Ten dreamy honeymoon islands worth the long flight

A honeymoon is the one trip where nobody argues with the airfare. You've survived the seating plan, the speeches and someone's uncle on the dance floor; you've earned water the colour of mouthwash and a fortnight where the biggest decision is lunch. The ten islands below repay a long-haul flight with interest — some with overwater theatrics, some with barefoot quiet. Book early, mention the honeymoon at every opportunity, and accept every upgrade offered with dignity.

The default screensaver of married life begins here: Mount Otemanu rising from a lagoon so blue it looks retouched, with overwater bungalows fanned out beneath it. Rays and blacktip reef sharks patrol under your deck; breakfast arrives by outrigger canoe if you ask nicely. It is eye-wateringly expensive, so book eight to twelve months out and travel May to October, when the dry season keeps the lagoon glassy.

Any Maldivian atoll does the one-island-one-resort fantasy; Baa, a UNESCO biosphere reserve, adds the wildlife. Between June and November, Hanifaru Bay fills with feeding manta rays — sometimes dozens at once — and resorts run snorkelling trips into the melee. Villas on stilts, sandbank dinners and pathological levels of quiet complete the picture. Skip the seaplane-at-dusk risk by booking flights that land in Malé before mid-afternoon.

Thirty minutes by ferry from Tahiti, Moorea gives you Bora Bora's drama — shark-tooth peaks, twin bays, a lagoon full of rays — at a gentler price and with an actual island to explore. Hire a car for a day and climb to the Belvedere lookout above Opunohu Bay before the tour buses arrive. Pineapple fields, juice stops and empty beaches fill the rest. May to October is driest.

Fiji's Yasawa chain is where the castaway fantasy comes with staff who remember your name by day two. Expect volcanic ridgelines, blue lagoons — the 1980 film was shot here — and villages where Sunday singing drifts across the water. Resorts range from barefoot-luxe to honeymoon-splurge. Take the Yasawa Flyer catamaran from Port Denarau rather than pricey seaplanes, and travel late July to September for dry, breezy perfection.

Mauritius is the honeymoon island for couples who get restless on a sun lounger. The reef-ringed lagoon handles the swimming; inland there are tea estates, waterfalls, Creole markets and the brooding bulk of Le Morne to hike at dawn. Food is the sleeper hit — Indian, Chinese, French and African on one menu. Resorts discount heavily in May and June: cooler, drier, cyclone-free and noticeably cheaper than Christmas.

Zanzibar is the honeymoon with a plot: begin among the carved doors and spice markets of Stone Town, then decamp north to Nungwi or Kendwa, where the tide barely moves and dhows cross every sunset on schedule. It pairs naturally with a Serengeti safari for the full lions-then-lagoons arc. Choose the north-west coast if you want to swim at any hour — the east's dramatic tides empty the lagoon twice daily.

Rarotonga is a honeymoon without the velvet rope: one circular road, two buses (labelled Clockwise and Anticlockwise), and Muri Lagoon glowing turquoise off the east coast. New Zealand's favourite escape does barefoot beach houses rather than butler service, which suits couples allergic to formality. Snorkel the lagoon, eat at the Muri night market and hire scooters for the 32-kilometre loop. June to September brings dry, mild weather.

Grace Bay wins beach-of-the-world polls with monotonous regularity, and standing on it you see why: nineteen kilometres of powder-white sand sliding into water striped every shade between mint and navy. Providenciales keeps things low-rise and low-effort — snorkel Smith's Reef from shore, day-trip to see the wild flamingos, do very little else. April to June threads the needle between peak-season prices and hurricane season, which peaks in September.

Praslin is the honeymoon island for couples who want the Seychelles fantasy without total seclusion: Anse Lazio's granite boulders and gin-clear water open the show, and the prehistoric palms of the Vallée de Mai — home of the suggestive coco de mer — supply the only UNESCO site you can tour in flip-flops. Take the ferry to La Digue for a day of bicycles and empty coves. April, May, October and November bring the calmest seas and kindest prices.

St Lucia is the Caribbean's drama queen, in the best sense: the twin Pitons rear straight out of the sea at Soufrière, resorts hide in the rainforest between them and couples' rituals write themselves — sunset sails, mud baths at Sulphur Springs, breakfast with a volcano view. It's also the rare honeymoon island with proper hiking. Stay near Soufrière rather than the north for the scenery. December to May is dry season; book Piton-view rooms months ahead.