Greece honeymoon ideas

There's something so utterly captivating about Greece and her islands. The simple beauty, the rich history and mythology, the scrubby wildernesses scented with wildflowers, the perfect clash of blue and white. All that light! Dazzling on little whitewashed church domes and fishermen's cottages built into the rock. And the unbelievable blue of the sea and the skies in long, hot summers that seem to last most of the year.

How remote do you want to be? Hundreds of islands, their names like gods and monsters - the Cyclades, the Ionians; Thassos and Zakinthos and Spetses - each with their own distinct character. One of the most photogenic of them is Santorini, a honeymooner's paradise. It is absurdly beautiful - and absurdly popular, too - but thanks to the natural amphitheatre of its caldera, anyone staying in the whitewashed villages that tumble down its steep hillsides gets an uninterrupted view of the volcano and the deepest blue sea. At sunset the setting sun paints the villages pink and honey-gold.

And good news for 2014 - British Airways launches direct flights from Heathrow to Santorini from May, as well as to Mykonos - another legendary beauty and a party queen - so you don't have to start off your honeymoon scrambling for seats together.
Kinsterna Hotel & Spa, Pelopponese, Greece (0 66300; Doubles from €180.

If you're already married, Villa Iriti might make you want to book a second honeymoon. It was, until last year, a tumbledown ruin on a hillside on the coast of Corfu; then an artist from London turned it into a self-catering villa for two, so beautiful it will break your heart. The interior is fabulous, lots of white, light and natural shades, plus antique furniture, and French windows opening onto terraces all over the place. Terraces planted with olive trees, or landscaped gardens, or set with furniture for outdoor living; and on one a pool. It all overlooks a delightful bay, with a beach at the bottom of it, and the Ionian Sea. As romantic as can be.