When planning your honeymoon ask yourselves: who, what, where, when, why
JENNY BLOCK | Contributing Writer
I cannot imagine a better way to kick-off my new travel column here than to write about honeymoons. They are a sticky wicket. But if you do them right, they can be downright magical. The question is — what does it mean to do a honeymoon right?
The answer is as complicated as it is simple. The only way to do a honeymoon right is to do what works for you and your partner and not listen to anyone trying to sway you.
When my wife and I began talking about what to do for our honeymoon, my requirements were simple — luxury, beach, fabulous weather and plenty of fantastic, fresh, local cuisine. My wife’s requirements were a tiny bit more complicated. She wanted all of that plus it had to only take a half a day to get there; have calm, warm waters; silky sand — no rocks! — and there had to be places to go and things to do like shopping and dining.
Luckily, I had been travel writing for a good long time by then, and once I dipped into my bag of tricks, I was able to come up with the perfect place — Baoase in Curacao. We had a private villa right on the beach. The staff was incredible. The food was impeccable. The city itself is lovely and has great sites and restaurants and food. It did take us way too long to get there, but that was only because of flight delays. Otherwise, it’s a half-day trip easy.
It was perfect. Truly.
The most important questions to ask yourselves when you’re planning a honeymoon are Who? What? Where? When? and Why?
Who? Who do you want to be around on your honeymoon? If you answered no one, you might want to rent a private place from a tiny house to a grand estate. If you don’t mind some staff, you can opt for somewhere that offers a chef, a butler, and/or a cleaning staff. If you and your partner enjoy the company of others, be sure to choose a location where you are more likely to find like-minded friends to make.
What? What do you want to do? What do you want to see? What do you want to eat? What kind of activities – or lack thereof – do you want? What level of simplicity or luxury do you want? What don’t you want? If the answers seem to be that you want it all, you might want to check out a cruise. Cruise lines like Princess and Celebrity have everything from well-priced inside cabins to spectacular suites and destinations from the Caribbean to Europe to Alaska.
Where? The beach? The mountains? Somewhere far flung and exotic? Cost and time are two major considerations when it comes to where. Are you game to fly? Can you get there by boat? Do you want to be in one place the whole time or see a number of places? Are you train people? Does your destination have to be drivable? Think about where you want to be but also about how you’ll get there, that can make a big difference when it comes to making this very big decision.
When? Honeymoons are traditionally taken right after the wedding. But they don’t have to be. Do you have vacation time saved up?
Do you have summers off? Would you prefer to travel over the holidays? If you chose to wait, you could always take a quick little mini-moon right after the wedding. Even if it’s just a staycation, you can at least bask in the glow of your new nuptials! Be sure to keep in mind weather concerns when you choose the when in terms of both getting there and being there.
Why? This might seem like an easy one. But it’s important to consider why you’re honeymooning when you’re deciding how to honeymoon. Of course, you’re celebrating the fact that you’ve just made your love official. But are you hoping to relax together?
Adventure together? Be alone together? Or do you intend to do everything together? The why will help you get to the what for sure!
Of course, the most important thing of all is to not put too much pressure on yourself or one another or the honeymoon. It is, after all, just a trip. You have your whole married life ahead of you to do all of things you want to do both together and apart. So, make your choices. Don’t even think about questioning them. And have a good time. Even a week in the rain at a beach resort or two weeks in Italy with outrageous temps or a weekend in Waco can be a blast if you simply decide it’s going to be!
Remember, the word honeymoon is said to come from medieval times when couples drank mead (made from honey) for one month (a full moon cycle) in order to get pregnant. Only in modern times did it comes to mean a vacation of a lifetime.
So, these days, a honeymoon means whatever you want it to mean, and planning should be half the fun!