Maldives has been named one of the most honeymoon-worthy destinations in the world.

Brides, the premier bridal magazine published by American media giant Condé Nast, announced last week winners of its annual Honeymoon Awards. The Maldives secured the fourth spot from a list that includes the 20 most romantic destinations in the world.

Listing the Maldives, Brides described the “lush, picture-perfect islands” of the Maldives as being “light years beyond your average beach destination.” Private-island resorts — like the recently opened Soneva Jani, St. Regis Maldives Vommuli and Four Seasons Maldives Private Island at Voavah — are ringed by colourful coral reefs teeming with fish, it said.

The American bimonthly magazine suggested honeymooners travelling to the Maldives to “spend your days snorkelling, scuba diving, and lounging on the deck of your over-water villa; by night, dine by candlelight on freshly caught fish and organic veggies followed by a stargazing sesh with a NASA-worthy telescope.”

Other winners of the Brides Honeymoon Awards include French Polynesia, Italy, The Hawaiian Islands, Greece, Bali, Mexico, Thailand, Fiji, South Africa, France, St. Lucia, Turks & Caicos, Costa Rica, Seychelles, Australia, New Zealand, St. Barth, Jamaica and Dominican Republic.

In its announcement of this year’s winners, Brides said picking the perfect honeymoon destinations was no easy feat, considering different factors such as the countless romantic destinations, endless hotel options and limited vacation time. The list was compiled through a partnership with A-list agents at Virtuoso, a global network of more than 15,000 luxury-travel specialists, it added.

Maldives has won several global and regional accolades for being amongst the romantic destinations in the world. Surveys and studies analysing travel trends have also shown that a healthy majority of travellers that choose the Maldives are honeymooners.