The best romantic locations in the world for newly married couples
Your honeymoon is one of the most memorable trips you will ever take, filled with making memories with your new significant other and enjoying each other’s company. It can be hard to pick the perfect location for the trip of a lifetime, so we ranked some of the most romantic destinations in the world to find the best honeymoon spots.
We looked at some of the world’s best honeymoons to see which location is top in terms of hotel price, romantic bars, restaurants and couples activities. The best place in the world for a honeymoon is Dubrovnik, with low hotel costs and plenty of romantic things to do for newly married couples. Pricier locations with fewer couples activities, like Los Angeles and Melbourne, rank towards the bottom of our list.
- Dubrovnik, Croatia | Honeymoon Destination Score: 9.26/10
The best city in the world for honeymooning couples, Croatia’s cultural hub has no shortage of romantic backdrops, including the Gothic Old Town district and breathtaking views from on top of the city walls.
Couples staying in Dubrovnik can expect to pay around £104, or €126 per night for a double room on average, as one of the cheapest honeymoon destinations we looked at. There are plenty of romantic things to do for couples in Dubrovnik, with 482.35 romantic activities and 340.76 romantic restaurants per 100,000 residents.
- Mykonos, Greece | Honeymoon Destination Score: 8.81/10
The idyllic area of Mykonos is one of the best honeymoon destinations in the world, with stunning ocean views, rich cultural history, and world-famous nightlife.
With a cheaper accommodation cost than most destinations, in Mykonos honeymooning couples can expect to pay around £122 or €147 to stay overnight in the town. Couples can find romantic activities within Mykonos – 937.44 things to do for couples, 108.55 romantic bars and 1460.43 romantic restaurants per 100,000 of the population.
- Bruges, Belgium | Honeymoon Destination Score: 8.47/10
In third place, Bruges is one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world and the third European destination in our top three. The romantic city is the ideal spot for both couples and families in search of rich culture, relaxing locations and stunning landscapes.
A double hotel room in Bruges costs on average £110 or €133 per night, and there are plenty of romantic activities to do in the city. Bruges has 86.1 romantic things to do, 14.35 romantic bars and 142.66 romantic restaurants per 100,000 people.
- Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | Honeymoon Destination Score: 1.76/10
Often regarded as one of the most picturesque destinations for a romantic getaway, with stunning beaches and a more relaxing atmosphere than its neighbouring city Dubai, Abu Dhabi is one of the worst honeymoon spots, based on bars, restaurants, activities and hotel cost.
The city has just 3.12 romantic things to do, 0.04 romantic bars and 7.69 romantic restaurants per 100,000 residents. With an average hotel cost of £171 or €207 per night for a double room, Abu Dhabi is one of the most expensive destinations on our list to stay in.
- Los Angeles, California | Honeymoon Destination Score: 1.76/10
Top travel location Los Angeles ranks as one of the worst honeymoon destinations according to hotel cost and couples activities.
In Los Angeles, a double hotel room for one night costs around £243 or €294 on average, one of the priciest honeymoon spots on our list. In the city, there are 6.16 romantic things to do, 0.23 romantic bars and 6.34 romantic restaurants for every 100,000 residents.
- Melbourne, Australia | Honeymoon Destination Score: 2.22/10
One of Australia’s cultural hubs, Melbourne welcomes thousands of tourists every year including couples on honeymoon vacations.
Ranking lower than Sydney for a couples getaway, Melbourne has 5.31 romantic things to do, 0.28 romantic bars and 3.52 romantic restaurants per 100,000 people. An overnight stay in Melbourne costs on average £129 or €156 for a double room, a similar price to Sydney’s average of £126.
The Cheapest Honeymoon Destination: Udaipur, India | Hotel Cost: £38 (€46)
Filled with elaborate architecture and stunning palaces, Udaipur is ideal for a romantic honeymoon getaway. The cheapest city on our list to stay in, a double room costs around £38 or €46 for one night.
The Best Destination for Romantic Things to Do: Mykonos, Greece | 937.44 Romantic Activities per 100,000
Mykonos is the best location for romantic things to do, with 95 romantic things to do in total and a population of 10,134.
The Best Destination for Romantic Bars: Mykonos, Greece | 108.55 Romantic Bars per 100,000
There are 11 romantic bars in total on the Greek island, and with a population of just 10,134, Mykonos has 108.55 romantic bars and clubs per 100,000 people.
The Best Destination for Romantic Restaurants: Mykonos, Greece | 1460.43 Romantic Restaurants per 100,000
Mykonos has 148 romantic restaurants on Tripadvisor in total, beating out all other honeymoon spots on our list for couple-friendly restaurants per 100,000 people.
Methodology
We wanted to find the best locations worldwide for a honeymoon, therefore created a list of 45 top romantic destinations using lists from Travel and Leisure, The Culture Trip, Independent, National Geographic, Travel Triangle and Hand Luggage Only.
We ranked each location based on the average nightly cost of a double hotel room, sourced from Kayak and the number of romantic activities, bars and restaurants per 100,000 people, sourced from Tripadvisor. The total number of bars and clubs in each location tagged as ‘good for couples’ was used to represent romantic bars. Population estimates for each location were sourced from City Population.
For each factor, each location was given a normalised score out of 10. A ‘Honeymoon Destination Score out of 10’ was calculated by averaging each location’s score for each factor.
