Get Quartz in your inbox

Free daily briefing on global business news.

The 10 best honeymoon destinations in the world and the best time to visit

From Japan's cherry blossom season to Botswana's flooded delta and Brazil's Carnaval, ten honeymoon destinations and when to visit

Tatiana Gonzales / Unsplash

A honeymoon isn’t just any trip, and it counts as so much more than a vacation. After saying the vows, post-wedding travel becomes a time not only to unwind but also to find each other in the world as a married couple. For a classic just-married, drive-into-the-sunset honeymoon, some couples already have a destination in mind, while others work within a strict time frame in which their newlywed bliss needs to align with available time off.

Knowing when to go but not yet where to go is a common starting point, and this list of honeymoon destinations paired with the best months to visit them offers plenty of inspiration for couples still deciding.

The 10 destinations below appear on Lonely Planet and cover picturesque honeymoon spots, along with the best time to visit. Each month brings its own distinct advantage somewhere in the world, whether that means a festival, a bloom, a migration, or simply the right balance of weather and crowds, giving couples real flexibility to match a honeymoon to their available travel window. Timing plays a role in nearly every entry here too, since visiting a few weeks earlier or later than the recommended window can mean the difference between catching a destination at its most spectacular and missing the moment entirely. Culture and celebration also thread through much of this list, from Brazil’s Carnaval parades to Japan’s centuries-old cherry blossom viewing tradition, giving couples plenty of ways to connect a honeymoon to something larger than scenery alone. Wildlife and natural phenomena round out the remaining entries, whether that means Botswana’s flooded delta, Norway’s shifting aurora, or the seasonal blooms and migrations found throughout the rest of the list, each shaping how a couple might choose to spend their first trip together as a married pair.

1. Maldives welcomes January visitors to overwater bungalows

Mike Swigunski / Unsplash

Few places deliver romance and picture-perfect scenery quite like the Maldives, an Indian Ocean island country with over 100 hotels to choose from, each on its own private island, with access to vibrant reefs and the option to stay in an overwater bungalow. Not only does the Maldives offer an escape from the northern hemisphere’s January blues, but the month also marks the peak of the dry season, meaning plenty of sunshine throughout a stay.

Many beautiful resorts throughout the islands offer overwater bungalows, though Milaidhoo stands out for letting guests engage more directly with local culture, including dining at a gourmet restaurant serving Maldivian cuisine.

The Maldives consists of nearly 1,200 coral islands grouped into 26 atolls scattered across the Indian Ocean, a geography that has made the country one of the most low-lying nations on Earth and a defining reason its reefs and lagoons remain so consistently calm and clear for snorkeling and diving throughout the dry season. Rising sea levels pose a genuine long-term concern for the country, since roughly 80 percent of its land sits less than one meter above sea level, prompting the government to invest heavily in coastal protection and even floating infrastructure projects designed to keep the islands habitable for future generations. House reefs surrounding many resort islands sit just steps from the shoreline, meaning snorkelers can encounter reef sharks, rays and colorful fish without ever needing to board a boat. Seaplane transfers between the international airport and more remote resort islands offer a genuinely scenic introduction to the country, with aerial views of turquoise lagoons and coral atolls stretching out below. Sustainable tourism initiatives have grown considerably across the islands in recent years, with many resorts investing in coral restoration projects that let guests participate directly in replanting damaged reef sections. This blend of conservation and comfort has become an increasingly common draw for couples who want a honeymoon that feels genuinely responsible alongside its luxury.

2. Brazil erupts into Carnaval each February

Agustin Diaz Gargiulo / Unsplash

In the southern hemisphere, February marks the peak of the Brazilian summer. Cities along the coast like Rio de Janeiro and Salvador erupt with Carnaval celebrations, and the season also brings the best weather for enjoying the beaches along Brazil’s roughly 4,500 miles of coastline. Plenty of incredible places round out the options too, from the water-filled dunes in Ceará to the wild trails of Ilha Grande.

Awasi Santa Catarina, a stunning property about an hour north of Florianópolis, offers a great base for couples looking to balance beach time with wellness offerings and quieter privacy.

Rio’s Carnaval ranks among the largest festivals in the world, drawing millions of visitors each year for its elaborate parades, samba schools and street parties, a celebration with roots tracing back to Portuguese colonial traditions blended over centuries with African and Indigenous Brazilian cultural influences. Rio’s Carnaval traces its roots to Portuguese colonial masquerade balls blended over generations with African and Indigenous Brazilian musical traditions, producing the modern samba parade competitions that now draw television audiences numbering in the tens of millions each year. Ilha Grande, once a prison island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, has since transformed into a car-free nature reserve, its abandoned prison grounds slowly being reclaimed by dense Atlantic Forest. Salvador’s Carnaval draws on a distinctly different musical tradition than Rio’s, built around trio elétrico trucks blasting axé music through the streets, giving couples........

© Quartz