Clayton Austin Although most engaged couples get focused on planning their wedding day and all the elements involved in that, you don’t want to forget to allocate plenty of time and effort to sorting out your honeymoon, too.
If you want to allocate most of your budget to your special day and won’t have as much as you might like left for your honeymoon, planning and preparing well in advance to get the most bang for your buck is imperative. Read on for some top tips for planning an affordable yet wonderful honeymoon this year or beyond.
Start Saving ASAP
The first step is to start saving as soon as you can. Hopefully, you might already have some funds put away for your annual vacation or your bucket list trip, but if not, start saving for your honeymoon as soon as you get engaged or at least as soon as you know roughly when you’ll be getting married. The sooner you start putting money away in a special account for this memorable vacation, the sooner you will get closer to saving what you need for a beautiful honeymoon.
If you have savings sitting in an account that isn’t getting much interest right now, it’s also worth shopping around for a better deal from a bank or other financial provider. You should be able to find a decent savings account that gives you bonus interest for each month that you add more to the account and don’t withdraw anything, or you could deposit money into a term deposit or the like.
Be Realistic
It’s also vital, though, to be realistic about what is and isn’t going to be possible on your honeymoon budget. You might have been saving hard for a while or plan to start soon, but this doesn’t mean that every five-star hotel you’ve ever dreamed of staying in will be in your budget, nor first-class flights or other heftily-priced experiences. The more realistic you can be, and the sooner you are, the better you can plan an awesome honeymoon within your actual budget.
Keep in mind, too, though, that there are often ways to work around what you want versus what you can afford and still be realistic. For instance, if you’ve always loved the idea of having a romantic sunset dinner on the beach with your beloved and then watching fireworks launch overhead when the sky is dark, you can make this happen without paying through the nose for an accommodation vendor or other supplier putting it together for you.
You might put a beautiful dinner for two at your honeymoon destination on your wedding registry list so that guests can make this happen for you, and then find out where to purchase rocket fireworks and other light-and-sound display items at your vacation spot and pay a local to set them off for you. This can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars while still allowing you to tick some things off your honeymoon wishlist.
Take Advantage of Frequent Flyer Miles and Other Reward Systems
Another great way to plan an affordable yet wonderful honeymoon is to take advantage of frequent flyer miles. If you and your partner have been saving these up for a while, why not utilize some points to book airline tickets or upgrade your seats to business class ones, especially if you plan on traveling somewhere that’s quite a long flight away?
You can also utilize other reward systems, such as those with hotel and other accommodation chains, shopping sites, and the like. You might be surprised by how much you can save by exchanging points or miles for travel-based items.
Book Early
In most cases, you can also cut costs significantly if you plan ahead and are as organized as possible. Book early for your flights, hotel, tours, and other honeymoon factors, and you won’t have to pay last-minute, top-dollar rates. Some travel agents and online booking sites offer excellent package deals that need to be bought well in advance of travel dates, too, that are worth investigating. These often include flights, hotels, some meals, and other extras for a lower price than you’d pay if you purchased all these things separately and closer to the date of travel.
Some other top tips for slashing the cost of your honeymoon while still enjoying the trip of your dreams are to be flexible with dates and locations so your dollar will go further, sign up for newsletters and follow travel companies on social media to learn about special offers, and research each element thoroughly.
Read all the terms and conditions on bookings before you part with any money, and see if you can get better terms if you go directly to accommodation providers rather than using third-party sites in all cases. Plus, don’t forget to invest in travel insurance so that you’re covered if anything happens and one or both of you are sick or injured or other problems occur.
Taking all these steps will help you enjoy an amazing honeymoon that you and your new spouse talk about fondly for decades to come.
