Choosing A Honeymoon Destination
As you discuss your dream honeymoon locations as you begin to think about your getaway of a lifetime, it can be quite overwhelming once you see all of the beautiful island resorts throughout the world and as you hear about your friends’ amazing honeymoon experiences. As I write this, the world is buzzing about the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, speculating that the royal wedding couple may go on safari for part of their honeymoon.
With so many inspirations out there — so many Top 10 Travel Locale website articles and specials on travel channels, not to mention bridal websites’ honeymoon articles and their annual Top 10 picks for the perfect honeymoon location – it’s best to begin your honeymoon discussions by assessing what both of you wish for in your dream honeymoon experience.
Here are some style-setting considerations:
- Tropical environment. It may be your dream to go to a 5-star tropical resort, sip pina coladas on the beach, swim with dolphins and sea turtles and listen to steel drum music by the pool
- Overseas city environment. A growing number of our New Jersey wedding couples are headed to Italy for several weeks of touring the famous, historic cities and historic landmarks, not to mention enjoying the Italian cuisine and upscale shopping. A flight overseas may take you to a dream destination on any continent, perhaps even to visit with family and friends overseas.
- Big-city environment. In this era of careful spending, more wedding couples are choosing honeymoon locations within the continental United States, planning their getaways for big cities such as New York City – with the couple staying in the finest hotel, enjoying fine dining, theater, shopping, the VIP experience. Many New Jersey wedding couples say they’re always bringing friends to visit the hotspots of New York City, but they have never checked into the finest city hotel or experienced celebrity-style luxury there before. Other big-city destinations for our local wedding couples include Los Angeles, Chicago, and especially New Orleans.
- Celebrity-style casino environment. Our wedding couples from Morris County, Somerset County, Hudson County, Passaic County all the way down to Cape May County are now booking their honeymoons at the top Atlantic City casino hotels, bumping into celebrities at nightclubs, dining in fine restaurants, shopping, taking in concerts and shows, experiencing the VIP honeymoon treatment just a short ride away…eliminating the need for pricy airline tickets.
- Adventure sports environments. Some honeymoon locations provide adrenaline-pumping adventures such as ziplining, mountain biking down a volcano, white water rafting, scuba diving and other activities that may play into your dream honeymoon experience.
- Heritage environments. What better time to explore the homeland of your ancestors, and share the illuminating trip with your new spouse? This trend ties into my earlier mention of local wedding couples heading to Italy, as both an international city destination and a connection to heritage, and heritage-connection honeymoon locations may be anywhere across the globe. You might wish to visit all of your heritage hotspots during a several-stop trek or during a cruise through the Mediterranean or Caribbean.
Today’s lengthier honeymoons see wedding couples visiting several locales, perhaps visiting a big-city locale for a few days, then heading to an oceanfront resort for a beach-style honeymoon – giving both of you the chance to make your wedding location wishes come true.
Best,
Michael Mahle, Director of Communications, Pleasantdale Château
