From city to island or safari to beach, get the best of both worlds on a twin trip
Dubai & Maldives
Dubai and the Maldives are ideal honeymoon partners. One&Only The Palm is Dubai’s most beguiling beach retreat featuring one of the smartest palm-tree-lined swimming pools in the Middle East, sumptuous suites plus a chic ‘n’ petite Guerlain spa with Bastien Gonzalez nail salon.
Then just four hour’s flight from Dubai, plus a short seaplane ride, One&Only Reethi Rah occupies one of the archipelago’s largest islands and is as upscale as it gets (it has an ESPA spa and a Japanese restaurant to rival Nobu). Each villa is the size of a house and unfolds onto its own stretch of flawless beach – it’s about as close as it gets to hiring your own private island.
Rwanda & Seychelles
Trail finders has come up trumps twinning an adventure in Rwanda with a fly-and-flop sojourn in the Seychelles. First up, you’ll spend a handful of nights tracking gorillas through the misty forests of the Virunga conservation reserve, seeing the primates’ fascinating interactions and chest-beating antics first-hand.
Then, you’ll be swept onto a jet plane bound for the Jurassic islands of the Seychelles, and whisked into the glamorous environs of the Banyan Tree hotel for a week of swimming with turtles, drinking coconuts and exploring empty coves with nothing but a picnic hamper.
South Africa & Mozambique
The bush and beach combination is a honeymoon classic – and for good reason. Recently reopened following a top-to-toe polish. Ngala Lodge in South Africa has 20 thatched cottages dotted across a private game reserve that shares unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park – cue high densities of elephant, buffalo and rhino.
Just a helicopter ride away lies Benguerra Island, a paradise filled with indigenous casuarina pine trees located on one of the least-visited, watery corners of the world. There are few better examples of barefoot luxury: seriously soft sands, a kaleidoscope of coral glittering below the surface and a dozen rustic-chic casinhas.
