Every Kerala honeymoon follows the same instinct — Munnar for the mist, Alleppey for the houseboat, Kovalam for the sand — and the instinct is correct. The craft is in the pacing.

Give the hills two nights, not one. Munnar's weather changes by the hour, and the moment when the clouds open over a tea valley is worth waiting a full day for. Ask your hotel for a room facing the valley, not the road.

The houseboat night is the centrepiece. Choose a boat with a proper bedroom rather than a converted sitting area, and have dinner served on the deck — most crews will arrange candles and flowers with a day's notice.

End on the beach. A day of doing nothing at Kovalam, with an Ayurvedic couple's massage, resets you before the flight home. And through it all, keep one evening unplanned — in Kerala, the unplanned evening is usually the one you remember.