40 best romantic getaways

Kerala, India

Photo: Courtesy of the Small Luxury Hotels

On the Waterfront
This lush South Indian state—the birthplace of ayurveda—is an intricate web of calm backwaters. Here you’ll find the Kumarakom Lake Resort (doubles from $437), set on 25 acres alongside Lake Vembanad. A world unto itself, the resort features 49 villas that were created with materials sourced from century-old ancestral homes and are full of traditional details: wooden gables, carved doors, massive brass locks. Sample the spicy curries (okra-and-tomato bindi masala) and exotic ice creams (pepper; nutmeg) at the restaurant Ettukettu (dinner for two $60). A five-minute ride away is the 14-acre Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, filled with storks, herons, egrets, and parrots. You can also rent one of the property’s thatched-roof houseboats for a tour of the area’s palm-lined fields and Hindu temples. By day, float past villages and fishing canoes. Come night, you can be alone on the shimmering lake.