In an era where honeymoons are less about “just a holiday” and more about an elegant prologue to a lifetime together, The Wedding Edition editors have scoured the globe, and yes, we have stayed there (all of them), to bring you the most alluring long haul escapes for 2026. These destinations do not just promise sunset drenched days; they deliver first class experiences, carefully reviewed by our discerning in-house team.
Consider a secluded overwater villa in the Maldives, where your suite extends out over aquamarine waters and each morning begins with the gentle lapping of the lagoon. Or picture an intimate boutique retreat in Costa Rica, hidden deep within a verdant rainforest where you can zip-line above the canopy and unwind in open air thermal hot springs, all framed by sustainable design and raw natural beauty. For a more cosmopolitan twist, there is a refined Japanese ryokan tucked into Kyoto’s forested hills, combining traditional tatami mat bedrooms with onsen bathing and kaiseki dinners beneath cherry-blossom scented spring skies.
These are not just dreamy backdrops. Every resort has been personally experienced by The Wedding Edition team, so our recommendations come with an insider’s insight: which sunset deck felt most private, which beach restaurant served the freshest seafood, and which spa treatment left us floating home.
Welcome to our definitive edit of the most romantic and awe inspiring long haul honeymoon escapes for 2026, where luxury meets soul and every moment feels curated just for two.
Seychelles
North Island
To experience one of the most exclusive honeymoon destinations in the world – staying on North Island gives couples a true castaway feeling with lashings of authentic luxury. With only 11 private villas, this is a place for seclusion seekers. The sun-drenched days roll by and it’s possible to not see another soul as you soak up the magic of this island that has been nurtured back to its original beauty.
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Raffles Praslin
For an iconic Seychelles honeymoon. Stay at Raffles Praslin, in a treetop villa in utmost privacy, making memories which are sure to last a lifetime. This hotel is for culture-seeking couples who want a true dose of the Seychelles alongside indulging in all the luxuries Raffles has to offer. Staying on Praslin means guests can immerse themselves in island life, visit nearby atolls and experience everything this serene cluster of tropical islands has to offer.
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Denis Private Island
For island chic with an elegantly laid-back atmosphere and eco-friendly cottages woven into the surreal setting. Couples seeking out the raw beauty of the Seychelles. Cast adrift in its own Old World time capsule, the lavish-yet-low-key family-owned hotel occupies one of the outer coral islands and serves up a thrilling dose of seclusion.
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Waldorf Astoria Platte Island
For an indulgent getaway, stay in a state-of-the-art beach villa with a large private pool at Waldorf Astoria Platte Island. It promises to be a blissfully serene stay – a sensory journey with dedicated staff ensuring you want for nothing. Foodie couples, wine connoisseurs and cocktail lovers will all be in heaven here – so prepare to delight in gastronomic wonders across six restaurants and bars. Between meals, couples can make themselves at home in their villa or be immersed in the natural surrounds that offer heaps of activities.
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Africa
Shambala Private Reserve
To get up close and personal with the big five in an intimate, malaria-free safari camp in the African bush, with a bespoke luxury experience designed for honeymooners. There are few scenarios more exhilarating than sitting just metres away from a stretching and joshing pride of lions. But within minutes of an evening drive, that’s exactly where you can find yourself. A safari is typically deemed an ‘adventure honeymoon’ but Shambala’s take is more nurturing, therapeutic and beautifully peaceful.
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The Kilindi Zanzibar
An intimate, adults-only retreat with sweeping Indian Ocean views and unparalleled privacy, Kilindi Zanzibar is a masterclass in sophistication – ideal for honeymooners seeking peace after a Tanzanian or Kenyan safari. It’s perfect for couples in search of stillness and style, with spa rituals, private beach dinners and a butler on hand to orchestrate every quiet luxury.
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The Saxon
For laidback luxury in an underrated city. Johannesburg’s history and vibrant downtown district make it a must-visit for culture vultures. And that’s all before you set foot in The Saxon. More country retreat than urban hotel, all the five-star trappings reveal themselves: beautifully manicured lawns, staff who appear genuinely pleased to help and lunches and suppers you’ll be raving about anniversary after anniversary – but it’s the home-from-home sensibility of The Saxon that makes it so enticing for newly weds.
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Mexico
NIZUC Resort And Spa, Cancun
For an unpretentious pocket of Mexican paradise in Cancún, which ticks multiple boxes of style, substance and a superb spa. It’s ideal for couples looking for a traditional fly-and-flop, where choice, variety and outstanding service is a non-negotiable.
Discover more here.
Maldives
Finolhu Maldives
Whether you’re basking in the Maldivian sunshine on an endless sandbank, diving into electric-blue lagoons, or dining under the stars, Finolhu delivers a playful, soul-stirring escape tailor-made for romance. This is an escape for those craving something brighter, bolder, and unapologetically alive.
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Six Senses Laamu
One for the romantics. Six Senses Laamu is gloriously farflung – an hour’s seaplane from Malé – and, quite smugly, the only resort in the Laamu Atoll. That extra seaplane time comes with a kaleidoscopic array of marine life (possibly the best in the Maldives) and the thrilling sense that you’re quite literally cast adrift in the Indian Ocean. Horizons here test your eyesight and the night sky humbles those below it with the sheer clarity of the stars winking down on late night strollers.
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Soneva Fushi
Soneva Fushi was also a sustainability trailblazer, with its outside-in ethos permeating all aspects of the resort, from the restaurants to the materials used to construct the villas. The resort may occupy one of the largest islands in the Maldives, but its villa count is delightfully low. With just 53 cavernous private villas and 8 water reserves, there’s enough unsullied space for land-based activities (including a zip wire) as well as the surreal waterborne adventures (Hanifaru Bay’s manta ray migration spectacle is an easy boat ride away).
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Gili Lankanfushi
For those seeking a Maldives original with impossibly clear water and culinary caché. Expect a haut, Robinson Crusoe spin on Maldivian island life at Gili Lankanfushi, with a series of thatched, overwater villas that feel perfectly in tune with their otherworldly surroundings. It provides a true castaway experience (or at least an eye-popping, luxurious take on such a notion), and speaks to honeymooners set on a far-flung, tropical escape with pampering edges.
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JOALI
JOALI artfully blends raw, island life with a generous helping of luxury many honeymooners long for. Consider it an elevated spin on bohème – where bare-footed island escapades sit alongside tasting menus and Dom Perignon. For blissful isolation, absorbing all the sensory wonders of the Maldivian landscape – from those blazing Indian Ocean sunsets to the tropical tangle shading the powder-soft beach – but also for inconceivable pampering in the spa and slick service with a smile from JOALI’s affable team.
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The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort
A place where marine-inspired architecture meets untouched natural beauty, The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli is the pinnacle of honeymoon luxury. This private island retreat offers an escape from the everyday, blending avant-garde design, impeccable service, and nature’s serenity. Think sunrise swims from your villa’s private deck, champagne-fuelled sunsets worthy of a Bond film, and sand-between-your-toes dinners where the only dress code is love.
Discover more here.
Sri Lanka
Anantara Peace Haven
For laid-back luxury and sweeping Indian Ocean views, Anantara Peace Haven strikes the perfect balance between natural seclusion and beautifully considered design. It’s made for couples who value thoughtful luxury and a sense of place. Honeymoons here are shaped by the rhythm of Sri Lanka’s south coast; unhurried, sensory, and quietly indulgent.
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UGA Chena Huts
This bucket-list destination is for honeymooners drawn to the wild thrill of nature. With leopard-tracking at dawn and star-strewn skies by night, UGA Chena Huts offers wild romance, and an off-grid kind of luxury. It’s perfect for couples who want to swap infinity pools for watering holes and sunrise yoga for safaris with elephants. It’s luxe, but not overtly glossy.
Discover more here.
Caribbean
Coral Reef Club, Barbados
For a refined Caribbean getaway at one of the most sophisticated beachside settings Barbados has to offer. Couples will want for nothing here, and will fly home feeling recharged, utterly pampered and dosed up on vitamin d. Couples with itchy feet after a few hours of sunbathing can jump into a pair of water skis, a sailing boat or spend the week ticking off the full sweep of watersports on offer.
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Cobblers Cove, Barbados
For sun, endless Caribbean charm and long lazy days under those iconic pink scalloped parasols, with farm-to-table food and retro pink everything. It’s a hotel that lets you enjoy downtime under your own steam, whether that’s a fly and flop few days or keeping busy with endless activities, from watersports and swimming with turtles (depending on the time of year), to galloping horseback through the gentle waves.
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USA
Beach Club At The Boca Raton
For couples in search of beachside luxury, sophisticated dining, and a world-class spa offering – all without needing to lift a finger – Beach Club at The Boca Raton checks all the boxes. It’s a polished playground of escapades and indulgences for honeymooners who delight in experiencing a little of everything.
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Mauritius
One&Only Le Saint Géran
Languidly spread out along its own peninsula on the north-east coast, One&Only Le Saint Géran is as famous for its impeccable service as it is for its exquisite setting. Honeymooners will have all whims and watering catered to by a designated butler, and the team are trained to the hilt on the details (a glass of Champagne as soon as your toes hit the sand, a towel rolled out with flair as your eyes fall on a particular sunbed, extending a boat trip with a dinner booking change, no problem).
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LUX* Belle Mare
A freshly reimagined design destination on Mauritius’s east coast, LUX* Belle Mare pairs barefoot beach vibes with head-turning interiors, show-stopping gastronomy, and a vast stretch of powder-white sand that rivals the Maldives. It’s for couples seeking an effortlessly stylish honeymoon – part design-led escape, part laidback beach retreat – this is where Palm Springs cool meets Indian Ocean soul.
Discover more here.
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