Romance for all seasons: get your heart racing at one of these four fitness-boosting couples' retreats

Shape, Feb, 2005 by Gabrielle Gayagoy

Celebrate Valentine's Day year-round with one of our four favorite fairy-tale getaways--there's a destination that's perfect for every season. Each offers plenty of heart-healthy opportunities for relaxing, romancing and calorie-blasting playtime. Best of all, they're wallet-friendly enough for you both to live happily ever after your weekend tryst.

Rates are double occupancy, in U.S. dollars and do not include transportation or taxes unless otherwise noted. Seasonal package prices and details are subject to change.

Winter Warmth: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

The mild climate and laid-back vibe of the Dominican Republic's northern-central Atlantic coast offers the ideal no-snow retreat for playful lovebirds. You can have it all--luxurious rooms, sumptuous meals, R & R and abundant fitness activities are included in your "Romantic Getaways" package at the Marien Coral by Hilton, just 20 minutes north of Puerto Plata International Airport.

Love nest You'll relish your private time in the resort's modern-hacienda-style suites that feature handsome rattan furniture and tobacco-leaf-print comforters beneath soaring ceilings. Six suites also offer outdoor terraces overlooking the sugary sand and azure water.

Heart-healthy fun Beyond barefoot beach walks, there's plenty to get your heart racing. Windsurfing is one of the biggest draws, with daily free clinics for beginners. There's also complimentary canoe and kayak use as well as free access to two clay tennis courts, a nine-hole miniature-golf course and an open-air gym offering personal training and fitness classes (included in the resort fee).

While snorkeling at Marien Coral is also complimentary, there's not a lot to see underwater at the resort beach. Day-trip instead to Paradise Island with guides from Mel Tours (reserve through Marien Coral's concierge desk). After about 20 minutes of coral-reef exploration off the coast of nearby Punta Rusia, you'll ride a speedboat past sugar-cane fields and banana, rice and cacao plantations to the lush mangrove marshes of Paradise Island's Los Haitises National Park ($90 per couple, includes equipment, food and transportation; 809-571-4002). Upon your return, polish off your day's workout with a free hour-long massage in the resort's Metamorphosis Spa.

Table for two In addition to abundant seafood offerings, Marien Coral also serves spreads of roasted chicken, salad fixings and fresh fruits at seaside terrace tables or under the thatched roof of El Cayuco Buffet Restaurant. For dinner, reserve a candlelit table at El Charro, which features such delectable dishes as tequila-soaked salmon, beef with coriander sauce and seafood enchiladas. Meals at both restaurants are included in your resort rate.

Book it $1,158 per couple for two days and three nights: "Romantic Getaways" package includes three-night accommodations at $356 per night, a bottle of Champagne, a full-hour anti-stress massage for two, all meals and access to a free 24-hour snack bar; beverages including cocktails, beer and wine; and taxes and gratuities; additional activities, $90 (877-GO-HILTON, coralbyhilton.com)--Laurie McLaughlin

Spring Breakaway: New Brunswick, Canada

A fantastic fog envelops you upon arrival at New Brunswick's Saint John International Airport. It slips past your car's windows as you wind along purple-lupine-lined roads to St. Martins, a tranquil, historic fishing village on the Bay of Fundy, 40 minutes away.

Love nest Nicknamed "The Castle," St. Martins Country Inn was built in 1857 to resemble a French Riviera mansion. Each of the 17 spacious suites showcases turn-of-the-century furnishings and eyelet-lace curtains and/or canopies stretched above quilt-covered poster beds.

Relax and count shooting stars while soaking in the Inn's outdoor hot tub or take it inside; your spacious in-room jet-stream whirlpool is sure to heat things up.

Heart-healthy fun Scull across the serene Bay of Fundy in a kayak for two, paddling in sync with his body's movements in the maritime mist. After leading you past sandstone cliffs and pointing out playful porpoises, your River Valley Adventures guide will boil a fresh catch of the bay's coveted hard-shelled lobsters for lunch on a secluded beach (about $113 per couple; 888-871-4244, rivervalleyadventures.com).

Once you return to shore, you might want to slip into your hiking boots to trace the Fundy Trail. Steal a kiss as you pass beneath one of the town's twin covered bridges as you drive 3.8-miles to the Salmon River Interpretive Center/trailhead. From there, you can hike an easy 2.3 miles past patches of yellow trout lilies, fiddlehead ferns and pink Himalayan jewel-weed to the five-stage Fuller Falls.

Later, on your way back to the Inn, pull into the lot of Cave View Family Restaurant to wander across the seaweed-strewn exposed bay floor--the exact spot where you'd kayaked in the morning. The Bay of Fundy's curious tide reversal (of up to 54 feet) occurs every 6.22 hours when water from the Atlantic Ocean surges in and later funnels out.