How to Plan Your Honeymoon

Choosing a honeymoon destination bears some similarity to selecting
a mate. You shouldn't decide haphazardly, and what looks good on
paper isn't always so. You want the perfect getaway, but you've
learned by now that perfection is elusive--even your Prince or
Princess Charming has faults (not that you can remember any just now).

Instructions

1. Sit down with your spouse-to-be and make a list of things that are essential (tropical setting, surfing) and what you can live without (beachfront condo). Discuss whether you'll take off for the honeymoon immediately following the wedding or whether to postpone it a few days, weeks or longer.

2. Surf the Web and scan travel magazines for destination ideas.

3. Agree on a honeymoon that suits both of your personalities. Hedonistic hammock-dozers and lovers of la dolce vita will swoon for a beach resort in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Fiji or Tahiti. Exotic dreamers who love to scuba dive and snorkel will flip for the Seychelles and Palau. Fun-in-the-sun personalities will be drawn to resorts, where you can go from a pool to the golf course to a reggae-blaring beach bar to the spa and back to the pool again. Or fly to a cosmopolitan European city that has a great restaurant and theater scene. If a sprig of forsythia, wooded strolls and a vintage bottle of wine stirs your souls, a country inn in New England or Napa Valley has newlywed written all over it.

4. Talk about how you'll pay for the honeymoon and, if it's necessary to save up for it, how you'll go about that (see 228 Design a Savings Plan). Check out honeymoon registry sites such as HoneyLuna.com for more ideas and help.

5. Pick a package. A travel agent will be wired into the latest and greatest land, air and car packages, which cost less than booking accommodations, flights and car rental separately. A typical Hawaiian or Caribbean honeymoon package might include a cocktail greeting, a champagne breakfast, a dinner at the resort, and complimentary golf cart and greens fees, all for one price.

6. See 405 Plan a Trip and put your official documents in order, including passports or visas. Purchase travel insurance, if you're not already covered by your credit card or insurance. If you are going abroad, exchange a few days' worth of currency before you leave. If you're going off the beaten path, make sure your vaccinations are up to date (see 431 Travel Abroad and 441 Get Immunizations for Traveling).

7. Pack for the honeymoon well before the wedding. There's plenty on your plate already. See 419 Pack for a Trip and 417 Prepare a Vacation Countdown Checklist.

8. Make arrangements for transportation to and from the airport and to have your home and pets cared for in your absence.

Tips & Warnings

• If you need new luggage and travel essentials, add these items to your bridal registry.

• Enlist the services of a travel agent. A good agent will spend time with you to find out your preferences and advise you accordingly.

• Now is the time to use those miles for upgrades to first class.

• Many couples take their honeymoon months or even a year following the wedding for various reasons--they may have just started a new job, or they may be in school and have to wait until the semester is out.

• Even the most expensive and luxurious hotel room won't be worth much if you have a view of a parking lot or garbage dumpsters. Yes, you'll have to pay more for a room with a view, but consider it money well spent.

• If the bride is taking her husband's name and uses her new name on the airline tickets, take the marriage license along for proof. You don't want to risk being turned down at the airport for having a different name on your driver's license.