Well a travel week wouldn’t be complete without a honeymoon post, am I right? So today I’m giving you my Top 5 Tips to the Perfect Honeymoon.
{Go somewhere you really want to go}
Sit down with your significant other and think about the kind of trip you want to take. Do you just want to lay on a beach the whole time, or do you want to do a lot of sightseeing? Do you want to visit a far off location, or take a road trip? My husband and I had already been to Hawaii a few times and always wanted to visit Italy, so we figured out a way to make that happen for our honeymoon. All that really matters is you are away, somewhere you like, and with each other!
{Consider a honeymoon registry}
Sometimes after having a wedding, there isn’t much left in the budget to pay for a honeymoon. That’s why my husband and I did a honeymoon registry in addition to a traditional registry. Our guests loved it and really got into buying us something that we could enjoy (dinner, a gondola ride, tickets to a museum, a bottle of wine). There are great companies out there, like Lovely Vendor Guide member Honeymoon Pixie, who allow you to personalize the registry and get the info out to your guests. I highly recommend a honeymoon registry and had a terrific experience with ours!
{Bring lots of clothing options without overpacking}
We always think we should pack light, and then end up overpacking while somehow never having anything good to wear (is that just me, because this always happens to me!). So I’ve rounded up some adorable, budget friendly dresses that would be perfect for a warm weather honeymoon. And one or two great pairs of shoes (think wedges and strappy sandals) would work for every one of these. So you can pack several dresses but only one pair of shoes to make up for it!
{all dresses via modcloth}
I rounded all of these options up from Modcloth, but other great sources for cute & budget friendly dresses are Asos, Old Navy (I have had great luck with them this season!), Forever 21, Zara, or a J.Crew sale.
{Bring the necessities}
Besides clothes (and a few pieces of pretty lingerie) you need to bring the things that are necessities for a great trip. Here are a few things that I think are must-haves for your honeymoon:
1. Contraception (unless you’re ready to get preggo right away!)
2. Sleep aid for long flights: I popped an ambien and slept for 7 hours on our way to Paris. It was
amazing. But there are over the counter sleep aids that you can try as well. Obviously talk to your
doctor first.
3. An iPod, or the earphones for your iPhone or iPad, to drown out plane noise.
4. If you are a light sleeper like I am, I would also recommend a white noise app for the same device,
because you know hotels are always noisy…This is the free one I use when we travel.
5. If you are going to be staying in one destination, a travel pillow is a huge help on flights. But if you
are traveling all over Europe, you won’t want to drag one along.
6. A backpack that your husband will carry…so you don’t have to!
7. Paper soap: if you are going on a long trip and don’t want to pack a million pairs of underwear,
and won’t have access to a laundering service, these are a must!
8. A travel luggage scale will keep you from paying huge fees on heavy luggage. They are small and
lightweight and super easy to use.
9. Downy Wrinkle Release: this will get the packing wrinkles out of your clothes and it comes in a
travel size. I’m also a huge fan of the Tide-to-go stain pen!
10. Evian Facial Spray: Get a quick refresh while on a long flight without messing your makeup.
11. A universal adapter is great to have for international travel, and this one works for all
destinations.
12. This is one I wish I knew about for my honeymoon – the Vinni Wine bag lets you safely transport
wine, or other glass souvenirs, in your luggage. I would have filled a suitcase with wine and this
delicious balsamic vinigrette had I known about this!
13. A camera, obviously. And pair it with….
14. My most favorite of the must-haves: The XShot screws into the bottom of
your camera and has an extender that allows you to take self photos without it being seen. It is
GENIUS! My husband and I used this on our honeymoon and yes, we got funny looks. But we
didn’t have to worry about asking (in another language) and trusting someone to take a picture for
us. And it folds up small enough to fit in your husband’s cargo shorts-type pocket. We have so
many great pictures of the two of us all over Paris and Italy thanks to it. Here’s one where the
XShot slipped in a bit (and notice the backpack too!) but I swear out of like 1000 pics we took,
these are the only two were the XShot showed up.
15. The last must-have isn’t actually something that I’ve ever tried, but when I heard of it I thought it
sounded brilliant and super weird at the same time. But having been in a undesirable bathroom (or
lack of) situation before, I think it is worth a try. It is called the GoGirl (that’s what I said) and it
basically lets women pee standing up. I’ll let you check it out to learn the rest. Can someone tell
me if they have tried this, or try it out and fill me in? I’m intrigued and weirded out, but mostly
intrigued…
{Unplug, relax, and enjoy!}
This one is pretty self-explanatory, but unplugging is harder than you think it will be (it is much easier if you are out of the country). Leave your phone in the hotel room, turn it off, or let your battery die. Leave your laptop and iPad at home. We only checked our email a couple times in two weeks, and never used a phone. It was heaven.
One last thing, the Knot has a pretty extensive packing list to help you as a checklist when your packing time has come. You can find it here.
I hope this helps you in planning, packing, and enjoying your honeymoon! This post has given me the travel bug, so let me live vicariously through you. Tell me, where are you going (or where did you go) on your honeymoon?
