It’s easy to presume that a honeymoon isn’t truly romantic – or even a ‘proper’ honeymoon – unless it possesses certain ‘stereotypical’ honeymoon characteristics: long days spent on the beach, copious amounts of sun, lazy cocktails…
Yes, a magical honeymoon certainly can incorporate all of these elements. However, it can also offer so much more, as shown by these interesting honeymoon ideas for couples who fancy wandering a little off the beaten path.
Heading to the Rockies
If you like the notion of a North American honeymoon surrounded by natural majesty – and which will likely get you sweating a bit – you simply can’t beat time spent in the Rocky Mountains.
The Rockies span a stellar 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometres) or so, from British Columbia in western Canada right through to New Mexico in the south-western United States. That gives you no shortage of stop-off and accommodation options.
Such a jaw-dropping backdrop does – as you might imagine – also lend itself very well to activity-focused honeymoons, encompassing such Wild West-esque pursuits as Nordic skiing, mountain biking, horse riding, snowshoeing and even dog sledding.
Spending time in a delightful European chateau
At first thought, you might have imagined that a few nights in a continental chateau is almost too romantic a honeymoon idea for its own good… or even a mere fantasy.
However, it is a fantasy that you can enjoy for real when you select such a renowned and resplendent venue as Château Bouffémont in France.
This stone-built residence provides a truly extraordinary setting in which to realise your most treasured fantasies with your beloved. Its aristocratic charm and refined furnishings combine with modern comforts and spectacular manicured French gardens to make this one of the quintessential European honeymoon destinations, in surely the most romantic country of all.
Exploring a Caribbean island with a difference
There may be many enticing honeymoon options in the Caribbean, but for that genuinely ‘undiscovered’ feel in a part of the world where well-developed resorts abound seemingly everywhere, the Dutch island of Saba holds plenty of appeal.
Saba’s rocky shores look so perilous to the external observer that even Christopher Columbus apparently shied away from landing there on sighting the island in 1493, as cited by the Smithsonian website. Nor could he be blamed for being intimidated, given the potentially active volcano that also exists among Saba’s rocks and boulders.
You and your new spouse, though, can go much further than Columbus, by hiking a few of the 17 well-marked trails on the almost 3,000-foot Mount Scenery. This peak – Saba having been incorporated into the Netherlands ‘proper’ on the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 – is also the country’s highest point.
Enjoying both high-octane pursuits and luxury in Cape Town
As South Africa’s second most populous urban area after Johannesburg, as well as a beacon of multiculturalism for the wider world, Cape Town already offers plenty of intrigue.
However, you might not have known that the diversity of this coastal city also extends to the assortment of honeymoon activities that can be enjoyed here.
These include exhilarating challenges such as embarking on a ‘big five’ safari and scaling the iconic Table Mountain, as well as slightly more sedate pleasures like sipping bubbly in opulent hotel surroundings as the sun goes down.
All of these honeymoon ideas have their distinct charms, and show that you and your own beloved don’t need to default to simply ‘what is expected’ when you are planning how to spend your first days and weeks as an item. There really is an adventurous honeymoon destination for every taste!
