A Tour of London For Your Honeymoon

Traveling to London for your honeymoon destination could be quite an adventure in itself. You may enjoy traveling to Europe and seeing the Grand Palace and other historical landmarks that are still being used today. In order to plan your honeymoon carefully you will need to know a little more about all the places that you should visit while in London that is highly recommended. Here are some places to add to your itinerary while you are in London.

London has something called the London Eye. The London Eye is also known as The Millennium Wheel because it was opened in the year 2000. The London Eye is a Ferris wheel that allows you to see all of London while you are riding it. The views can be seen for up to 25 miles around when it is a clear sky. The ride takes thirty minutes so that you have time to see all around you while you are going around. Each capsule can hold up to twenty five people.

You should also go to the Tower Bridge. This is the famous bridge that has a lot of history behind it. Tower Bridge was designed to be raised for tall ships that would pass by. You can see the raising of the bridge several times during the week if you are interested. It also offers a closed in walkway that you can enjoy during every season.

You should also visit Tower of London. This is not the same thing as the bridge. The Tower of London has a lot of history behind it. During Medieval times this was the place of imprisonment, torture and execution for prisoners. You can view the Crown Jewels when you visit the Tower of London. Watch out for the ravens that have made the Tower of London their home.

Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens is a great way to end your long journey. Feel the peacefulness as you visit the royal parks. The Hyde Park is the largest park of the three parks in London. It offers a place to boat, swim, play and it also includes a pet cemetery for all the pets who have enjoyed the park continuously.

The famous Big Ben is something that you will want to see before leaving London. This is a clock that was built into a tour that has a distinct ring. You can hear the ring all around the world in phones, watches, clocks and more. When the House of Commons is in session you can see the light on above the clock.

Last, but not least, you will want to swing by Buckingham Palace to view the royal family’s house. Since 1837 this has been the home to the British Royal Family. Get there in time to see the Changing of the Guard. See the horses and carriages used by the Queen. You can also see certain parts of the palace during certain times of the year so if you want to tour Buckingham Palace you may want to call first.

The California Wine Country for Your Honeymoon

How about a visit to California’s wine country for your honeymoon destination?

When you visit California you can’t help but make a stop at the wine country. California has 58 counties and out of those 58, there are 46 counties that are producing wine. California’s climate allows for optimal soil and growing conditions. With so many counties involved in growing wine the state of California offers several different events and activities geared toward the wine. Wine tasting can be quite enjoyable and educational as well. Sampling the wine is very important in order to appreciate the difference in the wines. California wineries are a old business that have been around for generations. Winery’s take a long time to perfect and to raise the grapes just right for picking.

If you want to arrange for a tour of the winery you need to do some checking around to find out the schedule, be sure to tell them you are on your honeymoon for that extra special service (and trust me, they will do just that!). Each one offers a schedule of tours and wine tasting and some require an appointment before touring. The wineries take their tours seriously and they offer the tourists several different options. When wine tasting is in season you will be able to access an endless amount of wineries. Each winery is different and they have their own set of rules. These rules include the number of guests per party and hours available to tour some require an appointment ahead of time.

Wine tours are scheduled around harvest time when everything is ready and being processed. Other events you may get to see while at the winery include crush events, concerts and auctions of vintage wines, balloon rides over the vineyards, gardens for the perfect atmosphere, museums of the winery and the vineyards, local restaurants come to the festival to display their variety of dishes, and other recreational activities that will make your visit to the winery the most enjoyable.

Because after several wine tasting events you may find that driving is difficult, you and your newly wed spouse may decide to rent a limo which will offer you a safe ride to and from the winery.  If you drive yourself, a lot of the roads leading to the wineries include long, narrow winding roads. It is important to drive slowly and carefully if you decide to drive yourself. They are well off the beaten path and you may not realize how long it takes you to travel to each vineyard. There are also hotels, motels and fantastic resorts to stay at near the vineyards that make beautiful honeymoon stops. Stay at just one or travel up and down the area and enjoy a few.  Many of the hotels and resorts offer spa packages as well as wine tasting tours, so check with them before booking your tour to save a few bucks.

Because California is so big you may not know where to go in order to find a winery. Here is the way that it is divided out:

Northern California offers the Napa Valley and Mendocino Wine sections

Central California offers Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Monterey Wine and Santa Barbara wine sections.

Southern California offers Temecula and San Diego wine sections.

The Central Valley offers Livermore, Clarksburg, Amador, Calaveras, Lodi, and Sierra wine sections.

There are so many places to enjoy during your stay. Viewing each vineyard is a picture perfect memory that will last you forever.

How to Get A Free HoneyMoon

The honeymoon after a wedding can be very expensive. It can pose an unnecessary burden to the new couple or the family. You can go on your honeymoon for free if you have it well planned in advance and are smart about it. After you have determined where you will honeymoon and the amount needed for your trip and all necessities, take that number and put it aside- time to find it free.

Tip #1

There will always be people who will ask you what would you like as a wedding gift. Ask those individuals for cash, a loaded cash card, or a donation made to the honeymoon destination of your choice. Cash, however, is indeed king and you can buy whatever you want including your honeymoon package.

Tip #2

Contact a new resort that has not been widely publicized, or perhaps an old resort that is offering specials. You can offer to write a review or document your honeymoon trip and get paid or receive a large discount on your trip for doing so. Not all resorts will do this, but if you search around and ask your local travel agents or even call the resorts on your own, sometimes you cna work out a great deal. This has worked really well at some of the smaller B&B’s that are looking for free publicity.
Tip #3

Join a honeymoon registry at. That’s right. Most people just sign up for a general bridal registry; then they pick out china, knives, linen, etc. You end up getting just those things. A honeymoon registry provides gift givers an opportunity to purchase services at the place of your honeymoon, such as a spa treatment or dinner for two. The gift givers can also give quantities (of their choosing) of cash to your registry that can be used toward your package or services at your travel site. This concept is not widely known and is under utilized. Its a fantastic concept because its pretty much the same as friends and family giving you cash for your honeymoon, but its more personal. Get enough gift givers to your honeymoon registry site and you will get your honeymoon for free along with the extras such as massages, facials, tours, etc.

Tip #4

Place a small money tree at every table at the wedding reception. This gives everyone a chance to give something. This is especially true for those persons who are too embarrassed to give smaller amounts of cash. You can also hold a cash dance in which people donate dollars to dance to dance with the bride and or groom.

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Planning Your Honeymoon Destination

When you begin to plan for your wedding you will need to plan for all the details of your big event. In fact, you also need to plan for something after your wedding, your honeymoon destination. Traditionally the honeymoon should be planned by the groom. However, it will make more sense if both you and your husband-to-be are planning the honeymoon together.

How to Plan a Honeymoon Together:

Similar to your wedding planning, the best way to plan for your honeymoon is to plan together. Since it is the first time you two travel together as a married couple. You do not want to be disappointed during your honeymoon. As a result, it will be better if all the decisions about the honeymoon is agreed by both of you.

The Honeymoon Destination

There is no definite formula to choose your honeymoon destination. You should just choose the destination based on both of your preferences. If both of you would like adventures, you might want to consider a honeymoon in Africa or Europe. Perhaps something quite and adventurous, Antarctica can be quite romantic in with the white scenery and all the little penguins and other animals in the area.

If you believe your honeymoon is meant to be relaxing, you might prefer a place like Bali as your destination. Sometimes just enjoying the sun shine on the beach and the beautiful tranquil views is the perfect plan. On the contrary, you may also consider places like India or Nepal if you love to explore different cultures. The key is that you should select a destination that both of you feel interested.

The Season

Another issue you have to consider is the season in your honeymoon destination. It may not be a good idea if you plan to join the hiking tour in Nepal during summer, which is the monsoon season. The season is even more important if you really choose to go to Antarctica. You can only go to Antarctica during the summer (in the southern hemisphere). Of course there will be less problem if your honeymoon destination is places with equatorial climate, such as Indonesia and northern Brazil.

The Budget

As for your wedding items, you need to consider the budget for your honeymoon. The tradition is that the groom should pay for the expenses of the honeymoon. However, I will suggest you forget all this tradition and try to plan the budget together. There is nothing wrong if both of you contribute to the expenses.

Undoubtedly, the destination will affect your expenses a lot. Traveling to Antarctica is certainly more expensive than traveling to Mexico (if you are living in the U.S.). However, you can try to save some money from your wedding items and use the extra for your honeymoon. At the end of the day the cost for your honeymoon is usually only a fraction of that of your wedding.

Planning for your honeymoon is not an easy task. If you can plan it well, however, I am sure that you will have a really memorable honeymoon.

The best time of the year to visit….

I can’t tell you how many times a customer will ask us what the best time of the year is to go to their destination. What’s interesting is that it isn’t just a matter of seasons being different in the tropics–there’s weather patterns that are very different in Fiji vs. Tahiti vs. Hawaii vs. the Caribbean…and I’m not just talking about hurricanes. Pricing varies a lot between low season and high season, and it’s very important to know EXACTLY when low season starts, as sometimes moving your departure date for your honeymoon just a few days can save you 20% or so on your air and hotel.

Of course we’ve written about this in each of our travel guides in a lot of detail, so here’s the links straight to those pages for your convenience:

• Best time to go to Hawaii
• Best time to go to Tahiti
• Best time to go to Fiji
• Best time to go to the Cook Islands

The Green Bride Guide

The eco trend of reduce, reuse and recycle has entered the famously over-the-top wedding space. One bride, Kate L. Harrison, as incorporated her experiences on planning a green wedding into a book, the Green Bride Guide. It’s not due out until the start of the 2008 engagement season – the holidays – but she’s blogging with plenty of eco wedding advice. My favorite suggestion of hers so far is the time-consuming but beautiful use of small-increment stamps.

Looking for a Great Anniversary Gift? How About A Luxury Vacation in Aruba?

We are going to go a tiny bit off topic here today. However, this post can apply to a destination wedding and honeymoon, as well as, giving your parents or grandparents the gift of a lifetime.

If your parents or grandparents have an important anniversary coming up and you don’t know what to get them for a gift why not give them a luxury vacation in tropical Aruba? With the economic down turn, this is a great time to plan a trip that otherwise might appear to be out of everyone’s budget.

Tourism is suffering from the lack of discretionary income: the price of Thanksgiving flights were really affordable this year. Traditionally, the Thanksgiving holiday can be a more expensive time to travel than even Christmas.

To help them cover the cost, you could book a luxury trip that your parents or grandparents will love. Start with first class airfare to make sure that flying isn’t a hassle and then book them a luxury suite at one of the many beautiful resorts in Aruba. Listen, they’re only going to have one 30th, 40th, or 50th anniversary, so go first class when possible.

Many of the resorts on the island of Aruba are all inclusive honeymoon or vacation destinations so that your parents or grandparents wouldn’t need to worry about finding restaurants or the costs of meals and activities.

There are plenty of fun things to do for people of all ages in Aruba. Send your parents or grandparents sailing in the blue green waters or even have then renew their wedding vows on the white beaches. Or, you could rent a beautiful cottage right on the beach and give your parents or grandparents a second honeymoon.

With a private rental they can spend some quality time with each other walking on the beach or sitting in front of a cozy fire at night. Luxury villa rentals often have a private beach so that your parents or grandparents won’t be disturbed by other tourists.

Most of the luxury rentals on the island of Aruba also include important services like maid service and laundry service. Some even have personal chefs or have catered meals including a fresh continental breakfast delivered to the villas each day. Book a day at one of the many beautiful spas for your mother or grandmother while your father or grandfather spends the day golfing or fishing.

A concierge at the hotel or resort can make reservations for your parents or grandparents at a romantic restaurant at night or handle any other special requests that you have to make a luxury Aruba vacation the trip of a lifetime for your parents or grandparents.

To top off the vacation, you should end with a great big anniversary party or reception if they renewed their vows attended by friends and family at the resort or hotel where your parents or grandparents are staying. You can usually get a great deal on rooms for the entire group of family and friends who are willing to fly to Aruba for the party.

With a fun party as the end of the trip your parents or grandparents will still get to spend their anniversary with their loved ones, but they will also have had a chance to spend some quality time with each other.

A great vacation to warm, tropical Aruba and a week or two spent in a luxury resort or private villa with a great big fun party attended by friends and family is sure to make for an anniversary they will never forget.

Think that a plan like that is out of your price range? If you plan carefully and get all of your parents or grandparents friends and family to chip in some money you’ll be amazed at how much luxury you can get for an affordable price in Aruba.

Vacation Rentals in Aruba for Your Honeymoon

Have you always envisioned a tropical beach as your honeymoon destination? Perhaps, you don’t like staying in hotels. You might even be considering a destination wedding which means a larger group to find accommodations for…

You might even just want to stretch your honeymoon budget in these uncertain economic times. You should consider renting a single family house, cottage, condo or townhouse in Aruba instead of staying in a hotel.

Lots of people prefer staying in a vacation rental because vacation rentals feel much more comfortable and home-like. If you are traveling with a group then vacation rentals can be cheaper than a hotel because each person can chip in to cover the cost of the rental. If you are planning on staying in Aruba for more than a week then renting a vacation home or townhouse or condo or cottage is usually much more cost effective then staying in a hotel.

Just because you’re in a vacation rental doesn’t mean that you have to go without all the luxuries of a hotel during your honeymoon stay. There are some resorts that don’t have a main hotel like structure, but instead are just clusters of small cottages on a private beach or on private land. Usually there is one small villa that acts as the office so that guests can check in and get things that they need.

These places offer housekeeping services, laundry service, and concierge services:all the amenities you would find in big hotel. Some of them even offer grocery service and will send employees to local markets to pick up food for you to keep in the villa. You can save a lot of money on food if you are living in a vacation rental that has a full size refrigerator and a stove so that you can keep groceries in the house and cook at home for some meals instead of eating out for every meal.

Eating out at every meal isn’t very good for you, and it also get to be very expensive if you’re eating out for three meals a day everyday for a week or more. Think of what an entire vacation of eating out would cost a family of four, and you’ll see that the price of a vacation rental is much more economical than staying in a hotel and eating out every day.

Plus, you just can’t beat the privacy and freedom of a vacation rental. If you get a beach front rental cottage in Aruba for two weeks for your honeymoon, then every time you want to walk on the beach or sit on the beach or sit by the water and read a book all you have to do is step out the front door. You can take a nap with all the windows open and enjoy the wonderful cross breezes that help keep the island of Aruba cool.

You won’t be disturbed by crowds of other tourists or noisy guests. Some vacation cottages even have private beaches so you and your new spouse can spend some quality time together. Isn’t that what vacation is for? To relax, reconnect, and recharge? Renting a vacation cottage or a vacation home in Aruba instead of staying in a hotel can make your honeymoon vacation the best you’ve ever had.

Sheraton Waikiki

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Thinking about a gorgeous honeymoon in Hawaii? The
Sheraton Waikiki
is the perfect place for honeymooners. They have several special packages and online discounts just for those planning on having their honeymoon at the Sheraton.

Visit Aruba

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