Thailand and Maldives Honeymoon

North again to Chiang Rai, quieter and slower than Chiang Mai, where the trip steps up into its most indulgent stay. The draw here is the accommodation itself: a tented camp above the Golden Triangle, Anantara Golden Triangle or Four Seasons Tented Camp, where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet and the resort's own elephant experience sits on the doorstep. At Anantara there is the option of a night in a Jungle Bubble, a transparent dome that puts the two of you under the stars with the forest around you. For couples who would rather be in town among the tea hills and local life, there is a quieter kind of stay for that too.

The days are unhurried. Chiang Rai has some of Thailand's most unusual art and temples, the mirrored White Temple, the deep-blue temple down the road, and the dark Black House, each one a landmark you walk through rather than just photograph. Between them, the tea plantations combed across the hills, a hot spring to soak in, and the Golden Triangle itself, where the Mekong splits three countries. For history lovers, the opium museum tells the region's darker story. We keep this stop short on purpose, as a pause between Chiang Mai and Bangkok.

South to Bangkok, handled end to end, the flight booked and cars waiting on both sides. Bangkok is the busiest stop on the trip, and the days here can take whatever shape suits you.

One day pairs the sacred and the electric: the great temples and the Big Buddha early, before the heat, then ringside at a Muay Thai match after dark. Another gives itself to food, a floating market in the morning, and a private tuk-tuk working the best stalls and restaurants across the city at night.

And because this is the trip for the finer things, Bangkok is where they belong: a day at an easier pace, the riverside and its rooftop bars, a sunset cocktail, and a long dinner at one of the city's celebrated kitchens, from Michelin tables to the quiet rooms locals keep to themselves. 

Some couples open on the coast before turning to culture. A few nights at a different kind of beach than the Maldives, a different atmosphere entirely: Khao Lak, reached directly through Phuket, or Krabi and its limestone bays. Both connect by direct flight to Chiang Mai, so the trip still flows north to south without backtracking.