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Not all tropic isles are the same. Here's a guide to picking the South Pacific paradise that has your name on it.

Rodgers and Hammerstein made the idyllic islands of the South Pacific famous in their 1949 musical. Today, the region is sometimes referred to as “Australasia” since its islands are a mix of Asian nations and territories of New Zealand and Australia. While experts may not be able to agree on a moniker, one thing is certain: Each of these isles is paradise—especially for honeymooners—but with its own unique personality, flavor and offerings. Whether you prefer to explore tropical caves or laze about a secluded lagoon, these tropical getaways guarantee a happy ending.

For lagoon loungers: The Cook Islands

A relaxed, laid-back mood seems to linger forever on each of the 15 Cook Islands. Opt for the island of Aitutaki, where a variety of go-with-the-flow lagoon cruises take off daily, and you’ll experience a completely sequestered stay. For a bit more action between your naps and massages, we recommend Rarotonga, the capital island, where you’ll find shopping enclaves, cultural happenings and indulgent spa facilities.

A secluded beach on the Cook Islands.

Ariki Spa at the Crown Beach Resort in Rarotonga offers invigorating treatments in private pergolas—trellised passageways covered in sweet bougainvillea blossoms. Sign up for the Luxury Vacation package, and you’ll spend more than four blissful hours being pampered with a facial, a detoxifying exfoliation and a relaxing massage (crownbeach.com).

Then hit your private section of the beach and soak up a feeling of utter isolation. All of the seafront suites at the Crown Beach Resort feature exclusive beach access with built-for-two hammocks and personal decks with spa pools. Inside, you can spread out across a super-kingsize bed and suds up in the deep tub. Watch the sensational sunset on your veranda or head to the resort’s intimate Oceans Bar, a breezy sea-view eatery, and enjoy tropical cocktails as live local musicians serenade you (crownbeach.com).

Then take a relaxing lagoon cruise to the island of Aitutaki and enjoy a romantic dinner at the isle’s barefoot restaurant Café Tupuna, which sits high up in the lush hills and is reached via a short candlelit path.

For active adventurers: Fiji

Nearly every resort offers activities to entice all degrees of daredevil behavior. Thrill seekers can easily find venues in this archipelago’s 332 islands for scuba diving, snorkeling, bungee jumping, hiking and rappelling.

To really get the blood pumping, take an excursion with Rosie Holidays. The outfitter’s full-day Sigatoka Valley/Eco Park tour will take you through fields of sugarcane and a large protected rain forest that’s home to iguana, parrots, fruit doves and other colorful inhabitants. The Caves Tour will lead you inside caverns and past towering rock formations (rosiefiji.com). For a marine experience, take a Blue Lagoon Cruise. You’ll sail past active volcanoes and deserted islands, stopping often for snorkeling, swimming and whale watching (bluelagooncruises.com).

Step back in time at the new Likuliku Lagoon Resort, which has been designed as a series of overwater bungalows (or bures) to look like an ancient South Pacific village. Luxurious linens in the room complement the stunning landscapes on view from your private deck. From your bure, you can simply hop on a Likuliku cruiser and enjoy some swimming and snorkeling. Hard-core day hikes are organized by the hotel concierge (likulikulagoon.com).

After all that activity, you deserve to indulge in fantastically fresh seafood at the resort’s open-air Fijiana restaurant, which overlooks the ocean. The menu, which changes daily, features small-plate portions of local favorites, like seared coral trout and soy steamed chicken.

For art lovers: Tahiti

Gauguin made Tahiti famous when he painted its people and captured its natural beauty, but you don’t have to be a legendary artist to appreciate the masterpiece that is this French Polynesian wonderland. Comprising 5 archipelagoes and 118 islands and atolls, the pristine white beaches, transparent blue water and tropical foliage appeal to the artist in everyone.

The tropical sunset of Tahiti

Inside Le Méridien's L'Atelier

Sign up for an array of art workshops and lectures at L’Atelier Le Méridien Tahiti resort’s beautiful contemporary art gallery and workspace, and get inspired by uninterrupted views of sugar-white sand, the property’s green-blue lagoon and the deep ocean beyond. At the center’s three-hour painting workshop, you’ll learn brushstroke techniques, the art of blending colors and other oil and watercolor basics while creating your interpretation of a South Pacific sunset. Visiting artists discuss local pottery, sculpture, native jewelry making, still photography and more in regularly scheduled lectures. Want more art? Hop on Le Méridien’s daily shuttle bus, and tour the numerous art galleries in Papeete, Tahiti’s capital city (lemeridien.com).

Tahiti's lush green mountains

Overwater Tahitian bures

Take a day trip to the neighboring island of Bora Bora and have a meal at Villa Mahana, where original art is prominently displayed and available for purchase, should you feel the urge to splurge. In addition to the collection, the restaurant features equally interesting culinary creations such as mahi mahi with curry and bananas and grilled filet mignon and Provençal thyme (villamahana.com).

With amazing views of the lagoon and the stunning nearby island of Moorea, you can’t beat Le Méridien Tahiti for inspiration. Browse contemporary work by local artists while sipping fruity cocktails in the open-air lobby. For a more secluded experience, stay in one of the resort’s 12 Polynesian-style overwater bungalows. Each has its own spacious deck and oversize bathroom (lemeridien.com).

For green travelers: Vanuatu

Vanuatu, a Y-shaped cluster of 83 islands in the South Pacific Ocean, is a natural oasis. Lush, untouched green forests, active underwater volcanoes and never-ending virgin beaches, combined with earth-conscious lodgings, make this an off-the-beaten-path destination for eco-minded honeymooners.

Jump on a jeep tour.

The intimate family-owned Epi Island Guesthouse, made from local timber and stone, sits on its own private isle in the middle of the foliage bush wilderness. The lodge features hydro-energy pumps, so you’ll never want for modern comforts like hot showers, electricity and unbeatable cuisine. The property’s restaurant features home-cooked dishes, showcasing organic produce grown on-site, and seafood and pork brought in daily by villagers. The daily three-course dinner features soup of the day, such as coconut cream and lime, curried fish with steamed veggies and slow-churned ice cream (epi-island-guesthouse.com).

A romantic waterfall picnic on Vanuatu

If you decide to venture off property, take an easy day hike bush walk with Vanuatu Ecotours and marvel at the tropical foliage. You can also take a mountain-biking tour across a neighboring island or opt for an easy day of volcano viewing. Spark the romance with the outfitter’s honeymoon package, where you’ll enjoy swimming at the base of a crystalline waterfall and soaking in a natural hot spring bath as you sip local champagne (vanuatu-ecotour.com.vu).

For foodies: Australia

Although the entire continent of Australia has recently joined the roster of destinations celebrated for fine food and wine, Southern Australia, with its boutique cheese industry, and Tasmania, with its vineyards and specialty grapes, provide the ultimate backdrop for food and wine lovers.

In the heart of Derwent Estuary in Southeastern Tasmania sits The Pavilions at Moorilla Estate, a luxurious compound tucked on a private peninsula with four mod villas, a restaurant, a winery and a microbrewery. The contemporary-style suites have original artwork, inviting kingsize beds and private kitchens. Take a perch on your personal balcony, uncork a bottle of the estate-bottled Muse Series pinot noir, barreled and created on-site, and watch the glorious sunset. Then head to the property’s restaurant, The Source, where you’ll create your own three-course menu, based on a list of local organic staples that include shucked Barnes Bay oysters, homegrown Vincotto olives and smoked trout with cucumber and radish salad or braised rabbit and potato pie. Splurge on a “museum stock” vintage red, like the Cloth Moorilla Estate syrah, or if you prefer white, sample the bouquet of the Black Label chardonnay. (Most of the wines available here are produced on the estate.) Save room for blood-orange sorbet with handcrafted chocolates and a chilled glass of the Moorilla Brut rosé (moorilla.com.au).

After spending a few nights at Moorilla, take a short seaplane trip to Melbourne and check out Melbourne Food Tours, created by food writer Allan Campion. On the daylong bus excursion, you’ll visit an olive oil press, cheese farm and local produce markets. During the three-hour walking tour, visitors taste the city’s multicultural delights, ranging from Japanese dumplings and Hong Kong-style egg tarts to fish and chips, artisan chocolates and fresh-baked doughnuts. Or take a cooking class, led by Campion, and learn to use farm-fresh ingredients to create organic salads, healthy entrées and delicious desserts (melbournefoodtours.com).

For luxe lovers: The Maldives

Divine and pristine, the Republic of Maldives, located just below the tip of India, draws discerning travelers. Here, ultraplush resorts with stellar service, sequestered beaches and intimate lagoons take pampering to a new level.

Suite living at the Rania Experience, Maldives

The jaw-dropping Rania Experience, located on the private Faafu Atoll, is the ultimate all-inclusive. The single tariff includes absolutely everything. You’ll enjoy unlimited spa treatments, free seaplane transfers, 24-hour butler service, all the food you could possibly imagine and much more. Ever wonder what it might be like to have your own 86-foot yacht? Wonder no more. Fancy a massage at four in the morning? No problem. The resort only takes one booking at a time, which means the property’s entire staff is solely dedicated to you, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In a single day, The Rania Experience allows you to engage all five senses in some form of luxury. Sip a sweet, fragrant lychee martini before receiving an ancient Kizhi treatment—in which a soothing herb-filled cloth is placed on your body to promote health and relaxation. Or indulge in a hot stone massage under the shade of a palm tree. Then take the yacht out for a spin and join the dolphins as they play in the surf. Later, take a midnight swim before retiring to your secluded, waterfront honeymoon suite.

First course: romantic dinner for two at the Rania Experience

Meals can be taken anywhere you wish—on the yacht, in a traditional boat, at seaside, poolside or bedside. The day’s menu generally depends on what’s available from the ocean and local markets. For example, lunch may be lobster bisque or tam yam talay—a hot and sour Thai-style soup—followed by oyster risotto and scrumptious coconut tarts. And even though your three personal chefs are expertly trained in Korean, Balinese and Japanese cuisine, they are equipped to cook anything you request (800-719-6422; raniaexperience.com).

Photography: Courtesy of Le Méridien, Tahiti; The Rania Experience; Vanuatu Tourist Office; andTahiti-Tourisme.com.