Nor are the rest of us content to be mere "tourists." Today we are "travellers." More and more couples now view honeymooning as a rare opportunity for adventure, exploration, and true spiritual bonding. When my own parents got married way back in 1955, their plan was to drive through Mexico. They made it as far as the border, spent a night at a roadside motel, got lost, turned around, and went home. That turned out to be a fitting first day of the rest of their married life, but it doesn't have to happen to you. The world's greatest spiritual and romantic destinations await you. Here are just a few to consider:
Turtle Island
Fiji
If you endured a "traditional" wedding for the sake of family but long for a more intimate, spiritual experience, Turtle Island is the ideal destination. Here you can experience an authentic Fijian marriage ceremony in an open air chapel on the beach. Brides, adorned in flowers and Fijian attire, arrive by billi billi wedding raft. The wedding is tailored to either Methodist or Catholic faiths, but with local touches like a Kava drink-sipping ritual. Honeymooners stay in a bure (a deluxe palm hut), with private beaches reserved for each couple (the resort accepts a maximum of 14 couples at any given time). Meals are held in a communal outdoor setting under a Banyan tree, complete with French champagne.
Rates: $2,000 fully inclusive wedding package; seaplane transfers $690
Telephone: 800-255-4347
Website: www.turtlefiji.com
Hotel Monasterio
Machu Picchu, Peru

Rates: Doubles $270-320; helicopter lifts $85
Website: www.monasterio.orient-express.com
International House Hotel
New Orleans, Louisiana
You don’t have to leave the country for a unique spiritual experience. The International House, a breathtaking hotel in the heart of the French Quarter, serves up a ceremony that ranks among the best of them. Featuring an authentic staff voodoo priestess, the hotel offers love blessing rituals for newlyweds. First an altar is built in your room, then clippings of the couple's hair and fingernails are taken and combined with herbs and sealed in a silk gris-gris bag as the priestess draws icons called veves on the floor to summon the loa, or spirit (no animals are killed). The hotel also features flower baths and a "voodoo love kit" with massage oils and other sensuous, mystical treats. The hotel is almost back up to full occupancy after the city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. You can help support the renewal of New Orleans and reinvigorate yourself in the process.
Rates: Suites $359-439; blessing ceremony $125
Telephone: 800-633-5770
Website: www.ihhotel.com
Gamboa Nature Resort
Panama City, Panama

Rates: Single villas $135-$175; Two bedroom villas $165-$205; Themed suites $400-$600 (varies by time of year)
Telephone: 1-877-800-1690
Website: www.gamboaresort.com
Parrot Cay
Turks and Caicos, British West Indies
Once known as "Pirate Cay," the greatest treasure you'll find on this 1,000 acre private island today is Shambhala (Sanskrit for "utopia"), the new spa at Parrot Cay. A resort that prides itself as much on simplicity as elegance, Parrot Cay features Japanese cedar soaking tubs, open-air yoga classes, and cuisine that nourishes the body and the soul. The spa's staff is culled from around the world, including a Buddhist monk who specializes in Indian head massages.
Rates: Single rooms $315-$440; Beach house $1470 (three night minimum stay)
Telephone: 866-388-0036 or 904-288-0036
Website: www.parrotcay.com
Hacienda del Cerezo
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Rising up from a hilltop on the outskirts of Santa Fe, Hacienda del Cerezo's adobe walls are nearly indistin-
guishable from the surrounding pink earth and golden sunsets. Many consider Santa Fe to be America's spiritual center, and if so, Hacienda del Cerezo is its royal palace. Hand-carved beams and kiva fireplaces warm each room, with gorgeous panorama views of the valley from the hotel's Saltillo-tile balconies. Honeymooners can delight in treatments at nearby Zen's Inn Bodywork Sanctuary, where massages are given side by side. Native American ceremonies at the nearby Tesuque Pueblo Indian Reservation are open to visitors.
Rates: $600-$750, includes 3 gourmet meals a day. Two night stay minimum.
Telephone: 888-982-8001 or 505-982-8000
Website: www.haciendadelcerezo.com
Illukitaya
Galle, Sri Lanka

Rates: $350 per night for the entire villa, including staff, or $100 for a double room
Website: http://www.boutiquesrilanka.com/hotel-overview.php?HotelId=58
El Encanto Resort, Santa Cruz, Mexico

Rates: $50/night for apartments or $1200 a month
Website: www.encantomexico.com