Uniquely Yours…Honeymoon Tips
Article By | Kelley Austin, Cruise Planners
It’s important to remember that while the wedding is mainly for your family and friends, the once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon that follows is a private getaway for you and your new spouse to celebrate your marriage.
The most important part of your honeymoon is YOU. While it is fun to get ideas and inspiration from your friends and social media, your honeymoon needs to be about you. Honeymoons come in all shapes and sizes encompassing a wide variety of travel styles and destinations, there is no one size fits all. More and more, honeymoon couples are broadening the scope of the honeymoon as well as when they take their honeymoons.
MINI-MOONS
Mini-Moons have soared in popularity these last couple of years and the trend looks strong in to 2020. Not all couples are able to take a week or more for their honeymoon immediately following the wedding for various reasons. These reasons can be work related or even season related in their dream destination. Some couples are now opting for a quick 3- or 4-night getaway immediately after the wedding and planning their “big honeymoon” for another time. Ideal Mini-Moons are destinations that are a short non-stop flight away, or even a driving destination.
HONEYMOON HOPPING
All-Inclusive Resorts remain a very popular choice for honeymoons. All-Inclusive resorts can be great options for the Mini-Moon or for a more traditional week-long honeymoon. An emerging trend is also “Honeymoon Hopping”. A Honeymoon Hop is visiting more than one resort or one destination during the honeymoon while staying within the same brand of all-inclusive resort.
NON-TRADITIONAL DESTINATIONS
Everyone knows the Caribbean, Mexico, Italy, Hawaii, and France are among the more popular honeymoon destinations. However, non-traditional destinations are also becoming very popular for honeymoons. In 2018 and 2019 Iceland, Japan, and Thailand became some of the top requested destinations for “something different. Early indications for 2020 include Croatia, Portugal, South Africa, Iceland, Spain, Thailand, and Japan will be among some of the destinations seeing a surge in honeymoon visitors. Exotic honeymoons are seeing a surge in popularity largely because of the desire for couples to “go somewhere different”.
ADVENTURE HONEYMOONS
Are you an adventure seeking couple? There are destinations with activities perfect for the adventurist that can be combined with the right amount of romance to celebrate you as a newly wed couple. Zip-Lining in Costa Rica, Climbing Machu Picchu in Peru, Safari in South Africa, hiking trails around volcanoes or waterfalls in Hawaii, glacier hiking and kayaking in Alaska, or a great ski resort in the mountains are just a few ideas to fill your sense of adventure. From adventure during the day to candlelit dinners at night, adventure and romance can be a great honeymoon combination.
PARADISE WITHOUT A PASSPORT
While international travel is by far the most popular option for honeymoons, your paradise doesn’t have to require a passport. There are plenty of fabulous options with no passport required for US Citizens. Puerto Rico and The US Virgin Islands are making a strong come back for 2020 after the devastating storms in 2017. Hawaii is always a great honeymoon option with no passport required. Visiting multiple islands in Hawaii is an ideal way to experience the unique differences in what the islands have to offer.
TRADITIONAL WITH A TWIST
Of course, there is nothing wrong with traditional honeymoons to Mexico, the Caribbean, or a cruise. You can do the same cruise or visit the same resort as your friends, but there are ways to make it your own personalized experience. Working with a romance travel specialist will provide you with opportunities to customize your honeymoon. VIP Arrival and Departure Services, candlelight dinners on the beach, private destination experiences and more are just some of the options.
In years past, it was commonplace for the couple to leave the day after their wedding to start their honeymoon. It is more common now to delay the start of the honeymoon by a day or two. With venues now having weekend rentals, venues that are not “in the city”, couples not getting married in their home cities, etc. it is not unusual to delay the start of the honeymoon to the Monday after the traditional Saturday wedding. There is also a growing trend of honeymoons being delayed to later dates in the year to accommodate peak season, seasonality in the destination of choice, or work schedules. When it comes to your honeymoon, it can be as flexible as you need it to be.
Whatever you do for your honeymoon, make it uniquely yours.
Happy Travels,
Kelley Austin
