Tips On Booking Your Honeymoon Yourself

For many wedding couples, the honeymoon has to be perfect, for that particular reason, it's safer to use a travel bureau. Once you decide or if you need help deciding on a honeymoon destination, seek out a certified travel agent for the type of honeymoon destination that you desire. A certified agent has been to the honeymoon location themselves and has first hand knowledge of the honeymoon location and can answer many questions about the location you might have. Plus, the certified agent has special relationships with travel suppliers and can negotiate deals or get special discounts for car rentals, parking, restaurants, and offer advice on what taxi services to hail.

Now, should you decide to book the honeymoon yourself, the rest of this post is for you. For international locations this should start your search and find and book your hotel 4-5 months before your honeymoon, if it's a domestic location you should first book 3-4 months before your honeymoon. The exception to this rule, if you are looking to book at a place during their local holiday, you may need to book the location more than a year in advance.

When you start your search, the best time to search for accommodations for your honeymoon is beginning on the early afternoon of a Tuesday through early evening on a Thursday. The reason is, the records for the hotel industry gets updated during this time with new records with discounts being offered and many of these offers are shown no more after late in the day on Thursday. Not only is this the best time to search it's also the best time to order and book tickets.

The first place to look for your honeymoon is by searching a website called www.kayak.com , this website was bought out from a company called Sidestep that offered this searching capability. What this website does is it looks first at the location you put in and looks at hundreds of website accommodations companies and shows you the one with the best deal.  Whatever honeymoon location that you get back the information on, you then should investigate the location further by looking at the hotel, to see where it's located, is it in a good location and research websites that tell you about the area by using the "Lonely Planet", "Virtual Tourist", and "My Travel Guide. If you see what you like, call the hotel and tell them about the deal you have pending off the website, ask them if they offer any better deals. Please note, it's sometimes better to get the deal directly through the hotel, because the hotel saves the better room locations themselves and may not put the better room locations online. If the hotel can offer you a better deal, go for it, if not then book the deal you saw online at kayak.

Another way you can search for a deal is take a location you are interested in and go down the list of online hotel booking websites and plug every one in. Whichever online hotel website gives you the best deal, then note which website that gave you a quote, and do the same as before, do some further research of that location, and then call the hotel directly, tell them you have a quote online and ask them if they can offer you a better deal and if they can take it and if not go back to the site that had given you the best price quote and book the hotel online.

Top Websites for Booking Hotels Online 


www.agoda.com
www.asiarooms.com
www.bedandbreakfast.com
www.booking.com
www.bookit.com
www.expedia.com
www.hotelbook.com
www.hotel.club.com
www.hotelplanner.com
www.hotelreservation.com
www.hotelrooms365.com
www.hotels.com
www.hotelscombined.com
www.hotelscomparison.com
www.hotelsonline.com
www.hotwire.com
www.igougo.com
www.orbitz.com
www.priceline.com
www.travelguru.com
www.travelocity.com
www.travelpost.com
www.travelzoo.com
www.tripadvisor.com
www.undercovertourist.com
www.venere.com

A third way you may consider to finding a hotel or resort for your honeymoon is by first identifying a nice area of hotels and then go to Google Earth or Google Maps and look for hotels in the map that displays in an area you are interested in. Often here you will find hotels in an area that don't use hotel online websites. Because they don't pay a fee out for the use of online hotel booking websites, with this savings these hotels are able to offer hotel prices at a cheaper rate. Often these hotels are pretty good because of word of mouth, have a good location and which result in many walk-ins. They must be doing something right if they aren't advertising online. Look up and call these hotels directly to see if they can give you a great deal.

Some items to note when booking online, you sometimes don't get a great room at a particular hotel, the room may have older furniture, be in a busy location, does't have a view, next to vending machines, etc. You can try to get a better room by asking the front-desk manager, but beware sometimes you may not get a cooperative hotel staff when you order a room because you ordered it at bottom dollar and you may or may not get a bit of a refund for a room that looks different online then what you saw and ordered from an online website, you might try, but just be aware and don't let the situation ruin your honeymoon.

Be sure to write everything down about your deal. What room you have reserved, make copious notes about the details of your reservation and place all the notes in your honeymoon folder and keep the information organized neatly and bring it along when you check in. With whom did you talk to, the date and time you talked to this person, the phone number you called, the price you were quoted and paid, and any other details about the reservation such as the ticket and/or order number and have the information with you.

Other things to consider, when you call the hotel, ask whether the hotel is running any promotions or packages. This promotion could be a hotel membership promotion, frequent flyer, weekend promotion or something other. Sometimes a hotel will offer what is called a "fallback" rate for travelers who resist the quote rate, give a lower rate to keep your business. Hotels often offer promotions off of their website, provide discount coupons for restaurants and other services such as spas either in the hotel or nearby locations.

Once you have a room booked, keep checking weekly back regularly with the hotel websites to see if there are any better deals than the one that you have booked. If a deal comes along that is significantly better, cancel the booking you originally had and book the better deal, but be careful, some deals have perks such as free parking and restaurant coupons and others don't, include the perks in the comparisons.

Some other tidbits about hotels, seek out a concierge if the hotel has one. Find out areas to avoid, learn a few important phrases in their native language such as "Help", "Where can we find some food" and "Where can we find a bathroom, "Where is the nearest gas station? Learn a little about local customs. Don't become a target by wearing expensive jewelry or all american clothing. Your goal is to act like a local, give the impression that you are sales person and knows your way around and someone not to mess with, don't look at maps in public. Never carry lots of cash, keep important documents with you, and use a money belt and don't carry a purse. Always know where the fire exit is whatever your location is and don't leave a sign to "make up this room" which may alert thieves about your abscense.

If you want to go more high class for your honeymoon you could join a club. Private sale sites like www.sniqueaway.com , www.jetsetter.com , and www.tablethotels.com/privatesale offer exclusive deals on hotels and resorts, but you must be a member to access them and most of the sales they have don't last very long, these sites give you deep discounts on upscale properties.

As for airline tickets. Some of the hotel online booking systems include airline booking. Research all airlines going to your destination, get a quote from all airlines and then grab the best deal. Some things to look out for, fares are higher during a destinations busy season and lower during the slow season. Fares are higher to the Caribbean in the winter and higher to Europe in the summer season. Book in advance at least 3 months prior, be flexible during the time of day you travel, best rates are in the wee hours such as a red eye flight late at night or the first flight out in the morning. Lunch time and dinner time tend to be lower rate times too. Also you save money by using local airports over International airports because of airport taxes and capacity. Sometimes booking package deals, book hotels, airlines, and auto rental all together can provide substantial savings. Again check www.kayak.com for the best flight out first and also check out the website of your favorite airline and look for promotions offered by that airline.

Top Websites for Booking Airline Flights Online

www.airfare.com
www.airgorilla.com
www.airvalue.com
www.bookingbuddy.com
www.bravofly.com
www.cheapairlinetickets.net
www.cheapflights.com
www.cheapoair.com
www.cheaptickets.com
www.dirtcheapairlineticket.org
www.farebuzz.com
www.farecompare.com
www.flightnetwork.com
www.fly4less.com
www.globester.com
www.hotfares.com
www.lowfares.com
www.onetravel.com
www.orbitz.com
www.shermantravel.com
www.travelocity.com
www.whatscheaper.com
www.yapta.com

When booking an airline ticket, order a ticket for one and then try to get your partner or your group the same rate as the one. If tickets are ordered for a group the most expensive ticket is applied to all the tickets ordered, all passengers are charged the same regardless. Ordering tickets individually and then if the next ticket is higher, ask to get the ticket lower. Best times to order airline tickets is after 3 p.m., cheapest day is Wednesday, followed by Tuesday then Saturday. Most expensive days to order airline tickets is Friday and Sunday. Don't order your airline tickets too early, 4-5 months in advance Internationally, and 3-4 month Domestically. It's the same deal as hotels, check each week your online websites and airports to see if they offer better deals than you have booked.

As for car rentals often there are discount codes or coupons. One place that offers discounts for autos for USA domestic cities is called www.dealbuzz.com. Wherever your hotel discount location is put that city's name and the words "rental car discount codes" or "coupons" in Google to see if you can find any discount savings. Check for auto savings discounts at destination hotels.

Other tidbits for rental car savings. The rental rates of cars tend to correlate with airline rates for a destination location. Always book well in advance. A weekly rate tends to be cheaper rate than a daily rate. Book the size of the car you need. Fill up your tank before returning your rental, weekends tend to be cheaper than during the week, return the car the same time of day as your pick up. Compare rates of all your auto rental companies to get the best deal. Always get a booking number and print out your email copy of your booking confirmation and keep that information in your honeymoon folder. Check your local auto insurance company to see what insurance coverage they would recommend.

Websites of National Auto Rental Companies

www.alamo.com
www.autoeurope.com
www.avis.com
www.budget.com
www.dollar.com
www.enterprise.com
www.eurocar.com
www.hertz.com
www.nationalcar.com
www.thrifty.com

Be careful, some local companies are excellent while others are not. If you should rent an auto from a local company, check out the company if you can, put the name of the company in Google and check if there are complaints about them and does the better business bureau have information on them. Same with taxis in an area, see what taxi companies your hotel recommends, some sheister rental companies are known to drive you thirty miles when your destination is only a mile away and charge you for a bundle of cash. Also check out if your hotel has shuttle service.

Lastly, if you plan on dining a bit at your honeymoon destination look for coupon savings. Some places offer entertainment books for $25 and a bigger for $50 and provide many coupons on cost savings. Also check out joining dining clubs such as www.opentable.com and www.table-booking.com . Also check out restaurant savings from websites of area hotels where you are staying, also look for restaurant coupons of the city where you are staying and even in some destinations you might stop in the Chamber of Commerce and they might leave you with a package of local coupons. Many upscale restaurants take American Express credit cards to cover meals and the ones that do have a statement by their front door or cash register.

Last things to mention, you can also look for savings on a cruise line by checking out www.cruisecompete.com . There are also clubs where you can exchange staying at each others homes, check out www.homeaway.com and www.homeexchange.com . There is also vacation timeshare where you can rent a home. Also in this day and age, most vacation locations offer ATMs that exchange your currency and you can always check out the currency exchange rate at a website called www.xe.com .

So if you should decide to book your own honeymoon, I hope I have left you with enough information that leaves you with substantial savings and once you have booked keep checking often for better deals. Use these tactics and not only can you save on your honeymoon, you can save lots of money which allows you to go on many more vacations.

See you on the other side!

Step 64 - Develop your Honeymoon Itinerary

(3 Months to 4 Months before the Wedding)
The top factors for a honeymoon from a 2007 study are first a dream location, followed by a reasonable price, then a comfortable room, followed by good quality and selection of food, then followed by enjoyable activities.

You need to formulate your honeymoon budget, how much discretionary funds are left after you have payed for your air fare, hotel, and transportation costs. You should also set up an emergency fund, that you plan not to touch, or use it for a special souvenir gift if it's still available the very last day of your trip.

You need to determine how much money you will need for every day expenses of your honeymoon. First you need to decide on what major activities you plan on doing on your honeymoon and what would be the costs.
You first want to learn all about your honeymoon location. What is all there? How much fine dining would you like to do? What activities would you like to do? What sightseeing excursions would you like to go on? Do you plan on any shopping? Familiarize with your honeymoon location by getting brochures and maps of the place and surrounding areas.

Stop by your travel agency or any agency and look at places near your honeymoon location that might interest you, and bring a note pad and a pen with you and jot places down. You can also stop at your local book store and look at their travel magazines and maps. Also look at online travel websites like lonely planet and Google the location and look at other travel guide websites like www.frommers.com , www.fodors.com , www.travelchannel.com, and www.tripadvisor.com . Whatever places interest you, Google and find about them further.

If you are using a travel agent, get information from your agent too. Is he a certified agent and can get special discount for you? What places to go? What are fine restaurants to eat at? What activities are there? You should make a list of all the things you plan to do while you are on your honeymoon. Mark down all the things; fine restaurants, golf, tennis, skiing, boating, scuba diving, para sailing, night clubbing, shopping, spa treatment, whatever. After you make a list of what you plan to do you want to price them out. If you are staying at a hotel, you might contact the hotel's concierge who can help you get an idea of each cost (you can arrange for reservations and directions too). Some places have websites or you can contact the facility itself and they can inform you of the costs, always ask if they have discount programs.

You want to then take your spending budget then subtract all the activity costs then subtract a reserve emergency fun and then what's left you can derive a daily expenditure budget by taking the amount left divided by the number of days. You need to take into account leaving tips for maid service too. Find out the maid's work schedule from the front desk. Leave the maid a tip on the last day she's working when you are there. If you have too much luggage, and need room for souvenirs for the trip home, you can leave some clothing behind too. Maid's in resorts tend not to make much money and they are very happy to take extra clothing left behind for themselves, or other family members.

Make a list of all things you need to include in your travel folder, all your tickets for airlines, hotel, and rental car, brochures, travel guides, maps, passport, visa, black book with all important contact numbers in it, a copy of all your important papers front can back including driver's license, any other licenses, for bride's the marriage certificate, all documents will not be in the bride's married name, will have to use her maiden name still during the honeymoon. Also the numbers and expiration dates of all credit cards as well as important people family and friend contacts too. You should have three pieces front and back of every document. One left behind with a family member, one in your carry on luggage and the other with your check in luggage.

Start making a list of all items you need for the honeymoon, for the ladies make sure you have some lingerie and fresh undergarments. For the men, fresh undergarments too. Include toiletries and include them in your carry on bag in case your luggage gets delayed. Make sure you have camera and film, batteries, stronger SPF sunscreen than usual, sun glasses, and if you are in a strong sun area bring a sun brimmed hat too. And don't forget any prescriptions and protection items too. Identify a location and phone number of a doctor in the area too.

When you pack, roll your socks and undies into your shoes. Have a couple of nicer outfits and dresses dry cleaned and bagged. Bring nice looking clothes, maybe you can borrow some, don't bring new never worn clothes and that is including shoes. Make sure you hand all your clothes up once you have your room..

Ask around, maybe some family members may have some points they can give you to help in honeymoon costs. This includes frequent flyer  miles, hotel points, car rental points, time-share, and AAA. Often you can save money at all inclusive resorts, but check out what is included. Maybe the alcohol is limited to the resorts choice of beer, wine, and the resorts cocktail. The food offered maybe buffet cafeteria style with group seating, you may have to share your table with other guests.

You might consider bringing a luggage bag of food, you can get pick up a special luggage that is lined and keeps food good. Pack with wine, gourmet coffee and creamers, snack mix, candy, nuts, dried fruit in which you can eat the food as munchies back at the room or at the pool instead which leaves extra funds for dining and activities. You will save on paying for tourist trap prices. Go find and buy goodies at an off the beat bodega around the corner, instead of paying premium prices at the hotel or next door tourist store.

When traveling have one set of clothing in each others luggage, if one of your luggage gets delayed or for heaven's sake lost at least you will have clothes to wear until the luggage arrives or you get reimbursed by the airline. You can exchange money nowadays using ATM machines. If you are a reader, invest in a Kindle so you don't have to find space for books or magazines in your luggage. They keep you entertained on a plane too.

When you arrive at your place, let the front desk know you are on your honeymoon. Work with the front desk to get you the nicest room you can get. You might ask for a room that is non-smoking, private location, convenient location, ocean view, or a high floor. Upon arrival to the room if you don't like the room, ask to see another, it's your honeymoon, make it the occasion the best you can make it. Make sure you meet the concierge in person and get their guidance at the resort, get directions, find fine dining, let the concierge make any reservations for any shows or activities, and ask any questions that you have.

Make sure the honeymoon has devotion time to your partner. Lay out an itinery but include some time dedicated to yourselves. You want a couple of days to really get intimate, relax and enjoy each others company. Don't feel pressure on the sex thing, couples are new at it and it may take time getting comfortable with one another in the beginning, don't feel disappointed. Don't be afraid to get comfortable with it by watching adult movies or reading magazines or books together back at your home. The important thing is to get cozy and have romantic moments on your honeymoon.

Below is the 5-3-1 Honeymoon Quiz. It's designed to help honeymoon couples understand each other's preference for the honeymoon. Both the engaged bride and engaged groom pick their top 3 choices of preferences without consulting the other giving the top choice 5 points, the next choice 3 points, and the third choice 1 point. Combine the scores for each item, whatever combined score has the highest total, you use that information to help guide your honeymoon decisions. Remember no cheating, get independent answers!

5-3-1 Honeymoon Quiz

1. My Preferred Honeymoon Environment is
    Beach
    City
    Cruise Ship
    Desert
    Lake
    Mountains
    Resort Pool
    River
    Safari
    Several Towns
    Sightseeing

2. I would Like to Take our Honeymoon
    Immediately following the reception
    Within a few days of the wedding
    A week after the wedding
    A month after the wedding
    The following year
    At our wedding location
    In the Spring
    In the Summer
    In the Fall
    In the Winter

3. I would like the Honeymoon to Last
    Just one night
    2-3 days
    4-6 days
    One week
    A week and a half
    Two weeks
    More than two weeks

4. My preferred location
    Africa
    Asia
    Australia
    Canada
    Caribbean
    Europe
    Latin or South America
    Mediterranean or Middle East
    Mexico
    South Pacific
    United States

5. My Ideal Hotel
    Is in a secluded location
    Small with few rooms or villas
    Large with a lot of amenities
    All-inclusive
    Couples or adults only (no children)
     In the heart of a city
    Close to nightclubs or entertainment
    One with a Casino
    Mountain or Ranch Resort
    Beach Resort
    Time-Share Location
    Bed and Breakfast

6. My Favorite Water Activity
    Boating
    Fishing
    Jet Skiing
    Kayaking
    Para Sailing
    Sailing
    Scuba Diving  
    Snorkeling
    Sun Bathing
    Surfing
    Water Skiing
    Water Tubing
    Yachting
 
7. My Preferred Activities are
    Art & Museum Appreciation
    Bicycling
    Dinner Show
    Golf
    Jogging
    Hiking
    Reading
    Shopping
    Sightseeing
    Skiing/Snowboarding
    Sleeping and Hanging Out
    Spa Treatments
    Tennis
    Watching Sports
    Watching Movies

8. Most of our Meals will Be From
    Preparing Romantic Dinners in our Room
    Cheap Local Cuisine
    Door Service or Resort Food
    All-Inclusive Package from resort
    Fine Dining
    Eating at Shops, Local Restaurants, and Malls
    Food service at the Beach or Pool

9. At Night, I would Enjoy
    Live entertainment
    Bars and clubs
    Hanging at the Casino
    Take Walks in the Moonlight
    Stay in our Room and Watch a Movie
    Go to a Movie Theatre
    Take a Stroll on a Beach

10.Type of Food I most Prefer
     American
     Asian/Sushi/Thai/Vietnamese/Indian/Japanese
     Cajun/Creole/Barbecue  
     Chinese
     Delicatessen
     French
     German
     Greek/Mediterranean/Middle East
     Italian/Pizza
     Sea food
     Steak
     Vegetarian/salad

11. My Favorite Types of Desserts
      Assorted Pies    
      Bakery goods (Cannolis, Eclairs, Puffed Oastries, Tarts)    
      Brownies
      Cakes and Cupcakes
      Candies and Cookies
      Cheesecake
       Fruits/Cheese/Nuts
       Ice Cream
       Petit Fours
       Pies
       Pudding and Jellos

12. My Favorite Types of Movies to Watch
      Action & Adventure
      Adult
      Comedy
      Documentary and War
      Drama
      Foreign
      Horror
      Music and Performing Arts
      Mystery & Suspense
      Romance
      Sci-Fi & Fantasy
      Sports & Fitness
      Western

Make sure your documents are up to date such as your driver's license for a rental car and your passport has blank pages for each country you plan to visit. Make sure you get your shots needed for the countries you plan to travel to. If you bring jewelry, always keep it in your sign of vision, and keep it in a room safe or resort safety deposit box. Get exercise and eat balanced meals.

It's your honeymoon, have the time of your life and see you on the other side!