Audley Travel experts have teamed up and chosen seven honeymoon destinations that mix spending time on sun-drenched, less-visited beaches with a little bit of adventure or exploration. This could include immersing yourself in a totally different culture, spotting wildlife from the rainforest, snorkeling in a sunken crater, climbing volcanoes, or learning about local life.
Borneo
In quarter-hour you possibly can reach Pulau Gaya, i.e. Gaya Island, by speedboat from the town of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo in Sabah. Several hotels – including our chosen one, Resort on Gaya Island — are tucked away of their secluded bays. The rainforest on this hilly island is home to wild animals similar to macaques and bearded pigs. You can meet the latter trotting along the beaches.
Your stay on the island could be combined with a visit to Borneo Kinabatangan Riverstaying at a riverside lodge and awaiting orangutans feeding within the fig trees. You can go a step further and stay at Sepilok, an orangutan sanctuary, or head even deeper into the wilderness to a distant location Cottage within the Borneo rainforest. Here, set in dense rainforest with no other signs of human habitation, you possibly can explore the cover walkways and search for species similar to pygmy elephants.
Japan
Japan: a beach destination? Definitely – in case you’re willing to travel a bit and enterprise into areas where few people speak English. Ishigakithe island closer to Taiwan than the Land of the Rising Sun could be reached by direct flight from Tokyo – and yet few of the continent’s inhabitants make it this far.
The waters of Ishigaki are as clean as within the Maldives. The beaches are eye-catching, their snow-white sand broken by igneous rocks and dwarf pine trees. Although Yonehara Beach is surrounded by strong currents so swimming is at your personal risk, you do not actually go there to swim. Instead, you possibly can admire underwater corals and explore the encircling reefs (and their population of manta rays) by glass-bottom boat.
Kondoi Beach on Taketomi Island, accessible by ferry from Ishigaki, is even quieter. The water is an inviting shade of jade across the sandy banks that lie a brief distance from the shore.
Hawaii
Waikiki Beach on Oahu attracts crowds, but in case you’re searching for a more relaxing experience, head to Maui. “Valley Isle” has an interior of eucalyptus, pine and bamboo forest and ridges, separated by the strange purple patch of a lavender farm.
The entire island is surrounded by photogenic golden beaches and swirling white waves, but among the best stretches of coastline belongs to the adults-only oceanfront Hotel WaileaThe hotel provides couples with their very own picnic basket for trips to the crescent of personal beach, then picks them up at the tip of a lazy afternoon for the five-minute uphill ride to the property.
After a number of days on the beach, make a journey to the Molokini crater, from where you possibly can reach the Pacific Ocean by boat in an hour. The submerged volcanic caldera with shallow reefs harbors over 200 species of fish, including trumpets, butterflyfish, reef sharks and bigger specimens similar to giant trevally.
Bali
You’re never removed from the beach on this island – even in case you’re inland, amongst rice fields, forested hills and ancient temple complexes. The best beaches are probably within the south, including Seminyak, where the waves hit the white sand and the ocean is warm.
Heading even further south, you cross the isthmus to achieve the bulge of the Bukit Peninsula. Almost every rocky cove here hides a deserted beach, known only to locals and intrepid surfers. Bring a automotive and prepare to explore or squeeze through caves to get to a few of the beaches.
From sea to sky, Bali was formed by volcanic activity, and its lofty conical volcanoes are considered sacred by the local population. They also make for unusual but rewarding hikes. Mount Agung, at 3,142 m (10,308 ft) above sea level, has a cloud-piercing peak that could be reached in five to seven hours.
Start very early within the morning, perhaps lighting some incense and saying a brief prayer on the temple along the method to speed up your journey. You’ll be rewarded with terrain that changes from pine forest to lava fields to (eventually) the smoking rim of a crater.
Seychelles
Go to non-public Denis Islandand you can see stretches of beach with none footprints. On these beaches, and on other beaches across the Seychelles islands, it’s possible you’ll see sea turtles emerging in the course of the day to put their eggs. This natural ritual takes place under cover of darkness in other parts of the world, a testament to how quiet, undeveloped and guarded the beaches of the Seychelles are.
Island hopping means that you can look a bit of deeper under the skin of the Seychelles. ON Praslinyou possibly can hike through the jungle of towering Coco de Mer palms. On La Digue you possibly can truly experience the Seychelles’ Creole heritage and relaxed pace of life, passing moored wood pirogues and flower-decked houses, cycling through vanilla plantations, stopping wherever the off-the-beaten-path beach takes your fancy.
Source: Luxury Travel Journal
