Honeymoon, 4 different options

Honeymoon

– or how to get on well together during strange trials and tribulations

Right then. The wedding ceremony and the reception are over. So is the wedding night. So now it’s time to set off on your honeymoon. But where should you go? And what should you do – apart from being romantic and amorous? The possibilities are literally endless, and unless you’re lucky enough – or skilful enough – to end up in the right place, the romance on your trip might turn out a bit haphazard… So grab your atlas and join us on four different honeymoon destinations for newlyweds!

Paris

Uffe, 25, and Åsa, 24, wanted as many aspects of their trip as possible sorted out before they left home. They planned meticulously and pored over travel guides once they’d decided that, as newlyweds, they would visit Paris.
“We wanted as much as possible sorted out before we left home,” says Uffe. Some friends thought it sounded unromantic, as it didn’t leave much room for spontaneity. We felt quite the opposite – it was relaxing to be able to just enjoy each other’s company without having to think about ‘what shall we do today, how do we get there and what time does it close?’ and so on
.” “Paris felt so classically romantic!” says Åsa. Strolling along the Seine hand in hand, visiting all the sights and enjoying leisurely, long lunches…
“In Paris, there are an incredible number of small hotels that you can imagine were grand fifty or sixty years ago but are now charmingly worn,” explains Uffe. We chose to stay in just such a place, and when we went to book, it turned out that the travel agency could offer a whole host of these ‘romantic hideaways’ with heavy velvet curtains, four-poster beds and enormous crystal chandeliers in the lobby. It was very cheap and very romantic. ‘Sure,
‘ says Åsa, ‘the hot water was a bit hit and miss at times and there was no room service – but what did it matter? We bought some wine, cheese and bread and had a picnic in our gigantic, creaky double bed. It really felt as though we were creating memories for our life together!

The Seychelles

Sandra, 42, and Jean Claude, 49, have both been married before and now live together with their four and two children respectively, and their little boy Olle, aged 2. They needed a week away just the two of them and left the children with their respective other parents and an aunt.
“We wanted to relax, sleep in, talk and make love undisturbed on our honeymoon!” says Jean Claude, looking almost a little embarrassed.
They chose the Seychelles as their destination.
“We went to Praslin, the second-largest island in the Seychelles. We booked the trip ourselves online, where there’s, of course, a wealth of information – whether you know where you want to go or, like us, just knew what we wanted from the destination.” “You just need to be a bit patient and sneak a few hours in front of the computer whilst the kids are busy with other things,
” says Sandra, rolling her eyes. “Praslin isn’t so big that we couldn’t walk all the way round the island in an hour,” she continues.
“The locals were very friendly and proud of their island, but they were never pushy – which suited us perfectly as we just wanted to spend time together,” says Jean Claude.
– We’d planned to do ‘as little as possible’ in the way of activities, but we did visit the Vallée de Mai – the ‘Enchanted Forest’, a fantastic, ancient rainforest listed as a World Heritage Site.
– The accommodation was expensive, but we were in complete agreement that we wanted to splash out on a luxury hotel, as we wanted to spend a lot of time there, says Sandra, and Jean Claude nods in agreement.
– “We went on boat trips to uninhabited islands with a picnic basket and had some dreamlike moments all to ourselves,” says Sandra, smiling dreamily.
“Yes,” adds Jean Claude, “it felt as though we were living in an advert for paradise on earth for a week.”

London

Tommie, 30, and his partner Liza, 37, both work at least 60 hours a week and can’t afford to go on a long holiday. So their honeymoon in London had to be short and luxurious. “We’re used to comfort and want our holiday to be at least as comfortable as being at home,
” says Liza. “So we gave our travel agent a travel profile and a budget.” We collected the tickets – along with the booking details for the hotel and theatre tickets – from the travel agency on our way to Arlanda.
“So we didn’t have the faintest idea where we were going to stay or which theatre we’d got tickets for!” says Tommie, looking incredibly pleased.
‘It felt very exciting, of course, and we were almost a bit intoxicated by the sense of freedom it gave us as we sat in the taxi from Heathrow Airport on our way into town. But as we’d been careful to describe our preferences in our travel profile with our travel agency, we weren’t worried at all…
“And we ended up in a five-star hotel – as always!” Tommie interrupts. “The same hotel that Julia Roberts stays at in the film *Notting Hill*, by the way
.” “Apart from the theatre visit, we hadn’t planned a thing. Oh, wait, we both wanted to go shoe shopping,” giggles Liza.
“I’d actually like to warn other honeymooners against planning too little,” says Tommie. Sure, you want to be in each other’s company without interruption, make love five times a day and just enjoy life. But if, like us, you’re used to a fast-paced life, it can unfortunately cause a bit of frustration when you suddenly have over four days together and no schedule. You should at least draw up a list together before you set off, of activities you can do if you feel like it once you’re there.

Things to bear in mind before your honeymoon

So what’s the moral of the story here?! Well, do bear the following in mind:
Plan well in advance so that accommodation and tickets to your chosen destination are available when you want to go – at prices that suit your budget. And make sure you’re both looking for roughly the same thing from the trip – so that one of you isn’t keen on an adventure holiday whilst the other wants a relaxing break. Otherwise, there’s a high risk that you’ll both feel you’ve had to compromise all the time, and neither of you will be truly satisfied.
You should also plan a reasonable number of activities (look up information online about your destination or ring the country’s tourist board). Not a whole host of ‘must-dos’ – but enough to have something meaningful to do if the weather doesn’t allow for round-the-clock romance in the great outdoors….
Above all, relax, enjoy your partner’s company and bring home wonderful little memories from your honeymoon: the menu from the restaurant where you enjoyed such delicious seafood, the matchbox from the beach bar by your hotel, dried flower petals from the meadow where you… well, all those little details that will become some of the cornerstones of the memory book of your new life – together as husband and wife.