PLANNING A HONEYMOON & a honeymoon itinerary template

Planning a honeymoon all on your own can seem like a daunting task. You may be wondering what’s the best honeymoon destination for me and my fiance? If you’re like me, you may be a bit of a control freak so you want to plan everything, which means not only the wedding but every part of the honeymoon! You can rely on a travel agent to take some of the load off, but I have found you can easily plan a dream honeymoon while planning a wedding. For some couples, your honeymoon may be the first time you go on a long vacation or even leave the United States, so it’s hard to get your arms around everything.

Most get stressed out because they don’t know where to start. Below, I’ve made it easy for you by breaking out each step of planning a honeymoon. You also can use my travel itinerary template to plan the best honeymoon for you and your fiancé. This is the template I created for my own travels and I use it for every single one of my vacations!

choosing THE BEST HONEYMOON DESTINATION

If you already have a destination in mind, that’s great! Skip to the next step. If not, this is where your researching skills will come in handy. Don’t just rely on where a friend went on her honeymoon. My best piece of advice for finding the perfect honeymoon destination is choosing a place that is perfect for you and your fiancé! Whether you want a beach destination or are looking for something more adventurous like Morocco or Turkey, pick somewhere that you’ll both enjoy.

We ultimately landed on a beach destination — Greece was magical — but no matter where you end up, your honeymoon should fit the characteristics of you as a couple! Need help choosing a destination? Google and Pinterest will be your best friend when researching, but other sites like Brides.com have resources for you to get some inspiration. Some questions to ask when planning a honeymoon are:

1. How long do you want to honeymoon for?
2. When do you want to go? Right after the wedding or do you plan on honeymooning later?
3. Where do you want to stay? There are options like all-inclusive, hotels or Airbnb.
4. Do you want a relaxing honeymoon, adventurous or both?

Jump to the quick checklist below to plan a dream honeymoon — you won’t miss anything with this checklist.

DECIDE ON A honeymoon BUDGET

You’re probably thinking you need to build your budget before deciding on a destination. I disagree. A lot of people think traveling out of the country is so expensive, but you can travel internationally on a budget! Just like a wedding budget, though, a honeymoon should have a budget. You just need to first identify what is most important to you when choosing a honeymoon destination. With the right tools, you can plan a dream honeymoon within your budget.

TIP: If you are traveling on a tight budget, make sure to plan early! The later you wait, the more you could pay for flights and hotels. However, if you are short on time, don’t worry! I know people who have planned a honeymoon in less than a month.

If you plan to wait and travel after your wedding, you can actually save some money. Since you can be flexible with your travel dates, this is proven to be a cheaper alternative than leaving the day after your wedding.

Start booking

Deciding when to book flights and hotels can be a tricky process, but from my experience, the sooner you book the better. One way to find the best deal is by tracking your flights. Once you have your destination, start tracking flights using Google Flights or Hopper. Sites like these alert you when prices drop and inform you if the flight prices are typical for that time of year or higher than usual. The best part? The site has done the research for you and tells you if you should wait to book.

My go-to for booking flights is typically 6 months out for international trips and about 4 months out for domestic flights. Six months prior to your honeymoon is a key date to remember. You’ll also want to book any airport transfers, car rentals, check the CDC’s website for any vaccines you’ll need before traveling, and apply for a passport (or renew).

PASSPORT TIPs

• Leaving right after the wedding and have a current passport: use the passport you currently have. Your name won’t be legally changed yet.
• Leaving right after the wedding and don’t have a current passport: You’ll need to apply for a passport under your maiden name at least six months in advance. Once you get back from the honeymoon, you’ll need to legally change your name and apply for a new passport.
• Leaving for the honeymoon 6 months out: You can choose to legally change your name and apply for a new passport (you’ll need to do both) OR hold on changing your name until after the honeymoon.

Plan HOW YOU’LL SPEND YOUR TIME

When you chose your destination, you should have decided how adventurous or relaxing you wanted to make it. We chose a bit of both, Athens for the culture and city-life, Santorini for the calming views and Mykonos for the beaches and celebration.

Keep in mind, this is your honeymoon. It’s not your honeymoon if you are doing everything that Instagram influencer who went to Bali for her honeymoon did. So, choose activities that you and your fiance will enjoy! For some go-to recommendations, ask friends and family who have been there before to see what they liked. However, I recommend doing some research on your own. I have found some of the best-hidden gems by endlessly researching a city. So, make sure to try and find a few spots where only the locals eat or go to.

I also try to find local bloggers for restaurant recommendations when travel planning. Try to book those hard-to-get reservations about six months out or as soon as you can. Other dinner reservations and activities can be made about 1 month prior to your honeymoon.

The best way to plan a honeymoon or any travel is by using an itinerary template. You can instantly download the template here. This is the travel itinerary template I created for myself when I first started traveling and I use it for everything!

CONFIRM & inform!

About two weeks before your departure, you’ll have a few things you’ll need to do. Inform your bank that you’ll be traveling, so they don’t mark your purchases as fraudulent. Convert some cash into the local currency. I typically like to make half of my purchases with cash and the other half on my card when I travel. A good thing to remember is that cash is still king in most countries, so don’t rely too heavily on your card. You should also set up your international phone plan before traveling. It’s super easy and an inexpensive process, just visit your cell phone provider’s website or give them a call to set it up.

You’ll want to confirm everything about a week prior to when you leave! Every booking, rental, travel insurance. This is also when you should confirm your activities and print everything out. Print a picture of your passport/visa, all of your flight details, and your honeymoon travel itinerary template. I know it’s so old school, but hard copies are always accepted and sometimes your phone isn’t reliable.

ENJOY YOUR HONEYMOON

The best part about planning your honeymoon in advance down to the minute is you don’t have to worry about anything once you’re there! You already know which days you’ll be doing what. That means no more sitting in the hotel room and bickering because you can’t figure out where to eat that night. You’ll get to enjoy every second!

QUICK CHECKLIST

a honeymoon itinerary template

I hope you find this guide and travel itinerary template helpful when planning a honeymoon and it no longer seems like such a daunting task. If you want help finding the best honeymoon destination or need recommendations for a place I’ve traveled to, just reach out. I’d be happy to chat and provide personalized recommendations for you! For some ideas on where to go for your honeymoon, check out some of my travel guides below for inspiration.

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happy travels, liz stanford

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