4 Honeymoons and an Anniversary

It’s likely around the time when most of you are starting to think about your honeymoon. And while there is no right answer for everyone in terms of when to plan, we do have some general guidelines that we can share with you based on our professional experience:

• The sweet spot to have your honeymoon planned is roughly 9 months before your wedding (the exception to this rule is that places such as the Amalfi Coast and The Greek Islands can be planned even earlier given the short season, high demand and limited availability).
• If you are looking to book Sandals, they open their inventory 2 years before check-in date (vs. 1 year for most hotel inventory) and we recommend that you book as early as possible with your preferred agent as there are only benefits to doing so.

If you are not sure where you want to travel for your honeymoon yet, you are not alone. Eighty-five to ninety percent of the couples we meet say the same thing and this is something that we specialize in, so no reason to worry or stress. We really do take care of everything.

To help inspire all of you who are just starting to think about your honeymoon (or any other type of celebration travel), we would like to share with you ‘4 Honeymoons and a 20th Anniversary’ from 2019, along with their personal travel planning tips.

Cape Town – 3 nights – Cape Point, Penguin Colony, Table Mountain
Zambia – 3 nights – Victoria Falls, Elephant Café, Walking with Cheetahs, Sunset River Cruise, Private Dinner
Kruger Park Safari – 4 nights – Mjejane River Lodge
Johannesburg – 2 nights – Local Museums & Restaurants

• Even if you prefer to book your own travel, use a travel advisor for your honeymoon to make everything stress-free & super organized, as well as adding those special touches
• Be willing to try new things while you are in destination including experiencing the local culture and food
• Don’t be afraid to travel during the low season to take advantage of lower prices, more exclusive experiences and fewer crowds

Bangkok – 2 nights – Floating Markets, Street Food Tour
Chiang Mai – 3 nights – Elephant Sanctuary, Night Market Tour, Visit to Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Temple
Koh Samui – 6 nights – Big Buddha, Angthong National Marine Park
Singapore – 1 day – Gardens by the Bay, Cloud Forest, Bumboat River Cruise

• Don’t be afraid to go big for your honeymoon; it’s a once in a lifetime experience, so make it count
• Don’t settle for the first travel advisor that you use if they are not for you; we tried several before we found Anne
• Always choose the “crazy” option – We opted for an extended layover in Singapore for the way home and ended up having an incredible experience that we would had completely missed if we had planned this on our own

7 nights in an Over-The-Water Villa at The Rosewood Mayakoba
Inclusive of an Adults-Only Beach Club with Pool and Taco Truck, Bicycles for the week, Private Plunge Pool and Hammock, Daily Breakfast and Private Boat Ride

• Choose a place that you love so much that you can return for anniversaries and other celebration travel including family travel
• Listen to the locals; We had the best tostadas of our entire life based on a recommendation of our driver in the village of El Publeto
• Be sure that your resort has a specified “Adults Only” section if it is a family resort; our favorite spot was the private beach club and adults only pool where the staff was impeccable

2 nights – Vineyard on Mt. Etna – Private Mt. Etna Summit Jeep Experience, Private Cooking Class with Wine Tasting
6 nights – Taormina – Evening Walking Tour with Culinary Experience, Pizza Making, Private Yacht Experience with Grotto Tours

• Whatever you do, DON’T skip your honeymoon
• Using a travel advisor is a MUST – All we had to do was show up and we were treated like celebrities the entire time, everything was perfect!
• Don’t overthink about anything, just enjoy it all. Sicily was perfect for us and even Andrew, who has never liked wine, acquired a taste for it there (we especially loved the Etna Rosso)

3 nights – Rome – Colosseum Tour, Vatican with Sistine Chapel Tour
1 night – Naples – Archeological Museum with Authentic Pizza Dinner
3 nights – Sorrento – Private tour of Pompeii & Herculaneum, Lunch & Wine Tasting at Vineyard on Mt. Vesuvius, Lemon Farm Tour, Lunch & Shopping in Positano
3 nights – Ravello – Anniversary Dinner at Belmond Hotel Caruso

• Having 24/7 in-destination contacts while traveling provided us with a peace of mind that we did not realize was available to us
• Go to Ravello on the Amalfi Coast; it was unbelievably beautiful, so laid back and relaxing and we felt so welcome there by the locals
• Make time to travel together for milestone anniversaries; It was the trip of a lifetime and we are so happy that we did it

For more information on planning your next vacation, contact Anne Gordon at Live Life Travel. anne@livelifetravel.world www.livelifetravel.world