TRAVEL
The Honeymoon Glows Up
WHAT WAS ONCE A GRAND TOUR OR BAREFOOT BEACH CLICHÉ HAS HAD A HIGH-GLAMOUR MAKEOVER, DESIGNED TO KEEP THAT BIG BRIDAL ENERGY GOING FOR AS LONG AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE
WORDS BY JUSTINE CULLEN
Views for days at Dubai’s Atlantis The Royal hotel.
Once, there were only two kinds of honeymoon. The Grand Tour: a sweeping, big-ticket rite of passage through the cultural capitals of Europe — a sort of relationship debutante ball. And the Island Getaway: tropical, tranquil, predictably dotted with frangipanis and fresh coconuts, designed less for discovering the world and more for discovering … each other.
But this is not that era. Travel is no longer a rare, once-in-a-marriage milestone. It’s a lifestyle. The Future of Travel 2025 report found that 45 per cent of Australians aged 18 to 44 are prioritising spending on travel experiences over home ownership. Today’s newlyweds have likely already road-tripped through California, glamped in the Atacama or hiked the Dolomites six months after matching on Hinge. They’ve Instagrammed the Amalfi Coast to death and know how to ask for another round of sake in Kyoto.