Events

Honeymoon Ideas in The Great Southern Region

Q: What is the Great Southern Wine Region?

The wine country that begins at Mount Barker, the northern gateway, and spreads to towns like Denmark. Cellar doors pour Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and the Great South West Edge drive trail links them into an easy self-drive tour.

Published 2 October 2022 · Updated 12 May 2026

The Great Southern region of Western Australia runs from the farming country around Kojonup down to Albany's coastline: mountains, secluded beaches, wildflowers and wine country, all reachable on one easy self-drive. Here are nine honeymoon ideas to build your trip around.

View across the peaks of the Stirling Range from the summit of Bluff Knoll, Great Southern WA — The view from Bluff Knoll, the highest peak in the Stirling Range.

How do you plan to spend your honeymoon?

For some couples, an ideal honeymoon destination is where you can frolic in the sand, watch the sunset together, hold each other's hand while strolling along the beach, and enjoy fine dining and wine tasting. For the more adventurous, hiking, snorkelling and surfing are great ways to explore. And for others, a quiet hideaway far from everything is the perfect way to begin married life.

The Great Southern region has room for all of it. Keeping up with the Joneses is no way to plan a honeymoon itinerary: some newlyweds find intimacy in the four walls of their accommodation, while others chase adrenaline in adventurous pursuits. What matters is the unique personality of two individuals who became one, and this corner of WA offers romantic escapades to suit both. Start your marital journey with these ideas, in whatever order suits the two of you.

The itinerary at a glance

Idea one

Explore the hinterland towns

The Great Southern is known for its warm country charm, a far cry from the noise of the maddening crowd. Discover the rich biodiversity of the hinterland towns as much as you uncover more about each other.

Kodja Place, Kojonup

Visit Kodja Place in Kojonup and learn about the Indigenous heritage and culture of the early settlers, then wander the Rose Maze beside it. The town's 1845 military barracks now houses a museum, and it is all a short stroll from your room at Cornwall House.

Evening view over farmland and the town of Mount Barker from the lookout, Great Southern WA

Mount Barker wine country

Enjoy the breathtaking views from the cellar doors of Mount Barker, a small agricultural town known for award-winning wineries. It is also the northern gateway to the wider Great Southern Wine Region (idea eight below).

St Werburgh's Chapel

Have you ever attended a church service by candlelight? St Werburgh's Chapel near Mount Barker offers a genuinely unique experience, and a quietly romantic one.

Castle Rock, Porongurup

Take priceless photographs from the panoramic viewpoint atop Castle Rock in the Porongurup Range, about 15 minutes from Mount Barker.

Katanning

Whisk your beloved to Katanning, a gateway town to the Great Southern with beautiful historic buildings and tales from the past. The All Ages Playground in town unleashes your inner child; it is nice to be playful with each other.

Idea two

Get intimate in the high mountains

Follow the trail together towards Bluff Knoll, the highest peak in the Stirling Range National Park. Rising 3,606 feet above sea level, the summit gives you a 360-degree view over the surrounding towns and mountain peaks, and a shared achievement to open the marriage with.

Staying in Kojonup? The Stirling Range works as a day trip: our guide to seeing the Stirling Ranges in a day covers the route.

Peaks of the Stirling Range receding into the distance under a clear sky

Idea three

Ignite the fire on a secluded beach

Would you like to be on a quiet beach with your beloved? The coastline around Albany and Denmark keeps some of the whitest sand in the country, without the crowds.

Misery Beach, Albany

Crowned Australia's best beach by Tourism Australia in 2022, Misery Beach is about 20km from Albany along Frenchman Bay Road. A stretch of sand as white as snow lines the tranquil, secluded water, leading up to an impressive granite headland.

Greens Pool, Denmark

Take a dip together in turquoise, crystal-clear water sheltered by rounded granite boulders. The pristine sand invites honeymooners to bask in the sun and enjoy each other's company. It is the kind of place that has you planning a second trip before you have left.

Wind turbines above the coastline at sunset near Albany, Western Australia

Idea four

Soak in the sunset

Would you like to re-enact your first kiss while the sky does its best work? The parks and beaches of the Great Southern offer vantage point after vantage point for watching the sun go down over the Southern Ocean.

Or skip the crowd entirely and dance together under the southern stars: out here the night sky is properly dark, and nobody is watching.

Idea five

Relax in a wildflower garden

What could be more romantic than a slow walk through wildflowers? Stroll the pathways of the Regional Flower Garden at Discovery Bay near Albany and gaze at thousands of stunning native plants, with birdsong for a soundtrack and nowhere else you need to be.

Timing a spring trip? Wildflower season peaks from September to November right across the region, including the reserves around Kojonup: see our Kojonup wildflower guide for what to look for.

Fringe lily wildflowers in bloom near Kojonup, Western Australia

A couple snorkelling together in clear shallow water

Idea six

Unleash your adventurous spirit

Get ready to dive, snorkel or swim at Bremer Bay, about 180km east of Albany, or surf at Ocean Beach south of Denmark. Bremer Bay's dive and snorkel sites hold an abundance of underwater treasures, with diverse marine species drawn in by the nutrient-rich, cool water.

Time it right and you may have a close encounter: humpback whales pass through on their migration from August to October.

Idea seven

Indulge the senses with a relaxing spa

Experience natural wellness with a couple's massage and spa day. The client favourite in our original guide is Yallingup Forest Spa, where secluded adults-only villas in the heart of Yallingup, WA provide a romantic setting made for honeymooners: relax and indulge the senses together on the ultimate couple's spa journey.

Prefer to stay closer to your base? Our guide to wellness and relaxation around Kojonup covers the local options.

A couple relaxing side by side during a spa massage treatment

Two glasses of wine raised in a toast over a candlelit table

Idea eight

Take a self-drive tour around the Great Southern Wine Region

Take the Albany Highway from Perth and it leads you to Mount Barker, the northern gateway to the Great Southern Wine Region. Follow the Great South West Edge drive trail and your first romantic sip of Great Southern wine arrives in the town of Denmark. A Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay or Pinot Noir will have you lingering over the view, and the wine-makers are happy to chat about their craft.

The drive itself is half the honeymoon. Our Perth to Albany drive guide plans it leg by leg.

Kojonup sits halfway along the honeymoon road: an easy overnight stop in each direction.

Verandahs and brick courtyard at Cornwall House Accommodation in Kojonup

Idea nine

Feel the love at Cornwall House Accommodation

Snuggle close and share life's bliss at Cornwall House Accommodation. A clean, cosy, well-equipped room is the perfect ambience for newlyweds, and our spot at 72 Albany Highway in Kojonup puts you halfway between Perth and the Great Southern coast, ideal for a wine-region drive in either direction.

All rooms have reverse-cycle air-conditioning, coffee and tea-making facilities and free Wi-Fi, with warm country hospitality and contactless check-in from 2pm: linger over the last cellar door, your room will keep.

Check availability Ask us a question

Or call us on (08) 9831 0214 to book your stay.

A honeymoon through the Great Southern does not guarantee a lifetime of togetherness. But it certainly adds fuel to the fire once you have said "I do".

Make a weekend of it

Time your trip with what's on

Kojonup and the Great Southern keep a small-town calendar of shows, festivals and trails through the year. If your dates are flexible, landing on one adds a day of colour to the itinerary; dates change annually, so check closer to your trip.

Annual event

The Kojonup Show

The classic country agricultural show, right in your stopover town.

Spring

Bloom Festival

The Great Southern's spring wildflower celebration, made for idea five.

Trail

Southern Art and Craft Trail

Studios and galleries across the region open their doors.

See what's on around Kojonup

Planning your honeymoon

Questions couples ask about the Great Southern

When is the best time of year for a Great Southern honeymoon?

It depends on the honeymoon you want. Spring (September to November) brings the wildflowers and the Bloom Festival; August to October is whale migration season at Bremer Bay; summer suits the beaches around Albany and Denmark; and the wine region pours all year round.

Do we need a car for a Great Southern honeymoon?

Yes. The region's romance is spread between hinterland towns, mountains, beaches and cellar doors, and a self-drive along the Albany Highway is the way to connect them. The highway is sealed end to end, and the drive itself, through farmland and wine country, is part of the experience.

Which beaches should we visit?

The two standouts in our guide are Misery Beach, about 20km from Albany and crowned Australia's best beach by Tourism Australia in 2022, and Greens Pool at Denmark, where clear turquoise water sits sheltered behind granite boulders. For something more active, Bremer Bay offers diving and snorkelling, and Ocean Beach south of Denmark has the surf.

What is the Great Southern Wine Region?

It is the wine country that begins at Mount Barker, the northern gateway, and spreads to towns like Denmark. Cellar doors pour Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, often with views worth lingering over, and the Great South West Edge drive trail links them into an easy self-drive tour.

Where should we stay along the way?

Kojonup sits halfway between Perth and Albany on the Albany Highway, which makes Cornwall House Accommodation a natural first or last night of a Great Southern honeymoon drive. Rooms are clean and cosy with reverse-cycle air-conditioning, tea and coffee facilities and free Wi-Fi, and contactless check-in from 2pm covers even a midnight arrival.