Cost of Honeymoon

Knottie1448131004 · January 2017

Hey Everyone,

Just curious, how much are you all planning on spending on your honeymoon?

FallBride2017 · January 2017

We're aiming to spend between $3000-$3500 for 5-6 days at an all inclusive resort somewhere in the Caribbean or Mexico.

Jells2dot0 · January 2017

Do you have a specific place in mind? You're going to get a million different answers because everyone has different priorities and budgets.

I am divorced and remarried. My first honeymoon was 9 nights in French Polynesia. We spent around $20K when all was said and done. That was back in 2004. If I did the same trip now, it would be more.

My second honeymoon was a combo destination wedding/honeymoon. We stayed at various resorts along the Great Barrier Reef in Australia over the course of 2 weeks. Taking out the wedding-related expenses, we spent $20K+.

CMGragain · January 2017

Not everyone has a fancy honeymoon. We decided that it wasn't important to us, since we were on a tight budget. We were just happy to be married to each other. Our first luxury trip was on our 25th wedding anniversary, and we have been traveling ever since.

Keisha84 · January 2017

I'm trying to keep it under $10k. We are doing a Mediterranean cruise. But I think it is also relevant to your wedding budget. We are spending that after making sure our guests are properly hosted. If we need to add to the budget we would decrease the honeymoon amount

SP29 · January 2017

We had a budget of $5k, but we spent under $3k for a week in Arizona which included a luxury hotel with trips to Sedona and the Grand Canyon.

kimmiinthemitten · January 2017

5k for a week at an all inclusive in Mexico over Christmas. Based on what friends spent at the same resort in September, it was about $1500 less then.

lyndausvi · January 2017

I feel like this is for a research project.

The numbers are going to vary. Some people have more funds than others. Some people like to spend more money on travel than others. Some people have more vacation time than others. So people like to travel more than others.

Spend what you can and are willing to afford and don't worry about what others spend.

knottiej · January 2017

We just booked a 7 night all inclusive trip to Costa Rica for $4,500.

bleve0821 · January 2017

We rented a cabin in the Smokey Mountains for a few nights and spent roughly $600.

ei34 · January 2017

We did 10 days in Italy in spring 2013 for around $8,000.

thisismynickname2 · January 2017

This isn't something for which I would compare myself to others. Your budget is your budget, your travel style is your travel style.

Granted, there are some universal truths- places are more expensive in their high seasons. Traveling on certain days of the week can be less expensive. Using credit card points for airfare and hotel stays can save you a lot of money.
ETA: another universal truth is that a honeymoon registry is tacky. Don't use one to try to stretch your budget.

If you are concerned about meeting your honeymoon vision with the budget you have, we can help.

InLoveInQueens · January 2017

7 day Bahamas Cruise in Feb 2016, after all was said and done it was just under $3k

SaintPaulGal · January 2017

thisismynickname said:

This isn't something for which I would compare myself to others. Your budget is your budget, your travel style is your travel style.

Granted, there are some universal truths- places are more expensive in their high seasons. Traveling on certain days of the week can be less expensive. Using credit card points for airfare and hotel stays can save you a lot of money.
ETA: another universal truth is that a honeymoon registry is tacky. Don't use one to try to stretch your budget.

If you are concerned about meeting your honeymoon vision with the budget you have, we can help.

This.

I used to work in the travel industry. I saw clients with a $3500 budget use it on a long weekend of 3 nights at a mid-upscale all-inclusive resort in Mexico or the Caribbean. (Roughly $750 per person for flights and $333 per person per night at the hotel.) That's what worked for them and what appealed to them.

That's not what works for/appeals to me, though. I just got back from 10 days in two European countries for about $2,000 total, probably a bit less. Granted this wasn't my honeymoon, but I doubt things will be all that different next time when it is. I watch for cheap flights, and we stayed with a friend for a while this time, but when we did hotel stays they were "luxury" in my eyes for $70-something a night (I'm more inclined toward the $25/night-ish options, but my FI likes things a bit fancier).

Spend as much as you care to spend in the ways that appeal to you. It doesn't matter what others choose to do. Their $3500 honeymoon would look a lot different than my hypothetical $3500 honeymoon. And that's just fine.

ernursej · January 2017

We did a river cruise in Europe plus pre/post in London and Switzerland. It wasn't cheap. Travel is what we spend our money on so it didn't bother us.

CharmedPam · January 2017

InLoveInQueens said:

7 day Bahamas Cruise in Feb 2016, after all was said and done it was just under $3k

ha! we did a 5 day Bahamas cruise last week and we were right about there with the spa trip, cheers program and excursions. Probably just a bit less.

That being said, we didn't enjoy ourselves either

InLoveInQueens · January 2017

CharmedPam said:

InLoveInQueens said:

7 day Bahamas Cruise in Feb 2016, after all was said and done it was just under $3k

ha! we did a 5 day Bahamas cruise last week and we were right about there with the spa trip, cheers program and excursions. Probably just a bit less.

That being said, we didn't enjoy ourselves either

Really, what didn't you enjoy? We went on NCL because it leaves out of NYC and we liked the free-at-sea deal to get the free unlimited beverage package. We had a blast (up until the last full day at sea, then we were just tired of ship food and missed our cat). They upgraded us from an interior cabin to a balcony because I called and fluttered my eyelashes a bit and played up the honeymoon cruise thing.

CharmedPam · January 2017

I think it was carnival. The staff was great, but nothing impressed us on the ship. The activities, the layout, the food, the drinks (so weak!)....I was bored and felt trapped. We're probably just not be cruisers, it was our first one. I may try another cruise line (NCL, Princess or RC have good reviews) though, with a group of people.

SwissMs · February 2017

We haven't decided since we aren't going directly on our honeymoon - we're having a DW so will be spending 1 week on either side of the wedding in London/UK and delaying the actual honeymoon until later in 2018 or 2019 as we want to take at least 2 weeks for the honeymoon as well.

I think it would be hard to do a 2 week honeymoon for much less than $10,000 when airfare is included. If we stay in Europe it might be a little less, if we do something more adventurous (Australia or Japan have been kicked around) it would likely be a little more expensive.

I should add that we are both travelers in our ordinary lives so for something like a honeymoon we want to do something once in a lifetime.

lyndausvi · February 2017

I will admit I don't get putting so much pressure on your HM being a trip of a life time.

My parents went on a car trip through out New England for the HM. 48 years later they have gone to all 7 continents. They have been on safaris, glided over the Alps, stood on the Great Wall of China and rode camels around the Pyramids. They have attended a Super Bowl, Rose bowl, world ice skating champions in Switzerland. They have been to all 50 states and and have seen the northern lights. They have stayed in an ice hotel in Sweden, dog sledding in Alaska and sailing trips in the Caribbean. And many, many more experiences.

Trust me, their simple 7 day road trip throughout New England was just as much of a trip of a lifetime as all the other trips they have taken. It was their damn HM after all.

I myself had most of my trips of a lifetime before even meeting my DH. We have done some other since we got married. Plan on more in the future. Our HM was amazing, but no matter where we would have gone it would have been amazing. It was our HM.

knottie78c11d9fe14972fa · April 2017

I would like to recommend Bali if anybody likes to travel to Asia. its a very unique and nice place to visit. The food and drinks and activities are not really that expensive if you can find it. might be better if you know some locals or some friends in Bali. I went there in for holidays couple years ago and I had a really great time. Visited various beaches, restauratns, landmarks and also visited what they call "Komodo Island". What i like about that place are the friendly people and their food since I am a foodie. Maybe the only hindrance would be the travel cost.

knottiebe015f32487724e2 · May 2017

Having your honeymoon around Asia is a very nice choice

beachwedding2017 · May 2017

Your budget is your budget. Don't worry about how much other couples spend versus what you spend. Just go where you want to go and enjoy yourselves!

Knottie58db04277ec3fdbf · October 2017

I definitely recommend using a travel agent! I told mine we'd like to stay between $3k-$4k and wanted to be somewhere tropical and all-inclusive and she gave me a huge comprehensive list of probably about 12-15 places we could go in the Caribbean for less than $4,000 for 7 days/6 nights. She recommended several places in the Dominican Republic, which we wouldn't have even considered had she not recommended it. They also know which resorts have good and bad reputations, what customers have said about the resorts, what time of year it's cheaper to go to certain countries/islands, what the package includes, etc. Anddd... If you're going to a place like Mexico, a travel agent can arrange for safe transportation from the airport. I've heard nightmare stories of tourists arranging their own taxi, etc. from airport and it being a terrible and unsafe experience. So all that to say, a travel agent can work with you to make the most of your budget, but still give you lots of great options for a super great trip. I'm a AAA member, so my AAA travel agent wasn't an additional fee. Great perk.

CMGragain · October 2017

Sorry, @Knottie 58db04277ec3fdbf, but this thread is from January. It hasn't been active for 5 months. Please check the date on threads before commenting and reviving a zombie.

PS. Travel agents do not have fees for the traveler. They are paid by the venue or cruise line.

knottie0a31e052a035644f · December 2017

My fiancé and I are planning an independent trip to China for our honeymoon. Our budget maybe around £6000.

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