Where to Honeymoon in 2018: The Brides Honeymoon Awards

Don't start planning before you read this.

by
Rebecca Misner
Rebecca is the west coast editor at Conde Nast Traveler. She has worked as a travel writer and editor for the past decade.
Brides's Editorial Guidelines
Rebecca Misner
Updated 01/02/21

Your wedding was amazing, but this is the part you’ve really been waiting for: the honeymoon, time alone with the one you love. Whether your idea of an ultrarelaxing, super romantic getaway involves sipping a cocktail on a private island in Indonesia, hiking the rugged New Zealand coast, or eating pasta alle vongole in a beachside restaurant on Italy’s Amalfi coast, we’ve got some winners for you.

The Unresort Resort, Mérida, Mexico

Karyn Millet

You want to lounge by the pool or on the beach, maybe get a massage and do a little yoga, but big resorts and built-up towns aren't really your jam.

ABOVE: Chablé Resort and Spa, Yucatán, Mexico

This stylish retreat outside the Mérida, Mexico, understands balance: Its spa has a cenote for soaking, and it’s home to the world’s largest tequila collection.

Keep scrolling for the other winners in this category.

Bahia Vik José Ignacio Country House, Maldonado, Uruguay

Courtesy of Hotel

Villadorata, Noto, Sicily

Courtesy of Hotel

Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach, Australia

Courtesy of Hotel

Latitude 10, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Courtesy of Hotel/Teri K. Miller

Playa Grande Beach Club, Dominican Republic

Courtesy of Hotel

Rancho Pescadero, Todos Santos, Mexico

Courtesy of Hotel

Rockhouse, Jamaica

Courtesy of Hotel

Sanará, Tulum, Mexico

Courtesy of Hotel / Pablo García Figueroa

Turtle Inn, Placencia, Belize

Courtesy of Hotel / GUNDOLF PFOTENHAUER

Uxua Casa Hotel & Spa, Trancoso, Brazil

Courtesy of Hotel

Affordable Hotels

Matthieu Salvaing

Just because you totally blew the budget on the wedding doesn't mean you can't go somewhere fabulous.

ABOVE: Bachaumont, Paris

The buzzy lobby restaurant at this 2nd arrondissement boutique hotel is where twenty- and thirtysomething locals in flowy dresses and jackets are ushering in a new era of dressing for dinner. The 49 rooms above are similarly sophisticated, sans the crazy price tag.

Keep scrolling for other winners in this category.

Auberge de la Petite Anse, St. Barts

Courtesy of Hotel

Casa del Coliseo, Cartagena, Colombia

Courtesy of Hotel

The Fifteen Keys Hotel, Rome

Courtesy of Hotel

Ke Iki Beach Bungalows, Oahu, Hawaii

Courtesy of Hotel

Playa Negra, Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Courtesy of Hotel

Small Hope Bay Lodge, Andros, Bahamas

Courtesy of Hotel

Yemaya Resort and Spa, Little Corn Island, Nicaragua

Courtesy of Hotel

Resort + Town

Courtesy of Le Sireneuse

When you want to remain mostly horizontal but don't want to eat hotel food every night, these spots are a short hop to great restaurants and chic shops.

ABOVE: Le Sirenuse, Positano, Italy

If you can pull yourself away from the views of the terraced rooftops, domed churches, and cobalt-blue Med, take a five-minute boat ride to Da Adolfo for an alfresco dinner, then a stop at Pepé Positano, in the center of town, for made-to-order leather sandals.

Keep scrolling for other winners in this category.

Borgo Egnazia, Savelletri di Fasano, Italy

Courtesy of Hotel

Coqui Coqui Mérida, Mexico

Courtesy of Hotel

Hotel Escondido, Puerto Escondido, Mexico

Courtesy of Hotel

Hôtel Les Roches Rouges, Saint-Raphaël, France

Courtesy of Hotel

Hotel Le Toiny, St. Barts

Courtesy of Hotel

Kyrimai Hotel, Mani, Greece

Courtesy of Hotel

Splurge-worthy Honeymoon Resorts

Courtesy of Singita Sabora Tented Camp

When you want to go unapologetically big, these properties are worth it.

ABOVE: Singita Sabora Tented Camp, Grumeti Game Reserve, Tanzania

Here you’ll find African decor in the middle of the Serengeti. Go in July and you’ll see millions of wildebeests (joined by zebras and gazelles) migrating north to Kenya’s Masai Mara National Reserve.

Keep scrolling for the other winners in this category.

Amanemu, Ise-Shima National Park, Japan

Courtesy of Hotel

And Beyond, Matetsi River Lodge, Zimbabwe

Courtesy of Hotel

Cuixmala, Jalisco, Mexico

Courtesy of Hotel

Gladden Private Island, Belize

Courtesy of Hotel / Benedict Kim

GoldenEye, Jamaica

Courtesy of Hotel

Grand Hotel a Villa Feltrinelli, Lake Garda, Italy

Grand Hotel A Villa Feltrinelli

Hotel Esencia, Xpu-Ha, Mexico

Courtesy of Hotel

Miavana, Madagascar

Courtesy of Hotel

One & Only Le Saint Géran, Mauritius

Courtesy of Hotel

Perivolas Hideaway, Therasia, Greece

Courtesy of Hotel

Silversea Silver Cloud Expedition to Antarctica

Courtesy of Silver Cloud / LUCIA GRIGGI

Get Very Away

Courtesy of Amangiri

Where to completely peace out on everything and everyone (except that person you just vowed to spend the rest of your life with).

ABOVE: Amangiri, Canyon Point, Utah

No, it’s not easy to get there (it's more than four hours away from the closest major airport in Vegas), but that—and the pool built around a 165-million-year-old rock formation—is what makes this super-luxe hideaway so special.

Keep scrolling for other winners in this category.

Alila Fort Bishangarh, Rajasthan, India

Courtesy of Hotel

Dar Ahlam, Morocco

Courtesy of Hotel

Dunton Hot Springs, Dolores, Colorado

Courtesy of Hotel

Explora Rapa Nui, Easter Island, Chile

Courtesy of Hotel

Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland

Courtesy of Hotel

Nayara Springs, Costa Rica

Courtesy of Hotel

Tierra Atacama Hotel & Spa, Chile

Courtesy of Hotel

Treehotel, Harads, Sweden

Courtesy of Hotel

The Best All-Inclusives

Courtesy of Hotel

Know what's not sexy? Tip-calculating face. Leave your wallet in the room; everything here is taken care of.

ABOVE: The Brando, Tetiaroa, French Polynesia

You’ll sleep even sounder knowing that this 35-villa private island surrounded by the most unreal cerulean water is both eco (its AC runs on sea-water, the golf carts are solar, bikes are the main mode of transportation) as well as chic.

Keep scrolling for other winners in this category.

Couples Negril, Jamaica

Copyright Jeff Herron (Jeff Herron Photography, Inc.) 2010

Guana Island, British Virgin Islands

Erhard Pfeiffer

Hermitage Bay, Antigua

Courtesy of Hotel

Laucala Island, Fiji

<p>A view of the pool at Laucala, a resort in Fiji</p>

Courtesy of Laucala

The Meridian Club, Turks and Caicos

Courtesy of Hotel

Panama Jack Resorts Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Courtesy of Hotel

Paul Gauguin Cruises

Courtesy of Paul Gaugin Cruises

Sandals, Barbados

Courtesy of Sandals / Nelson Jacome

Three Day Minimoon Ideas

Dave Lauridsen

When the wedding's a wrap and you have zero vacation days left, these short-haul heroes are easy to get to for a long weekend.

ABOVE: L’Horizon Resort & Spa, Palm Springs, California

This mid-century-modern resort has the most elegant pool scene in town. Request a west-facing bungalow and you can watch the sun set over the San Jacinto Mountains from your outdoor shower.

Keep scrolling for other winners in this category.

Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas

Courtesy of Hotels

The Dewberry, Charleston, South Carolina

Courtesy of Hotel

Four Seasons at the Surf Club, Miami

Courtesy of Hotel

Playa Largo, Key Largo, Florida

Courtesy of Hotel

Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, California

Courtesy of Hotel

Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, Paradise Valley, Arizona

Courtesy of Hotel

The Surfrider, Malibu, California

Courtesy of Hotel

The Great Outdoors

Courtesy of Awasi Iguazú

Because being in nature is your first second love.

ABOVE: Awasi Iguazú, Misiones, Argentina

Belmond Andean Explorer sleeper train. , Peru

Courtesy of Belmond Andean Explorer

Cempedak Private Island, Indonesia

Courtesy of Cempedak Private Island

The Point, Saranac Lake, New York

Courtesy of The Point

Primland, Meadows of Dan, Virginia

Courtesy of Primland

Shakti Ladakh, the Himalayas

Courtesy of Shakti Ladakh

Split Apple Lodge, Kaiteriteri, New Zealand

Courtesy of Split Apple Lodge

Treebones Resort, Big Sur, California

Courtesy of Treebones Resort

The Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino, British Columbia

Courtesy of The Wickaninnish Inn

Wild Coast Tented Lodge, Yala, Sri Lanka

Courtesy of Wild Coast Tented Lodge

Windstar Cruises. (Yokohama, Japan, to Seward, Alaska)

Courtesy of Windstar Cruises

The Most Romantic Destinations of 2018

Gab Scanu

The best places for no-guilt, do-nothing (or everything), damn-that-wedding-was-exhausting honeymoons.

Australia

We can’t decide what we love most about this antipodean Eden—its effortlessly cool cities, Mars-like Outback landscapes, epic beaches, or that every day starts with a flat white and avo toast. Go for two weeks; any longer and you’re never coming home.

The other most romantic honeymoon destinations include:

Anguilla

Antigua

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Cayman Islands

Costa Rica

Fiji

Greece

Hawaii

Italy

Maldives

Mexico

Philippines

Seychelles

St. Barts

Tahiti

Thailand

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