Minnetonka Travel’s Tips and Tricks for Honeymoon Trips

by Jody Carey | Feb 2024

Pexels/Brady Knoll

Personal guides, private tours and pure relaxation can enhance honeymoon experiences.

’Tis the season—for love and honeymoon planning. With couples taking advantage of the December holidays and Valentine’s Day this month to pop the question, there’s more on the planning docket than just the wedding ceremony and reception. Once the date for the vow exchange and celebration is set, it’s time to put thought into planning the honeymoon.

Oh, how we love honeymoons—that cherished time to relax and spend together after the wedding buzz and before the flurry of penning thank you notes. While the tradition continues, how couples spend their honeymoon is changing. A growing number of newlyweds are adding customized memory-filled experiences for an enhanced getaway.

Jennifer Yokiel, a travel agent at Minnetonka Travel, helps couples plan their perfect honeymoon—whether it’s sightseeing in Europe, soaking up the sun on a Caribbean island or visiting closer-to-home hideaways. “[For many couples], it’s their first time planning an itinerary trip … so it’s a little overwhelming,” Yokiel says.

Many couples are looking for more than a flight and hotel. They want a personalized venture. “Couples are looking for more privacy with smaller groups. It’s a trend that enhances the honeymoon experience,” Yokiel says.

Consider utilizing private drivers, who are at the ready to take the newlyweds wherever they want to venture while suggesting local hotspots away from the touristy or clichéd areas. “The memories you walk away from, rather than going as a group with a tour guide, is such a different experience,” Yokiel says. (There certainly is a place for group adventure if that is what the couple is interested in for their trip.)

Let’s Get Started

Yokiel recommends planning early, and if using a travel agent, start the conversation at least six months before the wedding.

If traveling outside the country, she says that if one or both newlyweds are changing their last name(s), don’t feel the rush to make the switch prior to travel. The original names should be listed on the passports for the honeymoon. “If you’re traveling right after your wedding, you want to wait to change your passport because you can’t change it until you have your marriage certificate, and you just don’t have enough time,” Yokiel says. (This might not be the case if the trip is planned several months after the wedding. Just be sure to consider the timing.)

Travel post-COVID-19 is back to normal—kind of. While COVID vaccines are no longer required (Check with a travel clinic about other vaccines.), there are some elements of travel that haven’t reverted back to pre-pandemic times. For example, Yokiel says lines are longer at popular destinations. “Since COVID, almost everything has gone to reservations. You can’t really show up any more … it’s capacity controlled now,” she says.

Yokiel says to avoid overscheduling. “There’s so much joy in walking a destination and having that freedom to just take in downtime,” she says, recommending hiring a local guide for a personal walking tour. It’s an ideal way to experience the flavor of a neighborhood and discover the uniqueness of the area.

To immerse in local cultures, Yokiel suggests having an agent arrange for an in-home experience, where locals prepare a meal for the couple, allowing them to truly delve into the local cuisine and culture.

Let’s Get Registered

To fund these once-in-a-lifetime experiences, some couples add their honeymoon to their gift registry, which can be a wonderful way to provide friends and family an opportunity to contribute toward a post-wedding getaway.

If doing so, Yokiel advises that couples, “Put down portions … $100 or $50 toward airfare [for example], where people can add so many [portions] to the cart,” she says.

Cash gifts work, too, but family and friends appreciate being part of a specific honeymoon memory. Many wedding guests enjoy chipping in for specific experiences. Think: monetary gifts toward for a scooter ride through the stunning vistas of Tuscany, breakfast in Paris boulangerie, a snorkeling excursion in the blue waters of Jamaica or a catamaran day trip to view the beauty of St. Lucia. Wherever the honeymoon leads, follow your heart.