A honeymoon is not simply another journey.


Even for well-travelled couples, it marks a threshold — the first shared chapter of a new life.

A honeymoon as a threshold

For sure, a honeymoon is not a simple trip. Even though a couple has probably travelled before – a honeymoon is the first new togetherness, a celebration of the new life that lies ahead. As such, there is quite some responsibility involved in planning this journey, as expectations are high, and a flop could create s rift in the fresh marriage.

Hence, I want to propose – not to any of the two spouses, but to consider a destination that might not come up in a cliché-imagination of honeymoons, but that provides unique options with a potential to knit the fabric close and tight – and that leaves memories for a lifetime.

See, this initiation rite is not simply ‘time away’, but the first shared chapter of something new, and of something that is being created together. Yet many honeymoons are reduced to destinations, checklists, and expectations that leave little room for meaning or presence.

Designing a honeymoon requires the same sensitivity as creating a work of art.
It begins with understanding — and is built on intention

When approached this way, travel becomes a medium rather than a product.



For couples who seek this level of intention, the Alps offer a rare setting — intimate, grounded, and deeply human.

Why conventional honeymoons often fall short

To start with, the Alps are intrinsically individualistic, rather than all-inclusive.

To make my point, let us consider a typical all-inclusive holiday destination, for instance an island in the Mediterranean or Carribean Sea. Travellers are brought in by plane-loads, put in busses, offloaded in huge hotels, where then they undergo a routine day-by-day experience of beach-in beach-out.



So far so good.

Designing a honeymoon, not booking a destination

Many such honeymoons are shaped by expectations rather than intention, with the expectation being something around picturesque sceneries. But…a honeymoon, in my view, should offer more than that.

Why? Because it is a chance to experience different aspects of the personality of your new mate. And personalities reflect what is happening around them. That requires experiencing ‘things’, rather than just consuming them. It requires spending the days with open eyes, hearts and souls.

What I mean is to see how your soulmate and indeed you as a united couple are shaped by new environments, sounds, tastes, views experiences – and here, the Alps are almost uniquely diverse.

Why the Alps offer something rare

Individuality, seclusion and private spaces

In a very general sense, it is difficult to find classical touristic hot-spots in the Alps. Sure, during the skiing season some resorts have specialised in drawing in the party-folks, but otherwise the mountains offer too many valleys, places, activities and sights to allow for a massive concentration of holiday seekers.

On the contrary, people most often venture to this area of central Europe to find calmness and serenity, to draw strength from a natural environment where the elements of air, snow, rocks, pastures, water, forests etc. are shaped less by human influences than in other parts of the continent. This seeking of refreshing the soul is part of the DNA of the Alps as a leisure destination. From the early tourist days onwards, emphasis has been on experience rather than just consumption.



Privacy, movement, and depth

Imagine you have a whole luxury house nestled in a beautiful valley just for yourself. A healthy alpine breakfast is brought to your door silently every morning, and after a coffee, you jump into your own pool with a breathtaking view of the nearby Alpine summits. Such luxury part-time homes, typically referred to as ‘chalet’ in the Alps, are integrated into the landscape with thought and an eye for detail – they never appear like stranded UFOs, but more often as if they have always been part of the cultural landscape of the area.

Imagine then that at the evening, a private chef arrives at your chalet, ready to prepare a dinner that levels with Michelin-star standards.



During the day, you can choose between silent encounters of Alpine wildlife such as bearded vultures, chamois or ibex under the careful guidance of a ranger, or you can experience some old alpine heritage such as for instance cheese-manufacturing at a ‘Alp’, where cattle and sheep are grazed high above the valley during the summer months.

If you prefer more classic old-world charm: The Alps boast numerous fortresses and castles, and a significant number of the latter have since been refurbished as luxury hotels – with a view. You can stroll through charming villages, or former imperial spa-towns, where facades, streets and cultural life still embody their former ranking. Alpine vineries, for instance in southern Austria (Styria), around Lake Geneva, Vallois or South Tyrol produce some of the continents finest drops, and many offer guided tours, also exclusively for couples.

In case you rather seek some adrenaline, I wouldn’t even know where to start, as the Alps have long been a destination for the brave, for those who want to reach new destinations. You may experience the Alps from a small plane, from a hot-air balloon, or maybe you want to test your bravery while paragliding.



And we haven’t even talked about the Alps in Winter.

A setting that adapts to the couple

What I mean is that this destination offers a potpourri of experiences, both intense and genuine, deeply rooted in place, and surrounded by natural beauty.

It will capture your fantasies, open your mind, bring out your deeper layers – and will thus help to shape a real experience for both of you, rather than ticking boxes of ‘things to do during a honeymoon’.

Even if you had decided to spend all your honeymoon days in your private chalet-pool – the many impressions of dusks and dawns, that look different every day might have been enough for such a ‘united-by-experience’ feeling.   

A honeymoon shaped with intention

At Mont-e-Val, we design alpine honeymoons as once-in-a-lifetime journeys - shaped by place, rhythm, and the couple at the center.