Where's the Best Place to go on Your Honeymoon?

It’s the question that many couples enjoy figuring out between the engagement and the wedding.

As of late, I’ve been trying to figure out the answer too. You see, I’m in the middle of finalizing where Crystal and I will go for our honeymoon. And while I was narrowing down the list of contenders for us, I figured out the answer to the question, "where’s the best place to go on your honeymoon?"

The short answer: it depends.

A brief history of honeymoons

Newlyweds have been going on little getaways immediately after they tie the knot for hundreds of years. But it wasn’t until the late-1800s when honeymoons started to resemble what they are today. Since the early 2000s, there has been a new trend to the honeymoon. A mini moon, which is where the couple goes on a shorter trip (typically closer to where they live) immediately after the wedding, but before going on a longer trip a little later. This trend is said to have become more popular because of the busy schedules and/or the lack of vacation time that many couples have.
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Where, then, should you go on a honeymoon?

What location is right for you?

For some, it’s a beach vacation, for others, it’s a tour around Europe. Or maybe it's a combination of the two. First and foremost, you have to figure out what you and your significant other want out of  your honeymoon!

If the two of you want a nice relaxing getaway with plenty of alone time, then an all-inclusive resort on a beach should probably be high on the list.

If, however, the two of you are into adventure and want to see the sights of the world, then a honeymoon that starts in, say, Paris and takes you around Europe would be right for you.

And on the other hand, if you want a little of both, a place like Costa Rica, Playa del Carmen, or Hawaii may be the perfect place to relax on a beach one day and explore the surrounding area the next.

During my planning of my honeymoon, at first I wanted to go to Italy to see the cities, eat their food, and drink their wine. But as I thought about it more, and talked with Crystal about it, I realized that what we really needed to do for our honeymoon is a relaxing beach honeymoon at an all-inclusive resort. So we’re putting off Italy, at least, for now.

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Consider the cost

This is a big one. A wedding is expensive. As of 2016, the average cost of a wedding will set you back just over $35,000.  And I’m not even talking about the honeymoon that you’ll be taking afterwards!

One of the places on my bucket list is Bora Bora. I’d love to spend a week there, staying in an over-the-water bungalow, with not a care in the world. But once you add up the cost of getting there, and the stay, we’re talking about $11,000 for two. You can shave most of that off with travel hacking, but it would be difficult to make it all go away (you’d need a lot of points/free nights).

So we’ll be staying at an all-inclusive resort that won’t cost quite as much. And we’ll be able to shave most all of that off with points!

Touring Europe for two weeks will set you back roughly $5,000-$6,000 total (not including any travel hacking you do, of course).


Alternatives

The one thing in common with all of the above options, is that they are all expensive. As much as you may want to get away right after your wedding, some may not be able to afford it, some may not be interested in paying that much for a honeymoon, and some may not have the time.

The mini moon

That's where something like the mini moon comes in! It's a relatively new concept compared to the honeymoon, and in a way, it is a honeymoon, just not nearly as far away as the traditional honeymoon is.  

There are several reasons why newlyweds may choose to do this!

If the two of you are saving up for a longer, more expensive honeymoon later, but still want to go on a little getaway immediately after your wedding, this is perfect. In fact, this is exactly what Crystal and I are doing. We’re headed down to the Hill Country part of Texas after our wedding for a few days to relax. We’ll then go on our “real” honeymoon in early 2019.

There are plenty of great places in The States to go on a mini moon. I’ll throw a couple out there for you: Hilton Head, Southwest Florida, Tampa, Key West, New Orleans, the Black Hills of South Dakota, Napa Valley, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Nashville. That doesn’t even include the other slightly more offbeat places to stay (*cough* like the Airbnb my siblings and I run in Michigan) that are great for honeymoons/mini moons.

And there’s certainly no hard and fast rule that you must go on a full-fledged honeymoon after you go on a mini moon. If a mini moon is enough for you, that’s perfectly acceptable.

Putting the honeymoon temporarily off altogether

This is another option at your disposal. By no means do you have to follow tradition and go right after your wedding. Nor do you have to think you need to do a mini moon. Plenty of people go on their honeymoon many months (sometimes even a year or longer) after they get married. Why? Because that works for them.


Bottom line

When it comes to where you go, when you go, and for how long, it really comes down to one thing: you and your significant other (okay two things). If it works for you, that’s what  you do. There is no one answer to the question, “where’s the best place to go on your honeymoon?”

There are plenty of great places to visit in this world, whether it involves a beach, a bungalow, Italian wine, or not. This world is a great big wonderful sphere to explore - near or far. And all I know is I want to see more of it regardless of what I’m calling my next vacation.

To help you get started on your honeymoon or next vacation don’t hesitate to sign up for my travel library, where you’ll learn many things about travel, including how to keep it cheap. In addition (!!), you’ll be able to read one full chapter of my book, Cracking the Code to Travel Hacking. All you have to do is sign up below.