Best Honeymoon Destinations in July

Known For : Tanah Lot Uluwatu Bali Swing

July is Bali's dry season, the opposite of what most couples expect of Southeast Asia mid-year. It is the one short-haul beach honeymoon that holds up this month. Ubud is inland and green, with rice terraces, waterfalls and villas that come with their own pool, while Seminyak and Nusa Dua bring beach clubs and seafood grills on the sand. Book early, July is Bali's busiest month too. Packages average around Rs 64,000 per person.

Best Time: April to October

302 Bali Attractions

Sri Lanka in July depends entirely on which coast you pick. The southwest monsoon runs from mid May to October, so Bentota, Galle and Mirissa are wet, while Trincomalee, Passikudah and the rest of the east coast stay dry and calm. Couples who go east get quiet beaches, snorkelling at Pigeon Island and an easy detour up to Kandy and Ella on the way. It is also the cheapest honeymoon on this list. Packages average around Rs 32,000 per person.

Known For : Seven Coloured Earth of Chamarel Le Morne Brabant Underwater Waterfall

July is winter in Mauritius, so days are warm rather than hot, humidity is low and there is little rain. Rates sit well below the December peak, which makes this one of the better value beach honeymoons of the month. The east coast is windier and better for kitesurfing, while Flic en Flac and Grand Baie on the west and north stay calmer for swimming.

Best Time: April to December

147 Mauritius Attractions

Known For : Pangong Lake Khardung La Leh Palace

If you married during the monsoon and want to stay in India, Ladakh is the answer. It sits in the Himalayan rain shadow and stays dry while the rest of the country is wet, and July falls in the short window when the high passes are open. Couples drive over Khardung La, camp beside Pangong Lake and take slow mornings in the Nubra Valley. Give yourselves three days in Leh to acclimatise before going higher.

Best Time: April - Mid-July

72 Ladakh Attractions

Tanzania puts a safari and a beach week into one honeymoon, and July is the month both halves work. The wildebeest herds are in the northern Serengeti, and Zanzibar sits between its rains, the main wet season having ended in May. Most couples take four nights in the parks, then fly across for Stone Town and the quieter east coast beaches. Park fees and light aircraft hops make it one of the costlier honeymoons here, and July is its peak season.

The Great Migration usually reaches Kenya's Maasai Mara in July, when the first herds cross the Mara River from the Serengeti, and it stays until around October. Going now rather than in August means slightly softer rates and fewer vehicles at the crossings. For a honeymoon the private conservancies bordering the Mara earn their premium, since they allow night drives and walking safaris. Packages average around Rs 2,37,000 per person.

Vietnam splits in two in July. Hanoi, Halong Bay and Sapa are hot and at their wettest, so this is not the month for the north. The central coast is in its drier stretch, which makes Da Nang, Hoi An and Nha Trang the sensible base, with tailors and lantern-lit lanes in Hoi An and beach days on either side. Add Phu Quoc if you want an island finish. Packages average around Rs 60,000 per person.

Thailand in July is a question of which coast. The Andaman side around Phuket and Krabi is in the southwest monsoon, with rougher seas and island boat trips that get cancelled, while the Gulf islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao follow a different rain pattern and stay much drier. Choose the Gulf and July becomes a good value month, with resort rates below the winter peak. Packages average around Rs 35,000 per person.

Malaysia works in July if you head to the east coast. The Perhentian and Redang islands are in season now, with clear water and calm crossings, while Langkawi over on the west sees more rain. Two nights in Kuala Lumpur at the start makes the flights and the transfer easier. Packages average around Rs 48,000 per person.

Known For : Anse Lazio Snorkeling in Seychelles Sunbathing in Seychelles

The southeast trade winds cross Seychelles from May to November, and this is the stretch islanders rate as the most pleasant: cooler, drier and less sticky than the peak season. The trade-off is breezier water on the exposed beaches, so La Digue and the sheltered bays of Praslin suit swimming better than the open coast. There is no cheap week here whichever island you pick.

Best Time: April to May, September to October

96 Seychelles Attractions

Switzerland is at its best in July, and it is one of the few European honeymoons this month that does not involve queueing in heat. Daylight runs late, so you can take an evening cable car and still be down for dinner. Base yourselves in Lauterbrunnen or Wengen for the Jungfrau, or Zermatt for the Matterhorn. Mountain hotels fill months ahead, so book early.

Known For : Dal Lake Gulmarg Gondola Houseboat Stay

Kashmir gets far less rain than the rest of north India in July, and the valley is warm and green. Couples take a houseboat on Dal Lake, ride a shikara at dusk and drive out to the meadows at Pahalgam and Gulmarg. Flights are short and cheap from most Indian cities, which leaves more of the budget for the stay. Check the current advisory before you book.

Best Time: March - June; September - November

45 Kashmir Attractions

Georgia is at its best in July and still costs less than most honeymoons on this list. Tbilisi has sulphur baths, balconied old streets and a serious wine scene, and three hours north the road reaches Kazbegi, where Gergeti church stands below a glacier. The mountains stay mild even when Tbilisi is hot.

Known For : Stay in an Overwater Bungalow Ithaa Undersea Restaurant Scuba Diving in Maldives

July is the Maldives at its cheapest and also at its least reliable. It falls inside the southwest monsoon, so expect grey spells and real rain rather than unbroken blue, though most days still give you sun between showers. If this is the window where your budget reaches an overwater villa, it can still be the right call. Go in knowing the trade. Packages average around Rs 89,000 per person.

Best Time: December to April

102 Maldives Attractions

Most of Japan in July is hot and humid with the rainy season tailing off, which makes Hokkaido the part worth flying for. The lavender and flower fields around Furano and Biei peak this month, Sapporo is comfortable in the evenings and the drive out to Lake Toya is easy. Leave Kyoto and Osaka for a cooler month unless you handle humidity well.

Greece in July is hot, full and priced to match, so go in with your eyes open. Santorini's caldera hotels are at their most expensive and the sunset spots at Oia are shoulder to shoulder. For the islands without the crush, look at Naxos, Milos or Paros instead.

Italy in July is at its hottest and busiest, partly because this is when Italians take the coast too. The Amalfi Coast is beautiful and slow to drive in high season, so stay in Ravello or Praiano rather than Positano and move by ferry. The Dolomites and the northern lakes are the cooler alternative.

Turkey in July is very hot inland. Cappadocia's balloons still fly at dawn, which is the only comfortable hour of the day there, and Istanbul is heavy going in the afternoon. The part that genuinely suits a July honeymoon is the Turquoise Coast around Kas and Kalkan, best seen from a small boat over a few nights.

Most of Himachal is in the monsoon in July, so Shimla, Manali and the Kullu valley get heavy rain and landslides can close roads for a day at a time. The exception is the rain shadow beyond Rohtang. Lahaul and Spiti stay dry, and Kaza, Key Monastery and Chandratal are at their most reachable. Treat this as a mountain trip, not a resort one.

45 Himachal Pradesh Attractions

July is Bhutan's monsoon, and that is the honest reason to think twice. Cloud sits low over the valleys, so the Himalayan views many couples come for often do not appear, and the trails are wet. What you get instead is bright green terraces, almost nobody else on the climb to Paro Taktsang and the lowest rates of the year. Packages average around Rs 36,000 per person.

France in July suits couples who want countryside rather than coast. Provence's lavender is in flower through the month and the hill villages of the Luberon cool down pleasantly in the evening. The Riviera is at its most crowded and expensive now, so if you want mountains and water instead, Annecy and the French Alps are the better swap.

Known For : Praia do Tofo FEIMA - Feira de Artesanato, Flores e Gastronomica Inhaca Island

July is the dry season in Mozambique and the coolest part of its year, which means comfortable days and clear water for diving off the Bazaruto and Quirimbas archipelagos. Getting there from India takes at least one change and lodges are few and expensive, so this one suits couples who want somewhere genuinely quiet more than somewhere easy.

Best Time: May to November

8 Mozambique Attractions

Known For : Gardens by the Bay Universal Studios Singapore Marina Bay Sands

Singapore is not much of a honeymoon on its own, but it is the most comfortable stop on the way to Bali or the Malaysian islands. Two nights covers Gardens by the Bay, an evening at the hawker centres and the walk around Marina Bay. July weather is warm with short sharp showers, much like the rest of the year.

Best Time: February to September

273 Singapore Attractions