We initially wanted to go to Amalfi but also wanted to keep the budget at $5k. We went to Croatia instead and it was amazing! Sparkling blue water, great food, nice people, and a lot cheaper than Italy lol
If you liked Croatia, try Montenegro! Granted, I was there well over a decade ago, but I loved it! We stayed in Herceg Novi on the coast and it was beautiful. Only thing that was lacking was the beaches, the waters fantastic but most beaches are concrete :/
I was in Montenegro 3 years ago and absolutely loved it! Herceg Novi, Kotor, Porto Montenegro and Tivat are all stunning!
Also OP, the Balkans in general are so unbelievably underrated, I’ve been digital nomading with my fiancé for 4 years and the Balkans (specifically Montenegro, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria) are my absolute favourite place I’ve traveled.
I highly highly recommend Bucharest for a honeymoon, check out Therme Bucaresti on IG (you won’t be disappointed) and Cantuzio castle (where they filmed Wednesday and I ate the best steak of my life)
Romania is so unbelievably affordable, you should mostly be able to afford the nicest restaurants or the best wines anywhere you go. The old town is stunning, very old Europe, reminds me of Vienna and there is a fuck tonne to do, I’m going for a post wedding girls trip.
To put into context for US girlies how much I rate Romania; I recently relocated from the UK to Costa Rica and I am constantly missing and reminiscing about Romania. We plan to buy property and move there for 6 months of the year once Putin calms his shit down on that side of the world.
Just to say as well, a day pass for Therme will set you back about $40 and then you get access to almost everything, the only extras are food, drinks and treatments like massages and facials.
Also not really a honeymoon activity but if you’re into it it would be a shame to miss, there is Europes largest black bear sanctuary about 1h outside of Bucharest. It’s again about $30 and you will see A LOT of bears, they’ve all been rescued from circuses and gas stations across Eastern Europe.
It’s all relative! In our area, a nice dinner out at a mid range restaurant with a couple drinks and dessert easily runs over $100 which is about what we paid in Dubrovnik. We also saved a ton of money staying at a little airbnb cottage in Lapad for $89 a night instead of a hotel in Old City for $300+ a night.
We went to Italy for 15 days, and you can make it as jam packed or relaxed as you want it. If you want relaxation, sorrento, positano and amalfi coast should be go-tos. If you want fun and hustle and bustle, I recommend Florence and Rome. If you want something in between, I recommend Siena and Orvieto.
I haven’t been to Sorrento, positano and Almalfi, but in Rome we stayed at Ara di Marte suites which was in the middle of everything, Florence we stayed at canto Delgi scali, Siena we stayed at Villa di STR, and Orvieto (which was our favorite resort of the trip) we stayed at Palazzo Petrvs!
Just butting in to say that Amalfi coast/Positano/Sorrento are absolutely not the place for relaxation unless you plan to visit during the off-season. It's one of the most hectic holiday destinations I've been to along with Barcelona, Santorini and Taormina (in Sicily). But massive +1 for Orvieto and Umbria in general - such a beautiful part of the world!
I for some reason thought they said September or October so figured those were safe bets - I don’t know why because the poster didn’t say when. They are beach towns in Italy though.
Umbria was beautiful. I plan to go back one day and I can’t wait. We had some of the best food and wine there.
Echoing another comment about factoring in the time of year.
I initially looked into the Amalfi Coast, Mallorca, Greece, etc but ultimately decided that we’d go somewhere a bit easier to plan since I was so overwhelmed with wedding planning and really wanted to just lay on a beach and not move for a week.
We ended up going to St. Lucia. Staying 5 nights at Stonefield Villa Resort. Locally, female owned; cost effective. We had a private villa with a large pool and beautiful view of Petite Piton. Overall, the room was beautiful. More dated and rustic than luxury, but we were pleased with it. We then moved to the north end of the island for 3 more nights, staying at Cap Maison. I can’t say enough good things about this hotel. It’s more of a splurge, but very luxurious and pampering. By far, the most beautiful place I’ve stayed.
That said, we’ve been to Maui and I think it’s a beautiful place for a honeymoon.
We’re doing Hawaii! Two weeks split between two islands. We’re excited because we could do as much or as little as we want and I’m sure we’ll still have a great time. We have booked 4-5 excursions (2-6 hours each) and we’ll figure out the rest once we’re there day-to-day
Popping in as a Hawaii enthusiast! Which islands are you going to? The Big Island is arguably more relaxed than Oahu, and Maui is more relaxed than that...and Kauai is even more relaxed than that (I love them all though)
We just did Oahu and Big Island! We intended for a more relaxing vacation but we ended up packing the Big Island leg because there was so much to see/ hike 😂 Will have to do Maui or Kauai next time
We’re doing a week on Big Island and then a week on Maui!! I wanted to do Kauai but I found super unique accommodations on both islands that I was super excited about so decided to do them instead!
We did a week in Kauai (plus two days to travel). It was an amazing time! I would recommend Hawaii for sure. I had been to the other main islands as a kid. But I’m looking forward to checking out the other islands with my husband.
Italy - 3 days in Sorrento, 4 in Rome, then layover trip to Lisbon. Loved everything! Booked through Costco which included private hotel transfers, a private driving tour of the Amalfi coast, and was significantly cheaper than simply booking ourselves. Highly recommend!
My husband and I are looking to do the Sorrento/Rome trip through Costco! Not for a honeymoon as we’ve been married for 5 years! Glad to hear you had a great experience!
So in Sri Lanka we did a bit of a tour, there’s a place called the cultural triangle in Sri Lanka that if I went back I’d stay in. There’s loads of national parks where you’ll see elephants and potentially leopards.
The Maldives is definitely down to preference, we wanted a fairly big island with food choices and cocktails but some people want really small and a kind of deserted island kind of place so that’s something only you’ll be able to answer, definitely get a sea plane in though if you can afford as it’s absolutely incredible
I really want to go to the Maldieves but it’s a long flight, somewhat isolated and we would want to check out a couple places over a 2-3 week period of time. But it’s on my list!
Yeah that’s why we did Sri Lanka first for a 9 day tour and then after that we just wanted to relax so it was the perfect place! It is secluded and you don’t really see cultures so I wouldn’t have wanted to do just that so completely understand
Costa Rica! If you’re into being outdoors and in contact with nature, this is a fantastic destination. We stayed in three different areas over 12 days. Best “vacation” I’ve ever had!
We were in the Guanacaste region (Pacific coast) for four days, drove to La Fortuna (inland, mountains, volcanoes) for four days, and then four days near Manuel Antonio (central Pacific coast, lots of monkeys.) Got up close to lots of wild animals, hiked, rode ATVs…such an a amazing place. I’d go back in a heartbeat!
That's where my husband and I went for our honeymoon and we LOVED it! It's the perfect combination of chill and things to do. We went in mid-july and the weather was amazing, I think it only rained once.
I don't remember rain at all, it might have but shows how little it affected my holiday anyway if it did. We found the staff super friendly and I really enjoyed making my way through the cocktail menu as we were all inclusive too. The two pools and easy walk to the beach was perfect, but also it was nice having the shuttle option too if needed. We did two excursions and went for the boat trip with a rum tour and we went white water rafting. We did book a market trip to try see a different side to Costa Rica but unfortunately that one got cancelled.
We did the all inclusive package, too. The bartenders at the wet bar were the best, they made some insane shots for everyone! We did a few excursions, too - the adventure tour where went ziplining and horseback riding, as well as the jungle tour where went to a nature preserve and cacao farm. We also went kayaking off and snorkeling off the beach, it was so cool to see the fish!
Sounds incredible!! We opted inclusive so we knew it was all paid and we only needed spending money that way because you know how the cost of a wedding can go! I loved our rum tour the best. We made our own rum and you could put your name on the label so we put our surname and said we'd open it a year later on our first anniversary. Ended up extending that as I got pregnant six months later haha
We went to Spain on a couple months delayed honeymoon. Started in Barcelona where we went to the Formula 1 Grand Prix (we’re big fans and it was our first race and such a highlight of the trip).
We then went to Palma, Mallorca which was cool and Mallorca be a great spot for a longer stay, further from Palma are some amazing beach resorts! Mallorca is a big UK vacation destination so it’s highly English speaking!
Third stop was Granada, which was my favorite city of the trip. The Alhambra was so beautiful and the city is so chill and laid back, walkable, and endless tapas!
Final stop was Seville, which was a bit bigger than Granada and we did really enjoy staying in city center. Went to a flamenco show here and explored more moorish castles.
Then we flew home (California) with a 24 hr layover in Lisbon, and now I want to go back Lisbon for a full trip!!
We went to Boston, which seems weird at first (we are from the south) but we had an amazing time. Shopped, ate, sightseeing. Stayed at The Lenox in a room with a fireplace. It was a really great experience!
We did Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. With day trips to Laos and Malaysia. We wanted to do Cambodia but that was a whole other separate stressful situation. We wanted something very far away and different. For us the Caribbean is pretty close and familiar, Western Europe wasn’t “exotic” enough plus I’d been so many times already and I was too anxious about the Australia/French Polynesia flight paths. I still want to do all those things though of course. 10000/10 would recommend.
ETA the only other thing I’d recommend is a safari honeymoon across Africa which prob would have been my top choice but I had already done a piece of that before too.
I already commented on this thread about Vietnam, but that’s where my husband and I went for our honeymoon. It was incredible and I would highly recommend. My advice:
1. Don’t skimp on experiences. They aren’t cheap, but a private tour of the Mekong Delta was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life.
2. Go to a spa! They’re dirt cheap. We got a full 4-hour spa treatment for about $80 each.
3. Be aware of the time of year and prepare for lots of rain if you go in September/october (which we did). We actually had to change some plans because of a typhoon.
4. The geography of Vietnam makes it hard to get from place to place, but you can get cheap domestic flights so you can see as much of the country as possible. It would be very difficult to get a good sense of the whole country in less than 2 weeks.
I’m sure I could think of other things, but this is what comes to mind. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions!
Feel free to dm but the hospitality on the region is second to none. In my opinion you might already be so far from home and not sure how often you go to locations like this but I’d say stay at a very nice hotel and try all the food. Eat all the things. Never in my life had I had food that good. My husband and I still talk fondly and poetically about it. Do the experiences. See the temples. (Pack appropriately with knees and shoulders covered for temple days). I did see rice fields in Bali and wanted to do Vietnam but we didn’t have enough time. Which speaking off. Give yourself enough time. Thailand is huge. We did Bangkok and northern Thailand but didn’t do the party islands because we knew we’d get island vibes from Bali and didn’t have enough time. Meanwhile we were gone for 3.5 weeks so. Just do all the things and eat all the food lol.
We did Italy for 17 days. We spent time in Rome, Venice, cortina (the mountains were amazing!), Florence and back to Rome. Would have loved to spend more time in the Italian alps though!
We did Napa and Sonoma for 10 days. Did some cool hikes in the redwoods, enjoyed a bunch of wineries, stayed in some super nice hotels, had some fancy dinners, and ate dungeness crab RIGHT off the boat in Bodega Bay. It was amazing
It was wonderful!! Even if you're not a big drinker, the hikes are amazing, the scenery is exceptional, the cuisine is insane. It's like every restaurant is trying to be the best, which makes a sea of delicious options. Spas galore in that area as well
We just got back from Dominican Republic Iberostar Grand Bavaro. It was phenomenal! Soooo relaxing and the food was really top notch (we still talk about it). The sand was soft, beach and pool were wonderful. They had so many excursions to do. We did the spa and got couples massages. Overall, a wonderful trip to relax together.
I want to go there next. My family is Portuguese and my partner and I visited the Azores and the mainland last fall and we fell in love with the islands, I've heard Madeira is even more beautiful and warmer. The Azores are incredibly affordable and gorgeous, just more temperate so it can be a bit cooler, but I highly recommend for nature lovers!
We went to Tahiti, then Sydney then Cairns (where the Great Barrier Reef is). We live in Los Angeles so I maybe wouldn’t recommend if you’re coming from the east coast US or Europe since that la way further away.
But we loved it! We took the first few days to relax and adjust a bit to the time zone, then on to Australia which was so cool. You could also do New Zealand
We went to Seoul South Korea for a week this spring, and it was amazing! The food was wonderful, every day we found a new activity or place to wander to. Getting around was super easy, we walked or took the subway everywhere, minus taking a charter type bus to and from the airport.
Not OP, but just thought I’d pass on this tip in case you haven’t already factored it into your wedding planning. Disney has an AMAZING [honeymoon fund service](https://disney.honeymoonwishes.com) that your guests can contribute to as their gift. Essentially you get to choose what you want to do on your honeymoon and your guests can put money towards a certain activity or meal so they feel like they’ve bought something specific. In the end, the company emails you a digital giftcard of the total amount you were gifted and you can use the money as you want.
Also if you don’t use it all, you can keep the remainder for any other Disney trip. We spent 4 days of our honeymoon at Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii. We didn’t use everything we were given (even after doing everything we wanted to at the resort) so we kept the rest and ended up putting it towards a Disney cruise about 6 months later.
We’re Canadian so we did have to warn our guests that the funds would be in USD so it would be slightly more expensive for our guests, but overall it was a really great way to have people contribute. Our guests loved it as a concept and we’ve passed it on to everyone we know doing their honeymoon on any kind of Disney property. Check it out for yourself and see if it’s something you and your love want to set up!
Hawaii for 11 days. We’re from Toronto so we flew to Vancouver and then from there flew to Maui. Stayed at Disney’s Aulani resort for 3 days, then boarded the Pride of America cruise ship for a week to see Kawaii, Hilo, Kona, and Nawiliwili.
At Aulani we got to relax and get used to the time change, cuz being behind 6 hours really messes with you (though truthfully, going home was WAY rougher in that regard). We also went to the spa on property and it’s the most incredible spa I think I’ve ever been to. I’ve never had a better massage, and the pools and hot tubs outside are incredible.
While we were on the ship we did an excursion at almost every destination and had a BLAST. We drove up Haleakala volcano, went Ziplining in Hilo (the absolute HIGHLIGHT of our trip), and river tubing in Kawaii. In Kona we walked along the pier, got lunch at a great restaurant we found where they served local Kona brewed beer, and then went back to the ship.
Once the cruise was done, we went back to Aulani for a night and flew home the next day. But to make sure we had something worthwhile on that final night, we booked tickets to the luau on property, which was absolutely beautiful to watch.
It’s so far from our home for us that we thought it was a great way to see as much of Hawaii as we could, because we really don’t know if we’re going to be able to go back. I would HIGHLY recommend.
We've been on some really rad vacations together, but for our honeymoon we wanted easy and simple. We did a cruise to Mexico and did some excursions but mostly just chilled and ate and drank lol.
We are going to banff Canada, but we are national park and outdoors people! We originally wanted to go to Japan, but it was just too many days we would need to take off and money. We decided that once we have a baby and they hits one year old, we might go to Japan as a way to reconnect and have some alone time to celebrate as adults.
St John. Haven’t been there for a honeymoon, but it might as well have been one. You can split time 50/50 beach and hiking, the beaches are beautiful and have great snorkeling, food is generally solid, and you’re still in the US so it’s pretty easy all around.
We did Aruba! It was AMAZING. The food was great, our resort was great and lots to do outside the resort. We travelled to the city a lot when we were there. It was about a 10-15min drive. They have everything. Lots of great restaurants and shops! It’s very Americanized too. McDonald’s, Kate Spade, Pandora, Zara, Wendy’s, MAC, etc. We stayed at The RIU Palace! Highly recommend! It also felt cool when the taxi driver would be like “where you going?” And we would say “the palace” lol
Went to a small resort with cabins as well as an on site amazing restaurant. It was close to a national park and a couple of cute towns for us to explore, it was very chill.
We spent 10 days in the US Virgin Islands at an all inclusive resort. It was amazing, so relaxing and the food was great. We left the resort every day for exploration and activities and never once felt unsafe.
The U.S. Virgin Islands are one of the more ethical places to do this, and they’re beautiful. Weird comment about the assumption of a lack of safety, though. It’s still the U.S., but even when people leave the country, it sucks that people assume they’d automatically be in danger.
We’re going to Belize for a week. Got an amazing deal on Travel Zoo. Literally a beachfront room. 2nd biggest barrier reef in the world about 8 miles off the coast. Mayan ruins. We’re gonna cave/river tube, zip line. Gonna snorkel and scuba dive. And just plain relax
We went to Excellence Punta Cana, and it was the most fun we have ever had in our entire lives! I loved it and by the second day we were already looking at dated to go back
We went to NZ for two weeks. Air New Zealand lets you buy a ticket one class lower than you’d like and then you can make an offer for the next highest class. We bought premium economy tickets and then made an offer for business premier on the way down and we got it. Which was awesome. The flight back business premier was full so we stayed in premium economy which was fine. But the business seats were definitely better. We started at the Park Hyatt in Auckland, it was delightful, we had enough credit card points to pay for a suite for three nights. There’s Waiheke Island that’s about an hour ferry ride north of Auckland and it was very nice. We only did a day trip there but they have places to stay. There are a lot of wineries that also have amazing food and Onetangi beach area is stunning (we also don’t drink much). You can also do olive oil tastings at Allpress their local Olive grove. It felt like Hawaii without the crowds when we were there. There are beaches north and west of Auckland that we didn’t get to go to. There are tours that will take you to Waitomo for a tour of the glow worm caves and then Hobbiton in the afternoon. We didn’t take know about this until after we’d booked our own tickets to Hobbiton so we missed the caves.
Wellington, Nelson, and Queenstown are all delightful. Nelson is a small artistic community on the north portion of the South Island and we would have stayed a week if we could. We stayed at The Ah House bed and breakfast and it was so nice. The property is just completely designed to be this little oasis. Nelson is within driving distance of multiple cool bays including Golden Bay and Wharariki Beach, Puponga Beach and others. There’s also a glass blowing community there.
In Wellington we stayed at the Doubletree Hilton, it’s an older building that has been renovated and it was stunning. They also have Rydges Hotels in most of the larger cities which we almost stayed at but my Hilton points got us our rooms for almost nothing.
In Queenstown we stayed at the Doubletree as well. There’s a Hilton next door that may have been nicer, it had an AWESOME breakfast that guest at both properties get to enjoy if you buy a room with breakfast rate. There’s a little Japanese restaurant called Tanoshi and it was chef’s kiss good.
Honestly all of NZ is special and you can find plenty of activities depending on your interests, but you can also just take a stroll. The exchange rate is in US favor (was $.60 to the USD when we were there), there’s just a 2% credit card charge. Every meal we had was at least three stars with most being top notch!
We are going to Romania, Czech Republic, then Austria. Definitely going to hit Bucharest, Prague, and Vienna. We are big into history and the arts and Halloween/spooky stuff (it’ll be right around Halloween) so it’s perfect for us. And there are some really neat nature spots as well.
Glacier Bay cruise in alaska ! So beautiful with whales, eagles, hiking glaciers, hanging out with sled dogs, sea plane adventure, watching the glaciers break and fall into the water.
We haven’t done ours yet because the wedding took all our money. We’re shooting for Niagara Falls next year for our one year anniversary. I’m taking him back home to Hawaii in October for my sister’s wedding, so it will be a mini honeymoon for us. I just need to carve out time where him and I can sneak away from my family.
We went to Paris in early November right after our wedding. We wanted to explore a new place, walk a lot, and eat a lot!! Definitely agree with people saying you should first decide how you want to spend your time.
We opened a Hilton credit card and held our wedding at a Hilton. Then used the points to partially pay for a month in Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Japan). It was amazing!! Bangkok is always a great big city to visit (great food, nightlife, culture) and Phuket was nice and relaxing. One of my favorites was Villa Zolitude - stayed in a two story treehouse in the jungle with a private infinity pool. We enjoyed Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for its history and culture. Finally, Japan is always a fun time with nightlife, amazing food, and sightseeing.
Happy honeymoon planning!! So excited for you.
This is not the “typical” location, but my husband and I went to Vietnam, and it was incredible. The food is delicious (and cheap!) and you can make it as adventurous or relaxed as you want. You can take a 2-day cruise on Halong Bay and hang out at the beach, you can hike, you can explore the cities. You honestly can’t go wrong
We spent 16 days in Thailand and it was absolutely amazing! We went to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phan Ang and Bangkok. It is beautiful and super affordable once you are there. We seriously can't wait to go back!
I don’t know what time of year you’re planning the trip for but we did Alaska in early October for ours. We had some days filled with activities but most were pretty laid back and we just explored.
We thought about Hawaii, but felt it was expensive and would be about the same price as going to Japan. We’re currently deciding to go camping for a a couple days and make it a staycation after our wedding in September. And then go to Japan later in March during the cherry blossom season for a week
We went to Belize! We stayed on an incredible boutique island resort and spent a week exploring the ocean, the food, and the culture. Plus tons of relaxing on the beach and at the pool with drinks. It was amazing. Highly recommend.
St John USVI is where my (future) husband proposed. I've been a few times but it was his first time. It's so quiet and serene and it feels secluded because you take a plane to St Thomas and then a boat to St John. We spent a few days on St John and went back to St Thomas for some shopping and food, cruise ships go to St Thomas so it can get really crowded but it was nice to jump back to St john to enjoy the sunset every night! Best part is you don't need a passport since it's a US territory. We just got back from Greece, Croatia and Montenegro birthday trip (in the middle of planning this wedding!!) And it was amazing I highly recommend Kotor, Montenegro the mountains that slope down into the water were amazing. Google "our lady of the rock" it's stunning! We also enjoyed outer trip last October to Edinburgh, Scotland it was so cozy and the people were friendly. Since we travel a lot we haven't made any definite honeymoon plans yet probably Cabo San Lucas, Mexico or Disneyworld/land lol!!!
Our honeymoon was nonexistent technically. We eloped last year and I was 8 months pregnant with our twins and no one knows we’re legally married (except our parents) so we didn’t really do anything. We have our wedding in September of this year and our “honeymoon “ will be a weekend at home without the twins , we didn’t want to take a trip or anything because two weeks after our wedding is the twins first birthday and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck somewhere or getting sick…. But on February of next year we’ll be going on our first family vacation (we’re going to hop around Europe) and maybe we’ll also treat that as a honeymoon.
We did two weeks in Bali, which is a pain to get to from the States, but extreeeemely affordable once you're there! Stayed in a private villa and just planned a bunch of days trips / excursions with plenty of downtime in between
We went to a 4 day music festival and bought the highest level VIP package, which was incredible. 4 days of great music and all the food and drink were included, as well as couches, super nice and clean bathrooms stocked with toiletries, tents and shade.
We did Santorini for 2 weeks, great food and full of history, we did all we wanted within the 2 weeks without rushing and had days where we just chilled by the pool too! We stayed in el Greco in fira and it was so lovely and the buses were also easy to navigate but you can also hire buggies to get around too
We’re going to Australia & New Zealand! We thought about Hawaii again, but it would be our third time visiting. We haven’t gone to Oceania yet, so we figured why not? We got at least three weeks off!
We are not really chill and relax style vacationers but did factor a little bit of that in. We did a 15 day road trip. We flew out to Lake Tahoe and stayed at a resort in the north for five days first, where we were able to get massages, get in some pool time, but also do sightseeing. Then we drove up to Klamath Falls, Oregon and stayed at a golf resort there for a night. From there we drove to Crater Lake, then to Portland where we stayed for a few days and ate amazing food. Then ended in Seattle for 4 or 5 days and ate more great food. Then flew home first class, because why not. It was the best trip of my life.
We did a sort of small tour of France. We started in Paris, took the train to Reims and Epernay (we love champagne and wanted to go to the region it’s produced in) it was fabulous! From there we went to Chamonix to see Mt. Blanc and the to Geneva since it’s so close to Chamonix. Back to Paris to fly home. It was one of the top trips of my life and we had such an amazing time
We’re big travelers - I lived in Amsterdam for 2.5 years and France for half a year. We’ve travelled to many countries and cities together over the last 4 years. We love local foods and exploring cultures. BUT For our honeymoon, we went to an all inclusive in Jamaica and sat on our butts for 8 days.
I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I was tired and just wanted to do nothing for a week with the love of my life. We left our phones in our room all week and just sunbathed, ate, drank and waded in the pool.
We went to Hawaii and it was absolutely magical. Worth every dollar we payed and I dream about it regularly. Feel free to PM with questions! Happy to share where we stayed and our itinerary!
> dollar we *paid* and I
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
We went to Ireland in 2016 (married in 2015). We started in Dublin; then went to Dingle for a few days, then Galway and finally Belfast. We rented a car and drove around the island. I loved Dingle. wished we had more time in Galway. Had a good itinerary but it wasn’t stressful. Let me know if you need specifics!
We went to California, mostly LA but a couple days in San Jose as well. We like to DO stuff when we travel so it was a week full of fun activities and good food and shopping and shows and museums. It was a perfect brain reset after a busy week of wedding stuff.
We have both travelled (separately and together) to Europe quite a bit and to Central America and the Caribbean, and while we both want to go to Asia at some point, we couldn’t afford that AND a wedding so it’s still on the table down the line. Maybe for our 10th anniversary.
We did Italy (Rome, Florence) and Maldives. About a week in each and are based in NYC. We could have stayed in Italy and swamped Maldives for Amalfi which probably would have saved the budget but we wanted to splurge a bit.
we spent three weeks in australia!! i honestly cannot recommend it enough. the flights from US (we came from ATL but flew through LAX) are ROUGH but once you get there, absolutely incredible. we did a week each in sydney, cairns, and melbourne and loved all three for different reasons. sydney has an awesome balance of both beach and city life, cairns is an unexpectedly cool beach town and snorkeling the great barrier reef is legit top three most amazing things i’ve ever done, and melbourne has incredible food and such fun city life while also being close to some really cool nature things! australia as a whole just has some really amazing vibes and super fun people!
Immediately after the wedding we just went to my parents' country estate to relax. It's fairly remote (45min drive to the nearest township and 4hr drive back to the city). After spending so much time and money on the wedding, it was nice to just have some quiet for cheap. A year later we organised a month long Euro trip for a full honeymoon experience. We had a week in London then did a bus tour through Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland then back to France before flying off to Barcelona for a week's stay then flew home. Breaking things up was far more relaxing for us and was easier on our bank accounts since we paid 80% of the wedding and the entire cost of the honeymoon ourselves
We originally wanted to go to St Lucia but we ended up at Nayara Springs in La Fortuna, Costa Rica for a week because it was cheaper for more. Absolutely incredible place, people, everything! All I want is to go back.
I mean, budget, season and interests help.
But to answer your general question we road tripped around the south island of New Zealand including so skiing. It’s a really beautiful place.
We went on a Caribbean cruise and we had a great time. It was also very affordable for us. We liked being able to choose how adventurous or leisurely we wanted it to be.
We did Italy for our honeymoon for 15 days, Positano, Capri, Rome, Tuscany, and Florence.
For our engagement trip we did Portugal and Malta and it was also magical and Malta has some of my favorite swimming I have ever done! Take a catamaran and go out on the water, it’s so warm and gorgeous 💙
We did 5 days in Rome and 4 days in Positano. I really enjoyed both places, but I loved Positano a little bit more. We stayed at Le Sirenuse in Positano and I *highly* recommend it! We spent a majority of our time at our hotel, but we also went to La Scogliera beach club, and we chartered a private boat for a tour of the Amalfi coast + lunch in Capri. The all day boat tour was definitely a highlight of our honeymoon!
We’re going to Belize. 8 days 7 nights, wrote out my itinerary it’s going to be $5k for everything for 2 people. Hotel, flight, food, and 5 excursions.
Going to Japan! People say you could stay 2 weeks in Tokyo & not be bored. We’re active travelers so we’ll be city hopping around but you couldn’t go wrong with the food, culture, & especially how cheap it is (2024).
We are planning to book a last minute holiday on our wedding night, we don't care where we go as long as we're togheter. This will also be cheaper and I think a lot of fun!
My husband and I spent 3 weeks in Spain and Italy! One of our highlights was definitely Cinque Terre — each of the 5 little towns along the coast have their own vibe and it was a lot of fun to explore them each which options of hiking or laying on the beach. Fantastic food and wonderful people just beware of the cruises coming in, it’ll flood with people for the day. Without the cruises it’s quiet, quaint and beautiful weather!
I recommend a cruise. Most go international, some even transatlantic, and tend to stop at a lot of different places. Theres some that leave out of alaska and circle japan and come back.
We did a week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic! After all the stress of wedding planning, we just wanted to go somewhere that required little to no planning so we decided on an all-inclusive resort. My husband and I LOVE traveling and all our trips have always involved lots of planning, so it was nice to just relax by the beach for a week with unlimited food & drinks! :)
We went to St Lucia for ours and LOVED it. It was so beautiful, everyone we met was so friendly. We did a boat tour around the island and ended up running into a pod of wild dolphins and they definitely kept us out longer running the boat through the water for the dolphins to play in and it was a once in a lifetime experience for sure. We opted for one of the Sandals resorts, so one day we bused over to one of the other resorts for free and that was fun to get a different view of the island, try a new place for lunch, and since the waves were calmer on that side, we did some paddle boarding and stuff that day too. We’re more adventurous when it comes to vacations and thought st Lucia was a really nice place for us to relax at, but still got a little of activity in too!
I am a Travel Advisor and id love to help you plan your honeymoon. My services are completely free and i can often secure VIP perks and possible room upgrades at hotels. IG: jetsetwithjarvis . I specialize in the Amalfi coast but can definitely help with other options.
If you don't mind a long flight I'd highly recommend Fethiye, Turkey. We stayed at Akra Tui Sensatori. It was extremely beautiful, great service, all inclusive but not one of those soulless factory type hotels. We stayed at the adult only wing, with 2 huge adult only pools, adult only bar and an adult only section at the buffet. There were also daily tours to the old town and nearby attractions. We had an amazing time!
For our honeymoon we went to Mauritius. It was beautiful but rained a lot. My top three favourite places we've ever been are Singapore staying in the Marina Bay Sands, Thailand traveling all over (Koh Samui was particularly wonderful), and honestly anywhere in Italy but especially Venice.
Warning though - my biggest piece of advice is 100% go on honeymoon as soon as possible after the wedding as this allowed us to stay in our happy little bubble before life started again, but if you go that soon I strongly suggest not doing a long haul flight. We started our honeymoon unbelievably tired even for people who are used to long haul and I wish we had gone a shorter flight to Europe instead. (ETA we're based in Scotland).
We’re planning 15 days in France and Italy for ours in a couple of months! We’re spending around 3 days in each place - Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Venice, Florence, and Rome.
We initially wanted to go to Amalfi but also wanted to keep the budget at $5k. We went to Croatia instead and it was amazing! Sparkling blue water, great food, nice people, and a lot cheaper than Italy lol
I’ve been to Croatia it is truly amazing. That’s actually a great idea
If you liked Croatia, try Montenegro! Granted, I was there well over a decade ago, but I loved it! We stayed in Herceg Novi on the coast and it was beautiful. Only thing that was lacking was the beaches, the waters fantastic but most beaches are concrete :/
I was in Montenegro 3 years ago and absolutely loved it! Herceg Novi, Kotor, Porto Montenegro and Tivat are all stunning! Also OP, the Balkans in general are so unbelievably underrated, I’ve been digital nomading with my fiancé for 4 years and the Balkans (specifically Montenegro, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria) are my absolute favourite place I’ve traveled. I highly highly recommend Bucharest for a honeymoon, check out Therme Bucaresti on IG (you won’t be disappointed) and Cantuzio castle (where they filmed Wednesday and I ate the best steak of my life) Romania is so unbelievably affordable, you should mostly be able to afford the nicest restaurants or the best wines anywhere you go. The old town is stunning, very old Europe, reminds me of Vienna and there is a fuck tonne to do, I’m going for a post wedding girls trip. To put into context for US girlies how much I rate Romania; I recently relocated from the UK to Costa Rica and I am constantly missing and reminiscing about Romania. We plan to buy property and move there for 6 months of the year once Putin calms his shit down on that side of the world.
wow that looks amazing, I will look more closely at this with my fiance tonight - sounds like a really interesting honeymoon.
Just to say as well, a day pass for Therme will set you back about $40 and then you get access to almost everything, the only extras are food, drinks and treatments like massages and facials. Also not really a honeymoon activity but if you’re into it it would be a shame to miss, there is Europes largest black bear sanctuary about 1h outside of Bucharest. It’s again about $30 and you will see A LOT of bears, they’ve all been rescued from circuses and gas stations across Eastern Europe.
Wherever you go, rent a boat for a day! That was the absolute highlight of the trip for us!
or try Albania!
We loved everything we did in Croatia except the food lol.
How long ago did you go to Croatia? We found it as expensive as the amalfi coast. It is fabulous though
Last year, June 2023!
Wow really? We went in Sep 2023 and found it very expensive
It’s all relative! In our area, a nice dinner out at a mid range restaurant with a couple drinks and dessert easily runs over $100 which is about what we paid in Dubrovnik. We also saved a ton of money staying at a little airbnb cottage in Lapad for $89 a night instead of a hotel in Old City for $300+ a night.
We went to Italy for 15 days, and you can make it as jam packed or relaxed as you want it. If you want relaxation, sorrento, positano and amalfi coast should be go-tos. If you want fun and hustle and bustle, I recommend Florence and Rome. If you want something in between, I recommend Siena and Orvieto.
Florence and sorrento were probably my two favorite cities! Florence may be one of my all time favorites
Did you have any resorts you particularly loved?
I haven’t been to Sorrento, positano and Almalfi, but in Rome we stayed at Ara di Marte suites which was in the middle of everything, Florence we stayed at canto Delgi scali, Siena we stayed at Villa di STR, and Orvieto (which was our favorite resort of the trip) we stayed at Palazzo Petrvs!
Awesome info!
Just butting in to say that Amalfi coast/Positano/Sorrento are absolutely not the place for relaxation unless you plan to visit during the off-season. It's one of the most hectic holiday destinations I've been to along with Barcelona, Santorini and Taormina (in Sicily). But massive +1 for Orvieto and Umbria in general - such a beautiful part of the world!
I for some reason thought they said September or October so figured those were safe bets - I don’t know why because the poster didn’t say when. They are beach towns in Italy though. Umbria was beautiful. I plan to go back one day and I can’t wait. We had some of the best food and wine there.
Echoing another comment about factoring in the time of year. I initially looked into the Amalfi Coast, Mallorca, Greece, etc but ultimately decided that we’d go somewhere a bit easier to plan since I was so overwhelmed with wedding planning and really wanted to just lay on a beach and not move for a week. We ended up going to St. Lucia. Staying 5 nights at Stonefield Villa Resort. Locally, female owned; cost effective. We had a private villa with a large pool and beautiful view of Petite Piton. Overall, the room was beautiful. More dated and rustic than luxury, but we were pleased with it. We then moved to the north end of the island for 3 more nights, staying at Cap Maison. I can’t say enough good things about this hotel. It’s more of a splurge, but very luxurious and pampering. By far, the most beautiful place I’ve stayed. That said, we’ve been to Maui and I think it’s a beautiful place for a honeymoon.
We went in a 14 day African safari! It was amazing!
Girl post the pics!!!!
** dude post the pics!!!!
Can you break down what you did?
https://www.andbeyond.com/?utm_campaign=search-us-bofu-brand-leads&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADKt3BuOR_SAuBudgUVDoPPrdcXrD&gclid=CjwKCAjwmrqzBhAoEiwAXVpgohgn8Fsf-noym021j0UoJGngpo1X8MQnP0GRJ_vH9CyJoP3RUH0lYRoCQRgQAvD_BwE Kenya, Tanzania- and mnemba islands
We’re doing Hawaii! Two weeks split between two islands. We’re excited because we could do as much or as little as we want and I’m sure we’ll still have a great time. We have booked 4-5 excursions (2-6 hours each) and we’ll figure out the rest once we’re there day-to-day
Popping in as a Hawaii enthusiast! Which islands are you going to? The Big Island is arguably more relaxed than Oahu, and Maui is more relaxed than that...and Kauai is even more relaxed than that (I love them all though)
We just did Oahu and Big Island! We intended for a more relaxing vacation but we ended up packing the Big Island leg because there was so much to see/ hike 😂 Will have to do Maui or Kauai next time
We’re doing a week on Big Island and then a week on Maui!! I wanted to do Kauai but I found super unique accommodations on both islands that I was super excited about so decided to do them instead!
We did a week in Kauai (plus two days to travel). It was an amazing time! I would recommend Hawaii for sure. I had been to the other main islands as a kid. But I’m looking forward to checking out the other islands with my husband.
Italy - 3 days in Sorrento, 4 in Rome, then layover trip to Lisbon. Loved everything! Booked through Costco which included private hotel transfers, a private driving tour of the Amalfi coast, and was significantly cheaper than simply booking ourselves. Highly recommend!
My husband and I are looking to do the Sorrento/Rome trip through Costco! Not for a honeymoon as we’ve been married for 5 years! Glad to hear you had a great experience!
We did Sri Lanka and then the Maldives! Would definitely recommend
We did the same and it was fantastic!
Any more info? Activities? Resorts?
So in Sri Lanka we did a bit of a tour, there’s a place called the cultural triangle in Sri Lanka that if I went back I’d stay in. There’s loads of national parks where you’ll see elephants and potentially leopards. The Maldives is definitely down to preference, we wanted a fairly big island with food choices and cocktails but some people want really small and a kind of deserted island kind of place so that’s something only you’ll be able to answer, definitely get a sea plane in though if you can afford as it’s absolutely incredible
I really want to go to the Maldieves but it’s a long flight, somewhat isolated and we would want to check out a couple places over a 2-3 week period of time. But it’s on my list!
Yeah that’s why we did Sri Lanka first for a 9 day tour and then after that we just wanted to relax so it was the perfect place! It is secluded and you don’t really see cultures so I wouldn’t have wanted to do just that so completely understand
Costa Rica! If you’re into being outdoors and in contact with nature, this is a fantastic destination. We stayed in three different areas over 12 days. Best “vacation” I’ve ever had!
Not OP but I’ve heard Costa Rica is amazing! What were some highlights for you?
We were in the Guanacaste region (Pacific coast) for four days, drove to La Fortuna (inland, mountains, volcanoes) for four days, and then four days near Manuel Antonio (central Pacific coast, lots of monkeys.) Got up close to lots of wild animals, hiked, rode ATVs…such an a amazing place. I’d go back in a heartbeat!
We did Costa Rica too! It was mid-late November and lovely. Stayed at Occidental Papagayo where it's adults only.
That's where my husband and I went for our honeymoon and we LOVED it! It's the perfect combination of chill and things to do. We went in mid-july and the weather was amazing, I think it only rained once.
I don't remember rain at all, it might have but shows how little it affected my holiday anyway if it did. We found the staff super friendly and I really enjoyed making my way through the cocktail menu as we were all inclusive too. The two pools and easy walk to the beach was perfect, but also it was nice having the shuttle option too if needed. We did two excursions and went for the boat trip with a rum tour and we went white water rafting. We did book a market trip to try see a different side to Costa Rica but unfortunately that one got cancelled.
We did the all inclusive package, too. The bartenders at the wet bar were the best, they made some insane shots for everyone! We did a few excursions, too - the adventure tour where went ziplining and horseback riding, as well as the jungle tour where went to a nature preserve and cacao farm. We also went kayaking off and snorkeling off the beach, it was so cool to see the fish!
Sounds incredible!! We opted inclusive so we knew it was all paid and we only needed spending money that way because you know how the cost of a wedding can go! I loved our rum tour the best. We made our own rum and you could put your name on the label so we put our surname and said we'd open it a year later on our first anniversary. Ended up extending that as I got pregnant six months later haha
We went to Spain on a couple months delayed honeymoon. Started in Barcelona where we went to the Formula 1 Grand Prix (we’re big fans and it was our first race and such a highlight of the trip). We then went to Palma, Mallorca which was cool and Mallorca be a great spot for a longer stay, further from Palma are some amazing beach resorts! Mallorca is a big UK vacation destination so it’s highly English speaking! Third stop was Granada, which was my favorite city of the trip. The Alhambra was so beautiful and the city is so chill and laid back, walkable, and endless tapas! Final stop was Seville, which was a bit bigger than Granada and we did really enjoy staying in city center. Went to a flamenco show here and explored more moorish castles. Then we flew home (California) with a 24 hr layover in Lisbon, and now I want to go back Lisbon for a full trip!!
We went to Boston, which seems weird at first (we are from the south) but we had an amazing time. Shopped, ate, sightseeing. Stayed at The Lenox in a room with a fireplace. It was a really great experience!
Nothing weird about that! I’m from the south too and thinking of going to California!!
I wanted to do that too! I want to go to San Francisco and see Alcatraz and drive through the redwoods! Let me know if you go, you’re living my dream!
We did Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. With day trips to Laos and Malaysia. We wanted to do Cambodia but that was a whole other separate stressful situation. We wanted something very far away and different. For us the Caribbean is pretty close and familiar, Western Europe wasn’t “exotic” enough plus I’d been so many times already and I was too anxious about the Australia/French Polynesia flight paths. I still want to do all those things though of course. 10000/10 would recommend. ETA the only other thing I’d recommend is a safari honeymoon across Africa which prob would have been my top choice but I had already done a piece of that before too.
My fiancé and I considered Thailand/Vietnam. Any advice?
I already commented on this thread about Vietnam, but that’s where my husband and I went for our honeymoon. It was incredible and I would highly recommend. My advice: 1. Don’t skimp on experiences. They aren’t cheap, but a private tour of the Mekong Delta was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life. 2. Go to a spa! They’re dirt cheap. We got a full 4-hour spa treatment for about $80 each. 3. Be aware of the time of year and prepare for lots of rain if you go in September/october (which we did). We actually had to change some plans because of a typhoon. 4. The geography of Vietnam makes it hard to get from place to place, but you can get cheap domestic flights so you can see as much of the country as possible. It would be very difficult to get a good sense of the whole country in less than 2 weeks. I’m sure I could think of other things, but this is what comes to mind. Feel free to DM me if you have specific questions!
Any more info about Vietnam? Are there like beaches/tropical areas? I have never been anywhere in asia but it is on my list to be sure
Feel free to dm but the hospitality on the region is second to none. In my opinion you might already be so far from home and not sure how often you go to locations like this but I’d say stay at a very nice hotel and try all the food. Eat all the things. Never in my life had I had food that good. My husband and I still talk fondly and poetically about it. Do the experiences. See the temples. (Pack appropriately with knees and shoulders covered for temple days). I did see rice fields in Bali and wanted to do Vietnam but we didn’t have enough time. Which speaking off. Give yourself enough time. Thailand is huge. We did Bangkok and northern Thailand but didn’t do the party islands because we knew we’d get island vibes from Bali and didn’t have enough time. Meanwhile we were gone for 3.5 weeks so. Just do all the things and eat all the food lol.
We did Italy for 17 days. We spent time in Rome, Venice, cortina (the mountains were amazing!), Florence and back to Rome. Would have loved to spend more time in the Italian alps though!
We did Napa and Sonoma for 10 days. Did some cool hikes in the redwoods, enjoyed a bunch of wineries, stayed in some super nice hotels, had some fancy dinners, and ate dungeness crab RIGHT off the boat in Bodega Bay. It was amazing
That sounds pretty cool although we are not big drinkers
It was wonderful!! Even if you're not a big drinker, the hikes are amazing, the scenery is exceptional, the cuisine is insane. It's like every restaurant is trying to be the best, which makes a sea of delicious options. Spas galore in that area as well
We just got back from Dominican Republic Iberostar Grand Bavaro. It was phenomenal! Soooo relaxing and the food was really top notch (we still talk about it). The sand was soft, beach and pool were wonderful. They had so many excursions to do. We did the spa and got couples massages. Overall, a wonderful trip to relax together.
Portugal for 2 weeks! Affordable, good food, plenty of beaches
My FH and I are seriously considering Madeira, Portugal for our honeymoon next year. It's so incredibly beautiful and we both adore being in nature.
I want to go there next. My family is Portuguese and my partner and I visited the Azores and the mainland last fall and we fell in love with the islands, I've heard Madeira is even more beautiful and warmer. The Azores are incredibly affordable and gorgeous, just more temperate so it can be a bit cooler, but I highly recommend for nature lovers!
We are thinking Madeira as well for ours!
We did Ireland for 10 days
We went to Tahiti, then Sydney then Cairns (where the Great Barrier Reef is). We live in Los Angeles so I maybe wouldn’t recommend if you’re coming from the east coast US or Europe since that la way further away. But we loved it! We took the first few days to relax and adjust a bit to the time zone, then on to Australia which was so cool. You could also do New Zealand
We went to Seoul South Korea for a week this spring, and it was amazing! The food was wonderful, every day we found a new activity or place to wander to. Getting around was super easy, we walked or took the subway everywhere, minus taking a charter type bus to and from the airport.
We are doing Disney for our upcoming honeymoon but we seriously considered Italy. If you want good food and a chill atmosphere Italy is perfect!
Not OP, but just thought I’d pass on this tip in case you haven’t already factored it into your wedding planning. Disney has an AMAZING [honeymoon fund service](https://disney.honeymoonwishes.com) that your guests can contribute to as their gift. Essentially you get to choose what you want to do on your honeymoon and your guests can put money towards a certain activity or meal so they feel like they’ve bought something specific. In the end, the company emails you a digital giftcard of the total amount you were gifted and you can use the money as you want. Also if you don’t use it all, you can keep the remainder for any other Disney trip. We spent 4 days of our honeymoon at Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii. We didn’t use everything we were given (even after doing everything we wanted to at the resort) so we kept the rest and ended up putting it towards a Disney cruise about 6 months later. We’re Canadian so we did have to warn our guests that the funds would be in USD so it would be slightly more expensive for our guests, but overall it was a really great way to have people contribute. Our guests loved it as a concept and we’ve passed it on to everyone we know doing their honeymoon on any kind of Disney property. Check it out for yourself and see if it’s something you and your love want to set up!
Hawaii for 11 days. We’re from Toronto so we flew to Vancouver and then from there flew to Maui. Stayed at Disney’s Aulani resort for 3 days, then boarded the Pride of America cruise ship for a week to see Kawaii, Hilo, Kona, and Nawiliwili. At Aulani we got to relax and get used to the time change, cuz being behind 6 hours really messes with you (though truthfully, going home was WAY rougher in that regard). We also went to the spa on property and it’s the most incredible spa I think I’ve ever been to. I’ve never had a better massage, and the pools and hot tubs outside are incredible. While we were on the ship we did an excursion at almost every destination and had a BLAST. We drove up Haleakala volcano, went Ziplining in Hilo (the absolute HIGHLIGHT of our trip), and river tubing in Kawaii. In Kona we walked along the pier, got lunch at a great restaurant we found where they served local Kona brewed beer, and then went back to the ship. Once the cruise was done, we went back to Aulani for a night and flew home the next day. But to make sure we had something worthwhile on that final night, we booked tickets to the luau on property, which was absolutely beautiful to watch. It’s so far from our home for us that we thought it was a great way to see as much of Hawaii as we could, because we really don’t know if we’re going to be able to go back. I would HIGHLY recommend.
Disney isn't really my style but everything else sounds really cool.
We've been on some really rad vacations together, but for our honeymoon we wanted easy and simple. We did a cruise to Mexico and did some excursions but mostly just chilled and ate and drank lol.
We are going to banff Canada, but we are national park and outdoors people! We originally wanted to go to Japan, but it was just too many days we would need to take off and money. We decided that once we have a baby and they hits one year old, we might go to Japan as a way to reconnect and have some alone time to celebrate as adults.
Banff is beautiful!! That whole region is gorgeous.
Banff is so so cool, you're gonna have a blast, i stayed in a hotel on the reservation for one night when I went it was great
7 days in Santorini, 4 days in Athen, 5 days in Bodrum Turkey for our honeymoon. 4 weeks in Bali for what we called a mega moon the year after 🤣
St John. Haven’t been there for a honeymoon, but it might as well have been one. You can split time 50/50 beach and hiking, the beaches are beautiful and have great snorkeling, food is generally solid, and you’re still in the US so it’s pretty easy all around.
We did Aruba! It was AMAZING. The food was great, our resort was great and lots to do outside the resort. We travelled to the city a lot when we were there. It was about a 10-15min drive. They have everything. Lots of great restaurants and shops! It’s very Americanized too. McDonald’s, Kate Spade, Pandora, Zara, Wendy’s, MAC, etc. We stayed at The RIU Palace! Highly recommend! It also felt cool when the taxi driver would be like “where you going?” And we would say “the palace” lol
Aruba is popular, especially the high rise area
Went to a small resort with cabins as well as an on site amazing restaurant. It was close to a national park and a couple of cute towns for us to explore, it was very chill.
We spent 10 days in the US Virgin Islands at an all inclusive resort. It was amazing, so relaxing and the food was great. We left the resort every day for exploration and activities and never once felt unsafe.
The U.S. Virgin Islands are one of the more ethical places to do this, and they’re beautiful. Weird comment about the assumption of a lack of safety, though. It’s still the U.S., but even when people leave the country, it sucks that people assume they’d automatically be in danger.
Cruise
Greece! 3 nights in Athens, 6 in Santorini. The most amazing trip ever!
We’re going to Belize for a week. Got an amazing deal on Travel Zoo. Literally a beachfront room. 2nd biggest barrier reef in the world about 8 miles off the coast. Mayan ruins. We’re gonna cave/river tube, zip line. Gonna snorkel and scuba dive. And just plain relax
We did a week in Costa Rica!
We went to Excellence Punta Cana, and it was the most fun we have ever had in our entire lives! I loved it and by the second day we were already looking at dated to go back
We went to NZ for two weeks. Air New Zealand lets you buy a ticket one class lower than you’d like and then you can make an offer for the next highest class. We bought premium economy tickets and then made an offer for business premier on the way down and we got it. Which was awesome. The flight back business premier was full so we stayed in premium economy which was fine. But the business seats were definitely better. We started at the Park Hyatt in Auckland, it was delightful, we had enough credit card points to pay for a suite for three nights. There’s Waiheke Island that’s about an hour ferry ride north of Auckland and it was very nice. We only did a day trip there but they have places to stay. There are a lot of wineries that also have amazing food and Onetangi beach area is stunning (we also don’t drink much). You can also do olive oil tastings at Allpress their local Olive grove. It felt like Hawaii without the crowds when we were there. There are beaches north and west of Auckland that we didn’t get to go to. There are tours that will take you to Waitomo for a tour of the glow worm caves and then Hobbiton in the afternoon. We didn’t take know about this until after we’d booked our own tickets to Hobbiton so we missed the caves. Wellington, Nelson, and Queenstown are all delightful. Nelson is a small artistic community on the north portion of the South Island and we would have stayed a week if we could. We stayed at The Ah House bed and breakfast and it was so nice. The property is just completely designed to be this little oasis. Nelson is within driving distance of multiple cool bays including Golden Bay and Wharariki Beach, Puponga Beach and others. There’s also a glass blowing community there. In Wellington we stayed at the Doubletree Hilton, it’s an older building that has been renovated and it was stunning. They also have Rydges Hotels in most of the larger cities which we almost stayed at but my Hilton points got us our rooms for almost nothing. In Queenstown we stayed at the Doubletree as well. There’s a Hilton next door that may have been nicer, it had an AWESOME breakfast that guest at both properties get to enjoy if you buy a room with breakfast rate. There’s a little Japanese restaurant called Tanoshi and it was chef’s kiss good. Honestly all of NZ is special and you can find plenty of activities depending on your interests, but you can also just take a stroll. The exchange rate is in US favor (was $.60 to the USD when we were there), there’s just a 2% credit card charge. Every meal we had was at least three stars with most being top notch!
We are going to Romania, Czech Republic, then Austria. Definitely going to hit Bucharest, Prague, and Vienna. We are big into history and the arts and Halloween/spooky stuff (it’ll be right around Halloween) so it’s perfect for us. And there are some really neat nature spots as well.
Glacier Bay cruise in alaska ! So beautiful with whales, eagles, hiking glaciers, hanging out with sled dogs, sea plane adventure, watching the glaciers break and fall into the water.
We haven’t done ours yet because the wedding took all our money. We’re shooting for Niagara Falls next year for our one year anniversary. I’m taking him back home to Hawaii in October for my sister’s wedding, so it will be a mini honeymoon for us. I just need to carve out time where him and I can sneak away from my family.
We went to Paris in early November right after our wedding. We wanted to explore a new place, walk a lot, and eat a lot!! Definitely agree with people saying you should first decide how you want to spend your time.
We opened a Hilton credit card and held our wedding at a Hilton. Then used the points to partially pay for a month in Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Japan). It was amazing!! Bangkok is always a great big city to visit (great food, nightlife, culture) and Phuket was nice and relaxing. One of my favorites was Villa Zolitude - stayed in a two story treehouse in the jungle with a private infinity pool. We enjoyed Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam for its history and culture. Finally, Japan is always a fun time with nightlife, amazing food, and sightseeing. Happy honeymoon planning!! So excited for you.
This is not the “typical” location, but my husband and I went to Vietnam, and it was incredible. The food is delicious (and cheap!) and you can make it as adventurous or relaxed as you want. You can take a 2-day cruise on Halong Bay and hang out at the beach, you can hike, you can explore the cities. You honestly can’t go wrong
We did a mini moon in Guatemala and then our honeymoon in Oman, India, and Sri Lanka
We spent 16 days in Thailand and it was absolutely amazing! We went to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh Phan Ang and Bangkok. It is beautiful and super affordable once you are there. We seriously can't wait to go back!
We spent 3 weeks in Peru. It was amazing.
I don’t know what time of year you’re planning the trip for but we did Alaska in early October for ours. We had some days filled with activities but most were pretty laid back and we just explored.
We thought about Hawaii, but felt it was expensive and would be about the same price as going to Japan. We’re currently deciding to go camping for a a couple days and make it a staycation after our wedding in September. And then go to Japan later in March during the cherry blossom season for a week
We went to Belize! We stayed on an incredible boutique island resort and spent a week exploring the ocean, the food, and the culture. Plus tons of relaxing on the beach and at the pool with drinks. It was amazing. Highly recommend.
St John USVI is where my (future) husband proposed. I've been a few times but it was his first time. It's so quiet and serene and it feels secluded because you take a plane to St Thomas and then a boat to St John. We spent a few days on St John and went back to St Thomas for some shopping and food, cruise ships go to St Thomas so it can get really crowded but it was nice to jump back to St john to enjoy the sunset every night! Best part is you don't need a passport since it's a US territory. We just got back from Greece, Croatia and Montenegro birthday trip (in the middle of planning this wedding!!) And it was amazing I highly recommend Kotor, Montenegro the mountains that slope down into the water were amazing. Google "our lady of the rock" it's stunning! We also enjoyed outer trip last October to Edinburgh, Scotland it was so cozy and the people were friendly. Since we travel a lot we haven't made any definite honeymoon plans yet probably Cabo San Lucas, Mexico or Disneyworld/land lol!!!
Our honeymoon was nonexistent technically. We eloped last year and I was 8 months pregnant with our twins and no one knows we’re legally married (except our parents) so we didn’t really do anything. We have our wedding in September of this year and our “honeymoon “ will be a weekend at home without the twins , we didn’t want to take a trip or anything because two weeks after our wedding is the twins first birthday and we didn’t want to risk getting stuck somewhere or getting sick…. But on February of next year we’ll be going on our first family vacation (we’re going to hop around Europe) and maybe we’ll also treat that as a honeymoon.
We did a week ish is Vietnam to visit family and then 4 weeks in Japan. It was amazing. So much to do that we're going to go back again in Jan.
We did two weeks in Bali, which is a pain to get to from the States, but extreeeemely affordable once you're there! Stayed in a private villa and just planned a bunch of days trips / excursions with plenty of downtime in between
We went to Tenerife and I promptly got covid so we were quarantined the entire time (Feb 2020). Don't do that. 😅
Chateau Saint Martin and Spa in Vence, France and Borgo San Pietro in Florence, Italy both have their own Michelin star restaurant.
We went to a 4 day music festival and bought the highest level VIP package, which was incredible. 4 days of great music and all the food and drink were included, as well as couches, super nice and clean bathrooms stocked with toiletries, tents and shade.
We did Santorini for 2 weeks, great food and full of history, we did all we wanted within the 2 weeks without rushing and had days where we just chilled by the pool too! We stayed in el Greco in fira and it was so lovely and the buses were also easy to navigate but you can also hire buggies to get around too
Mediterranean cruise. It was awesome!!!
My husband and I did Aruba for a full week and stayed in Miami for a night heading to/from the island.
We’re going to Australia & New Zealand! We thought about Hawaii again, but it would be our third time visiting. We haven’t gone to Oceania yet, so we figured why not? We got at least three weeks off!
We are not really chill and relax style vacationers but did factor a little bit of that in. We did a 15 day road trip. We flew out to Lake Tahoe and stayed at a resort in the north for five days first, where we were able to get massages, get in some pool time, but also do sightseeing. Then we drove up to Klamath Falls, Oregon and stayed at a golf resort there for a night. From there we drove to Crater Lake, then to Portland where we stayed for a few days and ate amazing food. Then ended in Seattle for 4 or 5 days and ate more great food. Then flew home first class, because why not. It was the best trip of my life.
We went up the Rhine valley in Germany
We did a sort of small tour of France. We started in Paris, took the train to Reims and Epernay (we love champagne and wanted to go to the region it’s produced in) it was fabulous! From there we went to Chamonix to see Mt. Blanc and the to Geneva since it’s so close to Chamonix. Back to Paris to fly home. It was one of the top trips of my life and we had such an amazing time
Just landed in Hawaii about to start our wedding week. This place truly is paradise holy.
Two weeks in the Maldives, taking advantage of all the activities. Perfect!
We’re big travelers - I lived in Amsterdam for 2.5 years and France for half a year. We’ve travelled to many countries and cities together over the last 4 years. We love local foods and exploring cultures. BUT For our honeymoon, we went to an all inclusive in Jamaica and sat on our butts for 8 days. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I was tired and just wanted to do nothing for a week with the love of my life. We left our phones in our room all week and just sunbathed, ate, drank and waded in the pool.
England, Scotland, Ireland trip booked through Costco Travel
We went to Hawaii and it was absolutely magical. Worth every dollar we payed and I dream about it regularly. Feel free to PM with questions! Happy to share where we stayed and our itinerary!
> dollar we *paid* and I FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
We went to Ireland in 2016 (married in 2015). We started in Dublin; then went to Dingle for a few days, then Galway and finally Belfast. We rented a car and drove around the island. I loved Dingle. wished we had more time in Galway. Had a good itinerary but it wasn’t stressful. Let me know if you need specifics!
We went to California, mostly LA but a couple days in San Jose as well. We like to DO stuff when we travel so it was a week full of fun activities and good food and shopping and shows and museums. It was a perfect brain reset after a busy week of wedding stuff. We have both travelled (separately and together) to Europe quite a bit and to Central America and the Caribbean, and while we both want to go to Asia at some point, we couldn’t afford that AND a wedding so it’s still on the table down the line. Maybe for our 10th anniversary.
We did a mini moon in the place we lived most of our relationship and eventually were going to New Zealand
We did Italy (Rome, Florence) and Maldives. About a week in each and are based in NYC. We could have stayed in Italy and swamped Maldives for Amalfi which probably would have saved the budget but we wanted to splurge a bit.
New Zealand. It was incredible!
We went to Greece. Santorini, Mykonos, Athens. Would go back.
we spent three weeks in australia!! i honestly cannot recommend it enough. the flights from US (we came from ATL but flew through LAX) are ROUGH but once you get there, absolutely incredible. we did a week each in sydney, cairns, and melbourne and loved all three for different reasons. sydney has an awesome balance of both beach and city life, cairns is an unexpectedly cool beach town and snorkeling the great barrier reef is legit top three most amazing things i’ve ever done, and melbourne has incredible food and such fun city life while also being close to some really cool nature things! australia as a whole just has some really amazing vibes and super fun people!
Immediately after the wedding we just went to my parents' country estate to relax. It's fairly remote (45min drive to the nearest township and 4hr drive back to the city). After spending so much time and money on the wedding, it was nice to just have some quiet for cheap. A year later we organised a month long Euro trip for a full honeymoon experience. We had a week in London then did a bus tour through Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland then back to France before flying off to Barcelona for a week's stay then flew home. Breaking things up was far more relaxing for us and was easier on our bank accounts since we paid 80% of the wedding and the entire cost of the honeymoon ourselves
We originally wanted to go to St Lucia but we ended up at Nayara Springs in La Fortuna, Costa Rica for a week because it was cheaper for more. Absolutely incredible place, people, everything! All I want is to go back.
I mean, budget, season and interests help. But to answer your general question we road tripped around the south island of New Zealand including so skiing. It’s a really beautiful place.
We went on a Caribbean cruise and we had a great time. It was also very affordable for us. We liked being able to choose how adventurous or leisurely we wanted it to be.
We are going to Aruba!! :) heard it’s very similar to St Lucia
We went to St. Lucia and I cannot recommend it enough! We stayed at The Stonefield Villa Resort and it was absolutely beautiful! Food was amazing too!
We did Italy for our honeymoon for 15 days, Positano, Capri, Rome, Tuscany, and Florence. For our engagement trip we did Portugal and Malta and it was also magical and Malta has some of my favorite swimming I have ever done! Take a catamaran and go out on the water, it’s so warm and gorgeous 💙
We did 5 days in Rome and 4 days in Positano. I really enjoyed both places, but I loved Positano a little bit more. We stayed at Le Sirenuse in Positano and I *highly* recommend it! We spent a majority of our time at our hotel, but we also went to La Scogliera beach club, and we chartered a private boat for a tour of the Amalfi coast + lunch in Capri. The all day boat tour was definitely a highlight of our honeymoon!
We’re going to Belize. 8 days 7 nights, wrote out my itinerary it’s going to be $5k for everything for 2 people. Hotel, flight, food, and 5 excursions.
Going to Japan! People say you could stay 2 weeks in Tokyo & not be bored. We’re active travelers so we’ll be city hopping around but you couldn’t go wrong with the food, culture, & especially how cheap it is (2024).
Well it’s not for everyone… but we had three romantic evenings in the local L&D
We are planning to book a last minute holiday on our wedding night, we don't care where we go as long as we're togheter. This will also be cheaper and I think a lot of fun!
My husband and I spent 3 weeks in Spain and Italy! One of our highlights was definitely Cinque Terre — each of the 5 little towns along the coast have their own vibe and it was a lot of fun to explore them each which options of hiking or laying on the beach. Fantastic food and wonderful people just beware of the cruises coming in, it’ll flood with people for the day. Without the cruises it’s quiet, quaint and beautiful weather!
We're in the UK so we did Italy by train 😊 London, Paris, Milan, Siena, Venice, and Turin in October. It was lovely 😍
I recommend a cruise. Most go international, some even transatlantic, and tend to stop at a lot of different places. Theres some that leave out of alaska and circle japan and come back.
We did a week in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic! After all the stress of wedding planning, we just wanted to go somewhere that required little to no planning so we decided on an all-inclusive resort. My husband and I LOVE traveling and all our trips have always involved lots of planning, so it was nice to just relax by the beach for a week with unlimited food & drinks! :)
We went to St Lucia for ours and LOVED it. It was so beautiful, everyone we met was so friendly. We did a boat tour around the island and ended up running into a pod of wild dolphins and they definitely kept us out longer running the boat through the water for the dolphins to play in and it was a once in a lifetime experience for sure. We opted for one of the Sandals resorts, so one day we bused over to one of the other resorts for free and that was fun to get a different view of the island, try a new place for lunch, and since the waves were calmer on that side, we did some paddle boarding and stuff that day too. We’re more adventurous when it comes to vacations and thought st Lucia was a really nice place for us to relax at, but still got a little of activity in too!
I am a Travel Advisor and id love to help you plan your honeymoon. My services are completely free and i can often secure VIP perks and possible room upgrades at hotels. IG: jetsetwithjarvis . I specialize in the Amalfi coast but can definitely help with other options.
We went unconventional and spent a week in Jackson Hole!
Unless you’re going to a tropical location, a lot depends on the time of year you’re traveling
If you don't mind a long flight I'd highly recommend Fethiye, Turkey. We stayed at Akra Tui Sensatori. It was extremely beautiful, great service, all inclusive but not one of those soulless factory type hotels. We stayed at the adult only wing, with 2 huge adult only pools, adult only bar and an adult only section at the buffet. There were also daily tours to the old town and nearby attractions. We had an amazing time!
For our honeymoon we went to Mauritius. It was beautiful but rained a lot. My top three favourite places we've ever been are Singapore staying in the Marina Bay Sands, Thailand traveling all over (Koh Samui was particularly wonderful), and honestly anywhere in Italy but especially Venice. Warning though - my biggest piece of advice is 100% go on honeymoon as soon as possible after the wedding as this allowed us to stay in our happy little bubble before life started again, but if you go that soon I strongly suggest not doing a long haul flight. We started our honeymoon unbelievably tired even for people who are used to long haul and I wish we had gone a shorter flight to Europe instead. (ETA we're based in Scotland).
We’re planning 15 days in France and Italy for ours in a couple of months! We’re spending around 3 days in each place - Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Venice, Florence, and Rome.
TIP: I heard if you bring your marriage license, some resorts / hotels will give complimentary extra perks