I don’t care if you’re out for a one-night stand or looking for love; your first Tinder date is critical. 

The best dates are those that embody creativity, manifesting a unique and exhilarating experience for the physical body while allowing you to connect emotionally. If you want to impress, here’s how to take your Tinder experience from DM to date with 10 Tinder first date ideas that don’t totally suck. 

First Tinder Date Ideas

How you choose to go about your first tinder date should depend on: 

• What you’ve learned about this person: Have they mentioned something they particularly enjoy doing or something that they have always wanted to try?
• What you know about yourself: Is there an important part of your life, such as your hobbies, that you want to share and express through this date? 
• Are they looking for a relationship: If your potential partner is looking for a relationship, you’ll want to cultivate romance and connection for your first date. 
• Are they looking for a hookup: In this for just the sex? Then perhaps a more lighthearted and fun date night. 

• Check Out a Sex Museum

If you have both established an interest in sex through sex-positive conversations, and as of now, you’re seeking more of a physical connection, there’s nothing better than hitting a sex museum. 

Catering to both experiential intimacy and sexual intimacy, a sex museum is a guaranteed good time. It opens up endless doors to further conversation surrounding sex, you’ll learn more about yourself and your new partner when it comes to sexuality, and hell, at least you’ll both be inspired!! 

For Tinder first date ideas that might end on a one-night stand or for adventitious souls comfortable with sexuality, a sex museum is the way. 

• Take a Hike!

But not in a bad way…

So many of us would deem ourselves as ‘outdoorsy’, so toss on the hiking shoes and hit a nearby trail! Going on a hike together is a wonderful opportunity to connect while also connecting with the beauty of the natural world. 

Hiking allows for ample time to chat and learn about one another; it’s a physical activity that makes you feel alive, and what is better than a first Tinder date that allows you to set an end goal (aka, getting to that incredible summit-view) and achieve it together. 

And who knows, if you two are leaning more on the sexual side of things, did someone say… Hiking sex?!

• Hit Up the Kombucha Bar

Breweries and wine bars are always the go-to Tinder first date ideas, and no one will complain about chatting over a full glass of liquid courage. But with that, I mean, you can’t lie and say that these date nights are at least a little bit overused, right?

To change things up just enough, showing off a bit of uniqueness and creativity in your ability to think outside the box, how about switching things up and going to a kombucha bar instead?

Don’t worry, these tasty drinks are indeed still alcoholic (with non-alcoholic options, as well, which some might appreciate!), but are totally different from your classic brews or bottles of wine. You can learn about/receive the health benefits of kombucha, get a little tipsy, and chat it up as you explore awesome flavors in a killer environment. 

• The GoodWill Date Night

Want to be the Tinder date he/she will literally never forget? Want to outshine the rest in your ability to curate an experience that promotes happiness, laughter, and connection? Hell yeah, you do, and with this Tinder first date idea, that’s exactly what will happen. 

Pull up to a Goodwill with a simple $10-15 budget each. Either have yourselves surprise one another with your own outfits, or even better, pick each other’s outfits out yourselves! Now take your wild and crazy fits out to dinner, Topgolf, or the beach, and relish the endless entertainment as folks stare at your checkerboard trench coat or polka dot dress. 

• The 50/50 Date Night

Flip a coin, and it’s landing on heads or tails, right? Sweet, of course it does. 

So why not use this 50/50 chance to create your first Tinder date for you?! Your potential partner will think it’s brilliant and fun, and they’ve probably never done this before, so props to you and your date night creativity, eh? Brownie points! 

Pick ’em up, hand ’em a quarter, and start driving. The coin dictates your direction. Heads equal a left turn; tails equal right. Drive and flip it 10 or so times, and wherever the area you end up is where your date night takes place!!

A random field to watch the clouds? A 5-star restaurant or an Applebees? The mall, a bowling alley, a damn Target? Who the heck knows! And that is exactly why this is such an entertaining first Tinder date idea. 

• A Culture Date

Are you interested in the idea of a possible relationship with your Tinder partner? Lovely, we are thrilled to hear that! And if that’s the case, here’s an idea for you. 

For your first Tinder date, use this as an experience to share more about yourself and your culture to really connect and express who you are. Take your partner to restaurants that specialize in your culture’s cuisine, take them with you to share a common tradition, take them to your favorite places and share why they mean so much to you and how they have shaped you into who you are. 

In doing so, your new partner won’t just learn more about you, but you will both tell if this is a potential match right off the bat by letting them into such personal areas of your life and existence. And that’s important!

• Time for a Lesson

A tried, true, and tested first Tinder date idea; you can never go wrong with signing yourself and your potential partner up for lessons to learn something new! 

Life is all about experiences, and even more so when we can use the experiences to connect with another individual on this Earth. And nothing screams experience like learning something entirely new! 

So go ahead, take charge and sign yourself up for a random lesson in something! Keep it simple with a painting or a yoga class, or go even further by upping the ante, such as surfing lessons, diving lessons, or even sex workshops! 

The possibilities are seriously endless, so if there’s been something that you or your Tinder date have expressed an interest in trying, be the one to make it happen, and first Tinder date night success is guaranteed to follow. 

• Take Out on the Beach

There’s a reason why dinner is usually the standard date night- good food, a couple of drinks, and plenty of time to chat. And that’s super important for a perfect first date. But why not take this standard concept of dinner and drinks and add a little ‘spice’ to it.

Instead of hitting the restaurant, order take out!! Then, head off to the beach with a blanket, a lovely open field, a dock, or a quiet, secret spot in the woods, and picnic it up instead.  

This totally changes the simple dinner dynamic and adds quite the alluring twist. Who wouldn’t prefer munching down over the chirps of birds or the crashing of waves?

And besides, a makeout sesh is much more viable here than it is at your table for two with a waitress breathing down your shoulder. 

• The Bob Ross Paint Night

This one is a bit interesting for Tinder first date ideas, as it will require you to let this potential Tinder partner into your own home/personal space. But some of us are totally cool with that, and some of us are only interested in sex anyway, so we can skip the outing. 

For this date night, it’s creative, connecting, and really just a fun and good time. Snag some paintbrushes, paint, two canvases, and a bottle of wine. Watch a Bob Ross painting video (he instructs you on how to create landscape paintings), and see if you can create a masterpiece in doing so! 

• Truth or Drink

Want to keep the conversation flowing while learning more about yourselves? Play truth or drink! There are games out there with plenty of questions all ready to go for you, sexual and non-sexual, or you can think to ask your own questions! What do they like in bed, what is a funny or embarrassing experience, what kind of love language do they have. You get the idea. 

Don’t want to answer? Your only way out is to take a drink!