First up on our year-long quest to find the most romantic and sustainable honeymoon destinations...Tetiaroa, French Polynesia! For centuries, this gorgeous atoll north of Tahiti was a sacred meeting ground for Polynesian royalty. In the 1960s, Marlon Brando came to these coral islets to film "Mutiny on the Bounty," fell in love with his leading lady, and made Tetiaroa their home. They had a dream to use tourism, science, and the local community to preserve the island. Decades later, that has been fulfilled by The Brando Resort & the Tetiaroa Society environmental and cultural nonprofit. The Society’s projects, from green sea turtle conservation to The Blue Climate Initiative (a UN Ocean Decade project) are 70% funded by the resort and furthered by visiting researchers from around the world.

Though sustainability is probably not the main reason Kim Kardashian, Jay-Z, or Obama stayed here. It’s a private island and one of the most luxurious resorts in the world, with ocean-view villas, personal infinity pools, lavish spa, gourmet cuisine, and five-star service. And all that decadence is supported by solar power, seawater air conditioning, a permaculture garden, extensive recycling, and LEED-Platinum construction.

To understand both sides of this gold coin, we spent two days working alongside the researchers at the Tetiaroa Society and two more living the luxe life at The Brando. Both were equally inspiring and the combination took our breath away.

Video by: Mike & Anne Howard, HoneyTrek
Music by: Not The King, “September”
Special Thanks to The Brando & Tetiaroa Society