Honeymoon ideas guide

Your honeymoon is your first trip as a married couple, so ditch the stress, forget expectations, and go for something that you both really, really want to do. This is your chance to upgrade, splurge, learn, love, eat, pray – whoa there! Anyway, you get the picture.

If you’re a responsible traveller and want to find honeymoon ideas that strike the right balance of romance, relaxation and enjoyable things to do, then read on and don’t hold back when it comes to adding all the bells and whistles. Safaris in Kenya, rainforest lodges in Costa Rica, beach time in the Maldives, the Renaissance cities of Italy… whatever you want to do, cogitate, collaborate and celebrate the luxury of time spent well together.

Swap bridal veils for rainforest trails and wedding cakes for ice-covered lakes as you kickstart your honeymoon adventure holiday in style. From volcanoes and cloud forests in Costa Rica to husky safaris and the Northern Lights in Finland, the only limit is your imagination . Vietnamese jungles, Inca ruins, Indian waterways; marriage is an adventure and your honeymoon is just the start.

Although it can be tempting to stay in one place whilst on honeymoon, getting out and exploring can be way more worthwhile. There’s nothing like travelling to get to know each other, and if travel was your first love then why not build a few different destinations into a honeymoon to rekindle that eternal flame? This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip so get out there and dare to be different.

You can stare wistfully over an ocean – but you can also dive in, snorkel or surf some swells. Sunset strolls are sublime – but why not save another evening for a nocturnal nature hike or heading into downtown Buenos Aires to learn tango? Sprinkling activities throughout your honeymoon will get your pulses racing.

What with all the formality of a wedding, sometimes getting back to nature during a honeymoon is exactly what you need. Imagine starting the day on the hunt for proboscis monkeys in Borneo, looking for lemurs in Madagascar, sailing alongside dolphins in Greece, or experiencing the ecosystems of Costa Rica. And that’s not to mention sunset safaris in Kenya and island-hopping around the Galapagos and…

If your aunt’s attempts at a three-tiered wedding cake were more akin to the leaning tower of Pisa and you’ve just about had your fill of vol-au-vents, then why not pep up your honeymoon with a dash of culinary excellence? Our cooking and food holidays could be the answer to all your dreams and if you fancy farmhouse feasts in Italy or spicing things up a bit in Thailand then you’ll never have to worry about leftovers ever again.

Seriously, can you imagine anything more fitting for a honeymoon other than cosying up beside an open log fire with your newly betrothed? Woodland cabins with floating saunas in Sweden, restored cottages in Crete, stargazing tents in the Masai Mara – we’ve got plenty of unusual accommodation for the chance to snuggle up indoors.

Continue the WOW of the big day on a honeymoon that ticks all your wish list boxes. Cruise the Galapagos, trek to Machu Picchu, go on a sunrise wildlife drive in the Serengeti. If you want to put the ‘oo’ into honeymoon we’ve got loads of ideas to get you started.

Lots of honeymooners fancy getting away from their 9-5 – but what about going just that little bit further? There are few things more romantic than waking up in the middle of a forest with nothing but the soft sounds of a snowy forest. Or you could try trekking in the Kathmandu Valley, canoeing in Thailand’s Khao Sok National Park or snorkelling around coral cays in Belize; whatever gets you into the wilderness and as far as possible from the daily grind, the better.

Having everything paid for in advance can seem like a great idea, but the reality is that all-inclusive resorts can offer a rather sterile existence with little or no contact with the country that you’re visiting. Spending honeymoon funds in locally owned restaurants, guest houses, village markets and beachside bars is always going to be much more memorable – and shares the love just a little bit more with local communities.

Billowing blouses whilst cantering through surf might be all right for some, but if you prefer your romance with a touch of realism then choosing a honeymoon that’s more fun than fiction is the best way forward. Expensive restaurants, cheesy serenades, huge hotels – screw that! Bring on the white-water rafting, campfires, jungle lodges, tiger safaris and zip-lining. This is your honeymoon so write your own romance.

The Maldives, Mauritius and Caribbean are understandably popular – but what about somewhere without a cornucopia of couples hogging the honeymoon suites? Instead of funnelling you to just a handful of countries, we offer honeymoon inspiration for everywhere from the Arctic to Argentina. As far as we know, we haven’t yet arranged a honeymoon to Antarctica, but if that’s your flute of Champagne, we can sort that too.

We’re not big fans of packaging up honeymoon destinations and selling them as paradise. For starters: it’s a big fib. Every place has its own issues, including many caused by tourism. Our holidays aim for a more candid experience, giving you the chance to fall in love with a place in its unvarnished glory. After all, isn’t that what love is all about?

A honeymoon is your chance to celebrate your marriage and take a breather after the big day. It’s less about a destination or a luxury hotel (although we have plenty of ideas for these) and much more about experiences and corresponding memories. Our honeymoon ideas also add the extra-special twists that come from a tailor made tour and raise the bar on what would otherwise be a typical holiday.

“It’s the little luxuries and upgrades that turn a holiday into a honeymoon,” says Laura Martin, from our honeymoon specialists Audley Travel. “That’s why booking with a tour operator is a really good idea as we’ve already established a good relationship with the very best properties and so can make sure perks and treats are part and parcel of the overall experience.”

The phrase ‘trip of a lifetime’ is perhaps overused, but if you’re heading on safari in Tanzania or sailing in the Galapagos Islands or watching the Northern Lights from the back of a husky drawn sled, then what else are you going to call it? Tobago, Bali, Ethiopia, Italy, England – where you go doesn’t matter; it’s what you do when you get there that counts.

“Some things to avoid when booking a honeymoon are the school holidays, loud and noisy resorts, and hotels that have way too many rooms and facilities,” says Laura. “We find honeymooners want peace and quiet as well as privacy, so placing yourself amongst families and crowds is probably not going to tick the right boxes.”

Our most popular honeymoons are a combination of adventure and relaxation – and usually with some wildlife watching thrown in for good measure. Safari and beach is a beloved combo, as is a focus on island time on the palm beaches of the tropics. Most people head for warm climes, but we do have winter honeymoons that go full-on frosty in Europe’s Arctic – and a hand-picked collection of cosy log cabins and aurora hotels to go with them.

Our honeymoons tend to be about two weeks long – enough time to really relax and start to get to know a place. That said, they’re all tailor made trips and can be as long or as short as your honeymoon fund allows. You might want to make it a long weekend in a deluxe glamping pod in the Welsh Borders or tie on an extra week to combine countries such as Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Lingering a little longer also gives you the chance to take the slow route – through South America’s vineyards and estancias, perhaps, or on a relaxed road trip along Croatia’s coast.

That’s hony moone if you want to take it back to its 16th-century roots, when newlyweds spent a stretch of time getting to know each other before forging on with their new life together. It was often tied up with the poetic – if bittersweet – idea that time and love is sweet but fleeting, and will wane like the moon. It wasn’t until the 18th century that this time started referring to a post-nuptials holiday. Thankfully, our holidays aim to make that honeymoon feeling last a little longer than a waning moon. For a lifetime, really – these will be holiday pictures worth framing.