The Burrow
Jan 11, 2026
When we think of our dream wedding venues, many couples fantasise about a destination wedding abroad. From sandy beaches to remote mountain getaways, there’s nothing more romantic than saying “I do” in a picturesque ceremony, but planning trips overseas can be a real hassle.
If you’re struggling to find your ideal wedding destination, the travel insurance comparison experts at Compare the Market have got you covered. By analysing data from more than 50 popular wedding locations, we’ve compiled a list of the best destinations for travellers from the USA, Canada, and Australia, helping you find the perfect stress-free venue to tie the knot. Read on to see which cities made our rankings:
To find the best wedding locations worldwide, we assigned each venue a score from 0 to 100. These scores were decided based on airport proximity, travel costs, visa application processes, and online data such as search interest and average reviews in the area. Here are the three countries that topped our list for American couples:
Taking the top spot for American newlyweds is Cartagena, a beautiful port city in northern Colombia known for its views of the Caribbean Sea, stunning architecture, and cosy cobblestone streets. It’s perfect for couples looking to book their wedding on a budget, with a return flight to the States costing around $867 USD, which makes it the sixth-most affordable city in our data to travel to. Your guests will also be able to enjoy the sights without breaking the bank, as the average daily travel cost is just $57 USD per person.
Cartagena also boasts plenty of beautiful wedding locations, with the average venue receiving a 4.61-star rating on Google, while 25% of venues in the city score higher than 4.8. Plus, with Rafael Núñez International Airport conveniently serving the city, it’s easy to get from your terminal to your wedding destination. With a total score of 66.93 out of 100 on our wedding location index, it’s sure to be a popular choice.
Continuing the trend of Caribbean couples’ retreats at the top of our list, Tulum is Mexico’s highest-ranking city in our data, and takes the #2 spot with a score of 66.03 out of 100. With return trips to the States costing as little as $491 USD, it’s the cheapest destination on our rankings for American couples, and its average venue rating of 4.71 stars means there’s plenty of places to make your wedding day truly special.
Known for its gorgeous beaches and historic Mayan ruins, Tulum is a hit with couples, with 13.36 wedding searches per 100,000 Americans last year. Mexico also ranks highly for its ease of visa applications, making Tulum a strong candidate for anyone looking to sidestep the complicated paperwork.
Whether you’re looking to enjoy a day out surfing or take in the unique Costa Rican wildlife, Tamarindo is the perfect backdrop for a tropical wedding. With 29.06 searches for weddings per 100,000 Americans last year, it’s proven to be one of the most popular destinations in our rankings, thanks to its social media-worthy views of the Pacific Ocean.
Tamarindo is also a relatively affordable wedding location, with a round-trip to the States costing around $775 USD and daily travel averaging $138 USD per person. Plus, its average wedding venue rating of 4.71 stars ensures you’ll find your dream location. Boasting a final index score of 64.94 out of 100, it takes our bronze medal position for American couples.
Since Canada is close to the USA, it shares many similarities with our American top ten, but with a few changes in popularity and price. Here’s our top three wedding destinations for Canadian couples:
Cartagena comes out on top in our rankings again with a score of 65.63 out of 100. While a trip to Colombia is a bigger investment for Canadian couples than in America (a round-trip costs $1,840 CAD), the city’s beautiful sites, highly-rated venues, and well-priced local entertainment still make it a top choice for getting married abroad.
Tamarindo moves up one place from our USA rankings to take second in our list of the best Canadian wedding destinations. It’s 29.91 searches per 100,000 Canadians ranks higher than America’s search interest in the town, while the average return flight price of $1,776.06 CAD still makes it an economical choice. Boasting a final index score of 65.27 out of 100, it takes our silver medal position for Canadian couples.
Tulum makes its second appearance in our rankings, finishing in the top three wedding destinations for Canadians. Although the city has higher search interest in the USA than in Canada (13.36 vs 11.22 searches per 100,000 people), its affordable flights mean a round-trip costs just $1,403 CAD, making it a strong choice for travelling on a tight budget. It earns a total score of 65.14 on our index, placing third.
If you’re planning to fly from Australia for your wedding, chances are you’ll be looking for a venue a little closer to home to save some money. Luckily, we’ve also listed the top three destinations for Australian couples, so you can find your dream wedding venue easily.
Bali has become a trending holiday destination in recent years, and Ubud is one of its most well-known towns. With beautiful temples, tranquil rice terraces, and a budding arts and crafts scene, it’s a relaxing getaway in the island’s uplands. It’s also incredibly affordable for Australian couples, with a round-trip costing as little as $968 AUD, and daily travel averaging just $128 AUD.
With 321.39 searches for weddings in the region per 100,000 Australians, Bali is becoming a hotspot for romantic tourism, with an average wedding venue rating of 4.67 stars on Google. These factors add up to give Ubud a whopping 76.19-point score on our index, making it the top destination for Australian couples.
Finishing in second is Chaweng, which is the most popular tourist destination on Thailand’s island of Koh Samui. While it’s best known for its white-sand beaches stretching across warm, turquoise waters, its bustling city centre has a little something for everyone, with plenty of nightlife, shopping, and sporting opportunities.
A round-trip to Koh Samui costs around $1,889 AUD, but with daily travel costing $116AUD per person on average, it’s a surprisingly affordable destination once you arrive. The city is also home to a variety of popular wedding venues, averaging 4.79 stars on Google, with 70% of the options scoring 4.8 or higher! Its final score of 70.30 out of 100 earns it a highly respectable second place in our rankings.
Finally, Thailand makes another appearance to cap off our list, but this time it’s the town of Pa Tong in the Phuket region of the country. Known as a beach resort town with a thriving nightlife industry, it’s perfect for anyone looking to bring the party to their wedding getaway. Still, its relaxing spas also offer a quieter experience.
Pa Tong received 40.93 Google searches for weddings per 100,000 Australians last year, and with its venues earning an average of 4.74 stars from online reviews, it’s not hard to see why it’s such a popular choice. Plus, with round-trip flights costing around $1,892 AUD, it’s a much more affordable option for Australians than many other popular wedding locations. Scoring 60.62 out of 100, it finishes third in our rankings.
When planning your ideal wedding, it’s essential to be prepared. Prepare a budget before you travel, and plan your trip far in advance to save on flight costs. This will also give any guests plenty of time to figure out their own plans.
You’ll also need to be aware of travel logistics, such as visas, passport validity, and travel to and from the airport. While it’s always best to prepare, some unexpected issues could arise, which is why travel insurance is so important.
Adrian Taylor, Executive General Manager at Compare the Market, says, “Travel insurance can help you deal with obstacles that might get in the way of your dream wedding abroad. From cancelled flights to missing luggage, medical bills to stolen belongings, you can receive monetary support for a number of insured events that could prove to be costly otherwise. Just check the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD) for details on what is and isn’t covered.
“Travel insurance can cover lost deposits from missed accommodation and events, for yourself as a bride or groom hosting the wedding, or as a guest travelling to a destination wedding – if an insured event occurs that means you miss out on travel. Take out travel insurance as soon as you can, as it can start covering you before you even get to the airport.
“Depending on what you’ve got planned on your itinerary, you can be covered for a number of events, but if you’ve got any exciting bachelor or bachelorette plans, like skydiving, or snorkelling, or taking a yacht for a day, it’s best to check the details of the policy as you may need to take out additional cover, such as adventure sports and activities cover.
“Lastly, we have to talk about the exclusion regarding alcohol consumption. Travel insurance typically won’t cover related costs from an incident while drinking. If you’re over the limit, you might not be covered if something goes wrong. Be sure to drink in moderation and within the country’s limits while travelling abroad – you don’t want a dream destination wedding turning into a nightmare.”
This dataset ranks global wedding destinations using four key factors: social popularity, venue quality, affordability, and logistics and travel experience.
Three separate versions of the index were produced for couples in the USA, Canada, and Australia, using the same core factors. The main differences between the three indexes are the starting country used for flight costs, the visa information applied, and the search interest data used for each originating country.
Each factor’s data was collected and normalised to a score between 0 and 1. These scores were then combined to give each destination a total score out of 100, and destinations were ranked from highest to lowest.
See the best wedding destination for 2024 here.
Factors used:
Social Popularity
This factor measures how popular each destination is as a potential wedding location based on Google search interest.
We collected search volume data using DataForSEO. For each destination, we used a grouped set of keywords related to weddings and wedding venues, such as “wedding venues [destination]”, “[destination] weddings”, and “weddings in [destination]”. These keyword volumes were combined to provide a consistent measure of wedding related search demand for each location from the originating country (figures are per capita).
Index rule: Higher is better.
Venue Quality
This factor measures the quality and popularity of wedding venues in each destination.
Data was collected using the Google Maps API. For each destination, we searched for wedding venues within a 10 km radius of the central coordinates of that location. The API returned the top results in the area, and this set of venues was used as our sample.
From this sample, we calculated:
Together, these give an indication of venue quality and how frequently guests and couples are reviewing venues in the area.
Index rule: Higher is better.
Affordability
This factor measures how expensive it is for guests and couples to attend a wedding in each destination.
Two metrics were used:
Index rule: Lower cost is better. During normalisation, lower costs were given higher scores.
Logistics and Travel Experience
This factor measures how easy and stress free it is for guests and couples to travel to and enter each destination.
Two metrics were used:
Index rule: Higher is better (easier, more guest friendly destinations score higher).
Factor weighting
At the top level, the four main factors contribute to the final index as follows:
Within these factors, the underlying metrics contribute the following shares of the total score:
Venue Quality (35 percent of total):
Affordability (35 percent of total):
Logistics and Travel Experience (15 percent of total):
Social Popularity (15 percent of total):
All data is accurate as of 05/12/25 and comes from publicly available data sources. Rankings reflect these sources but may not capture every real-life detail or seasonal variation. Locations included in the study were selected based on data availability and informed judgement, focusing on destinations commonly recognised as popular wedding choices across the USA, Canada, and Australia.