There are plenty of strategies couples can try to save for their dream honeymoon. Here are 10 tips to help you enjoy a fantastic honeymoon without breaking the bank.
- Create a dedicated honeymoon savings account.
- Plan your budget.
- Be smart about airfare.
- Avoid traveling during peak season.
- Opt for a local honeymoon.
- Ask for cash gifts instead of items.
- Skip fine dining.
- Consider cheaper lodgings.
- Monitor prices.
- Have an intimate wedding.
The rest of the article will explore these ten strategies in further detail and how they can help you reduce the cost of your honeymoon.
1. Create a Dedicated Honeymoon Savings Account
One of the best ways to save money specifically for your honeymoon is to start a savings fund specifically for it.
A dedicated honeymoon savings account enables you and your significant other to track your progress toward your goal amount.
Many online banks allow their customers to create a savings account for personal objectives with just a few clicks. Most of them also offer the option to start a joint savings account. This grants both you and your fiancé access to track and contribute to your honeymoon fund.
An effortless way to grow this fund is to set up an automatic transfer. For example, based on your goal, you could create a weekly, biweekly, or monthly transfer that automatically withdraws funds from your checking to your honeymoon savings account for as little or as much as you want.
Alternatively, there are numerous apps designed to help you save automatically by rounding up your purchases to the nearest dollar. So while a few cents every time you purchase your morning latte or go for a grocery run may not seem like much, it quickly adds up.
A separate fund for your honeymoon prevents any unexpected wedding expenses from infringing on your honeymoon plans.
2. Plan Your Budget
As romantic as it is to be spontaneous on your honeymoon, this is a sure way to spend more than you intended. Therefore, planning a budget is necessary if you want an unforgettable honeymoon that doesn’t leave you in credit card debt.
After you and your partner decide on your ideal honeymoon destination, start planning your honeymoon immediately. Unfortunately, honeymoon budget planning often takes a back seat to wedding planning, resulting in overspending during your honeymoon.
If you want a honeymoon as cost-efficient as possible, it’s a good idea to research all potential costs – read more from MoneyCrashers. Research also helps you determine if your destination, the length of your honeymoon, and the excursions you want to experience as a couple are realistic.
Who wouldn’t want to spend two weeks in love in the Maldives? Or an entire month of island hopping with the love of your life in Greece?
However, if you realize the cost will be astronomical after planning the budget, at least you’ll have time to tweak your honeymoon plans or prepare for a honeymoon at another destination entirely.
3. Be Smart About Airfare
No couple wants to spend most of their honeymoon budget on transportation. But, depending on your honeymoon destination, there’s a good chance that airfare will eat up a massive portion of your honeymoon fund.
If you’re concerned about the cost of your plane tickets, one way to save on airfare is to sign up for a travel rewards card. Every major bank offers a selection of credit cards that earn air miles each time you spend.
The earlier you sign up for a card that accumulates air miles, the more you can gain points for your honeymoon flights. Try to use this card to pay for wedding expenses to maximize your air miles before the honeymoon.
Another good strategy is to plan your flights during off-peak times. When booking your flights, you’ll notice that specific departure and arrival times are significantly cheaper than others. So, if possible, choose those flight times to save a few hundred dollars.
4. Avoid Traveling During Peak Season
If you and your significant other already know your ideal honeymoon destination, consider going there during its off-season.
- As a rule, any place in the Caribbean has its off-season between mid-April to mid-December.
- On the other hand, if your dream destination is somewhere in Europe, aim to travel sometime between November and March.
- If you have your sights on a honeymoon somewhere in Asia, the off-season is between June to October.
- Try to book your honeymoon between September and December or between April and June for Hawaii.
Traveling during the off-season can help you save a lot of money. During these months, airfare is typically lower. In addition, hotels usually offer cheaper rates, and excursions tend to be more affordable.
If your wedding is already set and it coincides with the peak season for your dream honeymoon destination, there’s nothing wrong with waiting a few months to go on your honeymoon. Of course, you could always go on a budget-friendly, mini honeymoon immediately after your wedding and wait until the off-season for your major one.
5. Opt for a Local Honeymoon
Traveling to another continent or country can be expensive. But, on the other hand, a honeymoon somewhere closer to home can save you and your honey a lot of money.
If neither you nor your significant other have an ideal honeymoon destination, consider choosing a local city or town. This can substantially reduce the cost of airfare or eliminate it. With these savings, you and your partner can even enjoy a more extended honeymoon.
Chances are, there are beautiful places in your country that you have yet to explore. So if you’re considering a local honeymoon but don’t know where to go, an excellent place to start is by researching the most popular tourist destinations.
If you live in a massive country geographically like Canada or the United States, each province or state is so distinct that they feel like another country! A honeymoon in another national region could feel as wonderful and foreign as a trip to another country.
For example, the province of Quebec is a Canadian province. However, its language, streets, and atmosphere share more in common with France than with the rest of Canada.
6. Ask for Cash Gifts Instead of Items
A growing number of Millennial couples are asking for cash instead of household essentials for their wedding gifts. Of course, with the high costs of weddings and honeymoons, this makes a lot more financial sense.
Household items as wedding gifts were practical when couples would start their lives in a new home immediately after the wedding. Nowadays, most couples move in together long before they decide to say, “I do.”
Since you live together with your future spouse, you probably already own most household items and appliances. Thus, it makes little sense for your guests to give you another toaster oven or air fryer as a wedding present.
Instead, ask your wedding guests for money. Not only does this offset the cost of your wedding, but it can also help you and your partner go on the honeymoon of your dreams.
Cash wedding gift registries such as Honeyfund are specifically designed to help couples raise money for their dream honeymoon.
7. Skip Fine Dining
Fine dining can be a romantic experience, but it can also be costly. If you want to get as much value as possible out of your honeymoon food budget, consider choosing highly recommended local restaurants that are more affordable.
Some of the most delicious meals in the world come from restaurants without a Michelin star. Instead, local recommendations and online reviews are often better indicators of the best places to eat during your honeymoon.
Alternatively, if you and your significant other plan to book a honeymoon at a resort, explore their all-inclusive packages for your trip. After all, paying a few bucks extra for free meals throughout your entire stay can significantly reduce your costs.
However, if the dining packages at the resort are too expensive, it’s a good idea to explore local options instead. You’re likely to find the same meal at a local dining establishment for a much lower price than the restaurant in your resort.
Another good tip is to book a resort or hotel that includes a complimentary breakfast. If you want to save money on your honeymoon, it’s a good idea to take advantage of any free offerings.
8. Consider Cheaper Lodgings
Another great way to cut some costs on your honeymoon is to avoid hotels and resorts entirely. The convenience offered by these lodgings, such as planned excursions, airport service, and in-house dining, is reflected in their high price.
A less expensive option would be to stay at a hostel or a local bed and breakfast. However, if you’d prefer more privacy on your honeymoon, it is your honeymoon, consider an Airbnb instead.
There is a vast selection of Airbnbs in every single major city. This lets you and your future spouse choose a location conveniently located next to the airport or near the attractions you want to visit during your honeymoon.
Since an Airbnb is a home owned by a local, you and your partner get a taste of what it’s like to live in that city. This is a great way to immerse yourselves in the local experience during your honeymoon.
9. Monitor Prices
One of the best things about planning your honeymoon early is the ability to watch for sales. Since you’re not in a rush to book, you can weigh your options and wait for price drops.
Many travel websites offer the option to alert you via email whenever a flight or hotel you’re interested in reduces its rates. However, it’s essential to be cautious and research any deals thoroughly before booking.
10. Have an Intimate Wedding
Weddings can be costly–and that’s an understatement. A study found that the average cost is about 66% of the average home down payment.
Instead of spending most of your savings on a large wedding, consider having a more intimate one. Unless you or your partner have a massive family, you probably don’t need 150 guests at your reception.
Your wedding should be about you and your significant other. You’re under no obligation to invite that coworker you’ve only ever shared pleasant small talk with, or your second cousin twice removed.
An intimate wedding of 50 people or less can save you and your partner a considerable amount of money. Of course, you can choose to put some of this money toward the honeymoon of your dreams instead.
Image by Sven Hansche
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