Honeymoon Destinations Close to India

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

Kochi to Male is about an hour and a half and Bengaluru about two hours, so the Maldives is nearer than most Indian couples assume. Indians are generally issued a free thirty day visa on arrival, but confirm the current rules and carry your return ticket. The catch is the transfer: a speedboat adds thirty minutes to an hour, and seaplanes only fly in daylight, so a late landing can cost you a night. Packages average around Rs 89,000 per person, the highest on this list, and that is what buys the overwater villa.

Best Time: December to April

102 Maldives Attractions

Known For : Bentota Beach (Ventura Beach) Bentota River Safari Ayurvedic Spa at Bentota Ayurveda Center

Chennai to Colombo is about an hour and fifteen minutes, and roughly an hour and a half from Bengaluru, which makes Sri Lanka the quickest beach honeymoon out of South India. Indians apply for an ETA online before travelling, so leave a few working days for it. Bentota sits ninety minutes down the coast from the airport and is built around honeymoon resorts, river safaris on the Bentota Ganga and Ayurvedic spas. From Delhi the flight is closer to three and a half hours, which changes the sums.

Best Time: November - April

28 Bentota Attractions

Known For : Big Buddha Patong Beach Phuket Old Town

Phuket is about four hours direct from Bengaluru and four and a half from Mumbai and Delhi, and it has more direct services from India than any other beach on this page. Thailand has been admitting Indian passport holders without a visa for short stays under an arrangement that keeps being extended, so check where it stands before you book. Stay on the quieter northwest beaches, Bang Tao or Nai Harn, rather than Patong, and keep a day for the boats out to Phang Nga Bay.

Best Time: November to April

129 Phuket Attractions

Known For : Tanah Lot Uluwatu Bali Swing

Bali is the longest direct flight here that still makes sense for a week: about six and a half hours from Mumbai and seven and a half from Delhi. Indians are generally issued a visa on arrival for a fee, payable at the airport or online beforehand, so check the current amount. Split the stay, three nights in Ubud among the rice terraces and three on the south coast at Seminyak or Uluwatu. Traffic between the two is slow, so move once rather than day tripping.

Best Time: April to October

304 Bali Attractions

Known For : Tiger's Nest Monastery (Paro Taktsang) Rinpung Dzong Paro National Museum of Bhutan

Paro is roughly an hour's flight from Kolkata and about two and a half hours direct from Delhi, which makes Bhutan the shortest Himalayan honeymoon here. Indians enter on a permit rather than a visa and pay a Sustainable Development Fee for each night, so confirm the current rate before you budget. The valley is the reason to come: farmhouse stays, the climb to Tiger's Nest, and Thimphu and Punakha both within a half day's drive. Only two airlines fly into Paro and seats go early, so book well ahead.

Best Time: October to April

37 Paro Attractions

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

Chennai to Singapore is about four and a quarter hours, Bengaluru four and a half, Delhi closer to five and a half. Indians apply for an e-visa in advance through an authorised agent, which takes a few working days. Nothing else here is as easy to run on a short trip: twenty minutes from the airport to the hotel, everything walkable or on the MRT, and four days fill themselves with Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa and the hawker centres without hiring a car or a driver.

Best Time: February to September

273 Singapore Attractions

Known For : Ao Nang Beach Railay Beach Phi Phi Islands

Krabi is the quieter half of Thailand's Andaman coast: limestone cliffs behind the sand at Railay, long tail boats out to the islands, and no nightlife strip. A few Indian cities have run direct seasonal services here, but most couples fly to Phuket or Bangkok and connect, which adds a couple of hours. Packages average around Rs 31,000 per person, the lowest of the beach options on this page, and rooms at Ao Nang cost noticeably less than Phuket.

Best Time: November to April

46 Krabi Attractions

Known For : Overnight Cruise in Halong Bay Sung Sot Cave Day Cruise in Halong Bay

Hanoi is about three and a half hours from Kolkata and four and three quarter hours direct from Delhi. Indians apply for a Vietnamese e-visa online beforehand, so allow a week. Halong Bay is a two and a half hour drive on from the airport, and the honeymoon version of it is an overnight cabin on a cruise boat, waking among the limestone islands with breakfast on deck. Two nights in Hanoi's Old Quarter at either end and the whole thing fits a five day break.

Best Time: March to May, October to November

53 Halong Bay Attractions

Known For : Langkawi Sky Bridge Langkawi Cable Car Seven Wells Waterfalls

Kuala Lumpur is about four hours from Chennai and Bengaluru and a little over five from Delhi, and Langkawi is a one hour domestic hop on from there. Malaysia has been waiving visas for Indian passport holders on short visits under an arrangement that has been extended more than once, so confirm the current position. The island is duty free, the west coast resorts at Pantai Cenang and Datai Bay are good value, and the cable car up Gunung Machinchang is the one thing to book ahead.

Best Time: November to March

49 Langkawi Attractions

Known For : Phewa Lake Devi's Falls Sarangkot

Nepal is the fastest honeymoon abroad an Indian couple can book. Kathmandu is about 1 hour 10 minutes from Kolkata and 1 hour 40 from Delhi, and Indians travel on a passport or voter ID rather than a visa, though it is worth checking the current requirement before you fly. From Kathmandu it is a 25 minute hop to Pokhara, where the hotels look straight across Phewa Lake at the Annapurna wall. Mornings are for boating and paragliding, evenings for the lakeside strip. Packages average around Rs 22,000 per person, so budget roughly double for two.

Best Time: October to April

45 Pokhara Attractions

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

Mumbai to Dubai is about three hours and Delhi about three and a half, with departures all day from more than ten Indian cities. Most Indian passport holders need a visa arranged before departure, usually through the airline or an agent, so start it two or three weeks out. Dubai suits couples who want a short, comfortable first trip together: a beach hotel on Jumeirah, an evening in the desert, dinner somewhere high up. Go between November and March. Summer is too hot to walk around in.

Best Time: November to April

129 Dubai Attractions

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

Mauritius is the outer edge of what counts as close. Mumbai has a direct service of about six hours; from Delhi, Bengaluru or Chennai you are connecting, which turns it into most of a day each way. Indians are generally admitted on arrival for tourism, though the requirements are worth checking. It earns the flight if you have seven nights or more: Grand Baie and the reef in the north, Le Morne and the cliffs in the south, and enough island in between to fill a week.

Best Time: April to December

147 Mauritius Attractions