Experiences by Occasion From Birthdays to Anniversaries

A proposal needs privacy, a babymoon needs rest, and a big birthday needs your favorite people around you. Wedded Wonderland plans the trips around all of them, so each section below also points to our deeper guide for that occasion.

Milestone birthdays

Plan a big birthday around the guest list: friends at 40, a mix of friends and family at 50, three generations at 60.

Photo: Kampus Production

• A weekend away with friends: two or three nights in a city or by the beach, with no one stuck hosting.
• The bucket-list trip: the place they've talked about for years, like the long lunches and coastline of Italy.
• A family villa: in a place like Fiji, where kids, parents and grandparents can each find something to do.

More ideas for each decade: milestone birthday ideas for the 40th, 50th and 60th.

Anniversaries

Anniversary trips tend to go one of two ways: back to where it started, or finally to the hotel you've always talked about.

Photo: Dante Muñoz

1. Return to a place that matters, like the city where you met or the island where you honeymooned.
2. Book a slow stay at a landmark hotel, such as Villa San Michele above Florence or Passalacqua on Lake Como.
3. Ride the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, and spend the journey itself in a vintage cabin.

For hotels matched to every milestone from the first year to the sixtieth, see our anniversary trip ideas. For ideas closer to home, our guide on how to mark a big anniversary covers parties and gifts too.

Proposals

Book the spot instead of hoping it's empty, and time it for the light you want.

Photo: EYÜP BELEN

• A sunset terrace in Santorini, reserved only for you at a hotel in Oia.
• A private boat on the Seine, with Paris lit up on both banks.
• A sandbank in the Maldives, reached by boat for a few hours on your own.

Twelve more, with how to book each: private proposal spots abroad.

Honeymoons

After months of planning, most couples want a honeymoon with nothing on the schedule. Pick one place to unwind, or pair a city with a beach so you get both.

Photo: Ezgi Kaya

1. The Amalfi Coast, with Positano's cliffside towns and long lunches by the water.
2. A Greek island stay, on Santorini, Mykonos or Crete.
3. A two-stop trip, like a few days in Athens followed by a week on Hydra.

Our best European honeymoon destinations guide goes country by country, from Italy and Greece to France, Spain and Portugal.

Babymoons

Rest is the point of a babymoon, so shorter flights and easy days win. Ask your doctor or midwife about timing before you travel.

Photo: Alexandre Saraiva Carniato

• A beach resort within easy reach, like the Riviera Maya for travelers from the US.
• A spa resort, with treatments suited to pregnancy.
• A food and wine region close to home, with long meals and short drives.

Where to go, and what to check first: best babymoon destinations.

Vow renewals and second honeymoons

Renewing your vows or taking a second honeymoon is a chance to do what you couldn't the first time, whether that's a different country, a smaller ceremony or the room you couldn't afford back then.

Photo: Kampus Production

1. Say your vows again somewhere new, like Bali or Lake Como, with just your closest people.
2. Go back to where you married and celebrate there again.
3. Upgrade the honeymoon you had, or take the one you never got to.

For places to go, see our vow renewal destinations and second honeymoon ideas.

How to plan a trip around the occasion

Start with who's coming and what the day should feel like, then choose the place. A proposal for two and a birthday for twenty need very different rooms, flights and timing.

Wedded Wonderland's travel team plans the travel around a celebration, from the hotel to the nights before and after, and lets the hotel know why you're there. For the celebration itself, Wedded Concierge can plan the venue, the private dinner or the ceremony too.

Frequently asked questions