The day after your wedding, all you really need to worry about is eating leftover cake and snuggling with your new spouse. The honeymoon is supposed to be your opportunity as a couple to rest and relax after a stressful lead-up to the wedding. However, sometimes honeymoon travel stress can get almost as crazy as wedding planning! Whether you’re going across the world or across town for your honeymoon, we have some tips to help make the trip worry-free.
Set a Budget
Set a budget immediately so you know whether you can go all-out or need to scale back from your dream getaway. Don’t worry that a lower budget will take away from the experience, however. There’s plenty you can do to lower your vacation costs.
Many times if you book a package deal, you’ll save money in comparison to buying everything separately. Going all-inclusive can often save you money as well, but always read the fine print. Know what the money covers. Does it only cover food and not alcohol? Do you pay for your flight separately? Does the destination have free WiFi or do you need to pay extra to upload your pictures? Many deals hide these little things and it will cost you if you’re not paying close attention.
Check discount travel websites to see which has the best deal, or hire a travel agent. This may take some money away from your budget, but an agent knows the ins and outs of the industry and can get you the best deals.
If you’re traveling overseas, also consider including an international phone plan in your budget.
Pick the Destination
Picking the destination is often the hardest part of the entire planning journey. Discuss together what each of you would like to do. Do you want it to be romantic, peaceful, or filled with adventure? Do you want to go on a cruise, travel overseas, or stay close to home? List your top five destinations and make a pro and con list for each place. Also, remember to take into account the weather during the month you plan to travel. Hurricane season isn’t the best time for many tropical locations, and roaming through vineyards on the West Coast might not be fun in summer temperatures of 100 degrees.
Do careful research on destinations you’re unfamiliar with; looks can often be deceiving. It isn’t hard to make a dump look like paradise with Photoshop. Check reviews and see what people have to say about the area, company, or resort. Of course, remember that one negative comment among a few hundred is probably not a dealbreaker.
Also be sure that you know what you’re getting into traveling internationally. Bring the correct currency; you don’t want to be stuck with American dollars where they only take pesos. And, know a basic understanding of the local language. English is fairly widespread, but you don’t want to be stranded with no way to communicate.
Plan for Bad Weather
You’ve presumably already tried to book for the best weather wherever you’re going, but weather isn’t always perfect even in paradise. Be ready to take shelter and just enjoy the moment if needed. The first two days of my honeymoon, it poured, so we found other things to do on the island. We didn’t let black skies bother us at all because we were having a blast playing board games in the lobby and cuddling inside watching a movie.
Pack Medication
You never think about medication until you truly need it. Don’t get stuck with a pounding headache and no pain relievers or an uneasy stomach without some help. Take a mini medicine kit with the basics: pain relievers, diarrhea medication, nausea medication, digestion aids, bandages, eye drops, ear drops, etc. Again, we learned the hard way. My husband developed a wicked case of swimmer’s ear and was doubled over in pain. Be prepared for any illness or injury that may pop up before you’re doubled over in misery.
Take Extra Money
Bring extra money for souvenirs and other items. Even if a place says it’s all-inclusive, it doesn’t actually include literally everything. If you do have a last-minute emergency, you want to know that you can take care of it. We ran out of sunscreen on the second day of the honeymoon, but there was no department store around the corner. We were stuck with buying a lovely 28 dollar bottle of sunscreen from the resort’s souvenir store.
And then there’s the optional things. You will also want to buy souvenir items and often resorts offer add-on services like a couples massage or round of golf. We also had a sweet photographer popping up to take priceless photos each day. At the end of the trip these photos were shown to us on a CD which we could purchase for a whopping 12 dollar per photo. The resort even offered to take a “complimentary” newlywed photo session. What they didn’t explain was that while the session itself is free, you still had to purchase the photos. You simply can’t resist buying that perfect sunset shot, so just make sure you have enough extra to spoil yourself on the little things.
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