Twenty five years is a milestone that deserves to be marked in any marriage. For most of us, the journey is one of many ups and downs, with plenty of good times and our fair share of challenges. But hey, you’ve made it to your 25th wedding anniversary and we say that your silver wedding anniversary is well worth a celebration holiday.
Cast your minds back a quarter of a century. That exotic honeymoon in Italy or Florida probably feels like a lifetime ago. Perhaps you were trendsetters, daring to leave tradition at home with a ground (and bank) breaking destination wedding, barefoot and beautiful on the beach in one of the new-look sheath wedding dresses (frills and flounces were just so ’80s). You were glued to Thelma & Louise on the plane, and your paperback of choice would have been John Grisham’s The Firm. Or maybe you rebelled, throwing caution to the wind, and eloped into the sunset leaving your cares – and your family – behind you. Every marriage has a story to tell, and now it’s time for the next chapter.
The chances are your brood have flown the nest so, with luck, you have some time to spare and cash to splash. Back in the 1990s, holidays were still an annual summer thing. Travel is now a way of life for many of us, but there are still some pretty special places in the world that we have been keeping tucked up our sleeves for just this type of occasion.
Our top 10 25th Wedding Anniversary Holiday Ideas
Here are a list of our favourite destinations that we feel would make the perfect backdrop for a silver wedding anniversary getaway!
1. South Africa
South Africa combines great food and wine with a cosmopolitan city culture mixed with sophisticated beach life, and above all great value for money. You could say it has everything!
2.The Caribbean for Grown Ups
If you were lucky enough to hit the dizzying heights with a Caribbean honeymoon, why not bring back those heady days? There are so many different dreamy destinations in this part of the world, but swaying in a hammock under a palm tree on the exclusive Anguilla or on your own private island in the BVI is hard to beat.
3. Australia or New Zealand
Live the dream. Recapture your glory days of carefree abandonment in a motorhome or spend the kids’ inheritance on the southern hemisphere’s new generation of luxury lodges. Just don’t tell them!
4. A far-flung cruise
Tear up the cruise rulebook and redial the sextant to truly go off-grid. Be one of the lucky few to voyage through the outer Marquesas in Tahiti delivering vital supplies to locals, while soaking up the magic of remote French Polynesia, or take a traditional Dhow safari along Mozambique’s archipelago.
5. Southeast Asia
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are three countries you probably wouldn’t have dreamt of for your honeymoon back in the day, but today they are vibrant, colourful anniversary holiday destinations that promise a mix of beach, culture and luxury with the spirit of adventure.
6. Safari Beach
Imagine yourselves as Meryl Streep and Robert Redford for a few days of exquisite African magic, then let the beach bring you gently back to reality in a haze of delicious spice island romance on exotic Zanzibar.
7. Oman
This exotic and secretive corner of the Middle East was definitely not on the list in 1992, but it has crept out from Dubai’s shadow and revealed itself to be a sophisticated and sultry country of intrigue and romance. It’s the perfect place if you can only spare a week away or less for your anniversary break.
8. Mauritius
If fly and flop is still your idea of heaven, you’ll find it hard to better this idyllic island on which to rekindle your heady days as newlyweds. However, the island’s lush centre promises plenty of fun activities should you want to leave the beach!
9. Sri Lanka
The east coast of this Indian Ocean island has recently opened up to tourism and it has some of the most tantalising jungle beach resorts we have seen, the perfect culmination to a tour of the Cultural Triangle.
10. Maldives
Consider this the honeymoon you would have had if money had been no object. No longer just the preserve of the rich and famous – unless you want it to be, of course – nowhere on earth is quite as picture-postcard perfect as this string of white sand atolls in the middle of the shimmering Indian Ocean.
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