BACKWATERS & CORAL ATOLLS

Your romantic journey begins in Cochin, a charming port city on Kerala’s western coast. Over the centuries, the Arabian Sea has brought merchants and travellers here from all over the world, and it shows. One of the city’s iconic sights is the Chinese fishing nets which hang over the harbour, rising and falling slowly and hypnotically; they make an atmospheric backdrop to a romantic waterfront walk.

Culture vultures will love Cochin for its abundance of historical buildings, which also tell the story of the city’s history as a cultural melting pot. The Pardesi Synagogue was built by Spanish Jews, destroyed by the Portuguese, then rebuilt by the Dutch; the St Francis Church is the oldest European building in India.

Your home for 3 nights in Cochin is Old Harbour, a luxurious boutique hotel in a 300-year-old building.

The next stop on your luxury honeymoon is Thekkady, which you’ll reach via a 4-hour private road transfer inland. Thekkady is the site of the Periyar National Park, one of India’s important tiger reserves and home to an array of other wildlife including Asian elephants, deer and bison. You’ll spend 2 nights at Aanavilasam, a luxury hotel in a plantation house on a working spice farm, surrounded by pepper and cardamom plants.

Foodies will love it here: dinners are lavish, multi-course affairs reflecting the hotel’s commitment to the Slow Food ethos and to traditional Keralan cuisine, and you can learn to cook authentic dishes in cooking classes with the hotel’s chef. It’s also a fantastic place to relax, with Ayurvedic massage treatments, yoga and meditation all on offer.

The final destination on your Keralan adventure is Vembanad Lake, one of the largest lakes in India and a great starting point for trips on Kerala’s famous backwaters. Your home for the next 2 nights is Purity, a luxurious villa on the shores of the lake. The hotel is centred around a beautiful courtyard and lake, and offers fantastic opportunities for relaxation with its Ayurvedic spa and daily yoga sessions. Purity even has its own art gallery, showcasing the work of local artist Abdul Kalam.

An unmissable experience is a trip on the backwaters on a kettuvallam, a traditional wooden Keralan houseboat. The backwaters are very serene and peaceful and make for a romantic cruise. Wildlife that can be spotted here includes otters, turtles and kingfishers.

Leaving Kerala behind, you’ll board a flight from Cochin to the Maldives, where you’ll spend the last 5 nights of your honeymoon enjoying 5-star blissful beach relaxation. You’ll stay at Soneva Fushi, a luxurious desert island resort located in the pristine Baa Atoll. Staying in a thatched villa overlooking the ocean, with white sand on one side and rainforest on the other, it’s almost impossibly beautiful, and the perfect place to enjoy an idyllic honeymoon.

In between relaxing on the beach, try out a range of water sports, including paddle boarding, sailing and windsurfing, while a romantic sunset cruise with a gourmet four-course dinner is a beautiful way to spend an evening. The next morning, why not get back on the boat for a trip to a private sandbank, where you can enjoy a lavish breakfast as the sun comes up?