10 Great Ideas To Help Plan A Cost-Effective Honeymoon

It seems these days everyone is on a budget because of a struggling economy, and this can make planning any event, especially a honeymoon, an extremely stressful situation. You shouldn't worry so much, though, because it is possible to plan a dream honeymoon without spending a ton of money. As long as you are willing to check out your options you will see there are tons of ways to save money and still plan the honeymoon you've dreamed of. Check out this list of ten pointers to help you and everyone else plan affordable honeymoons.

1. Choose an off-peak season to travel to your destination. This can save you as much as 50% on all aspects of your trip, depending on your destination. For instance, you can travel to many Caribbean destinations during the summer for discounted prices.

2. After choosing your destination, be sure to book air travel in advance. Most major airlines will penalize you with higher fares if you book a flight within less than 30 days of your target departure date. If you're really savvy, be sure to have a frequent flyer account for the airline you're using, along with a credit card for that carrier. My wife and I recently used our United Airlines frequent flyer miles to take a trip to Italy. We simply use my United Airlines credit card for most of our monthly living expenses, and the miles keep adding up over time!

3. Just like with airfare, reserve your hotel accommodations in advance as well. Particularly during off-season months, rates can be negotiable. For a little more adventure and less cost as well, stay at a bed and breakfast or try renting an apartment from one of the locals.

4. Know the sightseeing attractions that you want to see and try to pick an area relatively central and accessible to the places and attractions you want to frequent. If you can arrange to stay at a hotel within walking distance of major sights, you can save a small fortune by avoiding taxi fares. This also enables you to maximize your time by not having to spend valuable minutes and hours traveling to various attractions.

5. When you dine where the locals do, odds are you're getting an authentic dish at a reasonable price. Eating American cuisine outside of U.S. borders is considered a premium and probably not as satisfying as the local dishes you could often have for even less money.

6. This next tip is DIRE: If you or someone you know are looking to plan affordable honeymoons, you have to be educated on the exchange rates of currencies outside this country; you also must find out where the best exchange rates are offered. Face it, merchants are going to know you are a tourist, and they are going to use this to their advantage to make as much money off of you as they can.

Making purchases abroad with credit cards is beneficial in a number of ways: credit cards can provide fair exchange rates on purchases, they remove the necessity of handling transactions with local money, they decrease the danger of being pickpocketed, and they provide documentation useful for scrapbooks and record keeping.

8. Shopping can be a tremendously enjoyable part of any honeymoon trip, though it is critical to know which sorts of items you wish to purchase. It is important to keep in mind how many gifts you need to find, and what type of item is known as the region's specialty. Therefore, you will be less likely to bring home ugly, unwanted items that will become clutter or be given all over again to someone else.

9. Only pack the necessities. People tend to always pack more than they will ever need, no matter where they are going or how long they plan to stay. And if you're like most people, you'll probably buy some clothes while you're away anyway. Most times you will be able to find some amazing hand made crafts and clothing from local stores.

In most countries, public modes of transport are inexpensive, convenient, and make for safe and enjoyable travel. You will also find it to be a terrific way to learn about the area's culture and lifestyle.

I hope this list of tips has been helpful. As you can see, planning affordable honeymoons can be a really fun process. More importantly, the more you plan right now, the more you can relax and have a good time on your actual trip.

Article Source: TravelFreeGuides.com

About the Author

Check out my blog for more about affordable honeymoons. Find honeymoon stories and honeymoon reviews.

by: Alicia Cooke

Total views: 8 Word Count: 765 Date: Fri, 23 Apr 2010 Time: 6:12 AM - 0 comments

Publish/Share this article

To use this article on your site click here to get the HTML code |
Remember: The article body, title, author bio and links may not be changed or removed. By publishing this article, you agree to all the terms in our Terms of Service.

Rating: Not yet rated