Honeymoon travel ideas – help!
One of the hardest things I’ve found about planning a wedding is the number of decisions you have to make. I’m not the most decisive person at the best of times and there have been many moments over the last few months when I’ve found myself completely at my wits end as I sit at home on a Friday night trying to decide what weight of paper I want my invites to be printed on. I mean who even knows what that means?
But one of the things I’ve been really looking forward to is planning our honeymoon. I mean, let’s face it, travel is never far from my mind and the chance to organise a really super-duper holiday somewhere sounds amazing.
However I must admit, after Mr A’s incredibly romantic proposal at Yosemite National Park on our US road trip, I’m struggling a bit. I think there’s already a lot of pressure to make sure your honeymoon is the best holiday ever. But when you love travelling I feel like there’s an added expectation to make it even more brilliant.
So, after a lot of uuming and aahing, here’s what we’ve narrowed down the list to:
Japan
Japan is somewhere I’ve been longing to go back to, ever since my visit there in 2005. On that trip I naively turned up without a guidebook and not a word of Japanese and spent a month travelling around. I gate-crashed a geisha tea party, slept in a capsule hotel, went to a jazz club in Hiroshima and ate my own body weight in sushi. I got lost repeatedly, confused lots of Japanese people and loved every minute of it.
Since then I’ve always wanted to go back for the cherry blossom season in the spring. I’ve heard so much about it and would love to experience one of the cherry blossom parties, where local people fill the parks to celebrate.
One of the things Mr A and I share an interest in is all of the quirky things you see on your travels. It was one of the reasons we had such a great time in America, as we loved stopping off at the world’s best preserved meteorite site and staying in a wigwam. I know there is so much of that in Japan and I would love to go back and experience it with Mr A.
However I started to reconsider Japan for a honeymoon after someone pointed out that it might not be the most romantic trip. There will be no lying around on a beach and most of the places we are likely to visit will be very busy. The trip is also likely to involve a lot of travelling around which, with no Japanese, could get stressful.
Cuba
Cuba is somewhere I’ve wanted to visit for a long time and, although I was momentarily put off it when we read Peter Millar’s Slow Train to Guantanamo in #travelbookclub, the more I hear about it from other travellers, the more I want to go.
The old elegance of the architecture, the soulful music and the paradores (restaurants) in people’s homes sounds right up our street. Not to mention I’m sure Mr A would want to spend a lot of time checking out all of those old cars.
South America
South America owns my heart. It’s the place I love to travel to more than anywhere else in the world and something always pulls me back there. I adore the people, the scenery, the food, the music – the list is endless.
Mr A and I had our first ever holiday together in Argentina and Chile, when he came to meet me for Christmas and New Year when I was on my solo round the world trip, just a few months after we’d met. So it holds lots of special memories for us both and we’d love to go back one day.
I’d really like to return to Colombia and Brazil and am also keen to explore some new countries like Uruguay, where we could enjoy a mixture of cities and beaches.
The Maldives
Speaking of beaches, part of me is wondering whether we shouldn’t ditch the more adventurous holiday for once and just go and lie on a beach somewhere. I’m always insanely jealous of the photos I see of people’s trips to the Maldives. And isn’t a honeymoon a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay in a five star hotel and spend every day lying on a perfect beach? It would be the chance for Mr A and I to chill out together after a busy few months and also the opportunity for us to do some diving, which I absolutely love.
Aaah, decisions! What do you think? Have you been to any of these places or is there another country you would recommend as the perfect honeymoon destination?
What a great list! I haven’t been to Japan or Colombia but can vouch for the other destinations. I’d love to visit Japan myself one day at cherry blossom time – it looks so beautiful! The Maldives is a funny one – I’d never before imagined I would like it and only went because it was so near Sri Lanka where we were going anyway but it really was absolute paradise! Tough choice but a fun one to be making ☺
Yes, I’m definitely not complaining about having to make this decision 😉 Thanks for your advice, the Maldives does look incredible!
Cherry blossom season is amazing, but it will be super crowded. You should definitely go at some point! The Maldives seems like a more relaxing and idyllic honeymoon destination. 🙂
Aw, amazing! The cherry blossoms is something I have wanted to see for years, but the crowds is a good point. So another vote for The Maldives 🙂
Maldives! Or Cuba! Yay! I would have said Japan, but having read ‘unfinishedtravel’s comment, I reckon you don’t want to be there when it’s crazy crowded. xx
Eeeeek, so exciting! The crowds is something I hadn’t considered in Japan but am definitely thinking about it now. But The Maldives or Cuba would both be amazing! xx
I vote the Maldives! You want romance for your honeymoon! Cuba comes in second. We did the Greek Isles which was wonderful. Japan is interesting but not the most ideal place for a honeymoon. PAtagonia is awesome too but if you do hiking you won’t be alone and that is what a honeymoon. Is all about! Good luck!
Thanks so much for the advice. Yes, we definitely want some romance! I bet the Greek Isles were amazing 🙂
As much as I’d love to visit Japan myself, I’m going to have to say Cuba on this one. You’ve already been to Japan and SA so somewhere new would be good for a honeymoon. As incredible as the Maldives looks, my mum has been twice and she says there is literally nothing to do apart from lying on the beach. I’m pretty sure you’re like me and would get fidgety after a few days of doing absolutely nothing.
Plus I’ve just got back from Cuba and am so happy to tell you that it is amazing!! We loved everything about it…the colourful vintage cars that made us feel like we were on the set of Grease, the friendly people, music that made us want to dance everywhere we went, delicious food and even more delicious cocktails. Oh and beaches from paradise!
I know how much you’ve wanted to go to Cuba for ages so it has my vote! 🙂
Ah, reading about your trip on your blog has totally cemented my feelings about going to Cuba. It all looked amazing! Can’t wait to read more about it 🙂
The honeymoon planning was the most difficult decision about getting married! We ended up not having a proper honeymoon and having a mini trip after the wedding and a few smaller honeymoons throughout the year and are finally doing out big trip (to South Africa) this year, two years after the wedding – nothing like spreading it out!
I think it’s about finding the balance between somewhere to be romantic and laze about (like the Maldives) and somewhere to see things and have new experiences (like Japan) rather than too much or one or the other. Cuba sounds like a good one to mix a bit of beach and bit of culture? Either way I’d advise not jetting off the day after the wedding if you can as I slept for about a week so was glad I was only in Cornwall rather than somewhere exotic!
Haha, I definitely like your honeymoon style Lucy! Maybe I should do something similar for mine 😉 I do like that Cuba offers the best of both worlds. We won’t be jetting off straight away though and are considering a ‘mini-moon’ in the UK, as I definitely feel like I’ll need a good sleep after the wedding!
These all look like amazing destinations, and what a fun thing to have to decide! 😉 If you are really thinking of Japan, but the thought of no beaches is worrying you – you can always head down to Okinawa. They have really stunning beaches there, and a unique culture. You can check out flypeach.com for discount flights. Can’t wait to see what you end up deciding. 😀
Wow, thanks for the tip. I never really associate Japan with beaches but will definitely check it out. Yes, it’s definitely an exciting decision to make! 🙂
I also think Japan could be a romantic destination… you could stay in a traditional ryokan and take part in a private onsen. A bit pricey, but hey it’s your honeymoon!! 😉
too hard a question, I’m in the same boat! We took a mini moon to Matera in Southern Italy, but are toying between Japan (snapsies!), Hawaii and French Polynesia or HK and Vietnam/Cambodia. So many places to see! Never considered the stressful part of Japan so may have to reconsider that. From your list I would opt for Cuba. All sounds very exciting!
Glad I’m not the only one taking a mini-moon 😉 All of your options sound great too. I’ve only been to Vietnam/Cambodia, but they were both amazing! Good luck with your decision, it’s definitely a nice one to have to make 🙂
This is something I’m going through myself at the moment, and there is definitely pressure on when you are a traveller to pick the perfect destination.
Japan is amazing, especially in the cherry blossom season, but not always the most romantic of destinations.
My advice would to be get the best of both worlds and extend your honeymoon to at least a month. Spend a couple of weeks exploring somewhere new, then finish up somewhere ultra relaxing and romantic.
So if you want to spend a few weeks exploring say Japan (which is a genuinely amazing country) finish it off with a week or two either on a beach in Malaysia (Langkawi or Tioman are great) or even getting a bit of ultra luxury pampering in Singapore? Air Asia flights make it real easy to do that. 🙂
I vote Maldives (biased as I went there on my own honeymoon!) but 5-nights is def enough. You could make it a twin-centre honeymoon and add on somewhere like Sri Lanka too. There’s so many resorts to choose from in the Maldives that you’re bound to found one that suits what you want. We stayed at a lovely resort called Baros which had plenty to keep us busy and relaxed at the same time!
Great options and we love how you have Japan listed first. That was where we went for our honeymoon 🙂 Thinking of doing a return trip for our ten years!! So have you settled on your honeymoon destination yet??
Best part of wedding planning is the honeymoon planning! I took my honeymoon in Turkey and thought it was the perfect combination of discovery, wandering, and relaxing (hammams, beaches, gulet cruises, cafés …). Turks were so honoured that we decided to honeymoon there they kept giving me presents! (and the fact that I’m now divorced has nothing to do with the fab Turkish honeymoon!)
Cuba is beautiful, but it’s kind of a beach and scuba dive only place. The food isn’t that great, and it is hard to do anything off-resort. Mind you, it’s your honeymoon … you shouldn’t plan to do too much!!