Breaking New Ground With Your Newly Wed!
The top honeymoon destinations are popular for good reason (Santorini has those stunning sunsets and cliff-tacular geography, Hawaii has great beaches and Top Chef-level food), but if you’re hankering for a post-nuptial getaway that’s a little more uncharted and unfrequented by other couples, here are a few destinations you should put at the top of your list.
Zion National Park, Utah
In this nature preserve in southwest Utah you will find monumental natural beauty. A valley of giant rust-red cliffs opens up before you, offering you thrilling hiking trails that wind up to spectacular viewpoints, or, you could stay on the ground for one of our favourite trails: the Narrows. This hike is more of a walk, but you walk up the Virgin River in water boots to the Narrows, the narrowest part of Zion Canyon, where the calm river pools are a clear, light turquoise and the water-carved walls of the canyon tower above you. Stay next door in Springdale (a five-minute drive from Zion’s park entrance) and make sure you book something with a pool for cooling off after morning hikes. Find photographers in Zion.
Porto, Portugal
Portugal’s low-key city in the north offers the perfect mix of everything you need for your honeymoon. An uber-romantic location, Porto’s beautiful tile-covered churches and historic apartment buildings top every hill, and the Douro River winds through the city and under Porto’s crown jewel: the two-tiered pedestrian bridge, Ponte de Dom Luis. Taking a walk top or bottom offers ridiculous views of this aptly named port town below, and the bridge takes you right on over to the Port houses for your lazy waterfront port tastings. The food might be the number-one reason to visit though, and finding good places for traditional dishes or modern tapas is like shooting fish in a barrel. Find photographers in Porto.
Sardinia, Italy
Venice and Florence may take most of the attention for Italian honeymoon getaways, but Sardinia is not to be overlooked. This large island has 2,000 kilometres of coastline touching the Mediterrannean and Tyrrhenian seas, so shockingly blue, crystal-clear water totally surrounds your rocky respite. Sardinia is the place of secluded beaches, rock arches, ocean caves and grottos—and thousands of years of history. Walking through the island’s medieval cities and sampling the handmade pasta with a bottle of Italian wine is the perfect end to your day of exploring. Find photographers in Sardinia.
Tofino, Canada
One of the most westernly points on Canada’s left coast, Tofino is quiet, rugged and the locus of coastal beauty. It is a rainforest (think moss and fern covered trails with massive red cedars), but it also sits on some of Canada’s best beaches—long stretches of white sand gently sloping into easy surf. It can get windy on the exposed beaches, so surfing, windsurfing and the like are popular pastimes, but so are kayaking amongst the seals, whale watching and eating. A lot of big-city folk escape to Tofino for a slice of laid-back island life (taking their talents with them), so even though this is a small town (population 1,932), it has modern farm-to-table dining, craft cocktails aplenty and its own craft brewery, Tofino Brewing Co. Find photographers in Tofino.
Copenhagen, Denmark
A Renaissance-era castle, canals, gardens, design, street food—Denmark’s feels-like-a-small-town capital is chock-full of sights and things to do on your honeymoon, which means you can master-plan the ultimate itinerary, or just book a hotel and see where your feet take you. Either way, try and stumble onto Tivoli Park. It’s a historical theme park garden hybrid that has stunning flower gardens, theme park rides, a food hall, nightly fireworks shows and outdoor movie screenings. The street food markets are going to give you the best taste of the city, so check out Paper Island or the Torvehallerne street food market for everything from gourmet hot dogs to brunch toasties to craft beer. And because Copenhagen is a historical maritime city, a boat tour or stroll through its canals is the best way to admire its bright and colourful architecture. Find photographers in Copenhagen.
