5 min readAfter the confetti settles and the guests have gone home, it’s time to celebrate your marriage with something that’s just for the two of you: the honeymoon. Unlike every other decision you’ve made leading up to the wedding, the honeymoon is entirely yours. No family opinions. No more bridal party group texts. No strange cousins with unusual dietary restrictions. There’s just one question you have to consider: What should your first official journey as a married couple look like?
Maybe it’s tracking elephants across the Okavango Delta. Maybe it’s getting lost exploring a Tuscan village. Or maybe it’s plopping down on a secluded beach, cocktail in hand and cell phone turned off. Whatever your vision of romance looks like, these are the destinations and hotels that are the perfect place to kick off your married life.
Tuscany, Italy
For Italian heritage and the art of doing nothing
Italy has a never-ending supply of honeymoon-worthy addresses, but Tuscany consistently lands among the best. There’s something so cinematic about driving down roads lined with cypress trees and staying somewhere where history feels alive. Just outside Florence, Villa San Michele, a Belmond Hotel occupies a former 15th-century monastery complete with Renaissance frescoes, fragrant gardens, and sweeping views of the Duomo. You can also take things seaside along the coast—like Hotel Il Pellicano, one of Europe’s most glamorous hotels perched dramatically above the Tyrrhenian Sea. Better yet? Book both hotels, rent the tiniest Fiat you can find, and see where the road takes you.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
For a safari that changes your perspective
Few travel experiences feel as magical as watching a herd of elephants cross the floodplains at dawn while someone quietly pours you a coffee. Botswana’s Okavango Delta is one of the most biologically rich, geographically interesting places on earth: each year, waters flow down from the Angolan Highlands, flooding this arid landscape into a mythical, semi-submerged paradise where days revolve around boating expeditions and game drives. The animal sightings are extraordinary, and it’s home to some of Africa’s top safari lodges, too.
Singita’s highly anticipated Botswana debut arrives at the end of 2026, but if you ask us, the way to go in Botswana is Wilderness: it has the largest footprint in this country, so it’s possible to float between camps and truly see a broad swath of the Delta in all its glory.
Seychelles
For a private island fantasy
Make the journey to this corner of the Indian Ocean and you’ll be rewarded with a paradise so beautiful it needs to be seen to be believed. There are private island resorts, so you can feel like a luxurious castaway, not a single tourist in sight; and there is also a central island, Mahé, where you can shop artisan markets, hike in protected forests, and have cultural experiences.
For private island resorts, check out Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island, which occupies its own coral atoll more than 80 miles south of Mahé, or North Island, where the Prince and Princess of Wales honeymooned in 2011. On Mahé, the new Cheval Blanc Seychelles offers sleek villas, all with private pools, and the residential-feeling Mango House Seychelles, LXR Hotels & Resorts brings you inside the former private home of famed fashion photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri.
Paris
An all-time classic
What could be more romantic than a trip for two to the City of Love? Paris remains the honeymoon gold standard for anyone convinced that love is best experienced through late-night walks, long afternoons spent on a café terrace, an unreasonable amount of croissants, or all of the above. The city’s hotel scene remains one of the most desired in all of Europe, and offers a little bit of everything: Le Meurice for fine dining and old-world grandeur opposite the iconic Tuileries gardens; Mondovi Luxury Suites for a discreet, in-the-know boutique option that feels more intimate; or, of course, The Ritz Paris, Paris’s ultimate grande dame, where history lingers in every hallway. Stay for a week and do all the sightseeing your heart can handle, or stay for a couple nights on your way to somewhere further—either way, Paris is always a good idea.
Hawaii
Island romance, no passport required
Hawaii is probably the most classic all-American honeymoon, and the islands are as intoxicating as ever. The beaches, the volcanoes, the people—Hawaii offers a breathtakingly romantic environment. The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea remains the top choice, with an adults-only serenity pool, a brand-new Kai Holo Spa, and a concierge team that helps you unlock the best that Maui has to offer. For a quieter, more private version of the same magic, Four Seasons Lanai sits above Hulopoe Bay, where spinner dolphins appear just offshore and the island’s pace is deliciously slow.
Gstaad, Switzerland
For mountain adventures and fairy-tale castles
A secluded mountain village where the ski outfits are Fusalp, the handbags Hermès, and there’s a Louis Vuitton store in a Swiss chalet—what could be more romantic? There are so many magical towns and villages across the Alps, but something about Gstaad feels even more special, more exclusive, more romantic than any of them. It’s a small, walkable village with a fantastic hotel scene: The Alpina Gstaad for contemporary Swiss luxury; and the breathtakingly iconic Gstaad Palace for an old-money vibe that many hotels try—and fail—to replicate. The town is sleepy, warm, and great for hiking in the summers, but feels most like its storybook self in winter, when the snows pile up and the old-school European elite pile in.
Egypt
For sunshine, Nile cruising, and ancient temples
Cruising can be great for honeymoons, and Egypt does it really well with its traditional dahabiya sailboats that ferry guests between Luxor and Aswan. Think personalized service and quiet vibes, not all-you-can-eat buffets and children running amok. Days are spent getting lost in ancient temples with an Egyptologist guide, and nights are spent with dinners under the stars. Egypt offers a honeymoon where you’ve traded a generic resort’s infinity pools for something unforgettable: 5,000 years of history.
Check out Nour El Nil for the most stylish ships, and don’t miss the chance to overnight at the Old Cataract, Aswan, which feels like it fell out of the pages of an Agatha Christie novel.
St. Barth’s
Where French style meets low-key Caribbean glamour
While St. Barth’s has a reputation for glamorous see-and-be-seen types who love to dance on tables at Bagatelle, there are also plenty of places to hide away from the crowds and enjoy a quiet, private honeymoon. The stunning bungalows and newly renovated spa at Rosewood Le Guanahani are a classic. Then there’s Hôtel Le Toiny: set on 42 acres above the island’s wild southeastern coast, its suites each come with a private heated pool and dramatic ocean views, with real distance between villas for the kind of privacy that’s increasingly rare on the island.
Wherever you land, it’s a quick taxi ride into Gustavia if you want to hit the Dior boutique or dance at a beach club. But if you’re looking for an elegant, French-inflected Caribbean experience with stunning hotels and turquoise waters, St. Barth’s is the honeymoon for you.