Six Places to Elope Around the World

Eloping used to mean a courthouse and two strangers as witnesses. Now it usually means the opposite: choosing somewhere genuinely beautiful, flying there with the person you’re marrying, and spending on the day rather than on three hundred guests.

That makes the destination the whole decision. With no guest list to accommodate and no venue to fill, the only question is where the two of you want to be standing. Below are six places worth getting on a plane for, compared on the things that actually differ, with a standout resort for each.

Our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists plan elopements across all six and can handle the paperwork side for your destination wedding.

What Makes an Elopement Location Worth Traveling For?

An elopement has different requirements from a wedding, and the places that suit one don’t automatically suit the other. Four things separate a destination worth the flight from one that just photographs well.

Scenery That Doesn’t Need Decorating

With two people and no reception, the setting is the entire production. There’s no room full of tables to dress, no dance floor, no florals beyond what you’re holding. A location has to carry the day on its own, which is why cliffs, rainforest and genuinely dramatic coastline tend to beat a pretty beach.

Paperwork You Can Actually Complete

Legal requirements vary widely between countries and change over time. Some destinations want documents translated and submitted months ahead, others expect you to arrive several days early, and a few are genuinely straightforward.

The alternative most couples take is to marry legally at home, usually at a courthouse for under $100, and hold a symbolic ceremony abroad. That removes every requirement in one step and changes nothing about the day itself. If the paperwork is the thing making you hesitate, this is the answer.

Somewhere You’d Want to Stay Afterward

An elopement folds the wedding and the honeymoon into one trip, which is a large part of why it costs less. That means the destination needs to be somewhere you’d happily spend a week, not just an afternoon. Judge it as a holiday as much as a venue.

A Resort That Does Elopements Properly

Most resorts offer an elopement package, typically priced around $1,000 or below and covering just the couple: the officiant, basic decor, a cake and a toast. That’s a different product from a scaled-down wedding package, and resorts that offer it have thought about what two people on their own actually need.

Comparing the Six Best Places to Elope

Here’s how the six differ on the things that matter when it’s just the two of you.

Destination	The vibe	Average spend	Getting there	Legal paperwork
Mexico	Widest choice, from jungle cenotes to desert coastline	$10,218	Easiest, most non-stop routes	Involved; most couples go symbolic
Jamaica	Green, mountainous, waterfalls and rivers	$10,440	Easy, one main airport	Moderate; documents required in advance
The Bahamas	Pale sand, shallow water, small islands	Quoted per island	Short hop from Florida	Moderate; short residency before applying
Dominican Republic	Big beaches, colonial architecture, best value	$8,959	Easy, busiest Caribbean airport	Involved; documents submitted before arrival
Aruba	Dry and desert-like, outside the hurricane belt	$11,812	Longer flight, fewer routes	Moderate; non-impediment certificate needed
Costa Rica	Rainforest, volcanoes, two coastlines	$10,025	Moderate, longer transfers inland	Simplest of the six

These averages reflect real spend data from couples who booked their destination wedding with our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists, and cover the couple’s own costs. An elopement will typically come in well below them, since the figures include weddings with full guest lists. Legal requirements change, so confirm the current position for your destination before booking flights.

The Six Best Places to Elope Around the World

1. Mexico

Mexico offers more variety than anywhere else on this list, which is its real advantage for an elopement. Cenotes in the jungle south of Cancun, desert coastline in Los Cabos, colonial streets in the highlands, and Pacific cliffs at Puerto Vallarta are all the same country and the same short flight.

It’s also the easiest to reach, with more non-stop routes from North America than any other destination here. If you want somewhere that looks nothing like a standard beach photograph, this is where to find it.

El Dorado Maroma is the standout for two people. A five-star adults-only resort on Maroma Beach in the Riviera Maya, built around private bungalows with overwater suites just off the sand. Garden and beach ceremony options, a romantic beach dinner and a honeymoon package are all available.

Learn more about El Dorado Maroma and get a free quote today >>

2. Jamaica

Jamaica is the green one. Mountains come down close behind the coast, and Ocho Rios in particular has waterfalls, rivers and the Blue Hole within easy reach, so an elopement here comes with genuine things to do rather than a week beside a pool.

Negril is the alternative if you want the sunset. It’s the only part of the island facing west, so the sun goes down over the water in front of you rather than behind the resorts.

Couples Tower Isle is built for exactly this. A 4.5-star couples-only resort in Ocho Rios, meaning every guest is there in a pair, with a private offshore island as part of the property. Multiple ceremony settings, with a sunset option available.

Learn more about Couples Tower Isle and get a free quote today >>

3. The Bahamas

The Bahamas is the closest of the six to the United States, which for a two-person trip matters more than it would for a wedding with guests. From Florida, it’s a short hop, and the islands spread across enough water that the choice ranges from Nassau’s resorts to genuinely remote cays.

Harbour Island has the pink sand, Exuma has the swimming pigs and the clearest water in the chain, and the Out Islands have almost nobody at all.

Viva Fortuna Beach by Wyndham sits on Grand Bahama Island across 26 acres of gardens and palm-lined beach, and it’s the value option in a destination that isn’t generally cheap. For something more secluded, Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma is five-star and couples-only.

Learn more about Viva Fortuna Beach by Wyndham and get a free quote today >>

 

 

4. The Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is the best value on this list, averaging $8,959 against Aruba’s $11,812, and it has more range than its reputation suggests. Punta Cana has the beaches, Santo Domingo is the oldest European city in the Americas, and La Romana has a coastline of cliffs and coves.

Punta Cana International is also the busiest airport in the Caribbean, so getting there is as easy as anywhere in the region.

Casa De Campo Resort & Villas is the pick, a five-star villa estate in La Romana with its own airport nearby and a Mediterranean-village feel that looks nothing like a standard Caribbean resort. Customizable ceremonies including sunset timings, with spa and turndown perks for the couple.

Learn more about Casa De Campo Resort & Villas and get a free quote today >>

5. Aruba

Aruba sits outside the hurricane belt, which no other destination on this list can claim. For a couple who can only travel between June and November, that single fact makes it the safest choice in the Caribbean.

It also looks completely different from the rest. Aruba is dry and desert-like, with divi-divi trees bent sideways by the trade winds and a rugged northern coast. Baby Beach on the sheltered southern tip is calm and shallow, and the California Lighthouse on the northern coast is the island’s most dramatic spot.

Riu Palace Antillas is an adults-only resort on Palm Beach, and the most straightforward option on the island for two people. Elegant wedding packages with spa gifts, in-room decor and a honeymoon package included.

Learn more about Riu Palace Antillas and get a free quote today >>

6. Costa Rica

Costa Rica is the one that isn’t about the beach, and for an elopement that’s the point. Rainforest, volcanoes, cloud forest at Monteverde and two entirely different coastlines mean the backdrop can be something nobody else has.

It’s also the most straightforward of the six for a legal ceremony, which is worth knowing if marrying abroad properly matters to you rather than holding a symbolic ceremony.

Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica is a 4.5-star adults-only resort set between jungle and ocean on the Papagayo peninsula, and it’s the cleanest way to get the rainforest setting without giving up resort comfort.

Learn more about Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica and get a free quote today >>

 

 

Elopement Planning Tips from a Pro

Here’s what our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists tell couples who are eloping, as distinct from couples planning a wedding.

Settle Symbolic or Legal First

This one decision drives everything after it. A symbolic ceremony needs no documents, no residency and no registrar, so you can pick any date and any hour and change your mind late. A legal ceremony abroad means paperwork that in some countries has to be submitted before you fly.

Most eloping couples marry legally at home first, for under $100, and treat the trip as the real wedding. Nothing about the day looks different. Decide this before you book anything.

Book a Photographer, Even for Two People

It’s the one thing couples who eloped most often say they’d spend more on. With no guests, the photographs are the only record there is, and the people who weren’t there will see the day entirely through them.

Use a local photographer rather than flying one in. The saving is usually $1,000 to $3,000, and someone working that coastline every week knows where the light is at five o’clock.

Ask for the Elopement Package Specifically

Resorts price elopement packages separately from wedding packages, usually around $1,000 or below, covering just the two of you. If you ask for a wedding package and mention there are no guests, you may be quoted a scaled-down version of something built for forty people instead.

Plan How You’ll Tell People

The part couples underestimate is what happens afterward. Some send an announcement, some host a party at home a few months later, and some tell close family before they go to avoid anyone feeling excluded.

Deciding in advance is easier than deciding on the flight home, and a celebration at home later is far cheaper than a wedding because the expensive parts already happened on a beach.

Stay Longer Than the Wedding

An elopement folds the wedding and honeymoon into one trip, which is most of why it costs less. Build in the extra nights deliberately rather than flying home two days after the ceremony. Several resorts also offer free anniversary nights as part of their packages, which turns a future trip into part of today’s booking.

Places to Elope FAQs

Where is the cheapest place to elope abroad?

Of the six here, the Dominican Republic is the best value, averaging $8,959 against Aruba’s $11,812. Those figures cover full weddings as well as elopements, so a two-person celebration typically comes in well below them.

Do you need a witness to elope?

For a legal ceremony abroad, usually yes, and the number varies by country. For a symbolic ceremony, no. Resorts that run elopements regularly can provide witnesses where they’re required, which is worth confirming when you book.

Is it cheaper to elope than have a destination wedding?

Considerably, because catering and bar scale with guest count and they’re the largest line on any wedding invoice. The per-person cost rises, though, since the photographer, officiant and florals cost roughly the same whether two people attend or sixty.

How far in advance should you plan an elopement?

Far less than a wedding, since there’s no room block to coordinate. A symbolic ceremony can be arranged in a couple of months. A legal ceremony abroad depends on how long your home country takes to issue and apostille documents, which can run several months.

Start Planning Your Elopement

With no guest list to please, the only question worth answering is where the two of you actually want to be. Rainforest, desert island, waterfall, or pink sand, the choice is genuinely yours for once.

Fill out our online wedding planning form, and one of our Certified Destination Wedding Specialists will compare destinations, confirm the current legal requirements wherever you’re considering, and find the elopement package that fits. It’s free.