A few weeks ago, my friend Jessica with J. Upton Travel shared her Groom’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Honeymoon, and I’m so excited to have her back to share more of her expertise when it comes to Honeymoon planning! If you liked her previous post, you’ll definitely like this one. With so much experience in this area, Jessica has so much to offer and these 10 Tips to Picking the Perfect Honeymoon Destination are sure to help get you and your fiancé started off on the right track!

10 Tips to Picking the Perfect Honeymoon Destination

If you missed my recent post on a Groom’s Guide to Honeymoon Planning, I mentioned how decision-blockage can really hinder your ability to planning your honeymoon. The biggest factor contributing to decision-blockage is too many options! So before you start perusing the internet and get overwhelmed with the vast abundance of hotel sites filled with steamy romantic outdoor showers and rose-petal filled suites, take a look at my 10 Tips to Picking the Perfect Honeymoon Destination. This is sure to save you the time and frustration spent trying to navigate the world of options on your own!

1. Set Your Budget

When setting your budget, there are a couple things to factor in:

• Do you have any reward points, airline miles, etc. that you want to use?
• Will you be fully covering the cost or will anyone else be contributing?

Take some time to discuss what you feel comfortable spending on your honeymoon. Keep in mind that a small budget can go a long way if you have a short trip, and large budgets can easily get spread thin on a month long excursion.

2. Determine Your Trip Length

Consider how much time each of you can take off work. Vacation time and holidays can play into this as well. Also decide how long you’d realistically enjoy living out of a suitcase.

3. Select The Type Of Trip You’re Most Interested In

Do you envision an adventurous vacation zip-lining the jungles of Costa Rica? A historical trip roaming the streets of Florence? Or a relaxing break lounging on the beaches of Bora Bora?  Together decide what activities you most want to do while on this dream trip.

4. Discuss How Many Places You’d Like To Visit

After all the stresses of planning a wedding, do you just want to sit back with a cocktail and relax for a week? Or would you prefer to hop around and explore more sites on your honeymoon? You and your finance should discuss how many places you’d like to visit which will also tie into your trip length.

5. Compile A List Of Your Top Destinations Then Compare

There may be one location you both love and want to visit. Or there may be similar experiences at different destinations that can get narrowed down to one. Are there two or more locations which can get easily paired together? The goal is to jointly limit it down to a maximum of three options.

6. Consider The Season

Heading south of the equator? Remember the seasons are opposite of the United States. If you envision yourself taking a swim off the islands in Greece, you don’t want to go in the Winter months. Also keep in mind any holidays in the destinations you are considering, as countries can completely close down for days due to important holidays.

7. Decide If Language And/Or Currency Challenges Are A Deterrent

With some destinations it can be easy to communicate with the locals, while in others finding english speakers can be much more challenging to find. Is this something that excites you, or is it more of an obstacle that you’d rather not tackle? And what about dealing with countries that do not accept the US dollar? Again, is that something that is more of a pain to deal with and you’d rather stay somewhere stateside?

8. Consider The Amount Of Time It Takes To Get To The Destination

If you have three weeks to spend on your honeymoon, then flying to Australia is totally doable. However if you only have a week, then spending 20 hours each way on a plane isn’t the best use of your time.

9. Review The Out Of Pocket Costs

Once you’ve narrowed down a few destination options, you need to review the possible out of pocket costs. For example, food & beverage, local flights, and souvenirs, can all be quite affordable in a destination such as Thailand. However on a remote island like the Maldives you can easily spend hundreds of dollars on a few simple meals. These are factors that will play into your overall budget.

10. Call a Travel Advisor

Each of the tips I mentioned above will lead you to the best step you can take to selecting the perfect honeymoon destination- calling a travel advisor. They will help you weigh all the factors, narrow down your choices and then help you create the ultimate itinerary to make the most of your dream honeymoon vacation.

 

I hope you find these tips to be super helpful! When you’re ready to start planning, I’d love to guide you through the process.

Jessica Upton
www.JUptonTravel.com

 

If you liked this post, you might also like:

The Groom’s Guide to Planning the Perfect Honeymoon