Saint Lucia Honeymoon

Fly from London Gatwick to Hewanorra International Airport with British Airways (around 9 hours, non-stop from late October to March, subject to availability; in summer the flight stops at another Caribbean island on the way). On arrival, your private driver meets you and transfers you north to Anse Chastanet (45 minutes). Welcome at Jade Mountain's open-sky lobby, Champagne in your Sanctuary, and the first view of the Pitons from your private infinity pool. The Sanctuary has no fourth wall, the open side is part of the design.

Slow start in the Sanctuary, breakfast can be served in-suite at any hour, courtesy of the Major-Domo butler. Mid-morning, walk down the hillside trail (or use the private buggy) to Anse Chastanet beach for swimming and snorkelling over the marine reserve. Lunch at Trou-au-Diable beach restaurant. Afternoon by your infinity pool. Dinner at Jade Mountain Club, the architecturally striking restaurant with the same open-air design as the Sanctuaries.

Included, if you would like to go: a visit to the Emerald Estate, Jade Mountain's organic farm and chocolate laboratory. Tour the cacao groves, learn to make chocolate from bean to bar, and lunch in the rainforest. Return to the Sanctuary for sunset. Evening at Kai en Ciel, the rooftop art gallery overlooking the Pitons.

A flexible day. Adventurous couples climb Gros Piton (a guided 4-hour hike with spectacular summit views, 770m of climbing). The alternative: a couples' massage at the Kai en Ciel spa, lunch at the beach, a slow afternoon by the Sanctuary pool. Tonight a private candle-lit dinner is set for you at Jade Mountain Club, included as part of the honeymoon booking.

Morning at leisure at Jade Mountain, a final swim at Anse Chastanet, perhaps. After lunch, your driver transfers you the short distance south to Sugar Beach (10 minutes by road, set in the cove directly between Gros Piton and Petit Piton). Check in to a Beachfront Bungalow with private outdoor shower and direct beach access. Sunset cocktails at the Cane Bar.

Sugar Beach is built on a former sugar plantation that lays directly between the volcanic Pitons. Today is yours: white-sand beach, warm Caribbean water, the Cane Bar for daytime cocktails, the Rainforest Spa for a couples' massage (book on arrival), and an evening at Bayside Restaurant on the sand.

A private guided morning to Soufrière town, the drive-in volcano at Sulphur Springs (you can bathe in the mineral pools), and Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens and its waterfall. Return to Sugar Beach for lunch and an afternoon at the beach. Or skip the excursion entirely, Sugar Beach is designed to be lingered in.

No itinerary. The Caribbean Sea is at your feet, the Pitons are framing the view, the Cane Bar is mixing rum punch and the Beachfront Bungalow is exactly where the honeymoon should pause. Recommended: catamaran sunset cruise from the beach.

Two contrasting options. Either a half-day catamaran sail along the south coast, Marigot Bay, Anse Cochon's snorkelling reef, lunch on board. Or a guided rainforest walk into the Edmund Forest Reserve to spot Saint Lucian parrots and waterfall pools. Or, for the third time, neither, and a third Sugar Beach beach day. Tonight, a candle-lit private dinner on the beach in the Pitons cove is included.

A final day in the cove. Late breakfast, a leisurely beach morning, lunch at the Cane Bar, an afternoon spa session. Evening drinks at the Great House, the original plantation building, now Sugar Beach's main bar and restaurant, for sunset views and the last of the rum punch.

Late checkout from Sugar Beach. Your private driver collects you for the 45-minute transfer to Hewanorra International Airport for your flight back to London Gatwick. Arrive home the following day.