Entire books could be written about travelers’ often-extreme lack of knowledge about world geography. Ok, so world geography wasn’t everybody’s favorite class in high school. But at the very least, please make an effort to understand the geography and important highlights of the destination in which you are hoping to travel!
I recently had a bride call to book a honeymoon cruise in Hawaii. I asked her if they might like to fly to Oahu a day early to have some time on the island before the cruise. “Good idea!” she said. And then she asked what there is to do on Oahu. So I told her about Honolulu, Waikiki, Diamond Head, Don Ho, and of course… Pearl Harbor. And to my utter amazement she said (in all seriousness) “What’s Pearl Harbor?” I’m sorry to have to admit this, but I had to put her on hold for a moment to recover from the shock of any American not knowing what Pearl Harbor was! Even if you forgot everything you learned in high school history and have the radio turned off every December 7, who didn’t at least see the movie Pearl Harbor with Ben Affleck?!
Another bride once told me they had seven days to honeymoon in Ireland and Italy and wanted to take the train between the two countries. Any reader here who doesn’t understand why this could be a problem, please pull out your atlas and look at a map of Ireland, Great Britain and Europe! Although travel agents are very important in providing education about destinations and assistance in booking travel to your honeymoon, it really is the traveler’s responsibility to at least know and understand the very basics of where they are hoping to honeymoon.
Most importantly, knowing something about the geography of a continent, climate, and even the nightlife of your destination will help to ensure that it is, in fact, an appropriate destination for you. For example, did you know it is hurricane season in the Caribbean from May to November? Chances of a hurricane hitting on your honeymoon island at the exact time you will be there are probably pretty slim. But if you don’t want have to worry about hurricanes at all, then don’t plan a honeymoon to Jamaica in June! (or if you do, be sure to purchase trip insurance and / or purchase a honeymoon at a resort that offer’s a “hurricane guarantee”. If you’ve dreamed of an Alaskan Cruise, there aren’t any in December! It’s freezing cold and dark 24 hours / day. You will have to wait until May!
The Internet is a great spot to begin your preliminary research. Most destinations and tourism boards now have their own websites which provide the basics… when to go, what’s the weather like, what documents are required, etc. So do some reading, eliminate some potential destinations based on your research, and then call your travel agent!
Discuss expectations and assumptions with your travel agent to avoid disappointment.
In addition to discussing the honeymoon with your fiancée, it’s just as important to discuss your honeymoon expectations with your travel agent. There are so many important logical questions and the “you might not think of” questions to ask, to insure that you have the honeymoon of your dreams.
Travel agents and tour operators have a million stories to tell about travelers not knowing anything about their destinations prior to booking a honeymoon there. You don’t have to know everything about your destination, but knowing the basics are important. For example, if going to Tahiti, don’t ask the following (we’ll save you the embarrassment…)
“Will I be issued a wet suit to get to my underwater bungalow?” Ummmm…. NO! The bungalows are over the water and you can walk to yours on the boardwalk.”Are there fireplaces in the over water bungalows?” Again…NO! Tahiti is a tropical destination. Rather than fireplaces, many over water bungalows have glass floors for viewing of the tropical fish!
And another man said… “We don't eat much so we don't need a meal plan. We are simple people, we can pick our own fruit. Will we need to pay for a fishing pole?” Let’s hope his new bride was patient and new how to skin tropical fish!!
But even researching a destination isn’t always enough. Again, just discussing your ideals and expectations with each other and with the travel agent will help to prevent disappointments.
One couple that we helped had the idea that they had to honeymoon in Tahiti – no matter what. They had a very set budget in mind – and that budget also meant a honeymoon with more “rustic” accommodations rather than luxurious accommodations. We talked more with the bride while planning the honeymoon rather than the groom. Her priority was time in Tahiti – so what we planned for them was 10 days on Moorea – forgoing a luxurious over the water bungalow in favor of more time. The groom, however, hadn’t talked specifically with us as to his expectations, or asked us a lot of questions. So when he first arrived in Tahiti on Moorea, he was rather disappointed. They had their first argument on their honeymoon! Following is the bride’s story:
“Our honeymoon was at the Les Tipaniers resort on Moorea in the islands of Tahiti. I was all set for a romantic honeymoon in a rustic economy bungalow just steps away from the fabulous blue warm waters. My new husband thought we had won the wedding lottery and was visualizing a suite on the beach. We were driven around the island on a shuttle bus dropping everyone off at their fancy high end, over the water bungalow resorts.
When we arrived at Les Tipaniers, we were dropped off on a sandy dirt path leading to our open-air front desk. My husband was not amused about pulling his luggage through the sand to our bungalow. When we entered our rustic retreat, he continued to be not amused by the 2 star accommodations. I argued for the romanticism of being right on the waters edge, he just plain hated it. He insisted we could "afford better than this", and I had to remind him that without the help of our honeymoon registry with HoneyLuna we would be honeymooning in Lake Tahoe, not Moorea Tahiti.
After two whole days of pure pouting, he started to see things my way. He had begun to realize for the same price we would have stayed at a fancy hotel facing a parking lot. We had a bungalow on the beach! We met many other honeymoon couples on Moorea that were staying in the fancy hotels, but each of them could only visit this paradise for 3-5 days, while we were able to stay for 10 days! In the end. We both thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Moorea, and enjoyed the island’s quiet nights on the patio of our oceanfront hut.”
This story is an example of both expectations and assumptions – as well as asking your travel agent questions. So guess what? There is also a questionnaire for you to both research and to ask your travel agent as you begin to plan your honeymoon! In addition to sharing the bride and groom questionnaire with your travel agent, please also be prepared to research the following questi0ns yourself. The more you know and the more prepared you are, the more certain you are to have the honeymoon of your dreams.
Many ideas and thoughts here are also discussed in the “Know Your Destination” chapter – but then again, knowledge is power and many of these thoughts bear repeating! To ensure the most remarkable and happily memorable honeymoon is mostly up to you. So please, do your homework, read these stories, ask the questions… and then – only then… Bon Voyage!
