When newlyweds Dani and Rob Dario considered their honeymoon options, the thought of lying on a beach for a week never crossed their minds.
“It kind of drives me nuts,” says Dani. Like many well traveled couples they wanted to celebrate their wedding with a vacation that stood out from the exotic locales they had already visited.
They decided to tour through Vietnam, Cambodia and Borneo, where they marked their union (somewhat painfully) with a traditional hand tapped tattoo, applied using sharpened shells by the grandson of the last remaining headhunter Ernesto Kalum (www.borneoheadhunter.com). “My design is a binjal flower and Rob’s is a double dog. The rhythm of the tapping tended to mask the pain”, the tatooed bride explains.
While the Darios were happy to do much of the organizing themselves, many tour companies like Abercrombie & Kent find newlyweds turning to them to suggest or create the ultimate romantic adventure. A & K guide Toby Fenwick-Wilson recalls one particularly memorable request: “The bride’s grandparents were from Kenya so we organized a blessing ceremony on the Oloololo Escarpment overlooking the Masai Mara and Serengeti,” he says. The verdant plains are abundantly populated by zebra, hippopotamus, elephants, lion and leopard (thanks in part to the efforts of the bride’s mother who set up an anti-poaching NGO in the region). “The elders from the Siria Masai clan were eager to join in. Hospitality is a huge part of Masai culture so it was an absolutely authentic experience. The bride was dressed and decorated by the grandmother of the village. There was chanting, dancing and singing, a milk ceremony and a naming ceremony. We slaughtered a cow and some goats and it really was a proper knees-up.”
Exotic destinations like Africa rank highly for many couples but remote doesn’t necessarily equal romantic. No one would deny that a polar odyssey is an incredible experience, but ziplocking bride and groom in single (very separate) sleeping bags is not exactly conducive to passion. It is, after all, a honeymoon, so a king-size bed and a modicum of luxury tend to be desirable.
Similarly, just because a couple has decided to forgo the cliché of a sun-lounge and umbrella drink doesn’t mean they don’t want to celebrate their marriage with a small ritual not shared by every other person on the trip. Exclusivity equals romance and for this reason, many guests seek out tours with unusual couples- only side trips.
Travcoa custom journey planner Nichole Coudayre has managed many a couple’s big holiday, adding romantic touches to an already adventurous itinerary. She believes that newlyweds are far more invested in the experience they’re booking than the average vacation traveler. “Certain adventures, like climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, take a fair degree of preparation and that’s something that draws couples together. Depending on the trip, they might need to start training at the gym or take up hiking or scuba diving lessons. Sharing these new experiences with each other is invigorating, and the honeymoon therefore becomes a shared accomplishment. These kinds of activities are ones couples rarely just give up, so they share this common passion for the rest of their lives.”
In creating our shortlist of ten adventure honeymoon tours, we talked with some of the most established luxury tour operators: Abercrombie & Kent, Travcoa, Greaves and more. We asked them to scour their databases and guests books for excursions most suited to an adventure honeymoon. We specifically excluded tours that marked the occasion simply with a bottle of complimentary champagne. It needed to be the adventure that added fuel to the fire, not just booze.
Adventure travel isn’t always easy, but, for many couples, that’s exactly the appeal. Some bond over a close encounter of an animal kind, while others connect through the camaraderie an extreme adventure delivers. Many of the operators found that, in practice, it was difficult to distinguish between newly betrothed and those celebrating their paper, cotton, leather…even silver anniversaries, such was the aphrodisiac qualities of the trip they’d chosen. “A grand adventure has the potential to be a wonderful honeymoon, no matter how long you’ve been married,” says TCS vice president of marketing, Martha Wharton. We couldn’t agree more.
For their part, the Darios found their adventure honeymoon so affecting they’ll soon be hearing the pitter patter of roughly 100 little feet. They’ve decided to leave their jobs in Sydney, Australia and move to Cambodia to help run an orphanage. How many resort-based honeymoons have the power to do that?
SLIDESHOW
1. UGANDA, GORILLA TRECKING
Travcoa’s gorilla trekking itinerary includes three nights in a gorilla forest camp, nestled deep in the misty mountains and giant bamboo of Bwindi National Park. This verdant valley — not surprisingly a UNESCO world heritage site — is home to half the world’s gorilla population and is lush with orchids and, rather conveniently for smoochy couples, mistletoe. When honeymoon guests arrive back at camp after a day communing with their distant evolutionary cousins, they’ll find a bath drawn, candles lit and flower petals spread across the floor. Human evolution at its most refined!
2. BUTAN — HIKING
Every visitor to Bhutan feels giddy and lightheaded. It might be love but it’s probably the altitude – 20,000 foot peaks are a dime a dozen in this tiny Himalayan kingdom. Embark on Uma Paro’s ten night Druk Path hike taking in the region’s precipitously located architectural and natural wonders. The highlight (which should be attempted only after fully acclimatizing to the altitude) is making the pilgrimage to Taktsang Monastery (known locally as the Tiger’s Nest). After each day’s rigorous hike, return to Uma Paro hotel where clawfoot tubs, open fireplaces, couples massages and hot stone baths await. The resort can also arrange traditional Bhutanese wedding ceremonies.
3. TAHITI – SAILING
With a plethora of over-water bungalows from St Regis, Four Seasons and Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa, Tahiti is enduringly popular with honeymooners but can be a little light on adventure. After the novelty of feeding sharks and stingrays wears off, charter Taravana, the world’s first catamaran capable of big game fishing under sail. A sunset cruise complete with a glass of bubbly in one hand and a thrashing marlin in the other will ensure that ordinary sailing will ever be the same again.
4. THAILAND – ELEPHANT SAFARI
It’s the “regal arrival” option at Anantara Golden Triangle that really lets your fellow travelers know that this is no ordinary vacation. Guests who choose this option arrive via long tailed boat and elephant ride to be toasted on arrival with champagne. The three day elephant safari brings you closer to nature and teaches you how to be a mahout (elephant driver). Ride Dumbo (just don’t call him that to his face) to the top of a nearby mountain for sunset cocktails and dinner overlooking Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and the Mekong River. Staff can also arrange a private breakfast in one of the nearby 600 year old temples.
goldentriangle.anantara.com
5. ITALY – ROCK CLIMBING
In the Tyrolean village high in the Dolomites, Rosa Alpina Hotel and Spa may have just invented Michelin star climbing. The property’s two Michelin star restaurant St. Hubertus is the perfect culinary base camp from which to explore the region’s crags and peaks. Enthusiastic guides like “Pippo” Cola (also a professional chef) provide fascinating hands-clinging-on-for-dear-life history lessons by exploring the vie ferrata (a network of suspension bridges, cable ladders and boardwalks used during the world wars). Don’t miss a night in the property’s remote rustic cabin high in a verdant alpine meadow where Tom and Katie had lunch.
6. KENYA – SAFARI
Abercrombie & Kent’s safari in the Masai Mara is ideal for cat lovers. The stealthy guides driving open-sided jeeps know exactly how to approach to within a dozen feet of slumbering lions, leopards, cheetah and more. (Apparently, humans don’t resemble lunch unless they step from the vehicle.) At Olonana tented camp — overlooking the Mara River and resident hippopotamus pods — the outdoor showers, double vanity, free laundry service and morning delivery of fresh coffee make it hard to believe you’re in one of the wildest places on earth. Rise early for a tree-skimming dawn balloon ride to spot leopards, crocodile and all manner of predators before chowing down on a sumptuous champagne breakfast.
7. AUSTRALIA – SCUBA DIVING
The thing that makes Lizard Island — the northernmost resort on the Great Barrier Reef — so remarkable is both the abundance and variety of fish and the vibrant color of the coral. The outer reef location means bluer water than the slightly greener inner reef. Find Nemo (aquatic clownfish) and his colorful friends without having to endure a lengthy boat ride: highlights are cobalt blue
Māori
wrass, cuttle fish (the chameleon of the sea) and giants like and 1000lb blue marlin and 300lb curious potato cod at Cod Hole.
8. INDIA – CAMEL CAMPING
India’s kaleidoscopic culture and royal connections make it an ideal destination for honeymooners with an adventurous spirit. Greaves tours suggest an itinerary taking in Reggie Singh’s Camel Camp (his informal name belies the fact that he is actually the grandson of the Maharaja of Jodhpur) located in the dramatic desert of Rajasthan. On camel, visit local villages by day and, by night, return to camp to relax in the heated swimming pool among sand dunes. Before leaving India spend a night at the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur where Greaves can arrange for the Maharaja himself to join you for tea.
9. EGYPT – ARCHAEOLOGY CRUISE
Abercrombie & Kent’s thirteen day Romance Along the Nile itinerary will suit honeymooners who want more honeymoon and a little less adventure. Visit the Pyramids with your very own Egyptologist guiding you through secret passages and chambers. From the vantage point of a table set for two watch the sunrise over the pyramids while your gloved waiter pours yet another glass of champagne.
10. THE WORLD BEACH TOUR
If you’re determined to just lay on a beach somewhere but can’t agree on which stretch of sugar white sand it should be, there’s an adventure honeymoon to suit. TCS Expeditions “Around the World: Islands” private jet trip stops in the Seychelles, the Galapagos Islands, Easter Island, Tonga, New Zealand’s South Island, Tasmania, Brunei, Madagascar, Seychelles and Malta. And the $64,950 per person price tag will make the cash you blew on the wedding seem like small change.
Words by Adam McCulloch. Originally published in ForbesTraveler.com. The format has been altered to suit Tumblr.
