by Uppereast.com Staff
“The best part of the wedding is the honeymoon,” said just-married Kay. “I’m not one of those fussy brides who cared to pick napkin ring holders or deal with vendors. All my fiancé and I wanted was a nice long romantic trip with just the two of us. The rest, well that was for everyone else.” For many brides-to-be the honeymoon is the best part and for all brides, it is an exciting aspect of getting married. Until space travel is available to us mortals, the world is your travel oyster. Fiji, Italy, Greece, the Caribbean – these are just some of the popular options for honeymooners today.
“First thing you need to do before spinning the globe and pointing your finger,” said travel agent Anne Morrow, “Is decide how long you can go for and how much money you can spend.” These two crucial details will help make planning easier. The typical honeymoon is usually about 10 days, though some have been known to stretch it out for a few months and others have taken short jaunts like a long weekend. The choices are for the bride and her fiancé to make together. Experts suggest discussing how you want to spend your post nuptial days. Do you see yourself trekking mountains in South East Asia or would you prefer to sip Mai Tais poolside? Compromise is key because the last thing you want to do on your honeymoon is resent your partner. If he wants adventure and you want tranquility, select a location that can offer both. Most destinations allow for doing nothing or tackling the world. You can book facials and spa treatments while he excavates Mayan ruins.
Once you have done some research together online, let an expert help book your trip. The Upper East Side has many travel agencies including branches of the well-known and industry-wide respected, Liberty Travel. While you may use Expedia or Hotels.com to book a weekend adventure in Boston, it is best left to experts with resources, knowledge and connections to help make your honeymoon flawless. Travel agents have access to more information than web surfers, plus they are able to get upgrades, assist with transfers and maybe snag you a better rate than DIY sites. “Our travel agent was an invaluable resource when we were planning our honeymoon,” said Alissa. “We were going to France to an area we had never been. We knew which hotels looked good online, but our travel agent was able to help us map out the logistics of our trip. She gave us great ideas and helped us book side excursions in each city we visited.”
At Liberty Travel there are guides to almost every region of the world, in fact you would be hard pressed to find a wall that did not have brochures covering it. Each individual brochure is filled with hotels designated by star ratings, descriptions of that region as well as pages of side trips and activities. If you are planning to travel to an exotic location such as The Maldives, you may want to investigate tour options for part of your honeymoon. Tours provide you with some expert guidance along the way as well as structure. Some enjoy seeing the world at their own pace and with their own style. But travel agents can still help these adventurous free spirits with practicality and advice.
The Details
Paper Trail: Make sure that you know what type of documents you need for a specific country. Some countries such as Brazil require you to travel with a visa and not just a passport. The new passport laws which went into effect in January 2007 require you to have a valid passport to travel to Canada or Mexico. Many countries that once required only a birth certificate and a driver’s licenses now mandate passports for entry. Also, be sure to check out the State Department’s warning and advisories on certain regions of the world. While you may not hear of dangers on the nightly news, many countries have internal instability making it less safe for American travelers. Nothing ruins a good honeymoon like a coup.
Calculate the Total: It’s easy to forget the extras when you are trying to establish a budget for your honeymoon. “A budget isn’t just airfare and hotel accommodations,” warned Alissa. Expenses like dining, side excursions, souvenirs, car rental, cab/transfers to and from airports – these expenses add up very quickly. In countries where the dollar is weak (which is most of Western Europe) meals become quite costly even without fine dining. “In London even Planet Hollywood was an expensive meal,” warned Tanya recently back from her European honeymoon. But in countries where their currency is deflated such as Argentina, travelers can do extravagant things for pennies on the dollar. “Buenos Aires was amazing,” sighed Rachel R who recently returned from a South American honeymoon. “Since their economy is depressed our dollar went much further. We snagged some great bargains on Calle Florida.”
Sea, Sun, Snow, Sand or City: The time of year when you get married dictates your honeymoon options. You can’t ski in Aspen in June, but you can ski in Chile in June. Before you book a honeymoon make sure that you know the weather in that locale for when you plan to vacation there. “We decided to go to Thailand for our honeymoon,” said Melissa, a bride-to-be in the height of wedding planning. “And when we started to look at the weather we realized that it was monsoon season. So we decided to take a short vacation domestically following our wedding and save Thailand for a belated honeymoon trip 3 months later.”
What kind of traveler are you? ... UpperEast.com makes some suggestions based on your personality.
Cosmopolitan Woman: You like your martinis at sleek hotel lounges like the Peninsula Hotel. Spend your days window gazing on Madison Avenue? Perhaps an Italian excursion is right for you. Check out options like Venice and Rome. If you want to add some scenic country aspects into your vacation, ask your travel agent about the hillsides in Tuscany or Cinque Terra. Two words: Prada Outlet.
Sun Queen: Do you find yourself hitting Hollywood Tans during the winter months and frequenting the big lawn in Central Park to catch some rays come summer? If your favorite way to unwind includes cold drinks, hot sun and breezy beach nights then you should check out tropical locales such as Nevis (Caribbean), Tahiti (South Pacific), Hawaii and Costa Rica (South America). All of these locations cater to honeymooning couples offering romance-filled packages.
Adrenaline Junky: So you think the guy who scaled the Empire State Building is a hero. You love the rock wall at Sports Club LA and you get excited just thinking about communing with nature (even if in New York City nature is limited to the Central Park Zoo). Consider an African Safari. Many safaris offer 5 star accommodations. Think camping tents more like a Ritz Carlton. Look into skiing in luxury locales such as Aspen, Chile or Switzerland. Try a canopy tour of the rainforest in Mexico or Brazil. These action-packed honeymoon options will keep you active and invigorated.
Live by the Bottle: You have tried every wine bar in the city. You sneak a glass of wine during long work-day lunches in the summer. You know the difference between pinot noir and film noir. A trip to California’s wine country can be both romantic and informative. Come back and wow your friends as an oenophile. A painless cross country flights transports you to romantic vineyards and relaxing spas. Sonoma and Napa both offer honeymooners a domestic escape that are enjoyable any time of year.
Bonjour Wedded Bliss: Francophile? Who knows love better than the French. If you love old French movie posters, a fabulous meal at Orsay and an amazing bottle of Chateau Rothschild then France is where you should be shouting your love for one another from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Start with a romantic weekend in Paris, and then commence your own Tour de France in Bordeaux followed by Nice and perhaps some James Bond style evenings in Cannes or Monte Carlo for a capper.
“My honeymoon! That was the last time my husband and I enjoyed unadulterated sheer bliss. It was just me and him and the bottles of wine at outdoor cafes on the Left Bank. I don’t know when I will ever have that again,” said Tara, now a busy yet proud mother of a 2 year old. A honeymoon is the punctuation at the end of the wedding process. The months of planning, of bridal showers, bachlorette parties – through the big night in your fluffy white dress, it all goes by so quickly. No matter where in the world it is that you travel, your honeymoon is sure to be one of the most memorable vacations you will ever take. “People fussed all over us on our honeymoon. Everyone asked about our wedding, about how we met – it was all about us. We were the special stars on that trip – free champagne, room upgrades and even a serenade by a street performer,” Tara sighed. “At least we have pictures. We will always have Paris to remember!”
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