Why we chose to go on honeymoon with a group of strangers

We set off from base camp at 1 am, head torches glowing, for the final ascent to the summit of Mount Kinabalu in Borneo. We were five days into our Sabah Adventure and had loved every minute—but this was the moment we had been waiting for. In fact, it was the main reason we chose this trip.

Climbing under a blanket of stars with the twinkling lights of the world below us felt surreal. We were among the first to reach the summit. By that point, after a long and challenging hike in complete darkness, I was absolutely freezing. My fingers had also started ballooning from the altitude—much to my boyfriend Mark’s secret horror.

To keep warm and fend off the altitude effects, we huddled together to watch the sunrise around 5am. It was a tangerine dream spreading over a sea of turquoise. Feeling a little dizzy but totally in awe, I wasn’t my usual self. Instead of snapping endless photos as I usually would, I just took it all in, feet firmly planted on the ground.

And that was Mark’s chance. He asked Rachel, a fellow traveler from our group, to take a photo of us, and as we posed, I suddenly felt his arm move from my back. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee, literally taking my breath away by proposing on Malaysia‘s highest mountain, five years to the day since our first date.

For a second, it felt like we had the entire mountain to ourselves—until our group erupted into cheers and applause. Luckily, Rachel realized what was happening in time and managed to snap a few pics before capturing the moment on video. We’ll forever be thankful.

Even so, I set off on my big adventure, knowing this was my moment to focus on myself and chase my dreams. After six months on a trip of a lifetime, chatting to Mark every single day, I came home with one thing crystal clear: I never wanted to experience anything like that without him again.

It was the perfect proposal. Mark designed the ring himself but had guessed my ring size a bit too big, which turned out to be ideal in my swollen state. I felt like I was on cloud nine—atop a mountain, next to my fiancé and surrounded by love from like-minded people.

After a staggering, jelly-legged descent, we unwound at some hot springs to soothe our sore bodies after the hike. That night, we joined the rest of the group for a celebratory feast of beef rendang, fragrant laksa and plenty of beers.

The rest of our trip was a blissful blur as we celebrated one of the biggest milestones of our lives, all while soaking up the magic of new experiences—from spotting dwarf kingfishers, saltwater crocodiles and long-tailed macaques along the Kinabatangan River to basking on Turtle Island’s untouched beaches and releasing baby turtles into the Sulu Sea.

An unconventional map to matrimony 

Getting engaged on an Intrepid trip felt so ‘us’. After all, adventure has been woven into our story from the very beginning. Mark and I met while working at a design agency in Glasgow back in 2016. We soon became friends, bonding over our sound taste in dance music, shared love of pints and passion for exploring Scotland. Mark grew up in a family that thrives in the great outdoors—we’re talking kayaking, skiing and camping pros. With strong ties to the west coast of Scotland, he’s explored so much of our beautiful country, from its glens to its lochs.

I, on the other hand, caught the travel bug early on when I won a scholarship to study languages in Beijing at 16. My studies took me to Paris and Madrid, then to London and Milan for work. I’ve volunteered across the Yasawa Islands in Fiji and carried out postgraduate research in Kathmandu. I eventually left the agency job and lost touch with Mark. In 2018, I decided I was going to book a one-way ticket to South America to fulfil a dream: trekking through Patagonia. But six months before I left, everything changed.

Mark slid into my DMs. After a lot of chat and life updates, he invited me to a gig with some old work pals. Maybe it was the music, maybe it was our first kiss—but that night we both realized what we’d probably known all along: We were meant to be together.

Soon after, Mark whisked me away on a camping trip to the Outer Hebrides, where the rain came down sideways. But on the last day, after finally getting a bit of sunshine and under a sky full of stars, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes, of course. I’d been waiting for him to ask ever since we pitched the tent on the first day. I had already told my best friend (and future bridesmaid) that he was the man I was going to marry.

Even so, I set off on my big adventure, knowing this was my moment to focus on myself and chase my dreams. After six months on a trip of a lifetime, chatting to Mark every single day, I came home with one thing crystal clear: I never wanted to experience anything like that without him again.

Since then, we’ve soaked up the sun in Portugal, skied in Switzerland, eaten our way through Vietnam, felt the desert dunes in Dubai, chased the northern lights in Iceland, caught COVID in Croatia, fallen in love with Bosnia and sailed down the canals of the Netherlands, organizing everything ourselves. We knew our next trip had to be more of an adventure, further afield. And that’s something we wouldn’t have had the confidence to do on our own—mainly because of the fear of missing out and the stress of organizing everything while balancing our jobs and house renovation.

During my six months in South America, I often spied Intrepid leaders in their red t-shirts, so I suggested that we check out their trips for inspiration. Borneo seemed to have it all: Wildlife, hikes, beaches. So we went for it. I had no idea I was booking my engagement trip. Yet in Mark’s head, as soon as he realized we’d be climbing Mount Kinabalu, he knew that was where he was going to pop the question.

Fancy honeymooning in Mexico? I do!

We knew we were engaged to be married—not engaged to be engaged for a long time—so as soon as we got home from Borneo, we got straight to planning. Just over a year later, in May 2024, we tied the knot on a boat on Loch Lomond surrounded by the most special people in our life. We’re still in contact with the group from our Borneo trip and sent them photos of our special day. It was lovely to share this moment with them, especially Rachel, as she made our proposal forever memorable.

Planning a wedding can be stressful, but planning the honeymoon? That was pure joy. In our vows, Mark and I promised to make life an adventure, so when it came to choosing where to go, we gave it some real thought.

The typical honeymoon destinations were tempting, and there was oddly a sense of pressure to spend three weeks lounging on a tropical beach—but that just wasn’t us. We wanted culture, color, food and fun at a pace that would be leisurely enough to soak in every detail, yet lively enough to keep our spirits high and fuel our curiosity. We landed on the Best of Mexico trip because it had the perfect mix of everything: Vibrant city life, lush jungles, sprawling deserts, ancient temples and stunning beaches.

This was the kind of adventure we’d been craving. And this was exactly the kind of experience we had promised one another in our vows.

We got to spend lots of quality time together as a couple on the trip, but having the chance to socialize with others was a highlight. Our group was a mixed bunch from Spain, Slovakia, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. It included other happy couples, like Stella and Gerard, a handful of solo travelers, and even a mother-and-son duo, Slava and Andrej.

Sharing our honeymoon with such a diverse group gave us a fresh perspective on relationships, love and adventure. It deepened our appreciation for what truly matters and reminded us that there’s no one-size-fits-all way to experience joy.

One of our favorite experiences was taking a boat ride down a winding river through Sumidero Canyon. The landscape was a wild fusion of Lord of the Rings meets Jurassic Park—lush greenery draped over the towering cliffs, hidden caves, and waterfalls tumbling into the water below. Our leader, Valentina, told us that the Chiapas, an Indigenous people whose main settlement was in the region, fiercely resisted Spanish conquest, with their last refuge being a fortified area within the canyon. Legend holds that when this fortification fell, the remaining Chiapas took a lover’s leap into the canyon, choosing the afterlife over submission to Spanish rule.

We were sailing through a place of deep history and untold stories, admiring not just natural beauty, but the courage of those who came before us. There was something so deeply romantic about it—the idea of love and defiance intertwined, choosing the ultimate sacrifice for the belief in something greater. Mark and I felt so small in the vastness of it all, and so privileged to be experiencing it.

This was the kind of adventure we’d been craving. And this was exactly the kind of experience we had promised one another in our vows. Unfortunately, we won’t get to have another honeymoon. But we’ll for sure be going on more Intrepid trips and making them feel just as special. In fact, we’re off to Japan in April to celebrate our first anniversary. I’d tell any pair of travel-mad lovebirds to book an Intrepid tour for their honeymoon in a heartbeat. Life’s too short to stick to the status quo—do what you love!

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Vanessa and Mark got engaged on their Sabah Adventure, spent their honeymoon seeing the Best of Mexico with Intrepid, and are set to celebrate their first anniversary on the Highlights of Japan trip.

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