The best way to ensure an awesome honeymoon is to plan in advance. The easiest way to ruin your honeymoon is to overplan in advance.
Perhaps you assumed you’d spend the entire honeymoon having sex, sleeping, eating your meals in bed, and having sex again. Thing is: you did pay a boatload of cash to get to this destination, and you have your whole life to bump uglies with your lady. You’re going to want to check out your surroundings.
You need a strategy, a plan that maximizes the attractions, food, and nightlife of your destination without over planning every waking moment. You want a framework, not a straight jacket.
Use the “Top Five Rule”
The “Top Five Rule” is not exactly a time-honored vacation planning tactic (in fact, we just made it up), but we think you’ll find it useful.
Whenever people travel somewhere new, there’s a vicious temptation to see everything there is to see, which can lead to Irrational Vacation Disappointment Syndrome.
IVDS symptoms include arguing with your wife about the things you missed, forgetting to enjoy the places you actually visited, and nursing a vague sense of dissatisfaction.
The cure for this syndrome is the Top Five Rule, which narrows down your options before you reach your destination. If you plan ahead, you’ll know which things you really want to see or do.
- Pick the top five in whatever categories interest you: the five best restaurants, the five best bars, the five most interesting bus tours, the five gnarliest surf spots, etc.
- With this carefully self-curated list, you’ll never start a day overwhelmed by either a complete lack of preparation or an overly-ambitious itinerary.
- Keep in mind: even after you’ve narrowed it down, you won’t have time to see everything on your Top Five list. But the things you do get to will be worth it, and you’ll have fewer things to regret missing.
Use the Internet
Show your bride the Internet research skills you developed over countless hours Googling your ex-girlfriends, looking at pictures of Rihanna in a bikini, and trying to get 50-yard line football seats on StubHub. Wow her with your knowledge of the best beaches, insider information on local bars, and the history of local landmarks.
Use a Plan, Not an Itinerary
There are certainly some things you’ll want to plan – hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu isn’t really something you can do on a whim – but it’s important that you don’t overplan. Build in plenty of time to relax and go where the wind blows you.
Don’t try to freestyle your honeymoon. If you plan some activities without creating a minute-by-minute itinerary, you’ll have a better time.