Honeymoons

If you don’t want to have to settle for second best at the last minute, start planning your honeymoon now!   Many couples, understandably, when they decide to get married, put priority on booking the wedding venue and then sorting out who to invite, booking cars, catering, hairdressers and florists … there is so much to do for that big day.  Yes, the honeymoon may seem a distant reality, but if you leave things too late you might end up booking a package tour to the med as that could be all you think you can afford or you don’t have time to start ringing round hundreds of tour operators or trip into town to go to the high street travel agents. There might be nothing wrong with your package tour, but you may get there to find that instead of the luxury private villa you thought you had booked, you are surrounded by screaming kids in a concrete high rise!

Shopping on the internet, whilst increasingly popular, can be unreliable and in this current economic climate do you want to leave your honeymoon in the lap of the gods or would you rather speak to a friendly person you can trust to organise it all for you!  If you book flights, hotels, transfers and activities from different companies, apart from the stress levels involved in doing all the research and sending your hard earned money all over the place, you may find your honeymoon is at risk, should an airline or tour operator go bust.

As a Personal Travel Advisor, I have been booking honeymoons for years and know what most people want of their once in a lifetime trip.  While most couples do opt for tropical beach destinations, some prefer more adventure or want to combine activities with a bit of beach downtime.  Why not take the opportunity to incorporate into your honeymoon one of your “must do” travels in your life? As an African Safari specialist, I can arrange the perfect Safari Honeymoon for you and lots of safari camps have honeymoon offers. If you are looking for a unique honeymoon to do something completely different, I can sort that for you!

If you’ve always wanted to go to the Grand Canyon, drive across Australia, see the mountain gorillas, dive in the Caribbean or see penguins in Antarctica, why leave it for ‘later in life’ – do it for your honeymoon!  So think about what you really want, don’t think about the costs for now, it might be more affordable than you think. Drop me a line and let me spend the time trawling through the world of tour operators to piece together a tailor made honeymoon to meet your needs. It doesn’t have to be long haul – try Europe for cosy romantic cottages or private villas overlooking fishing bays, food and wine holidays or even the British Isles if you don’t want to fly anywhere, Scotland and Ireland have some gorgeous small country house hotels and everything from lighthouses to boathouses! Unusual and specialist destination honeymoons are out there waiting to be booked.

If you want a really white wedding or honeymoon and are planning a winter wedding, take a look at some of the destinations in Scandinavia – romantic Lapland with sleigh rides through the forests, reindeer and igloos provide a stunning backdrop for a winter honeymoon.  Take a look at the options for Ice hotels!

Some popular honeymoon destinations you may be interested in include Mauritius, Maldives, Bahamas, Thailand, Seychelles and Kenya, just to suggest a few! If you have more than a couple of weeks head down under – fabulous honeymoons can be had in Australasia.  Visit Ayers Rock, drive through the deserts or up the Pacific Highway, snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef or stay in the rainforest!  In New Zealand there is a world of adventure to be had, whether it’s walking, hiking on a glacier, yachting or just enjoying the wine and hospitality! Add on the Pacific Islands for some iconic Robinson Crusoe honeymoon islands such as Fiji, Cook Islands or Samoa.

There are usually some great honeymoon deals with Emirates and other luxury long haul carriers ask me for details to use these for your honeymoon. For a Mediterranean honeymoon there are some fabulous luxury hotels on Cyprus and some great spas. Turkey offers some lovely boutique hotels, particularly on the Turquoise Coast with fascinating culture and history – stay in a ‘cave’ hotel in Cappadocia! Greece is always a favourite – visit the film locations of Mama Mia or Captain Corelli’s Mandolin! Gorgeous traditional cottages and villas in quiet locations with breathtaking views.

Honeymoon gift vouchers are available and these are really popular.  Many couples already live together when they get married so your wedding guests are usually at a loss as to what to buy as a wedding gift.  Contributing money towards your honeymoon will really help you have the honeymoon of your dreams too.  The difference in price between that bargain break to Greece that you would have compromised on and booked and your perfect destination of the Indian Ocean may not be than out of reach after all!  I’ve known of honeymoon couples who have raised about £2000 towards their travels!  And the more wedding guests you have … the more honey money in the pot!

Hen and Stag weekends are also part of the planning process and European city breaks are really popular.  Ask me to book your travel for you – flights, ferries or Eurostar, however you want to get there and what about a spa hotel for the girls or a grand prix weekend for the boys?  Just a couple of suggestions!  Prague, Barcelona and Amsterdam are all great destinations for your celebration weekend.

So what are you waiting for?  Once you’ve set the date, give me a call or drop me an email and I’ll arrange to meet with you and start planning the dream ….. before you know it you’ll be in that tropical hammock with a large cocktail in hand wondering what all the fuss was about!