6 Essential Honeymoon Planning Tips

Saturday, December 21st, 2019

After all the hard work of planning your big day – your honeymoon is a much-needed respite. For many couples, it’s also the trip of a lifetime.

It’s most likely longer, more exotic, and more expensive than any of your previous holidays, so it deserves some special attention. Here’s our 6 essential honeymoon planning tips that will make your trip unforgettable.

 1. Start Early to Get the Best Prices

First of all, set yourself a honeymoon budget and be strict on yourself to not let your wedding ceremony cut into it. A wedding ceremony is usually only around 6 hours, whilst a honeymoon lasts approximately 10 to 14 days, so it’s something worth spending a bit more money on.

Once you have a budget in mind, you should book your honeymoon early to get the best price. Although people talk about “last minute deals”, we would recommend booking your honeymoon 6 to 8 months in advance as waiting until last minute is very risky business and you may miss out on premium rooms as these tend to book up early.

You should also include travel insurance into your budget, although it’s not too expensive, people often forget to take it out and it could save you thousands of pounds if something was to go wrong.

2. Plan Your Trip Together

This will probably be one of the biggest trips you have together; therefore, you should tailor it to you and your fiancé. The best way to do that is to plan your honeymoon together.

Even though it may be tempting to take the reins and plan everything yourself, this is a lot of pressure and responsibility for such an important trip, and your own wishes may get in the way of a perfect trip that works for both of you.

Plus, ideas are better bounced off one another! Discuss with your fiancé exactly what is most important for you to experience whilst you are on your honeymoon; do you want relaxation, luxury, adventure or romance? This is where communication is key.

3. Be Specific About What You Want

Once you have discussed what you both want together, you then have to get specific. The best 6 questions to ask yourself, according to Lilian Miller from LT Travel Connection are:

•     What is my budget?
•     How many days do I have available for the honeymoon?
•     Would I prefer to see many destinations, or spend more time enjoying one?
•     What are my interests?
•     What weather would I like?
•     Will it be peak season and what is going on with the country?

Whilst Connie Riker, from Create the Moment Travel, adds a couple more crucial questions:

•     When you close your eyes and imagine yourself in the middle of your trip, do you see a lot of activity around you or is it quieter?
•     Do you see yourself spending most of your time on the beach, by the pool, or in your honeymoon suite?

These questions will help you come up with a more refined idea of what you would like to get out of your honeymoon.  

4. Don’t Just Rely on The Internet

Your starting point for planning the honeymoon is likely Google, which is perfectly fine, but you shouldn’t rely solely on the internet. Other people’s experiences written on reviews online can often create an image of somewhere that doesn’t match reality, so it’s best to thoroughly investigate your shortlist of destinations by talking to your friends and family who have been to there already.

Or, better yet, talk to a travel agent. A good travel agent will not sell a destination unless they, or one of their colleagues, have been there themselves. Plus, they can often boost your honeymoon experience with their knowledge and position in the travel industry.

5. Consider More Unusual Destinations

The most popular honeymoon destinations are tempting to go for, such as Bali and the Caribbean. These places are known to be beautiful and are undoubtedly good for a honeymoon, but they are also bustling with tourists all-year-round.

Because of this reason, as well as for keeping costs low, we recommend that you consider more unusual destinations and find your own hidden gem. Countries such as Panama, Nicaragua, India and even Slovenia or Montenegro are emerging destinations that are hitting all the right spots for honeymooners.

If you wish to go to more the popular destinations and your budget isn’t too large, you can look for alternatives within that country, such as in Mexico, check out Manzanillo, Huatulco or Merida rather than the ever-popular Cancun. Or, if you like a popular area, look into villas or hotels with a garden view rather than a sea-view to widen your options within your budget.

6. Let Your Hotel Know If You Have Any Special Requests

For many couples, holidays abroad and time spent travelling is becoming the norm, so you should do little extras to make your honeymoon feel like, well… a honeymoon.

First things first, you should let your hotel know that you are on your honeymoon, they may offer perks for a newly wedded couple, such as a free room upgrade, breakfast in bed or even a complimentary couple’s massage.

But you should also let your hotel know if you have any special requests, for example, maybe you would like your favourite Italian wine to be waiting for you in your room when you arrive, or you might like to ask if you could have a private dinner on the beach one night, or possibly a rose petal bath to prepared for you. Just make sure to contact your hotel in advance so the staff have time to process and prepare your special requests.

If you’re looking to get some more inspiration, pop along to one of our wedding fayres and speak to an experienced travel agent. They’ll be sure to offer tips and advice that you may not have thought of yet! Find all of our upcoming fayres here.

You can also contact our travel suppliers here.