The world’s most romantic places (and where Vogue’s editor stays)

• Read more travel inspiration, news, advice and guides by our experts

Anthony Loyd, war reporter: Kabul, Afghanistan

As he tacked up our horses, Carlotta told me that her groom had once killed a man. She said it was somehow reassuring to have a groom of many talents. He was a wiry, taciturn Panjshiri, who said not a word as he watched us swing into the saddles and ride out from the courtyard into the foothills on Kabul’s northwestern side. It was spring 2002 and the snow had nearly melted. As we gained some height we stopped to look down over the city. Sprawled across a plain, cupped between an encirclement of mountains, even at that early hour of the morning a haze of traffic smog smeared the light over the Afghan capital, shrouding its dust and dirt from view. But in those yellow rays I knew I had never loved a city more, nor would ever love another so much again.

Claire Irvin, Times travel editor: Ninfa, Italy

If you want proper, pre-Raphaelite romance, you must go to Ninfa. It’s an abandoned medieval town that someone helpfully forgot to demolish and over the centuries it has turned into actual will-o’-the-wisp heaven. Roses, jasmine and hydrangeas riot over stone walls; trees fling their limbs across the river; wildflower meadows quietly become cherry orchards. Naturally, paradise is hard to access. Our tour was cancelled, but perseverance led to permission to enter alone. No children. No crowds. We dangled our feet in a stream and confirmed what I have hoped all along — magic is real. (But obviously only with my husband.) Stay in Rome and take the train to Latina Scalo; brightwaterholidays.com

Caitlin Moran: Portmeirion, Wales

All the classically “romantic” places — Paris, Rome — don’t work for me and Pete, my husband, as I’ll spend the day tits-deep in museums while he’s in second-hand record shops. And when we stayed in the Icehotel in Lapland — MADE OF ACTUAL ICE — it was so cold, I was genuinely convinced that my nose had become frostbitten, and would have to be amputated. I knew I would return to London with no nose, a fact that, understandably, caused constant sobbing. So that wasn’t romantic either.

So, in the end, it’s a combination of “a place we will actually be together” and “of a reasonable temperature”: Portmeirion, the iconic Welsh Italianate village where they shot The Prisoner. When we stayed there in 1995, it was our first “grown-up” hotel: canapés and champagne; a cheese trolley at dinner. A cheese trolley!

And there’s Snowdon nearby, if you’re bored. Who needs Florence when you’ve got the A487 to Porthmadog? From £109 per night; portmeirion.wales

Divia Thani, Condé Nast Traveller global editor: tented safari camps in Africa

For me, nothing is more romantic than a safari trip. You’re out in the wilderness not knowing what adventure awaits you that day; which big cats you will track; what birds you will spot along the way. You sleep in glamorous tents in beds with billowing netting and gorgeous tubs. More than anything, you feel connected with nature — the wonder and beauty that is all around you. My favourites are Singita lodges in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Rwanda and Botswana; Angama Mara, Kenya; Londolozi, South Africa

Nicola Jeal, editor: Babylonstoren, South Africa

The most romantic time of day at Babylonstoren is early morning, when birds of prey are circling and the sun is casting shadows on the Simonsberg mountains. A close second is late evening, floating in the outdoor (heated) pool hidden in a wild garden, glass of crisp white (just help yourself at the bar) in one hand, gazing up at the starry African sky.

Stay in one of the stylish glass-walled cottages at Babylonstoren, a farm and vineyard in Franschhoek, near Cape Town, and you’ll have a healing garden, spice house, lavender fields, olive groves and orchards to discover — it’s like a mini Kew, Chelsea Physic Garden and Tuscan estate all rolled into one. The wine and olive oil tastings are a must, but everything from the estate is mouthwatering, from the just-picked fruit from the citrus groves to the mozzarella made from the resident water buffaloes’ milk.

It is the place I have thought about the most after returning from a holiday to South Africa. The only consolation is that you can buy Babylonstoren wine in the UK — both the wine and the memory of the place itself are delicious. From £670 per night B&B, based on two sharing, garden tour and fishing, bicycles, a mountain drive and wine tasting; babylonstoren.com

Lisa Grainger, Luxx travel editor: a New Zealand mountaintop picnic

I knew, when I’d booked my stay at Whare Kea Chalet in New Zealand, that the only way up was by helicopter. What I hadn’t realised was that Louisa “Choppy” Patterson, the characterful owner of the appropriately named Over the Top heli-company, had decided to surprise my partner and me en route by dropping us off on a mountaintop with a picnic hamper, a bottle of fizz and a wind-up gramophone. For an hour we had a ball, crooning to a scratched Ella Fitzgerald record, giggling and sipping bubbly. On Louisa’s return, we were whisked off to Whare Kea’s glass-fronted mountain chalet, where a chef had lit a fire and prepared dinner. Left on our own for the night, we snuggled under a feather duvet with nothing to see but stars, snow and alpine scenery. The smell of cedar and wood smoke still transports me back, 17 years later. wharekealodge.com/mountain-chalet; flynz.co.nz/helicopter-experiences/picnic-on-a-peak

Jules Perowne, travel expert: Ballyfin, Ireland

Set at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in Co Laois, Ireland, Ballyfin is a gorgeous Regency mansion. The most romantic rooms look over the estate’s lakes and beautiful gardens. If you can drag yourself away from the grand house there’s boating, cycling, horse riding and fishing within the huge parkland.

Dining is shaped by the estate and region, with a working kitchen garden and foraged ingredients, served across a range of formal and relaxed settings within the house. From £764 per night; ballyfin.com

Anna Murphy, fashion editor: Uig, Outer Hebrides

Uig Sands Rooms are one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. This quartet of rooms overlook Uig Sands, a white sand beach on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. uiglodge.co.uk

And… Giles Coren

We don’t really do “romantic”. Esther thinks “romantic” is naff and I think… whatever my wife thinks. On top of that, we have not had a night away from our children since Kitty was born 15 years ago. So in terms of a “romantic getaway”, there’s been nothing since our honeymoon, which was in Greece and a bit crap. We do both love east Africa though. We’ve taken the kids on safari to Samburu in northern Kenya and the Okavango Delta in Botswana and when, occasionally, they were asleep in the tent and we were sitting out in the boma, looking up at the stars and drinking a mint julep, I suppose it’s possible we might have held hands for a few seconds. Before Esther realised and said, “Yuk!” and we went back to our drinks.

Gemma Bowes’ most romantic places to stay in the world

Romance can mean many different things to different people. Once, a romantic trip away was all footprints in white sand, petals on the bed sheets of a billowing four-poster, a candlelit meal in Paris. But these days you’re just as likely to find couples smooching under the northern lights at minus 20C, or being scrubbed down in a hammam together.

For many of us, just having the chance to look up from our phones and chores and children and stare each other in the eye for once would suffice. Some time to connect over the enjoyment of a stupendous view or try some new adventurous activity together would be even better. So here’s a wide-ranging selection of options — gorgeous places sure to spark passion.

Some of the picks on my list are from languid and steamy locations I’ve loved, others are discoveries from trips where my other half and I enjoyed meaningful times together in our own way — long-distance Alpine hikes and gruelling fell runs in the rain included. I hope there’s something to tickle your fancy.

1. Vetera Matera, Basilicata, Italy

This new cave hotel is an enchanting place to stay in Matera, the otherworldly Italian city made famous by the Bond film No Time to Die. The Vetera Matera hotel’s 23 rooms comprise ancient caves with their own plunge pools and 16th-century nobles’ residences with four-poster beds. Nights in the rooftop bar should ignite passion. B&B doubles from £340 (veteramatera.com). Fly to Bari

2. Château Capitoul, Languedoc, France

Château Capitoul has eight adults-only rooms with chandeliers, antiques and rolltop baths, while 44 villas in the grounds are bigger, with hot tubs and private pools. Rib each other on the petanque pitch and tennis court, get sweaty in the sauna and hammam or slumber under spreading olive trees by the pool. There’s more fine wine than is decent. B&B doubles from £320 (chateaucapitoul.com). Fly to Beziers or Perpignan

3. Gilpin Hotel, Windermere, Cumbria

With fine food by chef Ollie Bridgwater and some of the swankiest garden suites in the country, Gilpin has — like a good life partner — just kept on improving with age. It’s almost unrecognisable from the somewhat fusty guesthouse I remember from my youth. I have had plenty of lovey-dovey times with my partner in the Lakes. When staying at Gilpin, that meant fell running 15 miles along High Street together. A whisky cocktail by the fire and a private hot tub might be more your jam. B&B doubles from £280 (thegilpin.co.uk)

4. Be Jardin Escondido, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires must be one of the sexiest cities in the world — full of culture yet leafy and green, with all that fabulous red wine and tango dancing. You’ll want to stay somewhere indulgent, like Be Jardin Escondido, one of Francis Ford Coppola’s hotels. It consists of luscious terraced gardens and a courtyard, deep red walls and lacquered floors, and a solar-heated pool. There are just seven rooms and staff discreetly leave you be, unless you want tips on where to eat and drink. B&B doubles from £264 (thecoppolahideaways.com). Fly to Buenos Aires

5. Casa Azul, Bahia, Brazil

This secluded house is steps from a deserted beach on Brazil’s Bahian coast. The sitting room has walls of glass that look out onto a riot of jungly foliage. Behind is your private deck and pool. This is one of three villas set in 20 acres of Atlantic rainforest, three miles up the coast from Trancoso. Casa Azul comes with its own beach cabana with a barman. B&B doubles from £920 (uxua.com). Fly to Porto Seguro via Sao Paulo

6. Adrere Amellal, Siwa Oasis, Egypt

If your relationship largely consists of telling each other to get off your phones, it’s time for a trip to Adrere Amellal. It has no wifi or electricity and is entirely candlelit. It feels like the world’s most stylish sandcastle, with adobe-style walls and views of the desert and lake. Outside, a natural hot spring swimming pool is shaded by huge palm trees. B&B doubles from £625 (adrereamellal.com). Fly to Marsa Matruh

7. The Capaldi Hotel, Atlas Mountains, Morocco

In the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, overlooking the Agafay desert, this striking spa hotel is surrounded by olive groves. It’s a place to spend languid days in the outdoor pool while gazing past the palms to the snow-capped peaks in the distance. A scrub and rubdown à deux in the hammam is advised. Inside the grand mansion, 23 rooms feature scene-setting Moroccan lights, with roses and tropical flowers laid on beds and champagne at the ready. It all works, romance-wise. B&B doubles from £173 (thecapaldi.com). Fly to Marrakesh

8. Firesyde, Guildford, Surrey

I stayed here with my partner and we loved it. It’s as wild and beautiful as any swathe of the southwest, with five large cabins spread across a field. We sat out late on our safari tent-like porch, cooking over the firepit, then retreated to the deep bath on our private deck round the back. Book the woodfired sauna in a fern-filled forest garden. Two nights’ self-catering for two from £700 (firesyde.co.uk)

9. Hotel Corazon, Mallorca

A sultry boho-chic escape near the arty village of Deia and the lively coastal town of Soller. So there’s plenty to do aside from the deed. For that, though, the 15 bedrooms hit the spot, with voluptuous pink headboards, curtained beds, four-posters and shagadelic sheepskin rugs. B&B doubles from £364 (hotelcorazon.com). Fly to Palma

10. Sarara Treehouses, Kenya

Sarara has long been popular with honeymooners for its wild location in the Mathews mountain range, for its infinity pool overlooking a watering hole visited by elephants and for its six luxurious en suite tents. Now its newer offshoot, Sarara Treehouses, 20 minutes’ drive away, takes things up a notch — and up a branch or two — with eight tented suites raised high in the treetops of the 850,000-acre Namunyak Community Conservancy, where elephants and buffalo roam below. Days are spent on game drives, bush walks and horseback safaris, learning skills from the indigenous Samburu people who run the resort, before dinner out in the bush. Five nights’ all-inclusive from £5,394pp, including flights from Nairobi and transfers (sarara.co). Fly to Nairobi

11. Chesa Marchetta, Sils Maria, Switzerland

This Alpine hotel was redeveloped by the Hauser & Wirth gallery founders and hoteliers, Iwan and Manuela Wirth, who had their first date in this very spot. The 13-room guesthouse, dating to 1947, has a rich art heritage — Basquiat and Richter visited in the past — and the Sils Maria region has long been a cultural centre, drawing the likes of Marc Chagall, Thomas Mann, Proust and Nietzsche, which all adds to the romance of the location. Enjoy fine candlelit dinners in the hotel’s stone-walled restaurant. B&B doubles from £540 (chesamarchetta.ch). Fly to Zurich

12. Hassler Roma, Rome

Located at the top of the Spanish Steps, this is where Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck stayed while filming Roman Holiday. The rooftop bar and sixth-floor Michelin-starred Imago restaurant have some of the best views in Rome. Carmen’s Bar, all dark wood and mirrors, is highly conducive to flirting — and your own peck on the cheek. Room-only doubles from £1,080 (hotelhasslerroma.com). Fly to Rome

13. Lundies House, Sutherland, Scotland

An arty guesthouse in a 19th-century church manse on the north Sutherland coast, Lundies House offers four bedrooms in the main house (the loft one has a cosy double box bed under the eaves — cute), plus Scandi-style studios in old steading buildings. Roam the windswept beaches, then return to the fireside with a local gin before supper in the dining room. It’s so romantic, even breakfast is candlelit. Full-board doubles from £620 (lundies.scot)

14. Malabar Hill, Weligama, Sri Lanka

On a wooded hillside above the golden south-coast surf beach of Weligama lies Malabar Hill, a hotel that looks like a Rajasthani palace, with a carved wood roof shading the open-sided restaurant and a 35m infinity pool backed by daybeds. Its private villa suites are supported by stilts that rise through lush vegetation, their cooling cream terrazzo floors opening onto a private patio where steps descend into your own green-blue sukabumi-tiled pool. In other words: lush. I can picture you now, chilling there after a day learning to ride the waves or even bonding over a batik workshop, meditation session or “sound journey”. B&B doubles from £347 including activities (malabarhillsrilanka.com). Fly to Colombo

15. Fundu Lagoon, Pemba Island, Tanzania

Like the Maldives but more rugged, Pemba, off Tanzania’s coast to the north of Zanzibar, is a perfect sun-kissed island. And Fundu Lagoon is its collection of rustic thatched-roof safari tents on the mangrove-fringed sand. There are 12, some on the beach and others dotted on the hillside, plus four bars (good ratio), a spa, infinity pool (candlelit at night) and the chance to go diving in the shallows or over spectacular coral drop-offs. Many couples retreat here after a Serengeti safari. B&B doubles from £463 (fundulagoon.co.uk). Fly to Chake Chake via Zanzibar or Dar Es Salaam

16. Frantze Le Rascard 1721, Champoluc, Italy

Perhaps the most romantic trip my partner and I did, pre-kids, was a ten-day hike of the Monte Rosa circuit through the Swiss and Italian Alps. Not so much for the rainy ten-hour days of climbing and summiting, but the arriving at gorgeous little Alpine hideaways — cosy, timber-roomed chalet hotels with great mountain food. Delightful. Places such as Frantze in the Italian mountain town of Champoluc (also a brilliant ski resort in winter), a rough-hewn Heidi hut whose cocooning rooms have a log-cabin feel, cosied up with patterned red curtains and log-burning stoves. Time dissolved in warm woozy evenings by the fire. Half-board doubles from £173 (frantze.it/en). Fly to Sion or Turin

17. Palacio de Tavira, Algarve, Portugal

Tavira is a laid-back fishing town with seafood cafés and chilled-out bars, and now a great place to stay. Palacio de Tavira has 36 rooms lent character by textural fabrics and Moorish touches. There’s a rooftop terrace and a cocktail bar serving fine Portuguese wines. B&B doubles from £153 (palaciodetavira.com). Fly to Faro

18. Koyao Island Resort, Koh Yao Noi, Thailand

There is a Six Senses resort next door and, if your pants are fancy, that may be the place to go, but my partner and I had a wonderful whirlwind stay at this low-key slice of heaven in our early days. Koh Yao Noi is one of the lesser-known islands off the Krabi coast, not yet trashed. Here palm-roofed villas open onto green lawns that feel like carpet beneath the feet, rolling straight to the beach. Heady times involving coconut cocktails, papaya salads, motor-scooter rides past rubber trees and boat trips to limestone lagoons among the other Krabi islands are promised. B&B doubles from £161 (koyao.com). Fly to Phuket

19. Galdu, Lapland, Finland

The words “romantic holiday” used to mean only one thing: making footprints in the sand. Now, braving minus 20C in the dark while wearing duvet-thick all-in-ones counts as foreplay, as long as you’re gazing at the northern lights. The suites at Galdu have floor-to-ceiling glass — I saw vivid green streaking across the sky from my balcony suite. The food is out of this world — try the Arctic crab soup. Sauna and cold-plunge together, then head out on those aurora adventures or reindeer sleigh rides. B&B doubles from £606 (galdu.fi). Fly to Saariselka