See also: Follow the journey of three classic romantic gifts on Travel's Valentine's Special
(CNN) -- Find romance in the faraway, mystical corners of the earth -- or just around the corner.
If you and your mate have tired of dinner-and-a-movie Valentine's celebrations,
there are many places to turn for inspiration and, just as importantly, some practical travel advice.
The award-winning travel journalist Peter Guttman has a book to pique your interest in more exotic locales.
Guttman's "Worlds to Imagine: Dream Journeys for Romantic Travelers" (Fodor's Travel Publications) showcases some of the world's most beautiful places with gorgeous photographs and evocative prose -- and provides an index with information on how to set yourself free in Bora Bora's aquamarine lagoons or arrange a camping trip with Bedouins in the Jordanian desert.
A passionate traveler and photographer, Guttman describes the 29 places in his book as "splendid pockets of tranquil isolation" -- including a floating lodge on Burma's Irrawaddy river and a picture-book Swiss village in the eastern Alps. He also hits on the Japanese Alps, Ugandan rain forests, tulip fields of Holland and the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.
If a sojourn in Ethiopia is more than you had in mind, several travel series focus on more sensible getaways in the United States.
You can pretend you're Scarlett and Rhett during one of the escapes proposed in "Romantic Days and Nights in Atlanta," (The Globe Pequot Press), by Carol and Dan Thalimer. The book -- sprinkled with charming, vintage illustrations -- suggests 26 weekend escapes, including tours of Atlanta's arts, music and theater scenes as well as getaways focusing on the Civil War period, Atlanta's African-American heritage and excursions outside the city.
The Thalimers plan your entire itinerary: Choosing your hotel and suggesting restaurants, tours and attractions. For example, their "Gone With the Wind" tour suggests a stay at the Georgian Terrace, the now-restored hotel where the cast stayed when the movie premiered in 1939 at the Fox Theater across the street. The itinerary includes a visit to the restored Margaret Mitchell House, where the author began her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
In another book from The Globe Pequot series, you'll learn about the most romantic things to do in and around the nation's capital. "Romantic Days and Nights in Washington, D.C", by Cynthia Hacinli and William S.D. Connor profiles 29 weekend escapes -- from the Capitol to Georgetown, cycling tours of the monuments and excursions to Maryland's Eastern Shore, Virginia horse country and Baltimore.
The first itinerary has you staying at the ritzy Hays-Adams Hotel, with a view of the White House. (The tour is called, perhaps a bit tongue-in-cheek, "In the Footsteps of Presidents: Knocking Around the White House.") In addition to a tour of the President's mansion, it suggests visits to the Museum of American History and the National Portrait Gallery.
For West Coast romance, turn to "Weekends for Two in Northern California: 50 Romantic Getaways" (Chronicle Books). Author Bill Gleeson breaks down the best places for lovers to lodge in four areas: the northern coast, the wine country, San Francisco and the Bay area, the central coast and Sacramento and the Sierra.
Gleeson has written five other books in the "Weekends for Two" series, profiling a range of hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns, from the quirky to the luxurious.
One of his North Coast picks is the Gingerbread Mansion, a Victorian inn in Ferndale, California, with an ornate pastel facade and rooms that offer couples toe-to-toe, clawfoot tubs.
The book also proposes a retreat to the East Brother Light Station at Point Richmond. This inn on an island in San Francisco Bay is the site of one of the oldest of the West Coast's still-working lighthouses. There are only four rooms.
In another publication from the Chronicle series, Gleeson explores "Weekends for Two in The Southwest": Southern Arizona, Northern Arizona, Southern New Mexico, Northern New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado.
Among the featured inns and hotels is the Bisbee Grand Hotel in Bisbee, Arizona, which echoes the Wild West with details like saloon fixtures once owned by Wyatt Earp. The guide recommends three suites for lovers on the run: the Victorian, with its luscious decor; the Oriental Suite, which has a Chinese wedding bed; and The Garden Suite, with its over-sized mirror and red carpeting
In New Mexico, the guide suggests the Lundeen Inn of the Arts in Las Cruces. You can enjoy your privacy by retreating to one of the 20 rooms in the inn's adobe buildings -- or get hitched. Jerry Lundeen, who runs the inn with his wife, Linda, is a lay minister who often joins his visitors in wedded bliss. The inn also has an art gallery and offers occasional classes taught by area artists and craftspeople.
Another inn featured in the guide is the intriguingly named Dancing Ground of the Sun. The five-unit Santa Fe inn has kiva (beehive-shaped) fireplaces and a honeymoon suite with a small balcony accessed by clambering through a window. Each of the rooms is named after a native American spirit dancer.
Whether for Valentine's Day or a springtime getaway, start your romance between the pages of a guidebook, and see where your heart takes you.
