Ever want to be like Indiana Jones and search for real treasure? Well now you can, and you can do it as a date or a group activity. Time to head into the great outdoors and go geocaching.
This idea is called treasure caching, also known as geocaching. What is a treasure or a geocache? Well, it’s a place somewhere on the earth where someone has buried or hidden small treasures. Not usually something of great value, but the thrill of it is not really what you find—it’s the steps that it takes to find it.
If you are really into it you can go to a website called www.geocaching.com, where you’ll find a list of many geocaches that you can search for. There is a catch, however: you need a GPS system to look for these caches or the Geocaching app for your phone.
For a group date idea, divide the group into two teams. Have each team come up with a treasure hunt; include riddles, clues, etc., to help the other team find it. If you want to get creative, make them use a compass as well. Then have something cool for them to find.
If you do the Geocaching at the above website, make sure that you have something to replace the treasure with; that way anyone else who looks for it will have something to find as well.
Then end the evening with a treasure-hunting movie like National Treasure, the ultimate treasure hunting experience.
What you need for this geocaching date idea:
This date takes a lot of planning if you want to create your own treasure hunt. Otherwise, you need a GPS system or the phone app if you want to look for the already-hidden caches.
Travel will also take planning, depending on what you decide to do. The app will be more limited although there are thousands of geocaches to find with it, if you make a treasure hunt yourself then the possibilities are endless.
My experience with this creative date idea:
I searched for my first geocache while in college. It was a multi-cache meaning there is more than one place where you need to look for clues and items. It was really fun. I felt like a treasure hunter; it even had a bit of a Da Vinci Code feel to it.
My friends that were with me were really into it as well. We had an incredible time as we tried to solve the riddles and find the clues, which would lead us to the next clue, and ultimately the treasure. My friends couldn’t stop talking about it with everyone they saw—it really was a hit.
Years later in Arizona my friend and his date planned a treasure hunting activity for us, complete with all the clues. We didn’t need a GPS system or anything like that, which made it easier since they created a map, etc. It was an awesome, creative way to spend the evening with a date and some friends.
So, if you are looking for a fun date idea to do outdoors whether just the two of you or with a group go geocaching!
Do you have experience with this creative date idea? Let me know in the comments how it went and if your date, spouse, significant other liked it. You can buy a copy of the book 101 Creative Dates: ideas, tips, and personal experiences from the life of a hopeless romantic here or visit the shop.
Here are other date ideas you might like: