Ideas for Unique Honeymoon Trips

We have had a few people reach out and ask us about good honeymoon destinations! Here are some suggestions for people planning honeymoons in 2022 and 2023. We narrowed down the options to trips that would last about a week, including 2 days to travel. We also share information about the best time to go, if you can use points, and the cost based on flights, car rental, and cash rates.

Note: We have stayed at each one of these places and wrote a review; this is not a Booking.com reference page to earn a commission. We do earn revenue from ads shown on this post and others though.

• Surf, Spa, Nature and Luxury Pool Villas:Nihi Sumba is on the Island of Sumba in Indonesia’s southernmost province of East Nusa Tenggara. Just a 1-hour flight away from DPS – I Gusti Ngurah Rai Bali International Airport, Nihi Sumba offers guests a unique and memorable escape from crowded tourist areas to experience adventure, nature, and relaxation. Avid surfers will get the chance to surf “Occy’s Left”, a renowned surf break, there is a “Spa Safari”, horseback rides on the beach, trips to waterfalls and lagoons, and delicious food. Stay in the Marangga Villa, which we were told is the “honeymoon” villa! We recommend spending 4-7 nights and add some time in Bali.
  • Budget: Splurge
  • Best for: Relaxing at the resort and doing tours organized by the hotel.
  • Best time to go: Rainy season from December to March and a dry season from June to October. Some activities are not available in dry season.
  • Getting Here: Easier for those already in Asia and Australia.
  • Points: You cannot use points here but using a credit card like HSBC World Elite MasterCard to use travel credits.  You can use points for the flights though. Find out more about how we ended up in Sumba.

• Desert adventures and a luxurious pool villa: Al Maha Resort is located about 1 hour away from Dubai in a conservation area. It offers guests the ultimate in relaxation and adventure. Each tented villa has its own pool with adjustable temperature, a large bathroom, and bed that faces an amazing view of the sunrise over Oman. While here, you can relax as much as you want in your villa or at the spa and do activities like archery, sunset camel ride, falconry, desert dune drive to see wildlife, and more. All food is included as well. We recommend adding a few days in Dubai or time in the Maldives to this itinerary.
  • Budget: Splurge but you can use Marriott Bonvoy points.
  • Best for: Relaxing at the resort and doing tours organized by the hotel.
  • Best time to go: Anytime but maybe in the winter is best due to how hot it is, so November-February.
  • Getting Here: It’s far but easy to get to Dubai from most places in the world due to the number of flights. To get to Al Maha, you can book the hotel’s transportation service or take an Uber for about $100. You could also rent a car and drive here fairly easily.
  • Points: You can use points to stay here and for the flights. We recommend booking 5 nights as through the Bonvoy program you pay for 4 nights and get the 5^th free.

• Treehouse living, spectacular sunsets, and margaritas on the beach in Mexico:  We love Playa Escondida in Sayulita, Mexico. Playa Escondida is an eco-friendly luxury boutique hotel/resort on the Riviera Nayarit mountain coastline, near Sayulita. “Playa escondida” translates into “hidden beach” and with its 30 rooms nestled on the property, you can enjoy the best of both worlds; the jungle and the beach. You can rent a golf cart and drive to Sayulita town or just stay on the resort and relax on the beach or do some other activities like horseback riding and yoga. The hotel also has a spa and good food onsite. It’s like an all-inclusive experience but with character and quality. You also cannot beat the sunsets here! There is a 3 night minimum here and re recommend 3-5 nights and consider spending some time in Puerto Vallarta.
  • Budget: Mid-range.
  • Best for: Relaxing at the resort and exploring around Sayulita town.
  • Best time to go: November to April
  • Getting Here: Easy for those who live in North America due to all the flights that service Puerto Vallarta. You can rent a car (link to our review of Gecko Car Rental) but we recommend using pre-arranged transportation to make things as easy as possible.
  • Points: You cannot use points here but using a credit card like HSBC World Elite MasterCard to use travel credits.  

• Greek summer bliss on Crete exploring beaches, historical sites, eating good food, and drinking good wine:The Island Concept Boutique Hotel in Agios Nikolaos is a great place to enjoy summer in Greece.  The resort is set on its own secluded mini peninsula and has its own small private beach. You can also walk to Almyros Beach if you want to use a larger beach and get to Agios Nikolaos to dine. Each room has a unique design and named after a Greek island; our room, Delos had its own private jaccuzzi. The Island Concept has a convenient location to explore the east side of Crete. You can visit villages like Kritsa and Mochlos, the Lato ruins, Heraklion, the wineries near Heraklion, as well as many beaches easily within 1.5-2 hours with a rental car. We recommend visiting other spots in Greece, including staying near Chania.
  • Budget: Mid-range.
  • Best for: Relaxing at the resort and exploring Crete with your own rental car.
  • Best time to go: May-October
  • Getting Here: Easy from Athens; we picked up a rental car in Chania and returned it in Heraklion.
  • Points: You cannot use points here but using a credit card like HSBC World Elite MasterCard to use travel credits.  

• The cliché Hawaii Honeymoon that’s not as cliché: We love Hawaii and it truly is our favorite place in the world due to its natural beauty and how easy it is to be there (decent roads and infrastructure, no language barrier, and lots of flights from Vancouver that depart at optimal times). We do get annoyed by its more cliché elements but have found ways to get away from it too. The Big Island of Hawaii is our favorite for this reason. It’s a very diverse place where crowds can be avoided: there are rainforests, lava fields, deserts, beaches and a volcano. There is so much to do here: hikes, secluded beaches, diving, snorkeling, Hawaiian culture, stargazing, luaus, good food and beer. It’s definitely not as manicured as Maui but we feel that you can enjoy a honeymoon here without being surrounded by people and loud families all the time! It is a large chain hotel and not as luxurious compared to other places mentioned in this post but we love the Westin Hapuna. It’s on a nice stretch of beach, there is a hiking trail that takes you to two other beaches, there is an adult pool and you can get to other things easily with a rental car. We have stayed here at Christmas when the hotel was sold out and guests were mostly families with children and didn’t feel overcrowded (it was impossible to get on that Peloton bike in the morning at the gym though!). We have never stayed here but we would love to stay at the Lava Lava Club Beach Cottages (free-standing beach front cottages).

• Maui is another popular spot and we’ve been often and as much as we love it and think it’s beautiful, we have outgrown it and been priced out (not worth 100,000 + points per night or $1000+USD per night). We also find it harder to get away from the crowds and mass tourism in Maui. Between the two of us, we’ve stayed at the following hotels: Andaz Maui, Waldorf Astoria Maui, Marriott Wailea Resort, Fairmont Kea Lani, Marriott Courtyard Maui, Residence Inn Maui, Sheraton Maui, Honua Kai, Westin Maui Resort, Westin Kaanapali Villas. We can answer any questions you have about any of them.
  • Budget: Budget to Mid-range, and lots of splurge options due to the high cost of accommodations in Hawaii these days.
  • Best for: Exploring Hawaii and all the island has to offer. The accommodations aren’t as luxurious here for the price tag ($800 a night to stay at a Residence Inn away from the beach…?).
  • Best time to go: Year-round but the weather can be unpredictable during winter months. We really enjoying going in November after US Thanksgiving and before the Christmas peak.
  • Getting Here: Easy from North America.
  • Points: Very easy to use points here if you have them as many programs have hotels and operate flights here.

• Private Island Luxury: The Maldives. The Maldives is renowned for its small islands and luxurious over-the-water villas and is a bucketlist destination. It truly is a stunning place where people save up points or money for an aspirational once in a lifetime trip here. After visiting once, we can understand why. If you want to experience what it feels like to be on a small island with beautiful water, easy swimming, and spend lots of time Instagramming, this is it. As much as we enjoyed it and appreciate going, for us, it lacked some culture and a wider range of activities. We wanted to save our points for other things and so we paid to stay at the Anantara Dhigu  and enjoyed it very much! We also expected food and drinks to be expensive and as much as we enjoyed some of it, it was lacking too. If you have trouble sitting by a pool or on a beach longer than 2 hours, the Maldives might not satisfy your desire for adventure and freedom.
  • Budget: Splurge
  • Best for: Those who want a private island experience.
  • Best time to go: January to April during dry season.
  • Getting Here: Easy enough from most places in the world with a connection in Dubai or Doha.
  • Points: Very easy to use points here if you have them as many programs have hotels here.

Summary:

We are very happy to hear people are travelling again and finally getting to go on their honeymoons! There are so many different options to choose from but hopefully these ideas help you choose one that’s right for you and memorable!