Honeymoon happiness means a seven-hour flight to a five-star hotel followed by five walks along the beach, four candle-lit meals and three spa treatments, ac­cording to a survey.

Recreation, as well as romance and reading, also plays a part in the perfect honeymoon, the poll by travel company Kuoni found.

Swimming, snorkelling, cycling and even bungee jumping are among the activities in which newly­weds would like to participate.

The survey involved 2,000 unmarried people who were asked what would constitute their ideal honeymoon.

On average, couples said they would spend €6,000 on their honey­moon and travel on a seven-hour flight to a destination with temperatures of at least 27°C, with eight hours of sunshine a day.

More than half (53 per cent) of those polled said they would be doing plenty of reading on the beach, while around 16 per cent would check social media sites and 12 per cent would ring home to speak to their mothers.

The top honeymoon destination was the Maldives, followed by Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Indonesia.

Kuoni managing director Derek Jones said: “This shows that couples still want that romantic beach idea with unparalleled service and excellent hotels in places like Mauritius and the Maldives, but they are also leaning towards a more active, cultural and authentic experience on honeymoon.

“People are no longer content with a week or two lounging around by the beach or pool.”

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.