Heart of the matter

As the most romantic night in the calendar fast approaches, thousands of couples will be booking an overnight escape – and with Valentine’s Day falling on a Friday this year, many might make a whole weekend away of it.

But spending 48 hours in a partner’s company doesn’t always have a positive impact on a relationship, especially when planes, trains and automobiles are involved.

According to Cheapflight.co.uk’s Holiday Heartbeat survey, where members of the public were interviewed about their travelling highs and lows, spouses and significant others were cited as the primary cause of airport anxiety. Even immigration officials and security personnel were said to induce less stress.

So it seems that if you want to whisper sweet nothings not shout swearwords at your loved one, it might be worth staying on home turf.

The idea that holidays put a strain on a relationship has been seconded in another study by KAYAK.co.uk, which shows a whopping one in 20 Brits has gone so far as to cheat on their partner while on holiday – a minority even claimed that “it doesn’t count if you’re on another continent”.

So where should you avoid if your partner has a wandering eye? According to the Journey of Love survey, the most likely location for infidelity is party island Ibiza – hardly surprising considering the White Isle’s legendary temptations.

It’s not all bad though – the same survey also revealed that packing a suitcase and whisking a loved one away can set you on the right track to romance – as long as you choose your destination carefully.

Unsurprisingly, the number one spot for a foreign fling is picture-perfect Venice, followed by exotic Sydney and Las Vegas. (Although interestingly Las Vegas was also named as one of the locations people thought couples would most likely split up.)

Anyone wanting to use February 14 to pop the question should head to Paris, named, perhaps predictably, as the top city to propose. Those not wanting to waste any time on an actual engagement might consider Barbados, the preferred destination for eloping.

What if you find yourself alone on Valentine’s Day, though? Singletons need not worry, they just need to book a trip to New York, which was suggested as the best place to heal a broken heart. Or if you’re single and looking for love, the obvious choice for a trip has to be Ibiza (although don’t be surprised if the romance has fizzled out by the time you reach passport control).