In partnership with Kuoni, the honeymoon planning experts.
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Looking for a honeymoon but not sure where – or when? We’ve teamed up with Kuoni, the honeymoon planning pros, to create a guide that makes sure you don’t just go somewhere beautiful, but you go at the perfect time.
Your honeymoon isn’t just about where you go. It’s about when you go. Catch destinations at their peak and everything clicks. Wildlife on the move. Beach clubs opening their doors. Cloud forests breathing mist and magic. Sometimes it’s about arriving when a place comes alive and sometimes when it slows down.
What’s inside? Smart, no pressure ideas, intel and plans. This isn’t just about great holiday photo ops. Your honeymoon sets the tone for your first chapter – time for romance, rest and fun. Safaris, stars and love stories in the middle of nowhere. Cities with edge and islands with spice.
Our team travels through many lenses, including an LGBTQ+ one, bringing lived experience, advocacy and understanding. Our one rule? Honeymoons that feel as good as they look.
If something catches your eye, give us a call or find us online. We’ll spark ideas and create a trip that’s completely yours and made for after the ‘I dos’.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN JANUARY
New year. Newlyweds. New passport stamps. Your forever-era holiday deserves something big, beautiful and experience-rich. The gold standard of indulgence is all-inclusive luxury in the Maldives. Balance beach days with adventure and connection in Hawaii. Or go vast among wildlife and wine routes in Australia.
Maldives
Best for: Overwater luxury and island romance
It’s great year-round, but January is peak perfection. Blue skies, sun-warmed lagoons, swimming with baby sharks and speedboating over to private sandbanks. It’s the honeymoon of salty hair, snorkelling and sunsets. Ananea Madivaru Maldives stands out for its food alone, with nine restaurants spread across two islands.
Hawaii
Best for: Adventure with a tropical backdrop
It’s easier to reach than you think and such a thrill. Fly via Los Angeles and make Hollywood your honeymoon too. January is a great value month for a honeymoon in Hawaii: fewer people, lower hotel prices and cooler days. The jaw-on-the-floor experiences? Helicopter rides, sunset sails and whale watching.
AustraliaBest for: Summer road trips and wildlife encounters
Spend January south of the equator and be smitten from the start. Summer is in full swing, cities are sociable, the coast is sunlit and vineyards are ripe for exploring. This is swimming, surfing, reef diving, road tripping and cameos from koalas all in one honeymoon.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN FEBRUARY
The tropics turn the heat up fast as far-flung icons Thailand and Vietnam prepare to welcome the dry season. If a great value minimoon is more your thing, the Canary Islands will be giving spring-like weather and sand dunes seemingly stolen from the Sahara.
Thailand
Best for: Culture, temples and tropical islands
February’s sun is as gold as Thailand’s temples. Expect luxury stays, culture at every turn and the right amount of edge. Book Nuad Thai massages (the equivalent of lazy yoga), take longtail boats and follow jungle routes. Our Thailand honeymoon itinerary nails the brief, whisking you from Chiang Mai’s stupas to a bubble-lodge night under the stars, then on to Koh Phi Phi’s screensaver setting.
VietnamBest for: Lantern-lit cities and festive atmosphere
February coincides with Lunar New Year, all about lucky beginnings and fresh starts. A perfect match for a honeymoon. In Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi everything is festooned in colour and glowing in lantern light. Locals head home to celebrate, so it’s that rare combo of festive, uncrowded and quietly magical. Looking for soul? It’s here.
Canary IslandsBest for: A sunny minimoon close to home
Sitting off the coast of West Africa, the Canary Islands heat up earlier than the rest of Europe. Sun, nature, beaches and beauty without burning through the budget – opt for somewhere adults-only, like Secrets Lanzarote. It’s a minimoon winner giving you more time to save up for the long-haul honeymoon later.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN MARCH
March is for fly and flop simplicity on a Caribbean island or a meaningful and multi-layered honeymoon in India to mark the beginning of a lifetime together.
AntiguaBest for: Relaxed Caribbean beach romance
Caribbean honeymoons say ‘congrats, relax and be in love.’ Antigua is small, the hotels are boutique or beachfront and everything spells stress-free luxury. March is the peak dry season, bringing cool trade winds, sunshine and warm waters. Romance here is spas, sailing, snorkelling and swimming that ends under waterfalls.
India
Best for: Festivals, culture and epic journeys
A honeymoon in India is magic and mayhem. March is the moment: warm but comfortable weather and right in the middle of Holi, a huge festival bringing silk kurtas, clouds of colour and stunning music and visuals to the streets. India does everything big – temples, train journeys, backwaters, wildlife and stories you’ll talk about forever, from tiger-tracking adventures to itineraries laced with palatial stays.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN APRIL
April in the Caribbean marks the tail end of the dry season, which makes St. Lucia an easy yes. And in Italy, it brings cooler days, quieter luxury and calmer cities.
St. Lucia
Best for: Jungle adventures and dramatic scenery
St. Lucia is feet-in-the-sand and eyes firmly on those soaring Pitons rising out of the sea. Jungle paths and hot springs keep explorers exploring. But there’s also an acclaimed all-inclusive wellness resort for active newlyweds and a sky-high luxury hotel eschewing four walls in favour of spilling straight out onto sky and sea. Cloud nine romance.
ItalyBest for: Romantic cities without the crowds
You’re itching to zip through Italy like Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. Do it in April. Fewer people, cooler weather and lower prices. The seductions? Love among the lemon groves and on the Lakes. Lingering over sparkling spritzes and sunsets in Sicily. Art and architecture without the summer crowd. The honeymoon where you start saying, ‘we really could live here.’
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN MAY
Dream big. With the cherry blossom season coming to an end. Japan is quieter, more romantic and there’s no elbowing through the crowds. Colour stays vivid with wisteria, pink moss and azaleas taking over. Or fly out to the Indian Ocean where Mauritius does the romantic work for you.
JapanBest for: Food, culture and Kyoto-to-Tokyo romance
Lantern-lit lanes in Kyoto and chef-led omakase counters in Tokyo lead you to a gently extraordinary honeymoon. Temples, tea ceremonies and Mount Fuji in the distance while you ride the smooth and silent Shinkansen. May is shoulder season and although the pastel petals have fallen, Japan remains green, serene and sacred.
Mauritius
Best for: Beach luxury with room to explore
A homerun for couples who crave luxury but don’t want to sit for seven days. Settle into a beach bolthole where authenticity runs deep, or flip the script with a sky-to-sea twin-centre. Sugarcane hills, coral lagoons, kayaks and wild trails when you want to move. Creole feasts, silky sand beaches and rum tastings when you fancy slowing down together. For the best weather, stick to the north or west coast.
BarbadosBest for: Laid-back beach days and rum-soaked sunsets
Barbados in spring? Rhythm, warmth and easy romance. If your honeymoon vision board is stress-free luxury but you also pinned reggae and rum, this is it. Arriving just before the rainy season gives you nine hours of sunshine a day, bath-warm sea and only brief tropical showers.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN JUNE
June belongs to Europe – Douro Valley’s vineyards and Spain stretching evenings past midnight with tapas and wine. Sri Lanka also wins in June, especially for honeymooners who value atmosphere and adventure over perfect weather. Showers sweep across the island (apart from the east coast) turning tea country cool and green.
Sri LankaBest for: Culture, wildlife and a properly plotted itinerary
It might be a small island but it runs deep. Try and plan it yourselves and you’ll probably get a headache. Go with a bespoke itinerary, like our Sri Lanka Honeymoon Adventure, and leave the spreadsheets to us, from train journeys and chauffeur-driven cars to safari drives. What stays with you are the quiet moments: early-morning puja chants in sacred temples, eye-level encounters with elephants, and the taste of just-picked Ceylon tea in the cool of the hills. A honeymoon that leaves you rested and transformed.
Italy
Best for: Effortless European romance
Italy does romance better than anywhere else. Choose Verona, the Amalfi Coast or Sardinia and June will do the rest: sun that melts gelato, opera in the open-air, people watching in piazzas and seafood by the water. There are no big sights that you have to tick off. Stroll, feast, paddle, swim and sleep in. Just honeymoon.
BaliBest for: Spa-led stays and dry-season value
It ranks as one of the world’s best honeymoon destinations for its spa-led resorts. Rice fields, rainforest and reef-edged swims. Stay somewhere luxurious or keep it simple near the surf. Do wellness and waterfalls. Wild waves and waking up late. If we had to pick a favourite month, we’d go in June. Right in the middle of the dry season and before the summer rush. Better hotel deals and better value flights.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN JULY
Leave Europe behind for wild romance on safari. Or fly to the Seychelles – the postcode for white sand beaches and cocktails in coconuts. We love the summer buzz of Europe but if you want privacy and space on your honeymoon, July is better further afield.
Seychelles
Best for: Island hopping and castaway beaches
The driest Seychelles months are July and August, when everything is barefoot, blue and botanical. Tortoises meander along the beaches and you can say bonzour to turtles in the sea. Opt for island hopping between Mahé and Praslin, or pitch up on a Jurassic-eqsue island and you’ll almost be totally alone, together. For a slow honeymoon, this one sets the scene.
South AfricaBest for: Safari-and-beach in one trip
You’re no longer watching the nature documentary, you’re in it. A safari honeymoon pulls you in and keeps you present (hello space, stars and soaks in the open air). For couples travelling in summer, our KwaZulu-Natal Luxury Safari & Beach itinerary is a brilliant pick – beachy beauty and bush adventures in one seamless sweep.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN AUGUST
Craving dust on your ‘just married’ boots? August is all about Namibia. Go now before everyone else cottons on. Or rethink the obvious and do Antigua in the wet season. Yes, it rains. But the showers are short tropical refreshers, and then the sun’s back out. The sand is still white, the whisper-quiet luxury is still there and you get low-season hotel and flight perks.
Namibia
Best for: Off-the-radar desert drama and wildlife
This is the honeymoon that’s not on everyone’s feed and not like everyone else’s. Under Namibia’s winter sun everything is surreal. Warm days, slow game drives, no crowds and firelight after dark. Lions lazing on golden afternoons, zebra moving in numbers and elephants lingering at watering holes. This is choosing something far more memorable than the obvious option.
AntiguaBest for: Quiet beaches and off-peak value
Arrive off-peak and you won’t be surrounded by tons of other people doing the same thing. Showers splash then dash, the ocean’s as warm as crumpets in the toaster and beaches feel like you own them. Winds pick up from September onwards, so August is when you can catch some fantastic weather without having to pay high season prices. To hotel hop between resorts, go for our Antigua twin-centre.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN SEPTEMBER
The Mara is alive with millions of animals moving as one as The Great Wildebeest Migration takes full force. Make it a honeymoon in Kenya and witness Africa at maximum intensity. Miss it and it’s gone for another year. Or follow spring to Mauritius where green turtles and giant tortoises are cruising around at the same tempo you will be. Savannah or sea. Both are September honeymoon material.
Kenya
Best for: The Great Migration and once-in-a-lifetime safari
Want your honeymoon rare, wild and stamped with stories you’ll tell forever? Choose Kenya. Pair Big Five safaris with downtime on the coast, or go all-in with a SkySafari for a front-row seat to the wild, flown camp to camp by light aircraft. September’s Great Wildebeest Migration has been happening for over a million years. Hooves pounding, dust rising. Watch it together and it might just beat the wedding.
MauritiusBest for: Soft, beachy downtime
Mauritius is a different honeymoon entirely. Soft, gentle, beachy. The island’s trade winds make sailing a breeze and days go from snorkel to spa to swinging in hammocks. You’ll get much more of the place to yourselves if you travel this month.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN OCTOBER
Days you’ll remember all your life? That wild, window-down USA road trip you took as newlyweds. Nashville pouring out love songs, New England on fire in fall. Red-rock mornings and motel-sign neon after dark. October is the perfect time. Cooler than summer and ahead of winter’s rainy days.
Zanzibar
Best for: Barefoot beach romance and Swahili culture
Want that barefoot golden hour kind of love every hour of the day? Then honeymoon in Zanzibar. October is hotter than a UK summer and comes with salt-bright seas, Swahili culture, taarab music and traditional dhow rides. The Indian Ocean is right in front of you. Say no more.
USABest for: Big skies and classic honeymoon energy
If you’re craving big skies, fast lanes and beaches that remind you of Baywatch, honeymoon in the USA. It’s the feel-good go-to with a lot more soul and a lot more national parks than you might at first think.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN NOVEMBER
You want guaranteed sun on your honeymoon but you also want more than sun. Mexico and Costa Rica are here for it. Costa Rica brings wild beauty – jungles, beaches and fantastical wildlife, while Mexico knows how to celebrate love the colourful, calm way while sneaking in the sights. The Mayan Riviera and Tulum deliver drop-dead gorgeous beaches and feel especially good after months of wedding admin.
Costa RicaBest for: Gorgeous beaches and unbelievable wildlife
November offers dry days and balmy heat in Costa Rica, whether you’re sloth-spotting on jungle trails or making footprints on wave-washed shores. The Pacific Coast brings luxurious, off-grid retreats and superb marine life, while the Caribbean Coast is all jungle-backed beaches and characterful towns – see it all on a coast-to-coast adventure.
MexicoBest for: Beach time with ancient wonders nearby
Book the hotel suite with the private pool. Swim in Caribbean Sea that really is electric blue. Sink feet into sand and book the spa. Want the sights? Ancient wonders, stone temples, freshwater cenotes and Indiana Jones-style jungle are all here.
WHERE TO HONEYMOON IN DECEMBER
Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Caribbean all give great weather vibes in December, but we choose Malaysia. The Andaman Sea. Dense jungle. Orangutans in the wild. It would be hard to find a more head turning, off-the-map love story.
Malaysia
Best for: Rainforest adventure and island escapes
Borneo is a breath-taker. Rain-soaked soil and romance outside of your comfort zone. Cicadas singing and flashes of fuzzy red fur signalling an orangutan overhead. And that’s before we get to the five-star hotels backed by rainforest and tipping into the sea. Then there’s Penang: heritage streets, hawker stalls, easy to glide around and impossible not to love.
Twelve months on the calendar. Each holding a different kind of magic. Your adventures are just beginning and Kuoni’s travel experts are ready to make them happen.
Ready to take the leap? Talk to our honeymoon experts in store, by video call or on the phone – we’ll do the hard work, so all you have to do is start the countdown.
Or visit Kuoni Honeymoons for more inspiration.
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