Honeymoon Without Breaking The Bank

With wedding costs skyrocketing, so many couples have to skip the honeymoon in favor of inviting 50 more guests or getting the designer dress of their dreams. While priorities vary for each couple, once the wedding day is over and done with, many newlyweds wished they had spent less time, effort and money on the D-day details and more on each other. A honeymoon is usually a week long and the memories you get to make while bonding with each other as man and wife far outweigh the lace on the placemats or the name of the band playing at the reception. Here are some tips on making sure you get to go on a great honeymoon.

Make a firm wedding budget and allot your desired amount for the honeymoon. Don’t let cake, flowers or bridesmaids gifts eat up any part of that budget. Don’t postpone the honeymoon saying that you’ll take it later; tomorrow never comes for honeymoons. Now is the time; later work, kids, family and everything piles up and the charm of a honeymoon at the right time fizzles out.

If airfare is eating up your entire budget, forget about Hawaii or Europe and save the flying time and airport hassles by going away some place local. Not only will you save big money, you won’t get lost as much, you’ll have a honeymoon memory you can visit again if you like and you can even come home early if the place doesn’t turn out to be as you expected.

The least expensive way of going on a honeymoon is to stay at someone’s house while they are away. Look into home exchanges where someone can stay at your place while you see a different locale. Similar to the Cameron Diaz- Kate Winslet movie, you might snag a great deal on seeing a new city without spending a dime on hotels.

If you can’t find a time share or other free accommodation, you can still have a great honeymoon by skipping the five star hotels and staying at a bed and breakfast instead. The rates are much lower, the policies less stringent and the innkeepers more friendly. There is no need for you to get souvenirs from your honeymoon for all your friends and family. Chances are you threw a great wedding and everyone got a favor; pick up a trinket or two for your new place together but leave it at that.

Honeymoon In Kenya At Elsa’s Kopje In The Meru National Park

Planning a Honeymoon in Kenya or an African Honeymoon Safari, and you only have a few days on safari, it is difficult to make the right choice of game lodge in a place with superb game viewing.

If you are looking for a last wilderness type of Game Park, then Meru, north of Nairobi could well be the ideal place for this part of any Africa Safari Vacation.

A real luxury retreat at Meru is Elsa’s Kopje, which is situated at 2400 ft., on a small hill, otherwise known as a Kopje, and is named after the orphaned lioness Elsa from the movie Born Free who was reared by Joy and George Adamson and then released into the wild..

Elsa’s Kopje game lodge is built on Mughwango Hill which covers a vast area and it is surrounded by thirteen rivers, running like green fingers through quite an arid landscape, so they are automatically a focal point for game viewing of the highest order.

It is an ideal spot for a part of any honeymoon in Kenya because of the quality of this luxury retreat, never mind the game viewing. The Game Lodge is invisible as you approach the Kopje, and consists of nine totally individual cottages, each luxuriously furnished.

These include a three level honeymoon suite with an open deck on top overlooking the Meru, a sitting room on the mid level, and the bottom level has a huge double bedded bedroom and en-suite bathroom.

For families there is now a double room, sitting room, and children’s bedroom cottage which is slightly set apart. Whilst there is an early mealtime and baby listening service, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Elsa’s Kopje is very much a luxury retreat to be enjoyed during a honeymoon in Kenya.

The cottages are stone built with thatched roofs and they are scattered around the hill, and all the cottages are linked to each other and the open bar, lounge and dining room by paved paths which are lit by lamps at night.

The view from the open fronted cottages is incredible, and apart from that there are the breezes and the light reflecting off the plain below. The open walls[there is no glass] are covered by mosquito netting at night so the view isn’t spoilt during the day, and the bathrooms have showers or baths built into the rocky hill, making them a feature.

The accommodation is altogether top class as befits such a luxury retreat and there is a real sense of space here, with considerable style, and you will find the atmosphere to be one of total relaxation.

Add to this an infinity style swimming pool which looks straight out onto the Meru National Park plain and is the perfect place for a couple to relax after a game drive, or a walk in the bush.

Walks in the bush and game drives, always accompanied by qualified guides and trackers, and when on foot rangers, give you the opportunity to view Elephant, Reticulated Giraffe, Leopard, Lion, Cheetah, Rhino, Grevy’s Zebra, Gerenuk, and even the rare elusive Greater Kudu. This is a place with a huge reputation for wildlife so you will not be disappointed with this Kenya safari luxury retreat.

As you would expect from a luxury retreat like Elsa’s Kopje the food is more than good. It is traditional Northern Italian cuisine with local and international dishes. You will get fresh baked bread, locally grown vegetables make a great combination.

An outstanding feature is the quality of the management, and their level of thoughtfulness and care, from greeting you personally after a game drive, remembering your name, and generally making you feel totally special.

It’s the little touches like taking bush breakfasts on the morning game drive, and sundowners as the sunsets, perhaps watching two lion cubs playing.

For a honeymoon in Kenya Elsa’s Kopje is perfect, and Meru may be the best place for an old fashioned African Safari Vacation.

For more information on In Kenya Safaris go to http://www.in-kenyasafari.com/pages/Site-Map.html

Honeymooners On A Sailing Vacation

A cruise expedition is the most popular option for honeymoon vacations. It is truly romantic. You get away from the city life back into the lap of nature. Just imagine cruising through the ocean with the stars above and breathing fresh air!

You would find many more couples contemplating a romantic trip. Such couples would add romance to the atmosphere on the ship. Now it is your choice to either befriend them as in ” more the merrier ” or just be with your loved one to work on your relationship and get closer.

Usually, honeymooners decide on a sailing vacation. If you two are a honeymoon couple then do loads of window-shopping before booking a cruise line. Along with attractive rates, most cruise ships also offer amazing privileges. The newly weds are spoilt by them with special fluffy robes, a wedding cake and breakfast in bed. You may even get to reserve your table at the restaurant, which is a rare opportunity. These privileges may not be free. Yet, you could still look around and find some good deals to choose from. It is still possible for you to plan and organize some romantic surprises for your partner. For instance, you could order and arrange some flowers in your cabin room even before boarding the cruise.

Carnival Cruises are popular not only with just the newlyweds but with all those couples who wish to go honeymooning again to rekindle their relationships. To create a mystical atmosphere in your cabin, you could place some flags and balloons. It would truly feel like a journey into the romantic world. These decorations will be charged money but your wedding cake is free when you dine on the ship for the first time.

You could add to the enjoyment and push invisible buttons by purchasing a honeymoon package that may include T-shirts, champagne, cameras and other such items that would not even cross your mind.

Princess Cruises is another popular cruise line. Both the Cabin decorations and your wedding cake are free. However, there are two kinds of honeymoon packages you can choose from:

Honeymoon Experience – This is less expensive and includes

two engraved champagne glasses with champagne in them
two long-stemmed roses for a little less than $150 and
chocolate strawberries

Princess Honeymoon Experience – This is more expensive then the Honeymoon Experience and includes

massages
breakfast in bed
fluffy robes and
appetizers delivered to your room and
all the other items are economically priced

Honeymoon Planning

Just like planning a written report or news article, you have to know the who, what, when, where and how in regards to your honeymoon planning. The who and what portions of the planning are no-brainers as the who refers to you and your intended while the what refers to the honeymoon. So do you have any ideas as to the when, where and how in referring to your honeymoon planning?

Typically, most honeymoons occur within a few days of the wedding ceremony although that is not always the case. Some people will plan the wedding based on school or work schedules and plan a honeymoon trip later when both parties can get a large chunk of time off for vacation. Others will decide where they want to go first and then decide on the when in regards to honeymoon planning. If you and your intended have your hearts set on a skiing vacation, then the obvious when in regards to honeymoon planning will be sometimes in the winter months. However, in seeking a tropical destination, the when could occur at any time of year.

Knowing where you are going is crucial to the where part of honeymoon planning. For strict budgets, you will likely stick close to home with the idea of going all out in a few years on a more extravagant vacation. Looser purse strings might see you venturing abroad to foreign countries either by cruise ship or by plane. The where in honeymoon planning is also influenced by what you and your intended’s likes and dislikes are in terms of weather and available activities. Tropical settings offer up the most opportunities for newlyweds and they are also romantic as well.

Unfortunately, the buck sometimes stops right where you don’t want it to – your dream destination for your honeymoon. Unless you want to be in debt for a few years while you pay off your dream honeymoon, it pays to be more sensible in your honeymoon planning. There is no reason not to choose a destination based on what your budget will allow and still plan that dream destination vacation for a later date. For some couples, a cruise makes economical sense in terms of the how of honeymoon planning. Your food, drink, activities and accommodations are not only under one roof but also part of one price. Plus, with this type of honeymoon, you can still see new places each time the ship makes port during your cruise. Let your budget dictate what you can and cannot afford in terms of your honeymoon destination. Honeymoon planning doesn’t have to be rocket science, just plain old common sense with a hint of dreams and romance thrown in.