Honeymoon Dupes: 10 Lookalike Destinations that Cost Up to 82% Less

You have been pinning the same honeymoon photos for months. An overwater view in the Maldives, a sunset over Santorini, a cliffside lunch in Capri. Then you price it out, and the daydream runs straight into your budget.

Here is the good news. Almost every bucket-list honeymoon spot has a lookalike that delivers nearly the same trip for a fraction of the cost. These honeymoon dupes are real places with the same beaches, the same colorful villages, and the same golden-hour glow, minus the celebrity price tag.

A 2026 study from the small-ship cruise company Sail Croatia (https://www.sail-croatia.com/) ran the numbers on 20 of the world’s most-searched destinations and paired each with a cheaper twin. Below are the swaps worth knowing, plus how to make a dupe honeymoon feel like the splurge you were dreaming about.

What is a honeymoon dupe?

A dupe (short for duplicate) is a cheaper stand-in that gives you the same experience as the pricey original. The word started in beauty and fashion, where shoppers hunt for the affordable version of a designer product. The same idea works beautifully for travel.

For this study, the researchers compared each famous destination with a similar lower-cost alternative chosen for shared appeal, things like beaches, island atmosphere, coastal scenery, historic charm, or that hard-to-fake luxury feel. For every place, they tallied the average daily cost for two travelers across three everyday line items: one night in a hotel for two, two restaurant meals for two, and a cocktail. Hotel rates came from Airbtics, and meal and drink prices came from Numbeo. Then they calculated how much you save by booking the dupe instead.

The savings are per day, for two people, so they stack up fast over a week.

The 10 honeymoon dupes that save you the most

Here are the 10 pairings where couples save the highest percentage, straight from the study (Sail Croatia “Destination Dupes” study, May 2026, https://www.sail-croatia.com/; hotel data from Airbtics, food and drink prices from Numbeo).

Even the smaller percentages add up. A 33% cut on a 10-day honeymoon is real money you can move into your savings, your home fund, or a single splashy splurge once you are there.

The swaps worth knowing

A table is great for skimming, but a few of these pairings deserve a closer look, especially if a specific place has been living rent-free in your head.

Maldives, swap for Zanzibar

This is the headline swap, and for good reason. The Maldives is one of the most-hyped honeymoon destinations on earth, with more than a million people searching it every month and couples spending close to $700 a day. Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, offers the same white-sand beaches and clear turquoise water for around $122 a day, hotel, meals, and drinks included. Choosing the Tanzanian island over the Maldives can save you close to $4,000 on a week-long trip.

Capri, swap for Procida

Both of these Italian islands sit in the Bay of Naples, with the same pastel buildings stacked above the same blue water. The difference is the crowd and the cost. A hotel room in Capri runs close to $600 a night, while Procida charges under $115 for similar seaside digs. Procida also sees far fewer tourists, so you trade the selfie-stick scrum for quiet beaches and save about $470 a day doing it.

Maui, swap for the Azores

The Azores are Portugal’s answer to Hawaii: volcanic landscapes, black-sand beaches, and green mountain hikes, for 59% less than Maui. Where Maui hotels average around $350 a night, comparable stays in the Azores run about $139, and eating out costs roughly half as much. It is the same dramatic, lush, end-of-the-earth feel without the trans-Pacific airfare from the East Coast.

Why the famous islands cost more

If your honeymoon mood board is all white buildings and caldera sunsets, you are probably picturing Santorini or Mykonos, two of the most photographed islands in Greece. The study’s authors point out that the fame itself is part of the price tag. As a tourism expert from Sail Croatia put it (Sail Croatia “Destination Dupes” study, May 2026, https://www.sail-croatia.com/):

“Social media drives demand for specific locations, which then raises prices artificially. Everyone wants to photograph Santorini’s blue domes or Mykonos’ windmills these days. But Greece has dozens of islands with the same white buildings and sunset views. You see this with Croatia, too. Dubrovnik became a tourist magnet due to Game of Thrones, but Kotor across the border has the same stone streets and bay views. If you prefer staying in Croatia, then there is Sibenik, which has the lookalike old-town atmosphere without Dubrovnik’s crowds.”

In the study’s own rankings, that same logic shows up in two Greek and Croatian swaps below: Mykonos for Paros, and Dubrovnik for Kotor.

Dubrovnik, swap for Kotor

Speaking of Kotor, this one is a gift for couples who love a walled old town and a dramatic bay. Dubrovnik’s fame (and those Game of Thrones tours) pushed prices up, but Kotor, just across the border in Montenegro, delivers the same medieval stone streets and mountain-ringed water for about 37% less.

Amalfi Coast, swap for the Cilento Coast

The Cilento Coast sits just south of the Amalfi Coast on the same stretch of Italian shoreline, with the same cliffs, lemon groves, and seaside towns. It trades a little name recognition for roughly $150 a day in savings, plus a calmer, more local feel.

Portofino, swap for Camogli

Camogli is a 30-minute drive from Portofino along the same Italian Riviera coastline, with the same tall, colorful harbor houses. A Portofino hotel averages $333 a night, while a Camogli stay runs closer to $130. The smart move: base yourself in Camogli, spend a day strolling Portofino, and pocket the difference.

Mykonos, swap for Paros

Mykonos built its reputation on windmills, white lanes, and a party scene that charges accordingly. Paros, a short hop away in the same island chain, has the same Cycladic looks and beautiful beaches with a friendlier price tag, about 32% less per day.

How to make a dupe honeymoon feel like a splurge

Booking the budget twin does not mean settling. A few simple moves make a dupe trip feel every bit as special as the original.

Travel in shoulder season. The weeks just before and after peak summer often bring the same weather with lower hotel rates and thinner crowds, which stretches your budget even further.

Splurge on one signature day. Bank the savings from your dupe destination, then spend one day doing the famous thing nearby. Base yourself in Camogli and have a long lunch in Portofino, or stay in Kotor and take a day trip into Dubrovnik. You get the highlight reel without the nightly rate.

Move the difference somewhere that matters. If a dupe saves you $300 a day, that money does not have to evaporate. Couples increasingly put it toward a down payment, a future trip, or simply a cushion, which is the whole idea behind saving for your future together (https://thebudgetsavvybride.com/save-money-for-your-wedding/) rather than spending it all on one week. A honeymoon fund or registry can capture it too.

Set the number first. Decide what the whole trip can cost before you fall down the booking rabbit hole. Our guide to setting a wedding budget (https://thebudgetsavvybride.com/how-to-set-your-wedding-budget/) works just as well for a honeymoon, and these budget tips (https://thebudgetsavvybride.com/wedding-budget-tips/) help you protect the number once you have it.

Should you book the dupe or the original?

There is no wrong answer here. If you have dreamed of an overwater bungalow in the Maldives since you were a kid, and you have saved for it, go. A honeymoon is one of the few trips in life worth a real splurge.

But if the price tag has been the only thing standing between you and a yes, a dupe lets you have the trip and keep your budget intact. Plenty of couples are already rethinking the math, which is part of why so many are choosing the honeymoon over the big wedding (https://thebudgetsavvybride.com/honeymoon-over-wedding/) in the first place. The goal is a trip that feels like you, not one that follows a hashtag.

The bottom line

The world’s most famous honeymoon spots are famous for a reason, but fame is not the same as a better trip. Thanks to this 2026 dupe research, you can see exactly where the same beaches, villages, and sunsets cost dramatically less, and decide for yourself where the splurge is worth it.

If a destination honeymoon (or a destination wedding to match) is calling your name, our ranked guide to the best budget destination locations for 2026 (https://thebudgetsavvybride.com/best-budget-destination-wedding-locations/) is a smart next stop. Wherever you land, the look-for-less mindset means more honeymoon for your money, and a lot less budget guilt on the flight home.

Data from the Sail Croatia “Destination Dupes” study, May 2026. Daily costs reflect average prices for two travelers covering one hotel night, two meals, and a cocktail, sourced from Airbtics (hotels) and Numbeo (food and drink).