitely have a pretty good grasp of your new partner. You will be surprised by the interesting conversations that will come up when comparing your answers, things you would have never thought to chat over otherwise.

35. Make Your Own Meme Album

Memes are funny and concise ways to express ourselves. Whether you make your own or just send premade ones to each other throughout the day, save a copy in an album for posterity. For a personal spin, use a meme generator to turn your pics and texts into memes that you can both look back on later. 

36. Send Lots of Short Videos

Text messages are great, but they can also be easily misinterpreted and cause problems. Sarcasm, body language, and tone cannot be assessed over text messages, and the appropriate emoji doesn’t always exist. Consider using a video messaging app like Marco Polo instead. Send short videos that will get your point across and allow you to see your favorite face several times a day!

37. Fall Asleep Together

Sleeping next to your greatest love is one of the indescribable pleasures of life. If you can’t do it physically, it doesn’t mean you can’t sleep-stream. It sounds weird, but just knowing that your partner is there, sleeping beside you, is comforting. Being able to wake momentarily and hear them breathe is the second-best thing to having them physically beside you. They will be the last thing you see at night and the first thing you see in the morning. 

38. Open a Joint Account

If you are getting pretty serious and you agree on finances, consider opening a joint account to save for your future. You can both deposit your spare change to save up for your future home or that bucket list trip you have been planning. If you are both financially responsible and on the same page, you may consider opening a joint account with a great travel credit card and start racking up those points. 

39. Order Their Favorite Takeout

Comfort food is a real thing. If your partner is having a rough day or missing you, cheer them up with a delivery of their favorite takeout. They will appreciate not having to come up with something for dinner (since it is almost impossible to cook anything good for one person) and you will get major thoughtfulness points!

40. New Pajamas With a Familiar Scent

The smell of your partner stimulates all kinds of emotions. For a special gift, send your significant other a new pair of pajamas or new pillowcases that are laced with your perfume or cologne. Include a small bottle of your favorite scent with the gift so they can reinforce your smell on their favorite items whenever they want. 

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Closing Thoughts

Long-distance romances are hard.  They just are! And while we know none of these date ideas or gifts can make up for having your partner near you, they can help you maintain or even deepen your bond in the time you are apart. 

Let us know in the comments which idea is you are going to implement in your relationship.

Need some in-person date ideas for your anniversary meetup?  Check out our “60 Romantic and Adventurous Anniversary Date Ideas.” You may just find your new favorite date!

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