This Saturday is Valentine’s Day—and the Monday after is Presidents’ Day. Many of us may be thinking about a last-minute long-weekend escape. As TripAdvisor’s Travel Advocate, I’ve been sharing a lot of getaway ideas and strategies over on TripAdvisor’s blog and in its Wendy’s Travel Tips newsletter. Here’s an assortment of these tips, to help you maximize a mid-winter getaway.

Consider a Cozy Winter-Wonderland Retreat
Some lodges and ranches that you think of only for summer are awesome in winter, especially when you get to do activities you’ve never tried before. Think dogsledding, snowshoeing, ice fishing, or even skijoring (which is like waterskiing, only on snow, with a horse rather than a boat pulling you). Here are six things to look for in a cozy winter retreat.

Choose a Hotel with an Incredible Indoor Pool
In wintertime, sometimes the smartest hotel feature to splurge on is a fabulous heated indoor pool with a panoramic view. Here’s how to find them.

Achieve Your Ideal Notion of Seclusion
Secluded doesn’t have to mean remote. One of my most romantic trips ever was when my husband surprised me with a night in a lighthouse on a tiny island in San Francisco Bay that barely anyone knows is there. Here’s how to pinpoint your perfect secluded getaway.

Find a Special Suite That’s Worth the Splurge
Certain jaw-dropping suites I’ve opted to splurge on—such as at Matakauri Lodge in New Zealand on my honeymoon—are sealed in my memory forever. Here’s how to know when a suite is worth the splurge.

Get Into an Impossible-to-Get-Into Restaurant
What to do when the restaurant you want for Valentine’s Day is fully booked? Here are tips for scoring a hot table on any Saturday night, wherever in the world you may be.

Make a Fairytale Place Even More Transportive
My first date with my husband (long before the aforementioned honeymoon) was in a medieval German castle. It was one of those heady travel moments that transport you to another place and time. Here’s how to create such moments.

I’d love to hear: How do you make romantic weekend getaways magical?

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.