Second Date Ideas
A little longer than coffee, easy to talk, and a new side of each other, one idea at a time.
- Time
- Two to three hours
- Players
- Two people
- Best for
- Second and third dates, by day or early evening
- Deck
- 60 ideas in 5 categories
How to use these second date ideas
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Read the idea on the top card. If you both like it, put it on the calendar.
- Swipe the card away, or tap “Next idea”, for another. Ideas do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save an idea on this device, or tap “Make a 10-idea list” for a list you can copy.
When to plan the second date
The first date answers one question: do we want to see each other again? The second has room for more, so the plan can run a little longer and say a little more about you.
Right after a good first date
Suggest the next plan while the first one is still fresh, with one card from this deck as the invitation.
A free weekend afternoon
Make an afternoon of it, or Hands busy, talk easy, for two or three hours that pass quickly.
After work on a weekday
An easy evening has plans that start early and end on time, with room to stay a little later.
Ways to use these second date ideas
Send one card as the invitation
Draw until an idea makes you smile, then send it as the plan. A specific idea is easier to say yes to than “want to hang out again?”
Pick up a thread
Choose an idea that follows on from the first date, like a place one of you mentioned or a hobby that came up.
Allow a little more time
Make an afternoon of it and Long lunches and slow meals run two or three hours, with a natural second stop if you both want to stay on.
Tips for a relaxed second date
- Change the setting from the first date. If you met over coffee, try something hands-on or a long lunch this time.
- Bring up something they told you last time. Remembering a small detail shows you were listening.
- Leave the next step open. If the date goes well, a saved idea is ready for the third one.
All 60 second date ideas by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and pick there.
Make an afternoon of it
Two or three easy hours with a second stop built in, a little longer than a coffee.
- Spend an afternoon in a hands-on science museum and try every exhibit in one hall before you leave.
- Visit a musical instrument museum and spend the most time in the room where you can play them.
- Find the most specific small museum near you, like one for typewriters or neon signs, and see all of it.
- Tour a famous architect’s house and each pick the room you would move into first.
- Visit a street fair in a neighborhood neither of you knows and stay for one full set of music.
- Walk the walls of an old fort and read every sign about the people who lived there.
- Browse an antique mall and each find something made in the year you were born.
- Take a short wildlife boat trip to look for seals or dolphins, and keep one count between you.
Show all 12 in Make an afternoon of itShow fewer
- Watch a polo match on a summer Sunday and join the crowd stomping divots at halftime.
- See a photography exhibition, then try to take one photo each in the same style on the walk out.
- Walk a big spring flower show and each choose the display garden you would want at home.
- Go to a model railway club’s open day and ask whether you can each run a train for one lap.
Hands busy, talk easy
Something to do with your hands, so the talk can wander on its own.
- Shoot one disposable camera each on a long walk, and plan to look at the prints on the next date.
- Try an intro bouldering session and pick an easy route on the wall for each other.
- Set a short line of type by hand at a letterpress studio’s open day and print a card each.
- Weave a small basket at a beginner basket-making class and decide what each one will hold.
- Bottle-feed lambs at a farm’s spring open day and give the noisiest one a name.
- Play the machines at a pinball arcade in order of age, from the oldest to the newest.
- Join a free weekend workshop at a hardware store and build one small project between you.
- Bake dog biscuits from a simple recipe and drop the batch off at an animal shelter.
Show all 12 in Hands busy, talk easyShow fewer
- Decorate a box of cupcakes at a beginner class and give two away on the walk home.
- Split a small building-brick set at a café table, one reading the steps and one building, then swap.
- Sit in on a drop-in drawing session at a museum, where stools and pencils are handed out free.
- Pitch horseshoes at a park’s pits and cheer every ringer, however rare they turn out to be.
Share a favorite
Show each other a song, a place or a hobby, and see a new side.
- Bring the other along as your guest to something you already do each week, like a run club or a choir.
- Each pick one room at a museum and give the other a five-minute tour of why you love it.
- If one of you plays an instrument, bring it to a park and play one song, however rusty.
- If one of you has a hobby like tennis, archery or rowing, book a guest pass and let them teach the basics.
- Go to a game of the team one of you follows, and let the fan explain every rule as it happens.
- Plan three stops of favorites: a snack one of you loves, a view the other loves, and a song for the walk.
- Each choose a drop-in class, like yoga or salsa, and do both on two Saturdays in a row.
- See a band one of you loves play live, after the fan plays the other three songs on the way there.
Show all 12 in Share a favoriteShow fewer
- Visit the shop where one of you buys hobby supplies, like a yarn or comic shop, and get the full tour.
- Go together to a friend’s gig, play or art opening, and stay to say hello at the end.
- Introduce the other to the owner of your favorite shop or stall, and let the owner recommend something.
- If your workplace has an open day or a public lobby, show the other where you spend your weekdays.
Long lunches and slow meals
Meals that take their time, with something to talk about built in.
- Over a long lunch, each bring three questions you have wanted to ask since the first date.
- Go to the place one of you mentioned on the first date, the one you have been meaning to try.
- Eat at a long-running family restaurant and order the dish that has been on the menu longest.
- Share a seafood boil poured straight onto paper, with bibs on and nothing to eat with but your hands.
- Share three slices at a pie shop and each pick the one you would order again.
- Build lunch from three stalls at a farmers market and eat it at the nearest picnic table.
- Share a hot stone bibimbap and take turns scraping up the crispy rice at the bottom.
- Order a dessert that takes twenty minutes to bake, like a soufflé, and fill the wait with talk.
Show all 12 in Long lunches and slow mealsShow fewer
- Have a long lunch at a restaurant inside a museum or garden, then walk the grounds after.
- Meet for a long breakfast and plan the rest of the day on a napkin, one stop each.
- Order a whole fish to share and ask the server to show you how to lift the bones out in one piece.
- Eat at a restaurant inside an unusual old building, like a former bank or a train car, and ask about its past.
An easy evening
Early evening plans with a natural end, and room to stay a little later.
- Join a public board game night at a game store and sit down at a table with strangers.
- Catch the evening program at a cultural festival, with music and dance on an outdoor stage.
- Make paper lanterns at a community workshop and carry them in the evening parade.
- See a festival of ten-minute plays and each pick the one that deserves a full-length version.
- Go to an evening concert in a garden or courtyard and walk the paths at intermission.
- Watch a ballroom dance competition and each choose a pair to cheer for in the final.
- Go to a classic film screening that starts with a short talk, and keep the talk going afterward.
- Sign up for the first night of a short evening class together, so the next date is already planned.
Show all 12 in An easy eveningShow fewer
- Watch an evening of short-track racing from the grandstand and each pick a car to cheer for.
- Go to an outdoor evening yoga class with live music and stay for the last stretch at sunset.
- Go to a folk or bluegrass jam at a community hall, where anyone can bring an instrument and join in.
- Watch a fire-spinning or LED-hoop jam in a park after dark from a good spot on the grass.
Frequently asked questions
How many second date ideas are there?
There are 60 ideas, 12 in each of five categories: make an afternoon of it, hands busy and talk easy, share a favorite, long lunches and slow meals, and an easy evening. The cards and the list on this page use the same set.
What makes a good second date?
A little more time than the first, something to do that keeps the talk easy, and a chance to see a new side of each other. A letterpress open day or a hobby one of you loves can do all three at once.
Should a second date be dinner?
It can be, but an afternoon or an early evening is often easier. Daytime plans end on their own, and if it goes well you can always add dinner. For the very first meeting, see first date ideas.
What should we talk about on a second date?
Pick up threads from the first date, then go a little further. Get to know you questions are a good next step after first date questions.