Planning the perfect honeymoon can be a daunting task, both financially and emotionally. Ramona Depares finds out how to avoid piling on the stress and clinching a good deal.

Life can be tough. When you have just thrown the biggest party you will ever throw in your life and have started to face up to the need to start managing your finances better... along comes the realisation that you also need to find a way to finance what is likely to be your biggest holiday ever.

Once the confetti have been swept away and the post-wedding haze has cleared, the realisation that you’re absolutely broke can ruin the best-laid wedding plans. With Travel Channel quoting fancy spots like Acapulco, Mexico and the Hotel Bellagio in Las Vegas as the top honeymooning spots, and Honeymoons.com following hot on its heels with Aruba and Bora Bora, it is no wonder that so many couples embark on their married life with a truckful of financial problems.

The bad news is that if you really want a once-in-a-lifetime holiday... well, you are going to have to get used to the idea that you will most likely pay once-in-a-lifetime prices. However, it’s not all grim; with the right sort of forward planning (and by forward, I dont mean a month ahead) you can at least minimise a substantial amount of the expenses.

Book your flights early

Low-cost airlines have now opened the gateway to the whole world. Even when you allow for extra baggage costs and the airports that are located far from the city centre, a low-cost flight will always be more financially viable than flying with a normal commercial carrier. Do not allow people to persuade you otherwise; those who say low-cost airlines are not worth it only say so because they can easily afford the alternative – and good luck to them.

You, on the other hand, have some serious saving to make. Which means that, if you want to book your seats at the cheapest cost possible on the dates you have chosen, you will need to book your tickets at least eight months in advance. Given the time-frame allowed for planning a wedding in Malta, this isn’t as outrageous as it sounds.

When planning your flight, the internet is definitely your friend – as are the travel advice forums, particularly if you are counting on catching some weird connection on an airline no-one has ever heard of on your trip to paradise. If you’re unsure about any aspect of your commuting plans, do not be afraid to ask – someone, somewhere will be sure to have encountered the same problem before you.

Finally, do keep in mind that low-cost airlines never guarantee connections or refund missed ones, so do make sure to keep enough of a time-window between flights A, B and C. You don’t want your low-cost flight to wind up costing as much as business class on a jet.

Use some lateral thinking to pick your dream spot

So you have always dreamt of the endless white beaches of the Maldives, but can’t afford the long-haul trip with an expensive airline. Or maybe you’ve been angling for a totally bohemian trip to San Francisco but you can’t afford the notoriously super-expensive accommodation. You’d be surprised at what some good research can turn up with respect to unlikely destinations.

If you can’t afford the time or money for a trip outside the continent, Europe offers a lot of off-the-beaten track alternatives that could very well offer the perfect stand-ins for your dream spot.

If it is bohemian culture you’re after, you could do worse than to plan a proper holiday in Berlin. Whether music, theatre or art is your thing, the Berlin scene is not only thriving, but also includes as many subcultures as you could wish for.

Even if you have no desire to actually do much while on holiday, and it’s more a case of yearning for the famed ‘Frisco vibe’, Berlin will more than satisfy your craving. Streetlife is as colourful as it gets, so you can just sit down, grab a pasty and coffee and watch the world go by.

But maybe you’re more the exotic beach sort of person – the advantage of the Maldives are obvious; whenever you happen to plan your honeymoon, the chances of good weather are high (barring an inconvenient tsunami here and there, of course).

Don’t fall into the trap of booking a huge amount of back-to-back activities

In Europe, things get a bit more dicey – which is not to say that the spectacularly pristine locations are not available. Love the crystal clear blue of the Polynesian waters? Kynance Cove, in Cornwall, the UK, is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and a short trip on Ryanair or Easyjet will get you there. Porthmeor Beach is another good alternative, and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland offer miles upon miles of pristine sand.

Don’t overdo the planning

The internet is a marvel of a personal assistant. It gives you the possibility of hassle-free booking, easy price comparisons and effective scheduling. Only problem is, it’s only too easy to get carried away by booking 101 activities for each and every day. Which is likely to leave you exhausted and with barely enough time for a chat with your other half, let alone other – ahem – activities.

As tempting as it is to book every exciting tour and experience available, put the brakes on. While true that online bookings are usually cheaper (not to mention less time-consuming) than on-site bookings, reality is that you will need a breather in between each individual activity.

Don’t fall into the trap of booking a huge amount of back-to-back items. Besides needing some downtime, you also need to leave some free time for the spontaneous and the unexpected. You don’t want to get there, discover some awesome activity that you hadn’t planned for online, only to realise that you don’t have an open window for it.

Does all this sound like it’s too much?

Help is out there – at a fee, of course. However, if you really want to plan the perfect trip and are feeling overwhelmed, getting some professional assistance may very well remove a ton of stress from those pre-wedding months.

Some tried-and-tested sites like www.myhoneymoonplanner.com will create several customised proposals for you, based on your profile, timing and budget. To put it simply, you tell them what kind of things you would like to do on your honeymoon, and how much money you are willing to spend, and they’ll come back to you with a list of options that match.

Wedding.theknot.com offers a more generic (and free) database that brings together tons of advice and options for you to sift through. Lists are this website’s forte, so you will find features like 25 top island holidays, 10 best resorts, 20 most romantic destinations and so forth. There’s also a resort finder and some real-life experiences for those who are looking for inspiration.

Other good alternatives are www.thehoneymoonplanner.net, www.trailfinders.com and www.honeymoonislands.com.

Shout out your news

When sending out those initial, quote-collecting e-mails to your shortlisted destinations, do mention the fact that you will be honeymooning there. While I am aware that informing a perfect stranger that you are on honeymoon sounds both cheesy and an invasion of your privacy, the payoff may make it worthwhile; many hotels, and even some airlines, offer special deals for honeymooners.

Whether it’s a complimentary bottle of champagne in your room, a free upgrade, a gift basket on arrival, late check out or early check-in, free spa treatments, royal treatment throughout your stay or even a small discount... it all helps make your pennies stretch further and to make the experience even more special than it already is.

This applies even when you’re actually on holiday. Booking dinner at a restaurant? Casually drop in that you’re on your honeymoon and are looking for a romantic evening, and chances are you’ll get the table with the best view and VIP service throughout the evening.

One word of advice though: never forget to be gracious about everything, especially if special favours are granted. Give staff your best smile and a massive thank you and show them your appreciation at the way they helped make your honeymoon the trip of a lifetime. No one likes a diva.

Is all-inclusive the best choice for you?

Free food, free alcohol, free ice-cream, free everything... all day long. Sounds like you died and went to heaven, right? Only you didn’t, you’re on your honeymoon and you don’t even need your credit card with you.

All-inclusive packages have become very popular in these past years, particularly when it comes to holidaying in exotic resorts based in places like Jamaica, Mexico and the like. Feel like that extra pitcher of Mojito? No trouble. Feeling a bit peckish before lunch? Snack bar included. Up for a midnight drink? At your service.

The idea is to offer newly-weds the peace of mind of knowing that they do not have to spend anything more than they already have. The only trouble, of course, is that these places tend to come with a hefty initial price tag attached. The Sandals Couples Only Resort (www.sandals.com) in Jamaica, to quote one example, will set you back €1,500 per person at a minimum. Then again, it is pretty much considered the ultimate in luxury and the ‘all-inclusive’ tag is truly so: you are not even allowed to tip.

This might sound nerdy, but if keeping track of the damage is important to you, set up a budget sheet when you’re planning your options. For the ones that are not all-inclusive, remember to keep tally of every single expense you will have to foot: transport, tipping, drinks, food, snacks, entertainment… everything. That way, you can match the same total on the all-inclusive options and see whether it behoves you to go for the latter.

Some words of warning; all-inclusive holidays tend to work best for those who are after a relaxing honeymoon, the kind where the most taxing activity will be to locate flip-flops in the morning.

All-inclusives – apart from the cruise options, which are also worth considering – usually involve resorts that offer their own entertainment. For obvious reason, the focus is on chilling out within the resort and getting your money’s worth, so to speak.

The upside of this is that the facilities tend to be top notch: spa treatments, music, aerobics, dance, water-sports... you name it, and a reputable all-inclusive resort is likely to supply it.

The downside, on the other hand, is that if you are the adventurous, active sort – or even a culture vulture who enjoys taking in theatre, concerts, exhibitions and so forth – you will not find a lot going on in that department (well, not unless you count karaoke as a musical performance). Then again, the typical destinations that offer all-inclusive packages tend to be beachside resorts, which automatically exclude the culture vultures.

Should the idea of being pampered 24 on seven without spending a single extra cent sound appealing, the best resorts named by Tripadvisor during 2013 were the following: the Iberostar Grand Hotel Paraiso, on Playa del Carmen, in Mexico (www.iberostar.priceres.com.mx; the Royalton Cayo Santa Maria, in Cuba (www.royaltonresorts.com/en/cayo-santa-maria.aspx); and The Beloved Hotel, in Cancun, Mexico (www.belovedhotels.com).

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