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ILUXURYTRAVELS

Collection — Honeymoons

Honeymoon Villas and Retreats

A honeymoon is the one trip where the house is the itinerary. These are the small houses, overwater villas and island retreats built for two people who intend to leave them as little as possible.

Estates with a two-person honeymoon setting

20 estates in the collection

A villa or a resort suite

Resorts win on effortlessness: restaurants, spa, dive centre and someone to ask. Private villas win on privacy and on food — a resident chef cooking what you actually want to eat, on your hours, on your terrace, usually costs less per day than two restaurant dinners at a five-star resort.

The common answer is both. Split a two-week honeymoon between an overwater villa and a staffed house on a second island or coast, and the trip gains a second act without a long transfer.

Where to go, month by month

December to April: the Maldives, the Caribbean and the Grenadines are at their driest, with the festive weeks the most expensive of the year. May and June: the Seychelles, Bora Bora and the eastern Mediterranean open up at shoulder pricing. July and August: French Polynesia and the Indian Ocean are dry, the Mediterranean is at peak. September and October: the widest choice of the year — warm Mediterranean water, clear Indian Ocean, thinning crowds everywhere.

If the wedding date is fixed, choose the hemisphere before the destination. There is always a dry season somewhere; there is rarely a good reason to fight a monsoon for a name.

What to ask for when you book

Tell the house it is a honeymoon. It costs nothing and it changes the stay: a private dinner on the first night, a boat afternoon, a bedroom on the quiet side of the property. Confirm whether a plunge pool is private or overlooked, whether meals can be served anywhere on the grounds, and — on overwater villas — which side of the building catches the sunset.

Read before you book

Frequently asked

Where is the best honeymoon destination?
It depends on the month. December to April favours the Maldives, the Caribbean and the Grenadines; May, June, September and October open up the Seychelles, French Polynesia and the Mediterranean at better value with near-identical weather.
How much does a luxury honeymoon villa cost?
Indicatively USD 900 to 3,500 a night for a private villa or overwater suite in shoulder season, and USD 2,500 to 9,000 in peak and festive weeks. A resident chef is commonly included in the Indian Ocean and Caribbean and quoted separately in the Mediterranean.
Is a private villa better than a resort for a honeymoon?
For privacy and food, yes — a staffed villa with a chef gives you both at a lower daily cost than resort dining. For a first long-haul trip, or where you want a dive centre and a spa on site, a resort earns its keep. Many couples split the two weeks between both.
How long should a honeymoon be?
Ten to fourteen nights for a long-haul trip, split between two properties. Anything under seven nights in the Indian Ocean or French Polynesia is largely spent travelling.