Best Honeymoon Destinations in June

June is the month to do the Greek islands. The sea is warm enough to swim, every ferry and beach taverna is open, and both prices and crowds sit below July and August. Santorini and Milos suit a couple who want caldera views and long dinners, while Naxos and Paros are quieter and easier on the budget. Athens is hot by midday, so pair it with the islands rather than saving it for last.

Known For : Tanah Lot Uluwatu Bali Swing

Bali's dry season is well under way by June, and the island is not yet as full as it gets in July and August. Couples usually split the trip, a few nights among the rice terraces and waterfalls around Ubud, then the coast at Seminyak or Nusa Dua for the beach clubs and seafood grills. Packages average around Rs 64,000 per person. Add a day boat to Nusa Penida for the cliffs if the sea is calm.

Best Time: April to October

302 Bali Attractions

Italy in June is warm without the August heat, and the queues at the Colosseum and the Vatican are shorter than they will be in a month. Give Rome two or three days, then move north to Florence and the Tuscan hill towns, or south to the Amalfi Coast where the sea is finally warm enough to swim. The Dolomites are the alternative if you would rather walk than sightsee. The flight is long and the euro makes this one of the costlier honeymoons here.

The alpine season opens in June. Cable cars and mountain trains that sit idle through spring start running, the meadows above Wengen and Murren fill with wildflowers, and the high passes clear. It is a good month for a couple who want the Jungfrau region and Lake Lucerne without the August queues. Book the Bernina and Glacier Express seats early, they fill first.

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

June starts the cool dry winter in Mauritius, with daytime temperatures in the high twenties and far less rain than the Indian summer months. It is also the cheapest half of the year, well below the December peak, which matters if you want a resort with a private terrace rather than a standard room. The sea is cooler and the southeast coast can be windy, so pick a west or north coast hotel.

Best Time: April to December

147 Mauritius Attractions

Known For : Dal Lake Gulmarg Gondola Houseboat Stay

June is Kashmir's best month. The valley is warm and green, the Mughal gardens are in flower, and the meadows above Gulmarg are clear of snow, so the gondola runs to the top and the golf course is open. Two nights on a Dal Lake houseboat and two more in Pahalgam or Gulmarg is the standard shape of the trip. Packages average around Rs 13,000 per person, the cheapest honeymoon on this list.

Best Time: March - June; September - November

45 Kashmir Attractions

Known For : Pangong Lake Khardung La Leh Palace

The road passes into Ladakh are usually clear by June, which is what makes this the month the trip becomes possible at all. Couples fly into Leh, take two days to acclimatise, then drive out to Pangong Tso and the Nubra Valley. Nights are cold even in June and the altitude takes a day or two to adjust to, so build in the rest days. Packages average around Rs 23,000 per person.

Best Time: April - Mid-July

72 Ladakh Attractions

Snow leaves the Icelandic highlands at the beginning of June, so the interior roads reopen and the whole island becomes drivable. The nights barely get dark, which means a couple can be out at Jokulsarlon or Kirkjufell at eleven at night with almost nobody around. Puffins are ashore through the month too.

Known For : Eiffel Tower Jardin du Luxembourg Montmartre

June is a good month in Paris. It is light until close to ten, the Seine boats and the Luxembourg Gardens chairs are busy but not packed, and the museums have not yet hit their August queues. Couples tend to stay in the Marais or Saint-Germain and walk. Fete de la Musique on 21 June puts free music on street corners across the city.

Best Time: April - early October

62 Paris Attractions

Croatia's coast is at its best in June, before the Adriatic fills with charter boats. Dubrovnik's walls are walkable in the morning, the water off Hvar and Vis is warm enough to swim, and Plitvice still has its spring water levels. Split makes the easier base if you would rather use ferries than a car.

North of the Arctic Circle the sun does not set through June, and Tromso and the Lofoten Islands draw visitors specifically for it. Further south the fjord routes to Geiranger and Naeroyfjord are all open and the mountain roads are clear of snow. It is expensive on the ground, so book the Flam and Bergen legs before you travel.

Portugal in June gives you warm, long-evening weather without the crowds that arrive in July. The Douro valley is green and the wine quintas take bookings for two, Lisbon is walkable before the heat settles in, and the Algarve beaches are open but not yet full. It is among the cheaper parts of western Europe once you are on the ground.

June begins Tanzania's long dry season, which is the right half of the year for a safari. The wildebeest herds are still inside the Serengeti through most of the month, usually working north and west, so a June trip sees them in Tanzania rather than in Kenya. Add three or four nights on Zanzibar afterwards. Safaris here are built to order rather than sold as packages, so park fees and internal flights shape the budget.

Kenya's long rains taper off through June and the dry season sets in, which makes for good game viewing across the Mara and Amboseli. The migration herds usually only cross from Tanzania between July and October, so come in June for the resident lions, elephants and rhino rather than for the river crossings. Diani on the coast is the usual second week. Packages average around Rs 237,000 per person.

Turkey works well in June, before the Aegean coast reaches its July temperatures. The balloons over Cappadocia fly most mornings and the nights are still cool enough to sleep comfortably in a cave hotel, while Oludeniz and Kas are warm for swimming. Istanbul is comfortable to walk. A weak lira keeps food and local transport cheap once you land.

The mountain half of Georgia opens up in June. The road to Kazbegi and the Gergeti church is clear, the villages of Svaneti are reachable again, and Tbilisi has not yet hit its midsummer heat. Kakheti's wine estates take couples for tastings and overnight stays and are cheap by European standards.

Thailand needs picking apart in June. The southwest monsoon sits on the Andaman side, so Phuket and Krabi get squalls and rougher water, while Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao on the Gulf coast are in their drier window. Chiang Mai is green and cheap. Packages average around Rs 35,000 per person, the lowest international figure on this list.

Central Vietnam is the part that works in June. Hoi An, Da Nang and Nha Trang are dry and hot, and the beach days hold up. Hanoi and Halong Bay, by contrast, are into their humid rainy months from May onward, so keep the north short or leave it out. Packages average around Rs 60,000 per person.

June sends the rain to Sri Lanka's west and south, which is why Trincomalee, Nilaveli and Passikudah on the east coast are the June answer. The water there is calm and clear through the month, and the hill country around Ella and Nuwara Eliya stays cool. Leave Galle and Mirissa for December. Packages average around Rs 32,000 per person.

Malaysia splits by coast in June. The Perhentian and Redang islands off the east coast are in their dry season and at their calmest, which makes them the better half of the country this month. Langkawi and Penang on the west see more afternoon rain, though it rarely takes out a whole day. Kuala Lumpur is a comfortable stopover either way. Packages average around Rs 48,000 per person.

Known For : Anse Lazio Snorkeling in Seychelles Sunbathing in Seychelles

June starts the southeast trade wind season in Seychelles, which brings cooler air, less rain and lower rates than the December to March window. The trade-off is wind and seaweed on the southeast-facing beaches, so book on the north or west of Mahe and Praslin.

Best Time: April to May, September to October

96 Seychelles Attractions

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

The Maldives moves into its southwest monsoon at the beginning of June, which changes what you get. Resort rates drop well below the December prices and the reefs stay warm, but expect grey afternoons, some rough speedboat crossings and the possibility of a wet week. Take it if the saving buys you a water villa you could not otherwise book. Packages average around Rs 89,000 per person.

Best Time: December to April

102 Maldives Attractions

June is winter in South Africa, dry and cool, and that is when Kruger's game viewing is easiest because the bush has thinned and animals gather at water. Cape Town, on the other hand, is in its wet and windy season, so weight the trip towards the park and the Garden Route. Whales start appearing off Hermanus late in the month. Getting there is a long flight, and the safari lodges are the expensive part of the trip.

Baku in June is warm but not yet at the July heat, and the Caspian promenade is pleasant in the evening. Couples usually pair two nights in the old city with a drive up to Gabala or Sheki, where the hills are green and the guesthouses are cheap. It is also among the shortest flights on this list from India, which is why it tends to win on a budget where Europe does not.

Early June is the tail of the hill station season in Uttarakhand, when Nainital and Mussoorie are cool and busy. Book for the first half of the month, because the monsoon usually reaches Garhwal by late June and the roads to Auli and the Valley of Flowers become a gamble. The Valley itself only really flowers from mid-July. Packages average around Rs 10,000 per person.

58 Attractions

Himachal in June works if you go high. Shimla, Manali and Dharamshala are at their busiest and their most pleasant, and the routes over Rohtang and Kunzum into Lahaul and Spiti usually open during the month, which puts the rain shadow valleys within reach. Packages average around Rs 13,000 per person. Book rooms well ahead, this is peak Indian holiday season.

45 Himachal Pradesh Attractions

Known For : Abbey Falls Mandalpatti Raja's Seat

Coorg in June is a monsoon trip and worth taking as one. The first rains bring the coffee estates and Abbey Falls to life, the plantation homestays cut their rates, and the crowds thin out to almost nothing. Expect wet afternoons, leeches on the walking trails and mist instead of a view. It suits couples who want quiet and a low bill more than a full itinerary.

Best Time: October to June

38 Coorg Attractions

Fiji's dry season runs May to October, so June is one of its more reliable months, with lower humidity and little cyclone risk. The Mamanuca and Yasawa islands are the honeymoon end of the country, small resorts reached by catamaran from Nadi. There is no direct flight from India, so allow a long travel day each way.

Best Time: July - September

June is the start of Madagascar's dry season, which is the practical window for the baobab road at Morondava and the rainforest reserves at Andasibe. Nosy Be in the north is the beach half of the trip. This is an adventure honeymoon rather than a resort one, and worth planning with an operator who knows the internal flights.

June is Japan's weakest month on this list. The tsuyu rainy season runs from early June to mid-July across Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku, so Kyoto and Tokyo are humid and often grey. Hokkaido is the exception, because the rain front largely misses it, and the flower farms around Furano open late in the month. Packages average around Rs 141,000 per person.