Dream Honeymoons On a Budget

Choosing a honeymoon destination can often be cause for concern. Some couples are fortunate enough to receive a honeymoon trip as their wedding present; others can flat out pay for their dream honeymoon. However, the reality is that many brides cannot afford to splurge too much on the honeymoon—especially during an economic downturn. The good news is that there are tons of options for the couple on a budget to have a fulfilling and romantic honeymoon. Here we provide tips to help you on your way to romantic bliss…

1. The first tip is to make the honeymoon a part of your wedding budget. This way it doesn’t seem like an addendum to the wedding, but rather a part of the celebration.

2. Have you ever wanted to take a cross country road trip stopping at all of the landmarks that our great country is known for? Well here is your chance! You can take a trip seeing everything this country has to offer from Lady Liberty to the Grand Canyon. Did we mention the 48 National Parks in the U.S.? This is a great option for the nature lovers out there. Check them out at www.nps.gov. If nature is not your thing, there are still many wonderful honeymoon locations stateside. Have your travel agent come with a few ideas.

3. Would you like to avoid receiving 20 toaster ovens? Register for your honeymoon! While it is a HUGE wedding faux pas to include any type of registry in your invitation, you can spread the word through your family, friends, and bridal party. There are all sorts of online options for this like honeymoonwishes.com or the honeymoon.com. Beware that these sites have to make their money some kind of way so they take a percentage of the donations you receive.

4. If you absolutely must go out of the country sign up for airfare alerts from various travel engines like Priceline or Hotwire. These sites will send you an email or text message when airfares are within your price range or if they drop in general. Also, to save on airfare, you could ask around to see if family or friends would like to “donate” some of their frequent flier miles. Check to make sure that particular airline will allow for such transfers.

5. If you are a timeshare owner or know someone who is, ask if they would like to let you use it as a gift or even at a discounted rate. Chances are you won’t be paying them as much as you would if you got a hotel on your own. If you are a timeshare owner, see what they have to offer. With Wyndham, for instance, you can deposit your points with RCI and pay just a $199 exchange fee for a week anywhere outside of the U.S.

6. A young couple just returned from their honeymoon in St. Maarten. The bride noted that simply because they mentioned that they were on their honeymoon other vacationers showered them with dinners and shows. If you mention that you are honeymooning service providers will often go the extra mile at no charge to you. Depending on the hotel you can receive anything from an upgraded room to a bottle of champagne and strawberries. What could it hurt to mention it? You’ll want to shout it to the world anyway!

Happy honeymoon hunting!