Tasmania – Image via In a Faraway Land
There’s a lot to consider when planning a honeymoon: where to go, how long for and how far in advance should you book? Unfortunately, Google and all the wedding apps in the world couldn’t give us real world advice or answer any of our questions. So, we’ve done this for you! Meet our recent newlyweds, Jess, Nikaela and Mim who have shared some tips with us on all things honeymoon. Jess and her partner Dom adventured around Tasmania for their honeymoon, Nikaela and Todd relaxed in Airlie Beach whilst Mim and Justin picked sunny Hamilton Island for their honeymoon. All completely different experiences but their advice applies to any type of honeymoon.
Nikaela and Todd – image via Mel Hill Photography
Where was your honeymoon?
Jess: Adventure around Tasmania – road trip to Pumphouse Point, which is a beautiful old pumphouse in the middle of Australia’s deepest lake which has been converted into beautiful suites. We spent time out on the lake and in the shore house. We particularly loved the shared dinners every night with delicious local food and wine. After a few days we headed back to Hobart where we rented a beautiful Air BnB townhouse in the middle of the city.
Nikaela: Airlie Beach!
Mim: I’m a teacher, so to take a big trip during term time it is unpaid leave. We decided to go on a small trip straight after our wedding (which was a week off school) and we are leaving for a 3 week trip to Europe on the 23rd of December this year. We went to Hamilton Island and stayed at the Beach Club for 4 days. We booked a deal through the website which included a Reef tour. Justin and I enjoyed ourselves SO much. We couldn’t have been happier relaxing in island life and rave about it to anyone and everyone. We went the first week of May so it was reasonably quiet too.
Mim and Justin – Hamilton Island
Why did you pick this destination?
Jess: We knew we didn’t have much time to dedicate to our honeymoon so we wanted to go somewhere with beautiful scenery within Australia, where we could do as much relaxing or adventuring as we felt like.
Jess and Dom image via Keepsake Photography
Nikaela: We live in Canberra and wanted a hot destination within Australia. Airlie Beach was hit by a cyclone a few years ago and we wanted to spend some time up there and help the locals.
Mim: It was on my bucket list to see the Reef.
How far in advance would you recommend booking a honeymoon?
Jess: We booked ours approximately 4 months before the honeymoon.
Nikaela: We booked it 8 months in advance. We saw some flights on sale and thought it was a great destination – it was a very spontaneous decision. We recommend signing up to receive flight specials and book in advance as you can save some extra money
Mim: We booked quite close to the date but the more organised you are the more money you’ll save (particularly with flights). We booked our Europe adventure in September and have paid a fortune for flights because we’re going over Christmas.
What activities would you recommend doing on a honeymoon? Was there one that stood out to you?
Jess: We loved just spending time together. Because of where we chose, we loved going on walks and drives, visiting iconic locations and indulging in fresh produce such as cheeses, meats and breads. I particularly enjoyed visiting the local markets and exploring the local area.
Nikaela: We enjoyed swimming in the lagoon and relaxing by the beach. We had a very relaxing honeymoon. We didn’t book any activities until we were there, such as snorkeling or day trips.
Mim: Relaxing. We were absolutely frantic leading up to the wedding, it was pure bliss to do NOTHING for the first day. After that we chose activities that we felt were in our budget, but we were mostly guided by ‘would we regret it if we don’t do it?’ We did a helicopter ride, but rather than a really long one we chose a shorter one to gauge whether we enjoyed it.
Jess: We left immediately after our wedding (2 days after) which worked for us because we weren’t travelling far. It also kept up our excitement levels up and continued our celebration following our wedding.
Nikaela: We left 10 days after our wedding, it gave us a chance to say goodbye to interstate family and friends and return anything we hired.
Mim: Having a spare day in between really suited us. We did a lot of wedding prep ourselves so if we left the next day, I would have been panicking about stuff.
Nikaela and Todd – Image via Mel Hill Photography
Knowing what you know now is there anything you would have done differently?
Jess: No way! Our day was perfect and our honeymoon complemented it so nicely!
Jess and Dom image via Keepsake Photography
Nikaela: We really enjoyed our honeymoon, and wouldn’t change anything, we spent a week at Airlie Beach, it was a time where we could fully relax and enjoy being each others Husband and Wife.
Mim: I would have stayed at Hamilton island longer!
Is there any advice or recommendations that you wish to pass on?
Jess: Choose a honeymoon that suits you and your partner’s personality. Do you want to relax? Do you want to adventure? What is the best way you’d like to spend time with your new husband/wife? Do that!
Nikaela: We turned our phones off for most of our honeymoon, we took the occasional snap and posted it on social media, however it was lovely just being with each other and disconnecting from technology.
Mim: So many family and friends have advice which we took on board. At the end of the day you’ve got to do your own research to find what suits you.
Ms Zebra Says: We can’t thank our newlywed bride’s enough for sharing their insider knowledge and destinations! With all the wedding planning, a holiday may seem like the LAST thing to think about. Here’s to choosing a fab location to holiday as newlyweds!
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