[rohan_iitr]

Note to Mods: I am starting a new thread on this topic since I could not find a similar existing thread. There are some existing honeymoon travelogues of particular locations, but I am looking for general suggestions on honeymoon locations. Hence starting a new thread in the Shifting Gears section.

Hello friends,

As some of you might be aware, I am engaged to be married.

The wedding would be held in the 2nd week of February 2011. I am planning a honeymoon trip in the 3rd week of February 2011 for a period of 4-5 days. I am totally confused about choosing a honeymoon destination and need your help on this.

Although there are many tourist places in India, not all of them are ideally suited for a honeymoon. There are many places with monuments of historical and architectural importance, but such places are best enjoyed on a family trip. On a honeymoon trip, the couple is mostly interested in a cozy place to stay and a few fun spots for sight-seeing.

Please suggest some popular honeymoon destinations in India. For the sake of completeness, also mention what is the best time (season and off-season) to visit the particular place and sight-seeing spots to be visited at this place. Information on nice places for accommodation and good restaurants is also welcome.

I would love to go to a hill station. But is February a good time to visit a hill station ? What are my options in hill stations ? Not expecting snow in February, but it would be nice to have some natural scenic beauty to build up the honeymoon mood.

I am currently based in Bangalore. I would get ample opportunities to cover the destinations in south India even after my marriage. Hence I am not too keen on south Indian destinations for this particular trip. But do mention the same for the interest of other people who might read this thread later.

Rohan

[planet_rocker]

Options in East / North-Eastern States:

1. Darjeeling / Kalimpong, WB (do search for other secluded hill stations in WB)
2. Gangtok, SK (Lots of other options available)
3. Shillong, Meghalaya (get in touch with evo on team bhp)

[Newpunter]

Congrats on you engagement. I would suggest Munnar. I found it to be the best hill station in south India ( ofcourse i haven't been to many hill stations ). The locations are very beautiful and romantic and it is not as infested with tourists , as many of the other places.

If you want to avoid the hills due to it being winter, I would suggest a backwater trip to Kerala ( Thekkady ).
If you want to tread the road less travelled, I would suggest visiting places like Dalhousie or the Andamans.

[MX6]

go to a place where you don't get even mobile signals. Just the two of you exclusively for yourselves.
I loved Manali.

If you are a beach person there are loads of great beaches in Maharashtra that are so nice that you can even have the entire stretch of beach for yourself.

[Wolfheart]

Havelock Island in the Andamans is the perfect honeymoon destination. Spectacular beaches, great resorts and solitude.

Welcome to Island Vinnie's Tropical Cabanas and Dive Center, a full-service dive resort located in the Andaman Islands, India.

If you're interested in going to North India I would recommend Auli in Uttarakhand. It's a ski resort with wooden cottages and cosy fireplaces. Very scenic and quiet. In fact February is off-season in the Garwhal region which will get you great bargains away from the crowds.

Skiing at Auli

If you decide to go to Auli, I'll also let you in on a secret. Enroute to Auli from Rishikesh is a very lovely resort at Tilwara by the Mandakini river. It has beautiful little wooden cottages alongside a river. It's honeymoon paradise!

[sgiitk]

My suggestions - Munnar and Manali. I would have pushed Ladakh but with the current state that may take a year or more to get back on track. Otherwise it would have been my first choice followed by Munnar

[Ardy]

Rohan, First of all Congratulations.

Just a suggestion: Instead of a hill station, why not look at some island resorts like Andamans or Laksadweep (Bangaram Islands). It would be more secluded from habitation and perfect romantic destination.

Cheers,

[Latheesh]

First of all Congrats!

My suggestions:
1)Manali
2)Kerala : Munnar-Thekkady-Kumarakom
3)Kerala : Wayanad

[ghodlur]

Congratulations Rohan on getting engaged and soon to be married.

if you are beach kind of guy then
1) Goa
2) Ganpatipule
3) Kovalam

If you are Hill station kind of guy then
1) Shimla Kulu Manali
2) Coorg
3) Ooty - Kodaikannal
4) Munnar

If you are an adventerous kind of guy then visit any North Eastern states. Have you thought of going out of India also?

[aargee]

go to a place where you don't get even mobile signals. Just the two of you exclusively for yourselves.

This is an excellent advice & having experienced this, I strongly agree. How about Yelagiri? There's very less coverage on mobile as far as I remember, only reliance connection works. This is close to Bangalore too!!!

[chevelle]

Rohan, congrats on getting engaged and soon to be married. Wish you all the best in your new endeavor

Some options that come to my mind: Goa for beaches, Rann of Kutch and Rajasthan for desert safari, and the north eastern states and cities mentioned by planet_rocker.

if you are willing to go out of India, but very near, Lakshwadeep islands, Andaman-Nicobar islands and Maldives are very near and beautiful, serene too. You won't be disturbed there and natural beauty is ocean deep and stunning.

[Mik]

We got married in feb 09 and went to Andaman islands. Trust me, if you want absolutely no interference and be away from mobile signals, Havelock island in Andaman is amazing. Beach front properties, no corny "tourist" stuff, natural beauty, a small island with limited roads, best roamed around in a hired bike.
Its a do nothing kind of place. You can take detours to go for scuba diving/snorkelling or just laze around on the radhanagar and vijaynagar beach.
Apart from that,
1. The light and sound show at cellular jail
2. The ross island - historical
3. A jungle trek in a sanctuary.
4. The light house (the same one you see on the Rs 20 note)

If hills is your thing, move off the known places and go for the offbeat destinations like
1. Auli (Seconding Wolfheart)- snow will be less at that time though and i am not sure the cable car will be working.
2. Leh !! (Its quite an experience at that time too)
3. Arunachal - Tawang/bomdila - Beautiful places not frequented by tourists.

Ok, i have given too many options

[Reisender]

Hey, even though you said S.India is not in your keen interest list i would suggest Kerala.
places:Kumarkom -Allepey - Kumarkom houseboat trip (Exceptional - We just loved it). You can opt for 1,2 or 3 day trip which will be one of those most unforgettable experience.

Abroad: Mauritius - do you still need a reason?

[Newpunter]

If you are looking at cheap options abroad, you can also try Langkawi, Malaysia. Air Asia offers cheap flights from Bangalore-KL-Langkawi. It is very beautiful and there is not too much crowd. There are a few resorts towards the north of the island which are very remote and the beaches are awesome with very little ( or none ) people around.

[mkh]

Well if its not south india, there is Nepal which is where my brother had gone and maybe thats a good cheap option outside of india,and within india may good options
1. Darjeeling
2. Places in Kashmir like Pahalgam( hope got the spelling right)
3. Sikkim
4. Himachal has a few places- Kufri is one of them
5. Goa too can be an option- has some places which are not too crowded
6. Rajasthan- Udaipur, Jaipur.
Depends a lot on your budget, what kind of place do you narrow done onto etc.
Malaysia-KL and Singapore are decent but not much of natural beauty there, except if you go to islands like Penang, Langkawi Kota KinaBalu etc