Best Honeymoon Destinations in October

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

October is when Mauritius comes into its best stretch of the year. The southeast trade winds are easing, the lagoon inside the reef settles and the humidity has not arrived, so a couple can swim, eat outside and leave the doors open. Most resorts sit on their own beach with a reef a short swim away, which is why it works for couples who want to do very little. Belle Mare and the north around Grand Baie are calmest. Most of the cost sits in the resort rather than the flight, so the room you choose sets the budget.

Best Time: April to December

147 Mauritius Attractions

Known For : Tanah Lot Uluwatu Bali Swing

Bali finishes its dry season in October, so the days are bright but the crowds have thinned and villa rates soften before the December rush. Most couples split the trip: Ubud inland for rice terraces, waterfalls and a private pool in the trees, then Seminyak or Uluwatu on the coast for beach clubs and long evenings. Nusa Penida is a day out by boat. Packages average around Rs 64,000 per person.

Best Time: April to October

302 Bali Attractions

Known For : Anse Lazio Snorkeling in Seychelles Sunbathing in Seychelles

October falls between the two trade wind seasons in Seychelles, which is the quietest water of the year and the reason divers pick it. Mahe, Praslin and La Digue are close enough to island hop by ferry in one trip, and the granite boulders at Anse Source d'Argent are a short cycle from most La Digue guesthouses. It is the most expensive beach option here.

Best Time: April to May, September to October

96 Seychelles Attractions

Cappadocia is at its best in October. The mornings are cold and clear, which is what the balloons need, so flights are cancelled far less often than in summer or midwinter, and a cave hotel terrace at sunrise is the reason most couples come. Istanbul is walkable again once the heat goes, and the Aegean coast around Bodrum stays warm enough to swim into the middle of the month. The lira is weak against the rupee, so meals and travel inside Turkey cost less than the flight suggests.

October is when Japan starts to turn. The colour reaches Hokkaido and mountain valleys such as Kamikochi and Nikko during the month, while Kyoto and Nara usually peak in late November, so plan around where you are going rather than expecting red maples everywhere. Hakone suits a couple well, with a ryokan room that has its own open air bath and Mount Fuji visible on clear mornings. Packages average around Rs 141,000 per person.

Get the coast right and Thailand is excellent in October. The Andaman side, meaning Phuket, Krabi and the Phi Phi islands, is coming out of the monsoon through the month and improves week by week. The Gulf side is doing the opposite: Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao are heading into their wettest weeks, so book west rather than east. Chiang Mai is cool and green. Packages average around Rs 35,000 per person.

Known For : Burj Khalifa Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo At the Top Burj Khalifa

Dubai becomes comfortable again in October after a summer nobody spends outdoors. Evenings on a hotel beach, a desert camp under the stars and dinner outside all work once the temperature drops. It is also the shortest flight on this list, so it suits couples who can only take four or five days off after the wedding. Packages average around Rs 44,000 per person.

Best Time: November to April

127 Dubai Attractions

October is the clearest month in Nepal. The monsoon has gone, the dust has not built up yet, and the Annapurna and Everest ranges stand out sharply, which is not true for most of the year. A couple can fly to Pokhara, take a boat out on Phewa Lake and walk a two or three day trail without doing a full trek. Packages average around Rs 22,000 per person.

Bhutan's autumn is short and October sits in the middle of it. Skies are clear enough to see the Himalaya from the Dochula pass, the valleys are green after the rains, and the tshechu festival season is on. The walk up to Paro Taktsang is the trip's one hard morning and is far easier in this weather than in summer. Packages average around Rs 36,000 per person.

Oman stops being too hot around the end of October, and it is far quieter than the UAE next door. Couples can camp in the Wahiba Sands, swim in the pools at Wadi Shab and walk the old quarter of Muscat in the same short trip. The resorts along the Muscat coast are built for privacy rather than nightlife. Oman is usually put together to order rather than sold as a package, so budget for a private car between the wadis.

Go north in October and skip the middle. Hanoi and Ha Long Bay have finished their rains, the air turns dry and cool, and the limestone stacks stand out instead of sitting in haze. The central coast around Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An is in its wettest weeks now and gets typhoon warnings, so leave that stretch for spring. Sapa's terraces are gold. Packages average around Rs 60,000 per person.

The heat breaks in Egypt in October, which is the difference between enjoying Luxor and enduring it. A Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan gives a couple four or five nights with nothing to organise, and the Red Sea at Sharm El Sheikh or El Gouna stays warm and calm for diving afterwards. A Nile cruise covers rooms, meals and sightseeing in one price, which keeps the middle of the trip predictable.

Jordan fits into a week and October is its best month for walking. Petra takes two full days on foot, and the autumn temperature makes that pleasant rather than punishing. A night in a Wadi Rum desert camp and a float in the Dead Sea round the trip out.

October is harvest month in Georgia, so Kakheti is pressing wine and the guesthouses there are busy with it. Tbilisi's old town and its sulphur baths are comfortable in autumn, and the drive up to Kazbegi has snow on the peaks and colour in the valley at the same time. It is one of the cheaper trips on this list.

Greece in October is the very end of the season. The first two weeks are warm, quiet and much cheaper than August, and the Santorini caldera walk is finally comfortable. By the last week many island hotels, ferries and restaurants shut until spring, so go early in the month and check that your hotel is still open.

Italy is at its most comfortable in October, after the August crowds have gone and before the winter closures. The Amalfi Coast is still warm enough for boat days early in the month, Tuscany is in the middle of its harvest, and Venice is walkable rather than packed. Rome and Florence are simply easier to see. City hotel rates ease once August is over, which is part of why October is the sensible month to go.

October is the tail of the migration in the Masai Mara. The big river crossings are mostly over, but the herds are still in the reserve and the camps are quieter and cheaper than in peak season, which suits a couple more than a full vehicle does. Add a few nights on the coast at Diani afterwards. Packages average around Rs 237,000 per person.

By October the migration herds are in the northern Serengeti and starting to move south, and the short rains have not begun. The usual pairing is a few nights in a small tented camp and then Zanzibar, where the beaches are dry and warm this month. Stone Town makes an easy first night. The tented camp is the expensive part of the trip and Zanzibar afterwards costs a fraction of it.

October is spring in South Africa, so the bush is thinning out and game is easy to spot at Kruger's waterholes without the summer heat. The Cape is warming, the Garden Route drive is quiet, and Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are set up for couples who want long lunches. Whale season off Hermanus is ending. The rand is weak against the rupee, so food, wine and car hire go a long way once you are there.

Known For : Dal Lake Gulmarg Gondola Houseboat Stay

October is when the Chinar trees turn and the valley is at its most photographed. A houseboat on Dal Lake, the Mughal gardens and the drive out to Pahalgam are all at their best in this light. Note that Gulmarg has no skiing this month, since the snow arrives around December and the gondola runs for the view. Nights get cold, so pack for it.

Best Time: March - June; September - November

45 Kashmir Attractions

The monsoon clears out of Himachal by early October and the mountain views come back. Shimla and Manali sit between seasons, so hotels are cheaper and the roads are open, and Bir Billing gets its best paragliding weather of the year. For a quieter honeymoon, Kasol, Tirthan and the Barot valley have small riverside stays instead of crowded malls.

45 Himachal Pradesh Attractions

Rajasthan becomes usable again in October once the heat breaks. Udaipur is the honeymoon choice, with a lake palace hotel and boat rides on Pichola in the evening, and desert nights at Jaisalmer are cool enough to sit out. Festival season means the cities are busy and lit up, which is worth timing around rather than avoiding.

31 Attractions

Known For : Abbey Falls Mandalpatti Raja's Seat

Coorg is greenest right after the monsoon and October is that window. The coffee is on the bush before the December picking, the Abbey and Iruppu waterfalls are still full, and plantation homestays give a couple a quiet few days without a long journey from Bangalore. Expect some rain and mist, which is normal here this month.

Best Time: October to June

38 Coorg Attractions

Known For : Naini Lake Snow View Point Tiffin Top

Nainital and the lakes around it clear up in October once the rains stop, and the Himalayan skyline appears from Snow View Point on good mornings. Boat rides on Naini Lake are the obvious thing to do, but Mukteshwar and Bhimtal an hour away are far quieter if you want somewhere calm.

Best Time: Throughout the year

33 Nainital Attractions

Known For : Minicoy Island Agatti Islands Kalpeni Island

Lakshadweep reopens to visitors after the southwest monsoon and its season begins in October. The lagoons at Agatti, Bangaram and Kadmat are shallow, clear and almost empty this early. Permits, limited flights and dry islands make it a trip to plan well ahead rather than book late, and the first half of the month can still be unsettled.

Best Time: September to May

18 Lakshadweep Attractions

The rains are ending in Cambodia in October and Angkor is at its best just after them. The moats and barays are full, so the reflections at Angkor Wat work, and the countryside is green rather than dusty. Siem Reap has a good number of small pool hotels, and three or four days is enough before moving on to Vietnam or Thailand.

Early October is the Swiss autumn and it is a real window: golden larches, clear air over the Jungfrau and far fewer people than in August. The catch is that many mountain railways, cable cars and hotels close from mid October for maintenance until the ski season opens, so check each one before booking and keep the trip to the first half of the month.

Spring lands in Australia in October, and the Great Barrier Reef is between the winter wind and the summer stinger season, which is the best combination of the year for snorkelling. Sydney is warm without being hot, the Blue Mountains are in flower, and a week in Margaret River or the Yarra Valley suits couples who prefer food and wine to sightseeing.

October is early spring in New Zealand, so it is bright, quiet and much cheaper than the December peak. Queenstown still has snow on the Remarkables while the lakes below are warming, which makes for good driving. It is a long way from India for a short honeymoon, so give it at least twelve nights or save it for another year.

Sri Lanka is in its awkward month in October. The second inter monsoon brings rain to the east, north and southwest at once, so no coast is reliably dry, and the Bay of Bengal cyclone season peaks now. The hill country around Ella and Nuwara Eliya holds up best. For the south coast beaches, go from late November instead. Packages average around Rs 32,000 per person.

October is a weak month for a beach honeymoon in Malaysia. The Perhentians and Redang close for the northeast monsoon from late October until March, and Langkawi is in one of its wetter stretches. What still works is inland: Kuala Lumpur, the Cameron Highlands tea estates and Borneo's rainforest lodges around Sepilok. Packages average around Rs 48,000 per person.

Fiji's dry season ends in October, so it is warm and clear and just ahead of the cyclone season that starts in November. Resorts on the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands are built around couples, and the reef is a short boat ride from most of them. There is no quick way to get there from India, so it only makes sense with three weeks and a real budget.

Best Time: July - September

October sits inside the Philippine typhoon season, which is the honest reason this is near the bottom. Palawan and Boracay are as good as they look, but their reliable window starts around December, and a cancelled ferry or a grounded flight matters more on a honeymoon than on any other trip. If your dates are fixed to October, pick somewhere else here.

Mexico is late in the Atlantic hurricane season in October, which runs to the end of November, and Cancun and the Yucatan sit in its path. Rates are low for that reason. The interior is safer ground, with Oaxaca in the middle of Day of the Dead in late October and San Miguel de Allende dry and mild. It is also a very long way from India.