Kuala Lumpur & Cameron Highlands Honeymoon, 5 Nights

Met at KLIA and driven into the city, an hour or so, with the afternoon to rest after the flight. The evening tour starts at Merdeka Square, where the Sultan Abdul Samad Building blends Mughal domes with British brickwork, walks through Chinatown's lanes and ends at the KL Tower observation deck, 276 metres above the ground on its forested hill. From up there the Petronas Towers are lit silver across the skyline, which makes it a good first evening for two.

A gentle morning at KL Bird Park in the Lake Gardens, a vast netted aviary where hornbills, storks and peacocks roam free, followed by Aquaria KLCC beneath the convention centre, with its tunnel under sharks, rays and turtles. After a rest, drive out to Kuala Selangor on the coast for the fireflies. As darkness falls, a small boat is rowed quietly along the river, where thousands of fireflies flash in the mangrove trees along the banks. Moonless nights are best; flash photography is not allowed.

A quick stop at Batu Caves on the way north, for photographs at the golden Murugan and the rainbow stairway. From there it is about an hour into the hills and a long cable-car ride over the rainforest to Genting Highlands at around 1,800 metres, cool and often wrapped in cloud. There are restaurants, rides and a casino at the top, all paid for separately, and the Chin Swee temple a little lower down, with a pagoda and a wide view. Back in the city by evening.

After breakfast, a private drive north and then up the long, winding road into the Cameron Highlands, where the forest gives way to tea estates, vegetable terraces and greenhouses of flowers. At about 1,500 metres, the air is fresh and cool after the city, and the evenings call for a jacket. The hill station was laid out by the British in the 1930s, and Tanah Rata still has its mock-Tudor buildings. The afternoon is for settling in and a walk into town for tea and scones.

Free, to take at your own pace. The Sungai Palas tea estate is the obvious visit: a factory tour and a cup on a terrace above clipped tea slopes. Nearby, the boardwalk through the Mossy Forest leads into cloud forest hung with moss and orchids. Strawberry farms let you pick your own, and Sam Poh temple in Brinchang is quiet and ornate. We can arrange a driver and guide for a half or full-day tour locally; mornings are clearest before the afternoon rain.

An early breakfast, because the drive from the highlands straight to Kuala Lumpur International Airport takes four hours or more, including the slow descent and a rest stop. That makes this route best suited to an afternoon or evening flight. With a morning departure, we would move the last night to Kuala Lumpur or an airport hotel, which is easy to arrange at booking.