10 Essential Tips To Start Planning A Honeymoon

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

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Maybe one of you wants to relax on an exotic beach stay while the other wants to scale the highest mountain?

Maybe this is your first together trip ever?

One of the best thing you can do when planning a honeymoon is to sit down and visualise yourself in your happy place. What would be your idea of the perfect trip, the do-before-i-die?

If your ideas as a couple are different, there are wonderful multi-destination options to incorporate both your dreams (if they’re different!) in to one reality.

If you love wildlife and they love beaches, then there is no reason not to do both!

Or maybe you’re a museum lover and they want to go hiking? Maybe you love cities and you love to lie by a pool? Or maybe you love lying by the pool and they want to do water sports the whole time?

You’re a newly married couple and there is no reason you can’t combine your individual passions when planning a honeymoon!

Check out our honeymoon destination ideas where we have an overview of the best honeymoon destinations around the world.

Don’t forget to take our ‘what’s your honeymoon type quiz?‘ for inspiration and ideas. You might just surprise yourselves!

How long should you spend on your honeymoon? Well, as much time as you have! There are no rules.

For some couples, it will be a just a few days and for others a few months, although the average duration is around 7 – 14 nights, depending on where you are in the word.

Work commitments and annual leave may be a factor for you. Budget could be a factor, too.

If you can’t make the financial commitment for a long elaborate honeymoon, a week somewhere special is just as valuable and worthwhile!

If you are planning a honeymoon to lands far away, factor in jetlag and whether it’s worthwhile in the time you have.

A longer journey may not be worth it if there are time constraints on how long you should spend on your honeymoon. You don’t want to be exhausted the whole time!

How long should a honeymoon be? Find out more!

We call a delayed honeymoon a latermoon. There are many reasons, not least financial.

Maybe it’s not an ideal time to visit your dream destination or the travel dates aren’t working because of you’ve taken up too much annual leave with the actual wedding!

Waiting also means getting in that extra trip, a minimoon. Whether it’s in Europe or North America, that means two trips. What’s not to love about that?!

Over the years, The Honeymoon Guide has found that couples never regret waiting a little while, as it gives you a chance to regroup after the wedding and have a second big event to look forward to.

You can really dive into the minute details of planning a honeymoon when you’ve got the wedding planning out of the way!

Tip: We’d still recommend booking your honeymoon before you get married where possible.

You don’t want months to go by and the honeymoon never gets booked. There is a chance, for some couples, the honeymoon may end up being the babymoon – a very different kind of romantic getaway…

Discover why a latermoon is a great option!

You can never predict the weather and when it’s summer in one part of the world, it can be monsoon season, hurricane season, rainy season or even winter in other parts of the world!

So, before you commit to that perfect itinerary in that dream destination on that ideal date, check the best time to visit your chosen destination to ensure the best weather and availability of activities.

Considering the climate conditions in your dream destination, may prevent you from having to deal with an extreme weather event on your trip of a lifetime!

Now that doesn’t mean you have to travel in the peak season when everything seems to come at an extra cost. With careful planning, you could consider shoulder seasons – meaning that transitional time between rainy season and dry season.

These months can be the perfect time to travel with fewer crowds and excellent value.

Look at our month-to-month weather chart for the best honeymoon ideas for your travel period

Airlines release their flight schedules around 10-12 months before departure (and some low-cost airlines can be earlier or later).

If you’re planning a honeymoon that happens during school break, it’s a good idea to book as early as possible as airline fares swing upwards — 10 to 11 months before is a good rule of thumb.

For couples who are more flexible with dates, at least 6 months before is ideal, but the earlier the better. Grab those early bird deals and ensure you’ve no issues with availability.

For many couples, planning a honeymoon itinerary is an opportunity to tick off some of their bucket-list adventures on a big trip.

There can be an urge to cram in as many activities and honeymoon destinations as possible.

However, planning a wedding often means one of the busiest times of your lives, so don’t over plan!

Think about jet lag and post wedding exhaustion. The last thing we want is to start married life frazzled and just wanting to crash and sleep!

Make time to relax and enjoy being with each other. It’s the unplanned times that bring serendipitous adventures and special moments you’ll remember for ever.

Remember, that two nights in a hotel or resort equals one full day of relaxing / sightseeing, three nights equals two full days. Don’t underestimate travel time.

A general rule of thumb is book-ending your honeymoon trip with some quality time to chill — whatever that means to you.

It could be a tranquil beach, a private pool suite, splashing out on that ultra luxury hotel with relaxing spa treatments and a romantic dinner.

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to a honeymoon budget. For one couple, a weekend of unadulterated luxury is a perfect honeymoon. For others, it will be a month of backpacking.

Discover the average cost of a honeymoon with our handy honeymoon calculator!

If you’re unsure what figure to put in your wedding planner/spreadsheet, get researching well in advance and once you have some cost guidelines, you can work towards saving for your trip of a lifetime.

When you’re planning a honeymoon, you may wonder how much is a honeymoon? You can contact your local travel agent who we’re sure would be happy to have your business and be able to give you an estimate.

You could also do a flight search on Google Flights, have a browse for hotels on Booking.com (we’ve lots of hotel inspiration on The Honeymoon Guide!), search for car hire on Rental Cars and book tours and transfers on Get Your Guide.

Wherever you decide to go and whatever you decide to do when you’re a planning a honeymoon, make sure it’s affordable for you!

We love to save and splurge. For example, if you’re staying in a city, you won’t spend much time in the room, so a 3-4 star hotel might be fine.

You can splash out and go 5-star on your beach resort. Or, you really want to experience your water slide villa in the Maldives or stunning cave pool suite in Santorini, but thinking it’s out of reach?

Then consider splitting the stay. Stay in the standard room category for a few days and then upgrade for the last few days (always save the best hotel for last so you won’t be disappointed!).

Want more bang for your buck? Then consider a more affordable honeymoon destination.

Don’t forget to think about ‘hidden costs’ such as airline bag and seat charges, resort fees or local taxes, transport, vaccinations, and travel insurance — as of these can all add up.

Many couples opt for a honeymoon registry. Instead of your loved ones buying you unnecessary home gifts, guests can contribute a little bit to your honeymoon fund.

Another great option for planning honeymoon is utilising airline and hotel reward schemes and credit card rewards.

There are different ways for travel hacking but one great way is to look for credit cards with travel rewards.

Pay for all your wedding expenses with the credit card (but pay the balance off immediately!) and voila you’ve gained travel rewards you can use. You can check for the best deals on hotel rooms and flights on these reward schemes.

We’d only recommend this if you have ample time between your wedding and honeymoon.

Remember, if your dream honeymoon destination is out of reach, there will be anniversary trips, too! You could even banish your post wedding & honeymoon blues by planning your first anniversary trip!

Discover our tips for planning a honeymoon on a tighter budget!

But we highly recommend speaking to a personal travel expert as they can match you with the perfect once in a lifetime trip. Great travel agents know all about epic honeymoons and they can give expert advice.

A great honeymoon specialist will spend some time getting to know you, the important things you want and need, find you the best value for money and tailor-make the honeymoon of your dreams.

Travel agents who know everything about planning a honeymoon are worth their weight in gold and can give you all the insider advice.

Not only will they help you decide on the best honeymoon destinations and help you make the right choice, they’ll take care of all the minute details of your travel plans like getting your travel documents together. All you need to do is create your packing list!

Travel is fraught with unknowns and whether it’s a flight schedule change/cancellation to something even more serious (like a pandemic!) a licensed and bonded Travel Agent will take care of the details.

In many countries, you have a high level of consumer protection, too.

For example, in the European Union and United Kingdom, booking through a travel agent means you are financially protected and have someone to help you if things go awry.

Discover the pros and cons of using a travel agent!

In some destinations, there might even be small discounts, so when you’re planning a honeymoon, don’t hesitate to let your service providers know it’s your honeymoon!

Shout it from the rooftops (figuratively speaking!) to maximise the chances of receiving extra surprises and personalised touches that will make your honeymoon even more memorable and magical.

Enjoy the perks designed specifically for honeymooners around the world.

Don’t think that planning a honeymoon to hotspots like the Maldives or Santorini are for you, balk at the idea of all inclusive resorts or a tropical destination?

But love the idea of driving through New Zealand, trekking through Bhutan or seeing the Northern Lights in Iceland?

You don’t have to go to the most popular honeymoon destinations! There are different ways to honeymoon. You do you, honeys!