8 Ways to Pimp up Your Honeymoon ...

One of the easiest ways to pimp up your honeymoon is to choose an off-season destination. Hotel rates are much lower in off-season, however don’t forget this may mean monsoon or hurricane seasons so advice is to check with travel agents or websites for good destinations. Another option for overseas is where the cost of living is much cheaper and there are good exchange rates. Don’t forget, it is quieter in off-season too.

To pimp up your honeymoon mention the fairy-tale word at every opportunity – unashamedly. Unlike the ‘W’ word, which tends to lead to a hike in prices, the word honeymoon unlocks all sorts of goodies. For example, the best restaurant table and possibly some free wine, free champagne ... and maybe chocolates or flowers too, may be delivered to your room on arrival – anything to make the couple feel special.

As couples tend to be more self-sufficient nowadays and already have accumulated a wealth of household items from living together before getting hitched, it is becoming more common for wedding lists to be done away with and for money to be given towards the costs of the honeymoon. One of the ways to get a better honeymoon is with contributions from your wedding guests. Set up a special honeymoon account, or use a website such as just-the-thing.co.uk or buy-our-honeymoon.com - they work in a similar fashion to a wedding list service.

Unless money is no object, don’t spend money on a cheap room at a 5* star hotel but pay for the best room at a 3* or 4*hotel. At these hotels you will find yourselves well looked after, especially after mentioning the ‘H’ word and be made to feel very special guests, instead of the ‘lost’ feeling in a cheap room of a big luxury hotel.

Perhaps you are both nature lovers and prefer back-to-nature getaways, if so, then ‘glamping’ is what you could be looking for. It certainly will be the cheapest way to honeymoon and in most ‘away from it all’ areas this will probably be free. What could be more romantic than being with your man, camping alongside a breeze-ruffled lake or amongst scenic mountains with a glass of good wine, gazing up at the stars … or his eyes … before entering and zipping up the tent flaps …

Instead of hotels or glamping, then perhaps consider an alternative way to pimp up your honeymoon another notch – house swapping is becoming more and more popular and for just the cost of the airfare you could be winging your way to a fabulous destination while spending a whole lot less money. Registering on home-swap websites will give you endless lists of properties all over the world. Alternatively renting accommodation from a website is often 20%-30% cheaper than hotels.

Long haul flights can be taxing and frustrating when a plane is full. Instead of trying to drag yourselves over sleeping bodies, especially if seated in the 5-seat configuration, perhaps book flights with just 2 seats together. This will mean a more enjoyable flight to look forward to reaching your honeymoon destination. Perhaps try a bold request with the flight attendant for an upgrade … free of course. Don’t hold out too much hope in this request even though you are honeymooners!

While it is nice to have restaurant service and someone else doing the cooking and washing up, self catering is one of the great ways to get a better honeymoon. Self catering means you have complete freedom of movement without worrying about dining room meal times and you can turn the gathering of provisions into part of your honeymoon adventures. Visit local markets, try local wines and spirits and immerse yourself into the food culture of your destination. Plus, self catering is a great excuse for having breakfast in bed every day.

Be creative and think beyond the bog standard and you’ll find some great ideas to pimp up your honeymoon. We’d love to hear your suggestions.