8 Honeymoon Trends For 2025

Most couples agree planning a wedding is stressful. But organising a honeymoon? Endless fun! The only tricky bit is deciding which route to go down. Will you embark on a bucket list road trip? A safari adventure? A food-focused city break? The options are endless, so to give you some inspiration, we’ve pulled together a list of the biggest honeymoon trends right now. From recruiting some pals for a buddymoon to using the opportunity to finally take a sabbatical, here’s what the cool kids are planning for their first trip as newlyweds.

What To Do For Your Honeymoon In 2024/2025

Time + Tide Safari Game Drive

Travel With Purpose

Purpose-led trips are one of the biggest trends in the travel world right now, and honeymoons are no different. Rather than opting for classic beach holidays, couples are increasingly seeking once-in-a-lifetime trips which prioritise unique experiences and connect with the destination’s culture. ‘There is much more of a desire to travel with purpose and to achieve something together such as combining a luxury safari in Kenya, with the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro, for example,’ says Harry Rowe-Pereira, Head of Private Clients at Cookson Adventures.

Buddymoons

Weddings are a great chance to see friends old and new, but it can be tricky to spend quality time with loved ones when you just have one day (and often over 100 guests to get around). That’s why buddymoons are growing in popularity, where your close friends come along for the post-wedding getaway. ‘We’ve definitely seen the rise of the buddymoon, where honeymooners are seeing the advantage of having all their friends and family come together for the wedding celebration and want to extend that quality time with their loved ones by inviting them along on part or even all of the honeymoon with them,’ says Rowe-Pereira. These will often involve booking out big villas, and are particularly common following destination weddings.

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Familymoons

It’s not just friends coming along for the fun: many couples are choosing to make their honeymoon into a family trip. According to research from Emirates, over a quarter of newlyweds are opting for familymoons – with the hashtag #familymoon amassing over 43k posts on Instagram. ‘With children increasingly appearing before parents marry and with many people marrying later in life, it isn’t unusual now for couples to bring children along too,’ notes Sarah-Leigh Shenton, director of marketing at Red Savannah. ‘This also applies for second marriages where a couple may wish to take along children from previous marriages. It becomes more of a family celebration, with destinations to suit – for example, multi-room, villa-style accommodation in the Maldives.’

Sabbatical-Style Sojourns

Always dreamed of taking a few months off work and exploring South America? Now may be your chance. There has been a surge in couples using their honeymoon as an opportunity to take an extended vacation from work, rather than just one or two weeks. ‘The amount of time our clients want to take off to go on a honeymoon is continuing to get longer,’ observes Rowe-Pereira. ‘They are often now looking to go on a multi-destination trip, which we think reflects a wider trend post-pandemic of people putting greater importance on taking time away from work to disconnect and to have those meaningful travel experiences now, rather than waiting until later in life. As an example, we had some honeymooners take over a month off this year to travel across the Brazilian Amazon, the salt flats of Bolivia, and Chile’s Atacama Desert as they wanted to begin their marriage experiencing an epic adventure together as a couple.’

Gilpin Hotel & Lake House

Minimoons

If the idea of jetting off on a 10-hour flight post-wedding fills you with dread, consider a minimoon – one of the biggest honeymoon trends of the moment. This usually involves planning a short trip straight after the wedding, often a staycation or a destination that’s just a quick flight away. Think a cosy cabin in the Cotswolds, a spa break by the sea in Cornwall, or a glamorous weekend in the South of France. That way, you can enjoy some romantic downtime after the madness of the wedding, without spending hours planning a big trip. Some couples then organise another, bigger holiday later down the line.

Two-Pronged Trips

Can’t decide between an adventure or a fly-and-flop holiday? Combine them both in a two-part trip. Red Savannah has noticed many requests for honeymoons that comprise two parts, often a safari followed by several days on a beach. ‘We see many couples seeking to achieve a wish-list travel experience while on honeymoon, and this is often a safari,’ says Shenton. ‘They also recognise the need for relaxation after the challenges of arranging a wedding and so the beach element is equally important. Kenya and Tanzania are ideal destinations for this, with some of the world’s most iconic wildlife reserves, as well as really beautiful Indian Ocean resorts.’

Food-Focused Holidays

For many travellers, food and drink is a pivotal part of a holiday, and esteemed culinary scenes are a big attraction for honeymooners when it comes to picking a destination. ‘Dining out and enjoying excellent food paired with good wine is greatly appreciated by thirty-somethings (before children appear putting an end to such evenings out for a while!),’ Shenton says. At the moment, the company is receiving lots of requests for honeymoons that incorporate elements like wine tasting, cookery classes, street food tours and top restaurants.

Earlymoons

Look away, traditionalists: as engagements continue to get longer, more couples are planning pre-nuptial trips ahead of the big day. These offer a break from the stresses of wedding planning, and a chance to reconnect with one another amid all the chaos. Clearly, this is budget-dependent as it adds another cost to an already mammoth spending spree – but some couples are choosing an earlymoon over a post-wedding trip. A growing number of hotels are now offering dedicated earlymoon offerings, such as Ashford Castle in County Mayo, whose package includes two nights in the hotel’s private boathouse, a private wine tasting, a rose quarts couples’ and a boat excursion.