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The
Honeymoon: Making It Romantic
by Nadine Nardi Davidson,
author of
Travel
with Others without Wishing They’d Stayed Home
www.TravelwithOthers.com
Whether
your dream is sailing a small
yacht through the Greek islands, staying in a historic house on
Nantucket or living it up at a full-service resort and whether it's
your first marriage or your third, chances are you expect your
honeymoon to be out of the ordinary and definitely romantic. While no
scientist or self-help book can tell you the exact ingredients that
will make your honeymoon perfect, there are some practical guidelines
that will help it live up to its full romantic potential.
1) Choose
the Right Place.
Before
planning your honeymoon, take a
little time to discover what type of traveler you each are. Only when
you understand each other's needs and expectations can you fulfill
each other's honeymoon dreams. Each year, thousands of honeymooners
select secluded destinations that offer the perfect balance of
privacy and amenities. They're perfect if your favorite entertainment
includes sleeping, reading, swimming, snorkeling and sunset-watching.
But if you tend to get restless, pick a place that offers more
sightseeing and shopping as well as some night-clubbing.
Don't pick
a destination that's known
for seasonal weather extremes. Fog or blizzards that keep you holed
up in an airport, days and days of rain, intense cold or intense heat
that can make activity impossible or uncomfortable.
2) Take
Your Time
The last
days before a wedding can be
hectic, so make sure your honeymoon leaves time for relaxation right
from the start. Don't rush off on a long flight (one that's more than
two hours long). Leaving your wedding at midnight for a flight from
San Francisco to Miami so you can transfer to a ship for a 5 p.m.
sailing to the West Indies means you'll be up for two days with no
sleep. It's a good idea to check into a local deluxe hotel for a
night of rest before you leave for your honeymoon destination.
Be sure
to inform the staff that
you're a honeymoon couple which lets them know that a king bed will
be important to you. Some hotels offer a honeymoon package which may
consist of a suite with a bottle of champagne for only a little more
that the regular double rate. If you have a flight the next morning,
consider staying at a hotel near the airport on the first night. Then
you can sleep a little longer.
3) Stay
Healthy
Do what
you can to stay healthy and
accident-free. Sun block lotions and cover-ups can help protect you
from sunburn and ensure that your outdoor and indoor activities don't
interfere with each other. Don't overdo it with sports either.
Whether your sport is tennis, wind surfing or skiing, pace yourself
quitting sooner rather than later. Playing too hard can keep
lovebirds a plaster cast apart.
4) Organize
Your Money Cares Away
While
money may not be the most
romantic of subjects, if you think ahead and plan wisely for your
trip, you'll be able to all but forget about it while you're away.
Consider pre-paying hotel accommodations and all tour or
transportation costs in advance, This will free up cash for meals,
fun or unexpected expenditures. By doing so, however, you might be
trading away some flexibility, such as the opportunity to change or
cancel reservations without penalties. Investigate the resort or tour
company's cancellation policy and ask your travel agent to include
that information on you itinerary.
Particularly
when traveling outside the
United States, be sure to check the hotel's policy on payment. Carry
various forms of payment to cover every situation. If you're relying
on credit cards for a large percentage of your expenditures, don't
use up your limit to purchase airline tickets or clothes for the trip
prior to your departure. If you do run up charges send a check to the
credit card company in advance of your trip. Otherwise, you might
feel your face flush at the Ritz hotel in Paris when the waiter says,
"I'm sorry sir, but your credit card is...how do you say...no
good."
5) Whisper
Sweet Nothings
Another
important aspect of the
honeymoon is saying the right words—not words like "Why can't
you ever read the map right? "or "How could you miss that
ball? It was right in front of your face," or “Dummy, how
could you forget the camera?"— but words like "I love
you," "I'm so lucky to have you" and "I'll love
you forever." They don't have to be original, only sincere,
You're not competing for the best script, just the best heart. The
profession of love and acknowledgment that you made the right choice
can lift any trip out of the mundane.
6) Focus
on Each Other
For some
couples, sex may be all that's
necessary to make their honeymoon trip memorable. Even couples who
have lived together for a year or more generally expect reaffirmation
of their desirability from their new spouse. The honeymoon is also a
time when you expect to be the sole object of your spouse's
attention—and one of the few times the two of you will be able to
shut out the rest of the world—so make sure you also plan
activities that you both enjoy doing together.
7) Make
Romance a State of Mind
Balmy
weather and lush foliage are not
the only definitions of a romantic atmosphere. Romance is a mood that
can be captured in many environments. Romantic can be an evening's
stroll through the Bavarian-like village of Vail, Colorado, where
snowflakes pirouette in the gleam of twinkling lights and laughter
spills out the doors of restaurants and bars into the crystal air.
Romantic can be New York City, when sidewalks, rinsed by a sudden
thunderstorm, sprout crops of colorful umbrellas amid the clatter of
hawkers and taxi horns. Or it can be San Francisco, when the fog
tiptoes across the Golden Gate Bridge and foghorns bellow their
soulful greetings from the bay.
While
romance can be found anywhere you
and mate-to-be are, taking some time out of your hectic wedding
schedule to make careful preparations will help ensure that your
honeymoon will be the perfect experience you've always dreamed of.
©Copyright 2006
Nadine Nardi Davidson
Nadine
Nardi Davidson has spent 25
years as a travel consultant and is currently a leisure and honeymoon
specialist at Travel Store Inc, Los Angeles. She is the author of
Travel with Others without Wishing They'd Stayed Home, a
survival guide to traveling with your spouse, lover, boss, friends,
kids, someone else's kids, parents, in-laws and other relatives, your
pet and yourself. The book is available through book stores,
or by calling toll free 888-837- 2665 or online at Amazon.com or
www.TravelwithOthers.com.
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