Head-Over-Heels Honeymoons

The wind-swept tip of the rugged southwestern coast of Ireland has long been a haunt of the wealthy. Now, many of the stately Victorian-era mansions are fine hotels, ripe for honeymooning.

Our home base is Tralee, Kerry County’s largest town (pop. 26,000) and Barrow House bed and breakfast, a 300-year-old Georgian manor built right on Barrow Harbor. Grab the binocs and look for seals and mallards out in the water. Then hit the nearby links followed by seafood chowder and a pint of Guinness at a cozy Irish pub. 

But enjoying luxurious digs and breathtaking seascapes is just part of the county of Kerry’s appeal. 

Killarney National Park is criss-crossed with a remarkable array of hiking and bike trails leading up mountains and past tall waterfalls. Rent a bike or take a “jaunting car,” a dreamy horse-drawn carriage. 

A medieval village is displayed at the Tralee County Museum, in the same park as the romantic Rose of Tralee Rose Garden. 

Shop for Aran sweaters, crystal and Irish linen.

Welcome to a land of stunning island beaches, ancient ruins and great cheese. An autonomous region of Italy, Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean (Sicily is No. 1). 

In the capital city of Cagliari, the 100-year-old Palazzo Tirso Mgallery welcomes honeymooners with a rooftop terrace, spa and gourmet restaurant. The boutique hotel’s luxury suites come with vistas of the Mediterranean Sea and a portside historical district specializing in high-end shopping and quaint cafes.

From here, it’s an easy walk to one of the island’s best beaches, Cagliari’s five-mile-long Poetto beach. A more secluded choice would be the beaches of Oasi of Biderosa. Soft, white sand, shallow, emerald water, and five intriguing coves.

Bronze-era defensive stone towers at Su Nuraxi di Barumini are actually truncated cones, unique to Sardinia.

You’ll find bargains on finely-crafted filigree jewelry, cork products and pecorino sardo, an excellent cheese made from sheep’s milk.

Hawaii hits your senses all at once from the first breath. The air is filled with the intoxicating fragrances of gardenia, jasmine and plumeria. 

And once you get to Kawela Bay on the north side of Oahu, the sights include calm blue waters, sea turtles, lush green hills (home to splendid hiking trails) and a wonderful crescent-shaped beach. 

It’s also close to Turtle Bay Resort, now the Ritz-Carlton O’ahu Turtle Bay, where the top-of-the-line restaurant, Alaia, will get your taste buds dancing with locally-inspired dishes, heavy on greens and seafood.

Out on the bay, kayak or paddleboard the smooth, clear water, snorkel suspended above beautiful coral reefs, learn how to surf and then go horseback riding. The resort is on Kawela Bay, hemmed by Hanaka’llio beach, a park, a wildlife refuge and the sound of the surf.  

There’s a large multi-trunked banyan tree down by the beach that you might recognize from Lost or Pirates of the Caribbean. Aerial roots everywhere and a huge sprawling canopy.

If your sweetie wants to go to Mackinac Island for the fast food, chain motels and used car lots, forget it. None of that stuff is there. Cars aren’t even allowed. Folks get around the island in vintage horse-drawn carriages and on bicycles. 

It’s been that way since late in the 19th century when carriage owners complained the automobiles were scaring their horses. And it’s worked out great. The island (pronounced MACK-in-awe) runs on different time, more relaxed and a bit old-fashioned. Good buys include ornaments, fudge and stoneware.

Go in season, May through October, and stay at the renowned Grand Hotel, the 138-year-old grand dame of Mackinac Island, famous for her distinctively themed suites, broad, wrap-around front porch and evening dance music with a live orchestra.

From the Grand, the downtown shops, restaurants and Fort Mackinac are accessible via a short walk around the 18-hole golf course and past the Secret Garden with its mysterious hidden entrance.

Off the eastern coast of Africa is a stunning island filled with thundering waterfalls, alabaster beaches and endless fields of sugar cane. The nation of Mauritius is a decidedly Creole country residing in the Indian Ocean, 700 miles east of Madagascar.

Bustling markets (spices, silk and Mauritian rum), 18th century architecture and a deepwater port tells us we are in the island’s capital, Port Louis, on the northwest coast. Occupiers over the centuries have included the Dutch, French and British and each left their mark. Independence came in 1968.

Thirty miles south is Le Morne and one of the nicest beaches on the island. White sand complimented by tall, billowing casuarina trees. Above the shore, Le Morne Brabant stands guard – the massive basalt monolith juts 1,800 feet into the sky.

Watch for sea turtles, dolphins and an unexpected underwater waterfall as you snorkel, sea kayak and kitesurf above the coral. Stay at the St. Regis Le Morne Resort, a former sugar baron’s plantation house and now a sumptuous hotel sporting five restaurants.