How to Pick a Honeymoon Location

You have planned every last detail of your wedding, down to the color of the bows adorning the church pews. It is essential to execute a high level of planning for your honeymoon as well. A major part of planning for a honeymoon is selecting the perfect honeymoon location. Many newlyweds say that their wedding day was a blur, but their honeymoon provided memories that can last a lifetime.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Look into relaxing honeymoon venues. If your idea of a great vacation involves warm sun, sand and cold drinks, then a beach or island getaway might be the right spot for you. Places such as the Caribbean, the Pacific Islands (Hawaii, Fiji and Tahiti) or Mediterranean locales such as the Greek Isles can provide that warm, relaxing honeymoon. Many beach hotels, especially in the Caribbean, offer all-inclusive packages that include food, drinks and activities in one price. Disadvantages to these types of vacations can include long plane flights and expensive hotels.

2. Consider rustic mountain locations. Do you want to snuggle up to your honey in front of a roaring fire after a long day of hitting the slopes? If so, a mountain honeymoon may be your best bet. Try Colorado (Aspen, Vail or Steamboat Springs), Europe (the Alps), South America, or North America (Pocono or Gatlinburg, Tennessee). Price can vary wildly for a ski/mountain honeymoon; the area and season in which you visit can highly affect the overall price of your trip.

3. Think about an action-packed honeymoon. If you and your new spouse are active adventurers, there's no way you want to lie around on the beach all the time! Eco-tours, rock climbing and mountain biking give you the ultimate thrill, so check out the Grand Canyon, Costa Rica, an African safari or a Nile River cruise. Depending on the location you visit, you many need visas or extra immunizations for this type of honeymoon; be sure to find out requirements well in advance.

4. Take a sight-seeing honeymoon. If your idea of the perfect trip includes the Roman Colosseum, the Greek Parthenon, Brazil's Christus Statue or India's Taj Mahal, then you might want to plan a honeymoon geared toward seeing famous monuments and locales. Europe especially lends itself to this type of honeymoon. An option for this type of vacation is to take a guided tour—you get to see all the essential sights, but you let someone else do all the planning!

5. Float away on a cruise honeymoon. If you want to see a lot of cities in a short amount of time but do not want to pack and unpack repeatedly or change hotels, then a cruise might be your best choice. Cruise ships have on-board entertainment, pools and hot tubs, spas and nightclubs. Your food is included in the price as well, although alcohol and shore excursions are not. Cruises sail to almost every location in the world, including Antarctica, Europe, the Caribbean, South America, Asia and the Galapagos Islands.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not over-schedule your honeymoon. Even if you are part of a couple who gets bored easily, your honeymoon needs to have a little "get to lazily know your new spouse" time built in. Pick a honeymoon location that will allow you to do this.