Best Honeymoon Places in the World

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

No honeymoon is more private than a Maldivian one. A resort usually has an entire island to itself, so there is no town, no traffic and nobody else on the beach, and a water villa puts the lagoon directly under your deck with steps down into it. Packages average around Rs 89,000 per person, with the water villas at the top of that. Days go on the house reef, on a dive boat out to the manta and whale shark sites, or on nothing at all. The dry season runs December to April.

Best Time: December to April

102 Maldives Attractions

Known For : Tanah Lot Uluwatu Bali Swing

Bali is two honeymoons stitched together and most couples do both halves. Inland at Ubud the days are green and slow, with rice terraces, a waterfall walk, the spring temple at Tirta Empul and a pool villa hidden in the trees. Packages average around Rs 64,000 per person. Then you move down to Seminyak, Jimbaran or Nusa Dua on the coast for beach clubs, grilled seafood on the sand and evenings that run late. Five or six nights covers both halves, and the dry season runs roughly May to October.

Best Time: April to October

302 Bali Attractions

Santorini is the reason most couples put Greece on the list, with cliff hotels above the caldera, the whitewashed lanes at Oia and boats out to the volcano. Mykonos adds beach clubs and late nights, and quieter islands like Milos, Naxos and Paros are a ferry ride away. Athens is worth two days at the start.

Italy is the honeymoon most couples picture before they start looking. Venice and the canals, Florence for Renaissance art and the Tuscan hill towns, the Amalfi coast for lemon terraces and sea views, and Rome to finish. Trains link all of it, so you can cover three or four bases in twelve days without hiring a car. May, June and September are the comfortable months.

Thailand holds more kinds of honeymoon than any other country at this price, and packages average around Rs 35,000 per person. At one end are the big Phuket and Koh Samui resorts, with spas, private pools and a boat out for the day. At the other are the slow islands: Koh Lanta, Koh Kood and Koh Yao Noi, where the beach stays empty and dinner is on a wooden deck over the water. Take one of each and split the fortnight. November to March is the driest stretch.

Switzerland is the easiest honeymoon to plan because the trains do the work. Base yourselves in Interlaken or Lucerne, take the railway up to Jungfraujoch, and spend a couple of nights in Zermatt with the Matterhorn in the window. Lake Geneva and the vineyard terraces at Lavaux fill the flatter days.

Japan suits couples who want a honeymoon with things to do rather than a week by a pool. Kyoto is the romantic half, with temple gardens, the bamboo groves at Arashiyama and dinner in a machiya townhouse, while Tokyo brings the food and the late nights. Book a ryokan with a private onsen bath for a night or two. Cherry blossom in late March and April and the autumn colour in November are the two seasons worth planning around. Packages average around Rs 1,41,000 per person.

Sri Lanka fits a beach honeymoon and a hill honeymoon into a single week, which almost nowhere else manages. Start high in the tea country around Nuwara Eliya and Ella, where the mornings are cold and the old planters' bungalows light fires in the evening, then come down to the south coast for Tangalle, Talalla and the ramparts at Galle. Leopards at Yala and a whale boat off Mirissa fill the middle. Packages average around Rs 32,000 per person.

Iceland is for couples who want the travelling itself to be the holiday. Drive the Golden Circle and the south coast past waterfalls, black sand beaches and the glacier lagoon at Jokulsarlon, and soak in the Blue Lagoon or one of the quieter hot springs. The northern lights season runs roughly September to March, and summer gives you daylight almost around the clock. Food, fuel and tours are all expensive once you land.

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

Mauritius is the resort honeymoon where the sea does most of the work. A coral reef rings almost the whole island, so the lagoon inside stays warm, flat and shallow enough to swim in at any hour, and many of the hotels sit right on it. Away from the beach there is the seven coloured earth at Chamarel, the gorges and waterfalls in the south, and a catamaran day along the west coast. June to September is dry and cool.

Best Time: April to December

147 Mauritius Attractions

Known For : Anse Lazio Snorkeling in Seychelles Sunbathing in Seychelles

Seychelles is the island honeymoon you spend moving rather than sitting still. Mahe, Praslin and La Digue sit close enough to link by short ferry, so one week gives you all three. It is the dearest of the Indian Ocean options and is usually built to order rather than packaged. La Digue is the one couples remember, with granite boulders standing in the sand at Anse Source d'Argent and bicycles instead of cars. Praslin has the Vallee de Mai palm forest, and Mahe has the flights and most of the hotels.

Best Time: April to May, September to October

96 Seychelles Attractions

Bhutan is for couples who want a honeymoon nobody else in their circle has done. There is no beach and no nightlife. Instead there are prayer flags across the high passes, the two to three hour climb up to Tiger's Nest above Paro, and hot stone baths in a farmhouse in the Punakha valley. Packages average around Rs 36,000 per person. Indian nationals are generally charged a concessional Sustainable Development Fee rather than the full rate, so check the current amount before booking. Spring and autumn give the clearest mountain views.

Vietnam is the honeymoon for couples who want a view out of every window. Sleep on a cruise boat among the limestone towers of Lan Ha Bay, take a rowing boat through the caves at Trang An in Ninh Binh, and give an evening to Hoi An once the lanterns go on along the river. Phu Quoc in the south has the resorts if you want to finish on a beach. Six or seven nights is comfortable. Packages average around Rs 60,000 per person.

Tanzania is the safari honeymoon, and it comes with a beach at the end of it, though it is one of the more expensive trips here. The Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater give the game drives, and between roughly June and October the wildebeest migration is out on the plains. After that you fly to Zanzibar and stop moving, either at Nungwi in the north or on the quieter sand at Paje and Jambiani. Stone Town is worth a night for the Swahili houses and the seafood grills along the seafront.

South Africa is the other safari honeymoon, and it swaps the beach half for a city. Cape Town holds the romance, with Table Mountain, the drive around the Cape Peninsula and the winelands at Stellenbosch and Franschhoek less than an hour out. Then you fly up to Kruger or a private reserve for a few nights of game drives, and the Garden Route fills anything left over. June to October is the strongest game viewing.

France gives couples a city and a countryside honeymoon on the same trip. Paris takes three or four days, then the fast trains run down to Provence for lavender fields and hilltop villages, or across to the Loire for chateau hotels. The Riviera at Nice and Antibes finishes it by the sea. Trips here are usually built to order rather than sold as fixed packages.

Australia works when you want a honeymoon with variety rather than one resort. Snorkel or dive the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns, sail the Whitsundays and stop at Whitehaven Beach, then slow down on the Great Ocean Road and give a few days to the wineries of the Yarra Valley or Margaret River. Sydney is the easy start and finish. It is a long way to go, so allow two weeks.

New Zealand is for couples who would rather be outdoors together. Queenstown on the South Island puts lakes, mountains and the boat trip into Milford Sound within reach, and the drive north through Wanaka and the Southern Alps is the honeymoon in itself. Add the hot springs at Rotorua and the Bay of Islands if you have the days. Roads are quiet and easy to drive. The flight is long and costly, so it is worth two weeks rather than one.

The Philippines has the island scenery people go to the Maldives for, at a lower price. Palawan is the reason to come, with El Nido and Coron for lagoons, limestone cliffs and island hopping by boat, and Siargao for surfing. Boracay handles the resort side. Getting between islands takes internal flights, so plan a week at least.

Norway is built around the fjords. Take the Bergen railway and the boat down the Naeroyfjord, then stay in a village like Flam or Balestrand where the water sits under vertical rock. Further north, Tromso and the Lofoten islands are the base for the aurora between September and March. Summer evenings stay light late enough to keep driving.

Portugal gives couples a city, a wine valley and a coast without much driving between them. Lisbon's tiled streets and viewpoints take a few days, the palaces of Sintra sit half an hour away, and the Douro valley north of Porto has vineyard hotels along the river with boat trips between them. The Algarve adds cliffs and beaches if you want to finish by the sea.

Croatia is the good value coastal honeymoon in Europe. Dubrovnik's old town walls and the cable car above them take a day or two, then the islands start: Hvar for the evenings, Korcula for the quiet, and Vis for the coves you reach by boat. Split and the Plitvice lakes fill the inland half.

Morocco packs a lot of contrast into one trip. Stay in a riad in Marrakech, where the rooms open onto a courtyard and dinner is on the roof terrace, then take the road over the Atlas mountains to the dunes at Merzouga for a night in a desert camp. Fez and the blue lanes of Chefchaouen suit a longer stay.

Finland is the winter honeymoon. In Lapland couples stay in glass roofed cabins built for watching the northern lights from bed, and the days go on husky sleds, snowmobiles and reindeer farms. Rovaniemi is the usual base and the aurora season runs roughly September to March. Helsinki is worth a day for the design shops and a harbour sauna.

Canada is at its best for couples in the Rockies. Banff and Lake Louise put glacial lakes, gondolas and hot springs within a short drive of each other, and the Icefields Parkway on to Jasper is one of the great road trips. In winter the Yukon and the Northwest Territories are among the more reliable places to see the northern lights.

Argentina is for couples who want distance and drama. Buenos Aires opens the trip with steak, tango bars and late dinners, then you head north to Iguazu Falls or south to Patagonia for glaciers and the peaks around El Calafate. Mendoza sits under the Andes and is where the Malbec comes from, with vineyard stays and the hot springs at Cacheuta.

Known For : Prague Castle Charles Bridge Old Town Square Prague

Prague is compact, walkable and cheaper than most of western Europe, which is why couples get more out of a short trip here. Cross Charles Bridge early before the crowds, climb to the castle for the view over the red roofs, and spend the evenings in the beer halls and jazz cellars of the Old Town. Three or four days is enough.

Best Time: April to October

48 Prague Attractions

Known For : Sagrada Familia Park Guell Casa Batllo

Barcelona is a honeymoon city that does not ask you to keep moving. Gaudi's Sagrada Familia and Park Guell are the sights, but most of a good trip here is tapas in the Gothic Quarter, an afternoon on Barceloneta beach and the cable car up Montjuic at sunset. Day trips run out to Montserrat and the Penedes wineries.

Best Time: April to October

47 Barcelona Attractions

Known For : Rijksmuseum Van Gogh Museum Anne Frank House

Amsterdam is easy to do slowly. The canals are the point, so rent bikes, take a boat for an hour and give the rest to the Van Gogh Museum, the Jordaan cafes and the old brown bars. The tulip fields at Keukenhof are open from late March to mid May and are a short trip out of the city. Three days covers it comfortably.

Best Time: March to September

47 Amsterdam Attractions

Known For : Vienna City Hall Austrian Parliament Building Museums Quartier

Vienna is a honeymoon for couples who like an opera and a long coffee. Schonbrunn Palace and its gardens take a morning, the State Opera sells standing tickets on the night, and the coffee houses are where the afternoons go. Add a night at a Heuriger wine tavern in the hills at Grinzing.

Best Time: May to October

49 Vienna Attractions

Cambodia is a short and inexpensive trip built around one thing. Sunrise at Angkor Wat is worth the early start, and the temples at Ta Prohm and Banteay Srei fill another day or two from Siem Reap. After that most couples go down to Kep or the islands off Sihanoukville for the beach half.

Scotland is a driving honeymoon. Edinburgh is the start, then the road north through Glencoe to the Highlands and over to Skye, with castle hotels and small distilleries to stop at on the way. Loch Ness and the Cairngorms fill the middle. May to September has the long evenings and the best chance of dry weather.

Cuba is the honeymoon for couples who want somewhere that does not feel packaged. Havana is the draw, with 1950s cars, live son and salsa in the old town and rooftop bars looking over the Malecon. Vinales adds tobacco farms and limestone hills, Trinidad is the colonial town people stay longest in, and Varadero has the beach resorts.

Mexico suits couples who want a beach honeymoon with something to see. The Riviera Maya has the resorts and the cenotes to swim in, Tulum puts Mayan ruins right on the sand, and Chichen Itza is a day trip inland. Oaxaca brings the food and San Miguel de Allende the colonial streets, and Isla Holbox is the quiet end of it.

Known For : Nymphenburg Palace Marienplatz Viktualienmarkt

Munich suits couples using it as a base rather than a destination. The old town, the beer gardens in the Englischer Garten and the Residenz palace take a day, and most of the reason to come is what sits nearby. Neuschwanstein castle, the lakes at Tegernsee and the Bavarian Alps at Garmisch are all short trips out.

Best Time: March to May

36 Munich Attractions

Zambia is where you see Victoria Falls from the quieter side. The Zambian bank at Livingstone puts you closest to the spray, and between roughly August and December the Devil's Pool at the lip of the falls is open to swim in. Add South Luangwa for the walking safaris Zambia pioneered, and sunset cruises on the Zambezi.