MADIKWE HILLS GAME RESERVE SOUTH AFRİCA

MADIKWE HILLS GAME RESERVE SOUTH AFRİCA

TOTAL HONEYMOON BLISS THE SILO

Cape Town SoUth Africa

From £480 per person, per night, based on two sharing, timbuktutravel.com

KANDOLHU Maldives

From £670 per night, based on two sharing, breakfast included; kandolhu.com

When the tub is this good, why not plan your whole honeymoon around it?

SIX V SENSES NINH VAN BAY

Vietnam Hilltop pool villa from £580 per villa, per night, based on two people sharing on a B&B basis;

sixsenses.com

MADIKWE HILLS GAME RESERVE SOUTH AFRİCA Photo Gallery



FOXHILL MANOR

Cotswolds, UK From £580 per night, B&B, based on two people sharing; .foxhillmanor.com

WORDS: HARRIET JONES

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Head to bridesmagazine.co.uk and check out our gallery of the most romantic bathtubs in the world

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From £415 per person, per night, based on two sharing; timbuktutravel.com

FLY 13 HOURS FROM THE UK TO

Lima and well worth trying: Peruvian men offer churros oozing with chocolate alongside Venezuelan women selling bombas (a type of doughnut filled with condensed milk).

Next, head to the artist neighbourhood of Barranco, where you’ll find free art galleries (try Luda De La Puente), museums (world- famous photographer Mario Testino has a permanent exhibition here, Lima is his home town) and cafes. We loved Dedalo on Avenue Saenz Pena: take a seat in the little courtyard, order a frozen lemonade and quesadilla and watch people peruse books

SPA HIT The hotel’s Zest Spa, located right next to that rooftop pool, is small and quietly unassuming, but packs a serious punch on tired post-flight muscles. The treatment to try? A lymphatic drainage massage – it really pushes the reset button.

Stay? Belmond Miraflores Park How Many Nıghts? Two or three This is the district to stay in, in this exciting city, a polished pocket of streets lined with hotels, restaurants, crepe stands and…

Joggers – morning, noon or late at night, you’ll find them pounding the cliffside pavement. Lima is the only capital city in the continent that sits alongside the Pacific Ocean. It’s rather like a South American Los Angeles, but somehow way cooler; less bling, more boho. And the Belmond Miraflores hotel encapsulates this perfectly. There’s nothing understated about it – the lobby is all marble floors and a sweeping central staircase with gold banisters – but the rooms are minimalist in design, with sea views from the floor-to-ceiling windows doing most of the talking. No matter how alluring the rooftop pool might be, try not to spend too much time up here. This trip is about getting out and exploring.

The colonial city centre, a Unesco World Heritage site, is an intriguing mix of cultures and architecture, with stately museums rubbing up against high-rise condos. Street eats are sold everywhere

DOUBLE MOON

This new itinerary in Peru, complete^Sİ with South America’s first-ever luxury sleeper train, has adventure (with a Big surprising side of spa) written all over it^

and objets d’art. Stick around for a night out in Barranco and you’ll probably end up at the famous pisco bar, Ayahuasca, where the fun is as free-flowing as the huge choice of spirits. In fact, food and drink should really be high on your agenda: Lima has three of the 50 best restaurants in the world, like Central, for example, where Virgilio Martinez won the Chefs’ Choice Award. But for a less pricey experience, try Cala on the beachfront, renowned for its fish and steak. Or Tragaluz, the restaurant at the Belmond, is a real favourite; standout dishes are the ceviche and sweet potato and rabbit tagliatelle with portobello mushrooms.

Breakfast on the rooftop terrace is an absolute treat

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Clockwise from [left: Machu Picchu; |the Sacred Valley; JpArequipa with the Andes and El

Misti volcano in ’ fcî’the distance

[The spacious lobby of the Casa Andina. Below: Cool off in|l the outdoorpool at Belmond Las Casitas

Casa Andina Premium, Arequipa Built from white volcanic stone, Arequipa is like something out of a fairytale. Its cobbled streets flanked by magenta flowers in terracotta pots are so Italian-looking that, if it weren’t for the snow-capped peaks of the Andes in the distance, you could be forgiven for thinking you were on the Amalfi coast. It’s just the altitude of 2,300 metres that will bring you back to reality – but be sure to drink plenty of water and any headache will disappear like magic (promise).

The Casa Andina hotel, a converted 18th-century mansion with high-vaulted ceilings and original frescoes, is fully in keeping with the city’s historic character.

Arequipa and the Colca Canyon

(1 HOUR 30 MIN FLIGHT FROM LIMA) STAY?

Casa Andina Premium and Belmond Las Casitas

HOW MANY NIGHTS?

One night in Arequipa, two in the Colca Canyon

Enjoy breakfast in the central courtyard before setting off to explore the city, stopping for lunch at La Benita. Later, watch the sun set at Mirador de Carmen Alto, a popular viewpoint across the valley. Oh, and a visit to the Santa Catalina Monastery is a must; seeing how its community of nuns lived in total isolation is fascinating. But the real reason you’re here? It’s the perfect pit stop before the other-worldly Colca Canyon…

Belmond Las Casitas,

Colca Canyon

4-HOUR DRIVE FROM AREQUIPA

The main draw of this surreal landscape? It’s not just the pure peace or the way the honey-hued sunrise hits the peaks at dawn, it’s the chance of seeing condors take flight amongst the canyons. Set off from Arequipa after lunch and you’ll get to Las Casitas in time for afternoon tea and a dip in the Andean-stone swimming pool. This is a real honeymoon hideaway, a retreat of soul¬soothing proportions. Just 20 cabins are snuggled into the vast emerald-green Colca Valley, each with sleeping and living areas and a heated plunge pool. Come evening, check out those brilliant, brilliant stars from your terrace, hot chocolate in hand.

In the morning, you’ll leave at 6:30am to seek out the condors with expert guide Roberto. Watch these stunning birds soar and drop using air currents, before hiking through lush green cactus forests, peering over deep gorges and even walking across the mouth of a dormant volcano. All before brunch – phew. Most people only book one night and have to leave after their banana pancakes, but stay for two and you can truly appreciate your surroundings. How about an afternoon ride through mountain trails? Or a spot of trout fishing? Whatever you choose, it will be well worth staying.

SPA HIT

Along a path fragranced with eucalyptus trees, you’ll find the Samay Spa. The Andean massage uses oil from the aforementioned trees and heated packs to get into those areas of tensions.

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