Budget Honeymoon Alternatives

By The Celebration Team 14 May, 2010

The wedding date has been set, the guests notified and just as you were looking towards booking your honeymoon,… the Economy upped and left for undisclosed “greener” pastures and left your honeymoon budget is in tatters. No problem, it is still possible to have a romantic and affordable honeymoon. Here are some options:

Ask for the gift of a honeymoon

The Honeymoon Registry is a fashionably “new” way of paying for your dream honeymoon by making use of a Honeymoon Gift Registry. Quite simply, create an account set up your registry and notify your guests. The honeymoon registry works in the same way as a normal gift registry but instead of receiving crystal and linen, you receive your dream honeymoon or portions thereof. In today’s current social circles, asking for donations or straight cash is still frowned upon. The reason: guests want to share in the romance of your big day and leave with the knowledge of having contributed something small towards your happy future as a couple, in this case by helping create a special memory. Of course one could always ask for a cash donation, but purchasing a portion of the honeymoon (be it a hot air balloon ride or a romantic meal on an island beach), is so much more meaningful. There are a number of honeymoon registries online most of them American, however www.theHoneymoonRegistry.co.za is an established South African option.

Local is “Lekka”

At the moment flights take up a large portion of the total honeymoon costs. With Fuel surcharges around the world on the increase this particular cost does not look like it is going to decrease very soon. Why not stay local rather? South Africa is a world renowned tourist destination, with resorts and lodges rated in the top ten for Honeymoon destinations. Most South Africans haven’t traveled very much within their country and feel obliged to go abroad on their honeymoon as it is “the done thing”. However, by saving on the airfare there is the possibility of staying in a truly exceptional local lodge as opposed to the mediocre alternative abroad. Some South African lodges and resorts even offer nationals special rates and discounts. In Europe, there are so many places tourist hot spots rarely indulged in by the locals. Perhaps do a cycling tour along the Danube stopping over in little Bnb’s or in London hiring a romantic cottage in the lake district.

Seasonal Travelling

Low season is much more economical than the High season. Most places offer winter specials from May to September with some prices discounted to more than 30%, or perhaps there will be one or two extra nights added in. Apart from the financial savings, the “low season” is much quieter and more intimate than at other times of the year – perfect for a honeymoon. Don’t be tempted to think that low season means dreary weather – in Afria – May, August and September quite often have fantastic weather, where as in the Northern Hemisphere October and November are still good months to travel too.

Chat to a Honeymoon Specialist

Specialists in the field should be able to create a honeymoon package within your budget, incorporating many of your honeymoon ideals. Just like a wedding planner helps you find and create the perfect honeymoon, a good travel/honeymoon specialist will help you tie all the cords (or strings as may be the case) together. If you approach them with your idea and don’t have a specific destination in mind, they should be able to come up with a good number of alternatives. There are, after all, many places to honeymoon in.

Go Camping

Picture a crackling fire, an open sky filled with stars, awe-inspiring beauty and just the two of you snuggled together. Camping is much more romantic than it is given credit for. All you have to do is go prepared. Essentials include warm sleeping bags, comfortable sleeping mats, waterproof tent and a bottle of massage oil. The choices of destinations are endless and if you are planning on a prolonged (6 – 12 month) honeymoon driving through Africa, or backpacking around the world, this is definitely the way to go. There is also the added advantage of adding the “bare- camping-necessities” to your Gift Registry or you can simply hire everything you need. With cutting back on the cost of accommodation you may find that you are in a fantastic position to spend more on the camping destination. Perhaps you could even do something “exotic” like the Inca Trail in Peru. Check out our Honeymoon Registries category for more information.

Book Early

Many people leave their honeymoon arrangements until the very last minute. Unfortunately this generally means that you get the “left-overs”. As a result you are likely to pay higher prices for the flight, experience difficulties in obtaining availability at accommodation with the possibility of having to take a more expensive room option than your budget allows for. Avoid the stress, book early, and leave it to your honeymoon specialist to do all the work for you. If you do find your self in a situation where you have left things to late, sign up to budget travel newsletter and see what last minute deals you can obtain and go on a surprise honeymoon without ruffling your tail feathers.

Enter Competitions

Winning a competition may very well be remote and might not be what your honey-pie had in mind of a carefully considered honeymoon, but it will certainly help with keeping the costs down. If you do get lucky it means that by the time your first anniversary comes around you will have recovered from the cost of the wedding and can really indulge on a fantastic honeymoon.

Take a Self- Catering or a Self- Drive Option

Quite often travelers will opt for an all inclusive packages on a full board basis (breakfast, lunch and dinner) so that they wont have the hassle of paying for food whilst on their honeymoons. This isn’t always the best option. You might find yourselves on remote island beach honeymoon where a picnic lunch is far more appealing than going back to the hotel, or, there may be restaurants nearby that you would love to try. Perhaps the appeal of a romantic fireside dinner for just the two of you is the ultimate in honeymoon style. Whatever your reason, look at all the options and think twice before taking the full board honeymoon package with all transfers included, it can change the final price of your honeymoon dramatically. Rather look to see if there are any restaurants in the area that interest you and if hiring your own car might not be a more economical option.

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