A bride's hennaed hand held by the groom

11 questions, answered · checked 11 November 2026

Luxury honeymoon destinations from India, and how to plan one

Where to honeymoon abroad after an Indian wedding, what it costs for two at the luxury end, and the practical questions nobody warns you about: the visa before the wedding, the name on the passport, half board or all inclusive, and how long to stay.

Which are the best luxury honeymoon destinations abroad for Indian couples?

The Maldives is the first choice for most Indian couples, with the Seychelles, Japan, Kenya with Zanzibar and Italy's lakes and coast completing the five that work best at the luxury end. Plan ₹8 lakh to ₹22 lakh for two for six to eight nights, land only. The month you marry decides more than anything else: islands from December to April, Japan in late March and April, Italy from May to September, Kenya from July to September.

Mauritius is the gentlest on price, at ₹5 lakh to ₹14 lakh for two for six nights, land only.
Christmas, New Year and cherry blossom weeks add 30 to 40 percent and sell out first.
Business-class flights are quoted separately, from about ₹0.8 lakh per person to the Maldives to ₹4 lakh to Europe or Japan.

Indicative TRIPN bands at peak-month prices. Business-class flights are extra.
Honeymoon	Nights	For two, land only	Best months
Maldives, pool water villa	6	₹8L to ₹22L+	December to April
Seychelles, two islands	6	₹8L to ₹20L+	April, May, October, November
Japan in blossom	8	₹12L to ₹25L+	Late March to early April
Kenya safari with Zanzibar	7	₹10L to ₹20L+	February, July to September
Lake Como, then Amalfi Coast	9 to 10	₹24L to ₹32L	May, June, September

Read the full guide

How long should a honeymoon be, and how far in advance should we book it?

Plan five or six nights for a single island and eight to ten for Japan or a two-base Europe trip, and book at least four to six months ahead. Christmas, New Year and cherry blossom weeks sell out six to nine months ahead, so hold the hotel as soon as the wedding date is fixed. Long-haul honeymoons such as New Zealand or French Polynesia need 10 to 14 nights away to justify the flying.

Leave two or three days between the last wedding function and a long-haul flight.
A Schengen visa can be filed from six months to 15 days before travel; apply 8 to 12 weeks ahead.
Japan's eVisa through VFS usually takes about ten working days; apply four weeks ahead.

Honeymoon	Nights	Book ahead
One island: Maldives, Mauritius	5 to 6	4 to 6 months
Japan	8 to 10	6 to 9 months for blossom
Europe, two bases	9 to 10	4 to 6 months
Safari with a beach	7 to 9	6 to 9 months for migration
New Zealand or French Polynesia	10 to 14	6 months or more

Read the full guide Source: European Commission: applying for a Schengen visa Source: Embassy of Japan in India: the JAPAN eVISA system

What does a ₹10 lakh honeymoon look like, and what do ₹15 lakh to ₹25 lakh buy?

₹10 lakh for two, land only, buys five nights in a Maldives water villa or seven nights in Switzerland at five-star level. ₹15 lakh buys eight nights in Japan with a ryokan stay, or five on Lake Como with a private boat day. ₹25 lakh buys a two-act honeymoon, such as Lake Como then the Amalfi Coast over nine or ten nights. Business-class flights are quoted separately.

Business class adds about ₹0.8 lakh to ₹1.5 lakh per person to the Maldives and ₹2.5 lakh to ₹4 lakh to Europe or Japan.
Halve any band for a per-person figure: a ₹10 lakh honeymoon is ₹5 lakh each before flights.
Shoulder months often buy the next band of hotel at the same price.

TRIPN's indicative private-journey bands, for two, land only. Peak dates sit at the top of each range.
Budget	Honeymoon	Nights	Indicative, for two
₹10L	Maldives, a quiet northern atoll	5	₹6.9L to ₹9.5L
₹10L	Switzerland, lakes and mountains	7	₹9L to ₹12L
₹15L	Japan, Kyoto with a ryokan night	8	₹13L to ₹18L
₹15L	Lake Como	5	₹12.6L to ₹16L
₹25L	Lake Como, then Amalfi Coast	9 to 10	₹24L to ₹32L

Read the full guide

Can we apply for a Schengen or Japan visa before the wedding, and do we need a marriage certificate?

Yes: apply before the wedding as two individual applicants, and no marriage certificate is needed because you are not yet married. A Schengen application can be lodged from six months to 15 days before travel, so file 8 to 12 weeks ahead in your current passport names. Each file must stand on its own funds or a named sponsor. Japan's eVisa is also filed per applicant through VFS, about four weeks ahead.

Use your names exactly as printed in your passports on the visa forms, the tickets and the hotel bookings.
The Schengen fee is €90 per adult; a decision takes 15 days and can take up to 45.
Explain the wedding and honeymoon dates in the cover letter and attach the invitation.
If the wedding is under six weeks away, choose the Maldives or Mauritius, which need no visa in advance.

Read the full guide Source: European Commission: applying for a Schengen visa Source: Embassy of Japan in India: the JAPAN eVISA system

Can I travel on a passport in my maiden name after marriage, or should I change it before the honeymoon?

Travel on the passport you hold: what matters is that the ticket, every visa and the passport carry exactly the same name. Book the flights and apply for each visa in the name printed in that passport today. A surname change means a reissue through Passport Seva, and a reissued passport has a new number, so time any change for after the trip, never between the visa and departure.

Carry a copy of the marriage certificate or wedding card if any hotel booking is in a married name.
If a valid visa sits in the old passport, ask that consulate whether it can be used alongside the new one.
Passport Seva's document advisor lists what a reissue in a married name needs; check it before you apply.

Source: Passport Seva: documents required for re-issue of passport

Should we take a mini-moon now and the long honeymoon later?

Yes, if the wedding falls in the wrong season for the place you want: take three or four nights nearby straight after the wedding, then the long honeymoon three to six months later. A four-night Maldives mini-moon in a water villa costs about ₹5.5 lakh to ₹8 lakh for two, land only, and needs no visa in advance. The long trip can then wait for its best month: Japan in late March, Italy in June, Kenya in August.

The gap frees both passports for a Schengen or Japan visa once the wedding is over.
It also leaves time to reissue a passport in a married name before the long trip.
Sri Lanka is the other short option; Indians need a free ETA, obtained online before flying.
Every traveller to the Maldives files the free IMUGA Traveller Declaration online within 96 hours before arrival.

Source: Maldives Immigration: tourist visa on arrival Source: Sri Lanka ETA: tourist visa fees

Bali or the Maldives: which is better for a honeymoon?

Choose the Maldives for privacy and the lagoon, and Bali for culture, food and more to do each day. Six nights in a Maldives water villa costs about ₹8 lakh to ₹22 lakh or more for two, land only. In Bali, a private pool villa at a good five-star resort runs about ₹35,000 to ₹65,000 a night for two; check the current rate. Bali rewards two bases, the Maldives one island.

The seasons differ: Bali is best from May to September, the Maldives from December to April.
In Bali, split the stay between Ubud for rice terraces and Uluwatu for cliffs and sea.
The same budget buys more space in Bali; the Maldives gives the house reef and the villa over water.

Read the full guide

What is the best Europe honeymoon route for two weeks from India?

The best two-week Europe honeymoon uses three bases over 13 nights: Paris for four, the Swiss Alps for five and Lake Como for four, by first-class rail and private car. At five-star level it costs about ₹20 lakh to ₹32 lakh for two, land only. Business class adds about ₹2.5 lakh to ₹4 lakh per person. One Schengen visa covers the whole route; apply to Switzerland, where you spend the most nights.

Keep to three bases; every one-night stop costs a honeymoon half a day.
For sea in place of mountains, pair Rome and the Amalfi Coast with Santorini, flying through Athens.
Swiss flies nonstop to Zurich from Delhi and Mumbai; IndiGo flies nonstop to Athens.
File the Schengen application 8 to 12 weeks ahead, at the consulate of the country of longest stay.

Route	Nights	Best months
Paris, Swiss Alps, Lake Como	4 + 5 + 4	June to September
Rome, Amalfi Coast, Santorini	3 + 5 + 5	May, June, September
Paris, Swiss Alps, Finnish Lapland	4 + 5 + 4	December to March

Read the full guide Source: European Commission: applying for a Schengen visa

How much does a Bora Bora honeymoon cost from India, and how do we get there?

A Bora Bora honeymoon costs about ₹12 lakh to ₹22 lakh for two, land only, for seven nights with six in an overwater villa, and the journey takes about 30 hours or more each way. There is no nonstop: fly to Tokyo, take Air Tahiti Nui to Papeete, then a 50-minute island flight. Indians need a French visa issued for French Polynesia; a Schengen short-stay visa does not cover France's overseas territories.

Overwater villas at the leading resorts run about US$1,200 to US$2,500 a night before tax, roughly ₹1.1 lakh to ₹2.35 lakh; check the current rate.
Apply for the French Polynesia visa as its own application, well before the trip; it does not let you enter the Schengen area.
Check Air Tahiti Nui's schedule first, as the Tokyo flight's days set the itinerary; allow 10 to 12 nights away.
May to October is the dry season; international flights are quoted separately and are a large part of the bill.

Source: French Ministry of the Interior: visa exemptions and France's overseas territories Source: Air Tahiti Nui: our destinations

Bora Bora, the Maldives or Fiji: which is better for a honeymoon from India?

The Maldives is the better honeymoon for most Indian couples: three to four hours nonstop, a visa on arrival and ₹8 lakh to ₹22 lakh for two for six nights, land only. Bora Bora has the finer view, a volcanic peak above the lagoon, but costs about 30 hours of travel each way and a French visa issued for French Polynesia. Fiji sits between them and suits couples already visiting Australia or New Zealand.

Fiji's official visa-exempt list did not show India in November 2026; confirm the entry rule with Fiji's Ministry of Immigration before booking.
Bora Bora rewards a longer trip with Moorea or Taha'a added; the Maldives rewards staying on one island.
Six nights in the Maldives means about seven days away; six in Bora Bora means ten.

Indicative TRIPN bands at luxury level; check current rates. International flights are extra.
	Maldives	Bora Bora	Fiji
From India	3 to 4 hours, nonstop	About 30 hours, two stops	One stop or more
Entry for Indians	Visa on arrival	French Polynesia visa first	Confirm with Fiji Immigration
Best months	December to April	May to October	May to October
For two, land only	₹8L to ₹22L+, 6 nights	About ₹12L to ₹22L, 7 nights	Priced resort by resort
Best for	Water villas and ease	Scenery, island hopping	A Pacific add-on

Read the full guide Source: Service-Public.fr: visas for France's overseas territories Source: Fiji Ministry of Immigration: visa exempted countries

Where can we stay in an overwater villa outside the Maldives?

Outside the Maldives, the best overwater villas are in French Polynesia, where the idea began, at about US$1,200 to US$2,500 a night before tax, roughly ₹1.1 lakh to ₹2.35 lakh; check the current rate. Fiji has Likuliku Lagoon Resort, Malaysia has The St. Regis Langkawi, and Mauritius has villas on stilts at Constance Prince Maurice. Bali and Thailand have almost none; their best rooms are pool villas on cliffs, hillsides and beaches.

In Bora Bora, Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora and The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort are the reference addresses.
Mauritius and Langkawi are the shortest journeys of these from India; French Polynesia is the longest, at about 30 hours.
The Maldives still has by far the widest choice of water villas and the shortest flight from India.

Source: Likuliku Lagoon Resort: over-water bures

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