tips & advice
Booking Your Honeymoon
There are many popular Honeymoon Destinations to choose from and every year it can vary depending on current trends and economical situations. Based on my current findings, below is a shortened list of the current top 5 Honeymoon Destinations:
1. Hawaii - Maui
2. Las Vegas
3. Jamaica
4. Mexico - Cancun
5. Caribbean
How do you decide what destination is right for you? A couple must talk amongst each other to open up the mutual likes and dislikes that connect for both. Here, I have painted a colorful picture that will help add the clarity needed for making the decision much easier.
Resorts and destination services throughout the region are finding exciting new ways to cater to all types of honeymooners.
According to the Conde Nast Bridal Media 2006 American Wedding Survey, 40 percent of newlyweds choose the Caribbean for their honeymoon.
Active couples can find excellent snorkeling, diving and boating almost everywhere, and on lush mountainous islands, hiking and mountain biking. Spas are also becoming a given at most luxury resorts. These days it’s become even more likely you will find Honeymooners whizzing down zip lines in the tropical forests of Jamaica and St. Lucia than ever before. Honeymooners with active lifestyles tend to feel right at home in the Cayman Islands while appreciating its coral reefs, whose steep “walls” attract divers from around the world. Grand Cayman has everything from a Ritz-Carlton and a Hyatt to the modest yet Romantic Turtle Nest Inn.
Jamaica actually attracts roughly one third of the Caribbean’s honeymooners. Here you will find Sandals and SuperClubs have been joined by Royal Plantation and others, each notching up the all-inclusive concept to new levels of luxury and specialization. Sandals; with seven properties on Jamaica alone, now offers butler service and swim-in suites to its high tier luxury. Resorts here, offer access to snorkeling, diving, sea kayaking and other water sports, as well as golf and spa treatments readily on tap. Eco-adventurers range from a lazy float down the Rio Grande on a bamboo raft for two to a downhill bike trip through the Blue Mountain Rainforest, while at Reach Falls, couples climb and swim through a series of pools – without the crowds of Dunn’s River Falls.
If you enjoy luxury and seclusion than you will enjoy places like, Peter Island in the British Virgin Islands, and Young Island and Palm Island in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
For a party ambience, look to the larger resorts, particularly on islands such as Jamaica, St. Lucia, Aruba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. These islands also tend to satisfy culture-seekers with fascinating historical sites, art galleries and cultural events. In Aruba, party-hearty couples can flub- and casino-hop along the resorts that line Seven Mile Beach. For those who want to be near but not in the scene, the Golden Tulip Bucuti Beach Resort, which banishes motorboats along its stretch of the beach, is a good alternative.
For some domestic bliss, Hawaii for starters was #1 on the list of the “Top Honeymoon Destinations” for 2007 as ranked by Honeymooner’s Review Guide [HoneymoonersReviewGuide.com] The site touts Hawaii’s dramatic coastlines, volcanoes, green forests, native Hawaiian culture, tropical breezes, white-sand beaches and spectacular resorts as “the magic that brings couples to Hawaii for the best in honeymoon getaways.”
Las Vegas is the most popular U.S. destination for weddings. For fun-loving couples there are ample reasons to stay in town for their honeymoon as well. New hotel choices include the new Signature at MGM Grand – with private balconies that command stunning views of the Strip and mountains – and the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, where couples can enjoy gaming, fine dining, pampering at the spa by Mandara and shopping at the 170 Miracle Mile of Shops retail outlets – all without ever having to step outside.
For serene beauty and exotic adventure seekers, some may want to feel like they have ventured beyond the ordinary. The Pacific-Asia realm is the place in this case. In the South Pacific, privacy might mean a picnic on a private islet accessible only by boat, a helicopter trip into untrammeled wilderness for heli-skiing, or a night in a luxury tree house villa, deep in the rainforest.
Fiji, made up of more than 300 islands, has only one third of its land become inhabited. Spectacular reefs make for thrilling snorkeling and scuba diving throughout most of the Fijian islands. Sea kayaking, deep sea fishing and sailing are available at most resorts; some also offer golf and horseback riding.
It is said that if you could choose one of the most romantic places on earth to escape to for the “special” wedding or secluded honeymoon, then you would surely choose the Cook Islands. With a range of resorts and villa style accommodation the Cook Islands will suit every honeymoon budget. From 5 star luxury resorts of villas and beach bungalows, to 3 start resort hotels located on stunning lagoons, this could be your ultimate honeymoon getaway.
Stretching the dollar for your honeymoon might be the most important factor to you. Mexico’s competitive air connections and still-favorable exchange rates help couples get the luxury they want at a price they can afford. In fact, 19 percent of U.S. honeymooners head to Mexico and for more than half of them; cost is a major factor in their decision, according to the Conde Nast Bridal Media 2006 American Wedding Survey.
A tropical escape to Hawaii can be an inexpensive alternative to other beach destinations. Kauai, Hawaii particularly is a good bet considering the number of inexpensive hotels and inns. Bonus: while in Hawaii, the bulk of your expenses will very likely be food as what more do you need than the pristine beaches and a charming town to stroll around? You can also find great deals on airfare to Hawaii by looking on-line and flying off-season.
A honeymoon is really about having time to connect as a newlywed couple, not about tropical beaches. There are plenty of couples that can attest to sharing an amazing time together without ever getting on a plane. Check out bed and breakfasts, inns or luxury hotels in your area (or even just the next town over). Book the best room in the house for a long weekend, and never leave the room! Or spend some time lounging by the pool, taking walks or even seeing a tourist destination in your area that you may never have visited or haven’t been to in some time. With the money you do have for your honeymoon, call in room service or request a couple’s massage in your own room. Use this opportunity to really focus on being a new couple – no passports required.
You may want to ask for parts of your honeymoon as a wedding gift rather than using traditional wedding registries. More often today couples are getting married later and they already have much or all of the house-hold items they need so that leaves the cost of the honeymoon left that couples today often still need help paying for. Just ask your Travel Agent about a Honeymoon Registry option. This is a very personalized and great way to help afford that memorable vacation of a lifetime with the help of your loving friends and family.
Honeymooners spend twice as much money ($5,111) and twice as much time (9.4 days) as the average vacation traveler. Not to mention out of all the travel people do, honeymoons are the most talked about travel out there. This is after all, “the experience of a lifetime”.
So now that we have established that your honeymoon is a “big deal” let’s talk about why you should book with a Travel Agent vs. the On-line Travel Sites out there.
While eighty percent of travelers today are booking travel online and utilizing the World Wide Web for the convenience it was designed for, they are actually sacrificing a bigger importance than they even realize.
The internet lacks strong customer service and can’t compete with the valuable services that a Travel Agent always has and always will provide. With the Internet you are on your own from the beginning stages of planning your vacation to the final stages of your return home when you book online.
Imagine you’re on your honeymoon and a problem occurs. Your flight is cancelled, you have been seriously injured, a hurricane hits, or maybe the booking was incorrectly created by you or the vendor and now you’re stuck feeling like you have to deal with it, so you do. Many issues that take place with travelers today can be resolved with the knowledgeable assistance of a Travel Agent that otherwise would not be possible.
A Travel Agent will stand in your corner and go to bat for you when you experience an issue. This is part of the service you get when working with a Travel Agent. Yes, they help you plan, advise you, answer questions, and steer you in the right direction too. So, let a Travel Agent help with your Honeymoon planning and assure that all the pieces are there and fitting properly. Let’s assure you have the best time together possible with memories that will last a lifetime.
So many people today are learning more about the many wonderful additional services provided by Travel Agents. With the awareness growing quickly, more people are going back to working with Travel Agents and finding that they are enjoying their vacations far more than if they just booked online. GET TRAVELING (www.gettraveling.net) combines the best of both worlds by providing more options, resources, and solutions than anyone else. If you wish to gain more information on this much needed additional service, please contact me by any option listed below for more questions and information.
Jessica Wrobel
Travel Agent / Owner
GET TRAVELING
“More than just affordable travel”
(603)692-4676
info@gettraveling.net
www.gettraveling.net