HONEYMOONING MADE EASY
For most brides, the honeymoon is an integral part of the wedding planning. However, for me, the honeymoon isn’t even on the list of things to think about. I want the honeymoon to be a complete surprise. I don’t want to know where, what temperature, or which activities. I just want to pack my bags for anything! My only prerequisite is that I get crepes in bed the following morning! When I tell people that I’m “informationless” when it comes to the honeymoon they generally respond in two ways: Oh that’s so cool, or Are you crazy??
Rob and I love to travel. We spent six months in Europe and six weeks in Mexico. We’ve hiked mountains in Portugal, swam in warm Acapulco oceans, wined and dined in Spain, and bundled up against cold Germany winds. We are very blessed to have experienced so much at such a young age. We learned a great deal through our adventures, lessons that may be very helpful for other couples as they plan their honeymoons. So after talking with Rob, we came up with our top eight traveling tips: (they are in no particular order : )
1. Apply early for a passport and get the required shots/ vaccines
You wouldn’t want to book a trip overseas and then have to cancel because you are waiting for the passport to come in the mail. Nor would you want to find yourself sick in your hotel room (or hospital) because you forgot to get that malaria shot!
2. Pack light!
Rob and I often traveled on Ryan Air when we were overseas. The prices were ridiculously low until we realized that we had packed so much over the weight limit that we had to pay $200 USD to bring out bags with us.
3. Before you arrive review a map of the area!
Rob and I would check out the area’s attractions online and then we’d map them out and list them in order of importance. This saved us time and money and allowed us to visit everything without having to cut something out that we really wanted to see. It also kept us from looking like tourists, which many pick pocketers look out for. Americans make easy targets when we carry around big books that say: TOP TEN PLACES TO SEE IN ITALY.
4. Don’t carry your valuables with you!
Luckily we didn’t have to learn this lesson the hard way, yet many of our friends did!! Leave passports in the hotel room and carry a copy with you! One of our friends was confronted by a guy in Paris. He wasn’t in uniform, but he claimed to be a cop and demanded to see ID. Our friend and his dad were then surrounded by a group of guys, all demanding to see their passports. Our friend thought it was a joke: NOPE! They had to stop their sight seeing and walk back to their hotel with this group of under cover cops just to show that they really had ID. We also had to use our passports when we used our credit cards, so remember KEEP A COPY WITH YOU!!
5. Tell people you are on your honeymoon!
We didn’t learn this one through experience…but all of our married friends have told us great stories of free desserts, upgraded hotel rooms, or first class seat switches, just because they mentioned that they were on their honeymoon!
6. Go through a travel agent!
When Rob and I wanted to visit Africa we went through a travel agent. They were able to offer us a great deal which included transportation, our hotel, 3 tours, and some food. This was a great option for us because we weren’t familiar with the area and we couldn’t speak the language. As luck would have it, the weather turned sour and our ferry was canceled. If we had done the trip on our own, as opposed to using the travel agent, we would have lost our money. Fortunately, we were reimbursed and used the money for our next trip!
Try places like: http://www.sandals.com/
http://www.accenttravel.com/index.html
7. Bring portable speakers
Again, this is one piece of advice we heard from our friends. They made a love making playlist before they left. They said they used these all the time to “set the mood.” Don’t forget the charger though or your mood will be cut short!
8. Use the web for resources!
There is AMAZING information online! Check out websites like:
http://wedding.theknot.com/honeymoons.aspx
I am especially drawn to theknot.com website. I found the layout very user friendly and it offered great options (US honeymoons, Europe honeymoons, best ocean honeymoons etc.).
It is important, however to go through reputable companies if you decide to book your honeymoon online. I’ve hear horror stories of people who have booked their trip, bought plane tickets separately, and then when they arrived at the hotel, there was no reservation or ANYTHING! The company had taken their money and ran! So newly wed beware!
