^ Yes, Croatia would be on my list too, not quite as nice as the Greek islands IMO but a bit less touristic and therefore better for the budget. Particularly Dalmatia is very laid back and also has countless little islands. It’s a great place to charter a sailing boat and just go from island to island and visit all the little harbors.
Everything is relative. I went to a wedding in Florida several years ago and the happy couple was going to the Pocono Mountains in PA for their honeymoon. Having lived a couple of hours away from the Poconos for most of my life, that was comical to me. The Poconos were a huge honeymoon spot 60 years ago before flying became so common, but I’d not heard of anyone honeymooning there in my lifetime (no, I’m not 60).
Dalmatia is very beautiful but Istria (the triangle-shaped peninsula at the northern end of the Adriatic) is also very nice. In particular Rovinj is absolutely as charming a European town as I have been to. Istria has a distinctly Italian flavor to it and also I think the consensus is most of the best restaurants in Croatia are in Istria. My other favorite Croatian town was Zadar which has the most magnificent sunsets you will ever see.
Having grown up near there as well, I have this mental association between the Poconos and in room heart shaped hot tubs.
Edit: So I googled “pocono lodge honeymoon” and one of the first links was:
Note the shape of the in room hot tubs, lol.
^ Yeah, those heart shaped tubs were/are a Poconos icon.
I would hate to bring a UV light into those rooms.
FYI, just to close the loop here, we are headed to Kauai.
^great choice! You’ll want to rent a 4x4 vehicle as some of the roads are not paved. And a helicopter ride to the big canyon at the center of the island is a must.
it’s tough not to have a good honeymoon on Kauai. There’s a guidbook called Kauai Revealed that’s really good, I’d recommend checking it out. If it’s still in business, I’d recommend Anna’s bed & breakfast on the southern end of the island. Not sure it’s still running but it was fantastic. I split between a couple nights there and a couple at the Princeville.
…I need to go back.
C’mon where is the romanticism?! It’s not where you go, it’s what you do. This could be an option:
La Habana. Now, seems that even average Joe would be able to enjoy Los Cohibas…
Italy - cinque terre

For a honeymoon I would also recommend Greek Islands. Mykonos for the party, Rhodes and Crete if you are into culture and excavations, Santorini for the views and the romance and some of the less popular islands like Paros if you like it quiet. There are thousands of little islands, so you can find some peace and your own private beach much more easily than in Spain or Italy.
I also like Florence, Rome, Paris and Vienna. I never understood the fuss about Prague. It’s alright. I only ever went there for cheap beer and dubious strip clubs. Tons of tourists and not that much to do. Budapest is nice in winter if you like these turn of the century spas. Hamburg is my new favorite, though.
And, yes, I would also avoid the cities during the high season in August. September is also still pretty warm if you want to hit the beach.
yeah Greek islands are cool - urban Italy is ok (I mean it’s really cool but ok for honeymoon material unless you’re an art buff or something)

Another option in Spain could be to make Santiago de Compostela the ‘home base’ for a bit and venture out to coastal towns in the area - they’re pretty fantastic. Then head over to San Sebastian if you have time too. The north of Spain is very underrated, imo.
im not sure if Santiago de compostela would be best for a honeymoon unless you want to see St. James (which is cool) - San Sebastian is a great city as well as much of the Spanish and French basque coast, but I still view the Italian coast of cinque terre as first / get a cozy place / meet the locals / hike the 5 towns and have some great Italian food and gelato

A friend honeymooned in The Canary Islands a couple of years ago and loved it.
yeah the canaries are cool - there are some breaks there for waves if you surf