Best Honeymoon Spots

By Lisa Codianne Fowler

Published: October 27, 2009

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Florida is an incredibly romantic state. There's something here for everyone. Sun-kissed shores and moonlit nights; glorious countryside and hot city lights - all can be unbridled conduits for love. Snuggle up and read on. For romance, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and in Florida, there is a truly a bounty to behold.


Island Time

Lovers of nature and luxury will discover heaven on earth at Little Palm Island Resort & Spa in the Florida Keys. This hideaway is set on five and a half acres of naturalist wonderland, a quiet escape accessible only by boat (guests may also choose to arrange transport by seaplane through an outside source). Just 30 spacious thatched-roof suites are scattered discreetly among leafy Jamaican palms, all oceanfront and designed for privacy.

Lazily float in a lagoon-style pool hugged by jungle-like foliage; try snorkeling, cruising with dolphins, a romantic sunset sail or a relaxing spa treatment for two. The resort's cuisine is of world-renown; think lobster and caviar for breakfast, and a seaside, tiki torch-lit dinner of pan-Latin and French gourmet pleasures. Retire to your lavish bungalow, complete with marble whirlpool bath and mahogany four-poster bed, gracefully draped in mosquito netting. If you've chosen a honeymoon or romance package, you may also find a hot drawn bath laced with rose petals, chilled champagne, chocolate truffles or a book of love stories atop your satin sheets.



Art and Soul

Strolling hand-in-hand through art galleries, perusing world-class museums, taking in theater or soul-stirring opera... if this is your romantic dream, Sarasota can make it come true. A beach-lover's paradise, this charming city by the bay is also known by some as the cultural capital of Florida. From the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art to the Florida West Coast Symphony; from the Sarasota Ballet, Sarasota Opera and Sarasota Film Festival to theaters and galleries galore, the arts abound here and will surely satisfy your cultural cravings.

Restaurants, attractions and accommodations are as plentiful and diverse. Get comfy at The Turtle Beach Resort on Siesta Key; the jumble of quaint, bayfront cottages includes private outdoor hot tubs and has added a couples only inn to their resort. While you're there, take a ride to St. Armands Circle, a European flavored shopping area just steps from the sandy shores of Lido beach.


It Takes A Village

Pastel-painted cottages wrapped in white picket fences, brick streets and tin-roofed buildings - the village of Seaside looks like a watercolor painting come to life. This picture-perfect little town is where couples can stroll or bicycle to the market, shops, galleries and restaurants, and enjoy an occasional outdoor concert or wine tasting. It's where white pavilions and walkways lead to emerald green gulf waters fringed with powder-soft sand.


'Til there was You

"There were bells on a hill, but I never heard them ringing..." When the Beatles crooned this love song many years ago, they might have been referring to the melodic and oh-so-romantic carillon tower at Historic Bok Sanctuary. If the beautiful blooms of the 245-acre gardens aren't enough to make your hearts skip a beat, the music that pours forth surely will. The serene sanctuary is an ideal spot for weddings and a fitting side trip from Chalet Suzanne Country Inn & Restaurant in Lake Wales.

Nestled amid rolling farmland and fragrant orange groves, Chalet Suzanne is reminiscent of a glorious romantic era. Rooms at the historic inn are graced with antiques, lace and flowers. The honeymoon suite presents a round bed and offers a private dumbwaiter and balcony from which to dine on decadently gourmet meals. If you can tear yourselves away from such amorous ambience, tour the soup cannery and ceramic salon, where you can pen a love poem for posterity.

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