We had our minimoon at Bernardus in Carmel Valley which was perfect. Carmel by the sea is a short drive and Big Sur is not far either. I like Carmel valley because it is warmer (Carmel gets really cold). People don’t realize how nice it is and so it’s quieter and more affordable. We are locals so if you have any questions send me a message!
How sweet!! Thank you!! I probably will reach out as I get closer to planning. If you ever need want to travel to Texas I have tips if you need them (don’t come during summer it’s too hot)
Haha yes I think I have been lucky to visit Austin, Houston and Lubbock during good weather. Texas is a great state!
PS if you decide to come to Carmel make sure to visit refuge spa. Look it up it’s absolutely amazing!
What's the best time to visit TX? My fiancé's grandfather lives out there and I want to plana trip but they both give me mixed reviews about what months to travel (pretty much it's "it's either super hot or super windy")
I’m from South Texas, so definitely don’t come during the month of May - August. Are there specific things you are looking to do? Hill country hikes, food?
We are big music people so we are doing a delayed honeymoon. We are gonna wait till a festival lineup comes out that we absolutely are obsessed with and will “full send” as the kids say 😂
Hulaween is where we got engaged!! We live about an hour away and go every year. Literally magical vibes at that place so 10/10 recommend this for a honeymoon!!!!
Can I please recommend the company we use to book European trips? We went to Scotland for our honeymoon, and then Italy a few months ago for my 40th birthday. It’s called Great Value Vacations, and they offer packages that are so incredibly affordable. For Scotland, we paid a little less than $3000 altogether. This included rental car, hotel, breakfast every day, AND airfare. I had another friend use it and I was skeptical, but we’ve never had any issues. My BIL and SIL have now also used it twice.
CA for us as well! We’re most likely doing a few days in either Dana Point or Catalina island. Nailing down the details, depending on the best lodging deals we can get. I don’t need to sight see, I just want to relax with my toes in the sand somewhere.
Just throwing in some unsolicited advice as someone in SoCal, Catalina island can feel a little but underwhelming and is pretty expensive for what you get (unless you’re into camping, then it’s pretty awesome!). If I were you, I’d stick to Dana Point just cause there are more beaches to go to, a much bigger variety of lodging options, and better dining options too. Just remember that the ocean never gets warm here so expect cold water! And stick to the months of July-October if you can, as spring and early summer are known for constant overcast days and winter can be chillier than most people realize.
We also want to do a Euro trip for our one year!
We originally planned to stay close to home and travel around Colorado, maybe go stop in Breckenridge and then go west to go hiking and a hot springs.
But now we're heading to Hawaii! FH is being sent there for work so we're flying out early and spending a week there
We already took a big international trip this year, so we're doing a long weekend minimoon in Santa Fe. Nature, art, and spicy food are like heaven for us. I just wish we could take more time.
I was there in September. We did the Azores, the Algarve, and Lisbon. My family is Portuguese, and I love the country and culture. I have recommendations if you want!
I do! I stayed here for a trip recently and had a blast: https://www.beachvinemountain.com/listings/127695?start=2025-04-10&end=2025-04-15&numberOfGuests=1
It was on sale at the time I went.
All inclusive in Cancun. It will be a relaxing honeymoon at a high end resort for probably half the price of our first idea - Scotland. It’s also nice that we won’t lose too much time to jet lag since there isn’t a big time difference.
We just did something similar to you last week! Flew into Oakland, went to Monterey, Big Sur, then back to San Fran, Napa valley, then saualito. If you want any recs, let me know!
Carmel-by-the-Sea is gorgeous and very cozy. If you have a car available, you can also take a quick trip to Monterey Bay for the aquarium! We stayed there for Christmas and had a great time. There are also lots of really cozy inns which make the stay feel extra special.
We're going to Montréal! Flying into NYC as I'm a displaced New Yorker in California now and my fiancé will get to meet some of my family for the first time who can't come to the wedding. Then taking the train to Montréal and taking some time to visit both Ottawa and Quebec City while we're there.
There's not that much to do in Ottawa (its good for a day trip!), would recommend focusing on Montreal and QC depending on what youre into. Pm for recommendations if you want, I'm from Montreal.
Thank you! I'll definitely send a message in the near future. Yes, we plan to do just a day trip to Ottawa. I used to live in BC but haven't seen much else of Canada so wanted to at least pop over and take a look since it's not too far :)
We're on the east coast, so California for us is often almost the same price as some of the cheaper European flights like Portugal (and often more expensive for accommodations and food). We're between Costa Rica or a resort somewhere like the Catskills. Would have done Puerto Rico, but it will be hurricane season. Also almost did Portugal, but I had a personal conflict and couldn't be gone for the two weeks I wanted – that will be next year's trip!
We delayed our honeymoon until summer (teacher here, may wedding) and are doing 11 days train across the country. Fly out to Seattle, couple days there, hop Amtrak to whitefish montana, spend a couple days there and at glacier national park, hop back on and spend 30 something hours on the train and then 24 hours in Chicago, then spend another night and day on the train and spend 24 hours in charlottesville VA, then spend another 30 hours there, and train home to our home in NC. We went through Amtrak vacations and got a roomette for on the train, and a rental car for the park, so it's not the cheapest. But there are tons of Amtrak vacations that are cheaper and ways to diy it yourself, and Amtrak can make a lot of things happen for you if you plan through them.
I am so excited. So is my husband.
Our honeymoon is going to cost more than our wedding. Hopefully having a small and intimate wedding but didn’t want to spend 1000s on stuff.
We’re going a South Africa and Botswana safari. I can’t wait, it’s going to be a dream come true to see big cats in the wild for me!
When I’m done with grad school, we’re doing our honeymoon. Probably Italy!
If you guys are doing Big Sur/Carmel, are you driving there from Texas? If so, I highly recommend taking Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) all the way up from the south. The California coast is awesome and it’s a beautiful drive. You hit all the coastal towns on the way! If you’re into good seafood, there are tons of great places to eat. The overland route isn’t nearly as nice. 😊
Thank you! Yes, we want to go to Sardinia when I’m done. Hmm, if you do have a rental car, definitely suggest seeing PCH anyway! It’s a gorgeous drive with many pullouts so you can stop and see the ocean (safely). Have the best honeymoon!
No big honeymoon for us since we probably won't have any funds for it after the wedding and buying a house lol
But maybe we do a mini one in Quebec (we live in Toronto) for Christmas (we're getting married June next year).
Thank you! House isn't bought yet haha but it's just one of those big expenses plus the wedding that we chose to focus on instead of the honeymoon :) Honeymooning in our newly bought house will be nice though haha
We got engaged in Carmel. Highly recommended that area - it’s super charming and romantic.
We’re going to mini moon at Disney then Joshua Tree. We’ll do our official honeymoon in Hawaii for our one year.
We are splurging and going to the Uk!
I am from the Bay Area, Ca and went camping at Big Sur growing up, it's gorgeous in that area! We also love Monterrey :-)
ETA: by splurging I mean we spent more on our honeymoon than our wedding
SO MUCH. We just got back on Thursday, so it was light pretty much the whole time. We’re on the east coast, so we expected to just adapt to Alaska time like we did to Hawaii time and that was not the case at all! Our RV had a vent above the bed that let in tons of light and we had to stuff the lid of a pizza box in it so we wouldn’t be woken up by the full sun at 3 am! One of my first text to my best friend was “The endless sun is misleading.”
That being said, it was wonderful being able to do an after-dinner 2 mile hike in Denali, and our days didn’t feel rushed by anything but ourselves, so overall, I really liked the non-stop sun. It also didn’t feel like the sun was screaming at me constantly like it does at home. Plus, everything is so pretty that I would have been sad if it hid from me! :)
We're planning on going to Greece since his family has a house there, left to all aunts, uncles, and cousins by a late grandmother. Super glad that we won't have to worry about a housing budget and can really just enjoy our time there!
I just started looking at honeymoons and I wanted to stay local to keep cost down but then stay at a nice resort... Prices are $6k-$10k for 4 days!!! What? I'm looking in Austin, TX. Some of these are all inclusive but not all. I dont understand how some of you are doing international travel for much less. I thought it would be cheaper to stay home but...
Haha. Because we live in Dallas and Austin is not too far but far enough to feel like a getaway. The wedding will be in Austin as well so it's just easier. No flights, etc.
Started talking about it today with my fiancé actually! We are looking at Greece, Italy, the Caribbean, or Key West. I’m excited and I hope we can pull that off.
In our first couple of years dating, we went to AZ, CA, and CO, (and we live in the Midwest) so I am leaning towards an international trip since we have both never been out of country yet.
Look into Amtrak! If you have a station near you, you can get on and go anywhere. Vacations by rail, and Amtrak vacations, are two tour companies that do trips based around the train. Amtrak vacations is actual Amtrak staff and stuff. The Amtrak subreddit will definitely have a lot of info, but Amtrak goes quite far, and there's different cars and different levels of service you can get, which may be worth it depending on how long you're on. The train stops periodically, and while it's similar to flying in the shared space aspect and the potential delays, it's way less hassle.
If you want to go to the Midwest, your options are limited, but the east coast is well connected, especially the northeast, and everything eventually leads to Chicago, the Amtrak hub.
If you Google Amtrak map you can see where all the routes go. The green ones are not always trains though, so if you want train specific, stick to the red lines. The green might be a train, bus, ferry, etc.
We went to Thailand for two weeks! The first week we spent in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and then the second week we went to a few of the islands. It was a perfect combination of travelling and vacation!
Our honeymoon deposit was our first wedding purchase! We're going on a Caribbean cruise and splurged for a nice balcony cabin. Cannot wait to just watch the ocean and make zero decisions.
Haven't finalized yet, but right now we're thinking Portugal! My fiancé has never left the US, loves history, and wants to do more of a "trip" than a chill vacation. I'm very privileged to have done quite a bit of traveling and wanted to do more of an all-inclusive type vibe. We're trying to get the best of both worlds. It seems fairly possible in Portugal for a more affordable price and I've never been to Portugal, so that's a bonus too!
Worth a mention that I live on the East coast so a flight to Portugal is nearly the same flight time as one to California, though it is more expensive. We're hoping to have enough points to cover 90% of the flights at least.
Going to an all inclusive resort in Cancun for 7 days! Booked lots of excursions, massages, fancy restaurants. It was a super generous gift from my parents we for sure couldn’t have afforded otherwise. So excited!
We had our minimoon at Bernardus in Carmel Valley which was perfect. Carmel by the sea is a short drive and Big Sur is not far either. I like Carmel valley because it is warmer (Carmel gets really cold). People don’t realize how nice it is and so it’s quieter and more affordable. We are locals so if you have any questions send me a message!
How sweet!! Thank you!! I probably will reach out as I get closer to planning. If you ever need want to travel to Texas I have tips if you need them (don’t come during summer it’s too hot)
Haha yes I think I have been lucky to visit Austin, Houston and Lubbock during good weather. Texas is a great state! PS if you decide to come to Carmel make sure to visit refuge spa. Look it up it’s absolutely amazing!
Ahhh the Refuge is spectacular!! Perfect for a honeymoon too 😄
What's the best time to visit TX? My fiancé's grandfather lives out there and I want to plana trip but they both give me mixed reviews about what months to travel (pretty much it's "it's either super hot or super windy")
If you're going to the hill country, go March/April to see the blue bonnets.
I’m from South Texas, so definitely don’t come during the month of May - August. Are there specific things you are looking to do? Hill country hikes, food?
We are going to Tenerife, one of the Spanish Canary Islands. 😍
We are big music people so we are doing a delayed honeymoon. We are gonna wait till a festival lineup comes out that we absolutely are obsessed with and will “full send” as the kids say 😂
This sounds so fun!
We're getting married early October, we thought about Hulaween as a honeymoon!
Hulaween is where we got engaged!! We live about an hour away and go every year. Literally magical vibes at that place so 10/10 recommend this for a honeymoon!!!!
Omg I love this! We got engaged at EF! Our 3rd engagement anniversary is this upcoming weekend hehe! 🥰
Omg love it! Have the BEST TIME!!!!!!!! EF is on our bucket list for sure! Hoping for a griz return lol
Thank you so much! I can't wait! Definitely make it out if you dig hula vibes!! And yesss i miss him so much lol
Lineup isn’t out yet but if you haven’t done Friendship yet, it’s an absolute blast!
My fiancé wants to go back to Montreal and Quebec City for a minimoon! And then travel to Europe next year for a long stay.
If you want any recommendations from a local Montrealer, feel free to message me
Our first trip together was Montreal and we got engaged in Quebec City. Both are so romantic!!
Can I please recommend the company we use to book European trips? We went to Scotland for our honeymoon, and then Italy a few months ago for my 40th birthday. It’s called Great Value Vacations, and they offer packages that are so incredibly affordable. For Scotland, we paid a little less than $3000 altogether. This included rental car, hotel, breakfast every day, AND airfare. I had another friend use it and I was skeptical, but we’ve never had any issues. My BIL and SIL have now also used it twice.
I’ve heard of it!!!
CA for us as well! We’re most likely doing a few days in either Dana Point or Catalina island. Nailing down the details, depending on the best lodging deals we can get. I don’t need to sight see, I just want to relax with my toes in the sand somewhere.
Just throwing in some unsolicited advice as someone in SoCal, Catalina island can feel a little but underwhelming and is pretty expensive for what you get (unless you’re into camping, then it’s pretty awesome!). If I were you, I’d stick to Dana Point just cause there are more beaches to go to, a much bigger variety of lodging options, and better dining options too. Just remember that the ocean never gets warm here so expect cold water! And stick to the months of July-October if you can, as spring and early summer are known for constant overcast days and winter can be chillier than most people realize.
We’ve actually got roots in SoCal, and very familiar with both areas! We’re also spending a day or two in LA proper with old friends 🥰
We also want to do a Euro trip for our one year! We originally planned to stay close to home and travel around Colorado, maybe go stop in Breckenridge and then go west to go hiking and a hot springs. But now we're heading to Hawaii! FH is being sent there for work so we're flying out early and spending a week there
You’re gonna LOVE north shore. I want to go back sooo bad every year!!
We already took a big international trip this year, so we're doing a long weekend minimoon in Santa Fe. Nature, art, and spicy food are like heaven for us. I just wish we could take more time.
Portugal. After the cost of the flight (yeah credit card points!) your looking at cheap amazing food, accommodations, and amazing beaches.
I was there in September. We did the Azores, the Algarve, and Lisbon. My family is Portuguese, and I love the country and culture. I have recommendations if you want!
We did our mini-moon in Monterey/Carmel and we had the best, sweetest time!
Aww lmk if you have any recommendations for spots to stay at 🙂
I do! I stayed here for a trip recently and had a blast: https://www.beachvinemountain.com/listings/127695?start=2025-04-10&end=2025-04-15&numberOfGuests=1 It was on sale at the time I went.
Hawaii with flights and hotels on points! 💳 💰
Ughhh lucky. I love Hawaii!! Meet the locals, they are all so amazing 😭
All inclusive in Cancun. It will be a relaxing honeymoon at a high end resort for probably half the price of our first idea - Scotland. It’s also nice that we won’t lose too much time to jet lag since there isn’t a big time difference.
Carmel by the sea is stunning I stayed in a cottage there once and it was incredible
We just did something similar to you last week! Flew into Oakland, went to Monterey, Big Sur, then back to San Fran, Napa valley, then saualito. If you want any recs, let me know!
YES!!! Drop the itinerary 🥰🥰
Please share! Thank you 🤩
Carmel-by-the-Sea is gorgeous and very cozy. If you have a car available, you can also take a quick trip to Monterey Bay for the aquarium! We stayed there for Christmas and had a great time. There are also lots of really cozy inns which make the stay feel extra special. We're going to Montréal! Flying into NYC as I'm a displaced New Yorker in California now and my fiancé will get to meet some of my family for the first time who can't come to the wedding. Then taking the train to Montréal and taking some time to visit both Ottawa and Quebec City while we're there.
There's not that much to do in Ottawa (its good for a day trip!), would recommend focusing on Montreal and QC depending on what youre into. Pm for recommendations if you want, I'm from Montreal.
Thank you! I'll definitely send a message in the near future. Yes, we plan to do just a day trip to Ottawa. I used to live in BC but haven't seen much else of Canada so wanted to at least pop over and take a look since it's not too far :)
We’re going to Antigua
Ooh how beautiful.
I’m so excited! The place we’re staying at looks amazing.
We're on the east coast, so California for us is often almost the same price as some of the cheaper European flights like Portugal (and often more expensive for accommodations and food). We're between Costa Rica or a resort somewhere like the Catskills. Would have done Puerto Rico, but it will be hurricane season. Also almost did Portugal, but I had a personal conflict and couldn't be gone for the two weeks I wanted – that will be next year's trip!
We delayed our honeymoon until summer (teacher here, may wedding) and are doing 11 days train across the country. Fly out to Seattle, couple days there, hop Amtrak to whitefish montana, spend a couple days there and at glacier national park, hop back on and spend 30 something hours on the train and then 24 hours in Chicago, then spend another night and day on the train and spend 24 hours in charlottesville VA, then spend another 30 hours there, and train home to our home in NC. We went through Amtrak vacations and got a roomette for on the train, and a rental car for the park, so it's not the cheapest. But there are tons of Amtrak vacations that are cheaper and ways to diy it yourself, and Amtrak can make a lot of things happen for you if you plan through them. I am so excited. So is my husband.
Our honeymoon is going to cost more than our wedding. Hopefully having a small and intimate wedding but didn’t want to spend 1000s on stuff. We’re going a South Africa and Botswana safari. I can’t wait, it’s going to be a dream come true to see big cats in the wild for me!
When I’m done with grad school, we’re doing our honeymoon. Probably Italy! If you guys are doing Big Sur/Carmel, are you driving there from Texas? If so, I highly recommend taking Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) all the way up from the south. The California coast is awesome and it’s a beautiful drive. You hit all the coastal towns on the way! If you’re into good seafood, there are tons of great places to eat. The overland route isn’t nearly as nice. 😊
Definitely flying!!! I would go stir crazy in a car for a day lol!! Italy is such a dream!!! Congrats on being close to finishing grad school!!
Thank you! Yes, we want to go to Sardinia when I’m done. Hmm, if you do have a rental car, definitely suggest seeing PCH anyway! It’s a gorgeous drive with many pullouts so you can stop and see the ocean (safely). Have the best honeymoon!
No big honeymoon for us since we probably won't have any funds for it after the wedding and buying a house lol But maybe we do a mini one in Quebec (we live in Toronto) for Christmas (we're getting married June next year).
Buying a house is a massive win!! Congrats!!
Thank you! House isn't bought yet haha but it's just one of those big expenses plus the wedding that we chose to focus on instead of the honeymoon :) Honeymooning in our newly bought house will be nice though haha
We got engaged in Carmel. Highly recommended that area - it’s super charming and romantic. We’re going to mini moon at Disney then Joshua Tree. We’ll do our official honeymoon in Hawaii for our one year.
Nothing official yet but considering a honeymoon (or minimoon) to England or a cruise in the Caribbean/Mexico.
We’re doing a 7 day Caribbean cruise on a new NCL ship!! Traveling to a bunch of places we haven’t been before. Super excited!
We’re going just north of you! North of SF though, as it’s easier for us - to Jenner for a few days :)
Have fun!!!! Never been to California!
We are splurging and going to the Uk! I am from the Bay Area, Ca and went camping at Big Sur growing up, it's gorgeous in that area! We also love Monterrey :-) ETA: by splurging I mean we spent more on our honeymoon than our wedding
Splurging on your honeymoon is ideal!!! You planned it right!
You will have the best time!! We are thinking CA as well!
we’re going to montego bay! my fiancés family is from there so thankfully we won’t have to pay for lodging while we stay, that was our biggest draw.
We went to San Juan for a few days and then St. Thomas & St. John. We live in Florida so the flights were pretty inexpensive.
We went to O’ahu! Would 1000% recommend
Mexico, Guatemala and Caye Caulker. We’re from Europe, so a big trip for us! We just got back, I loooooved Guatemala so much!
Well, as a European... America 😂
We went to Alaska!
Did the daylight mess you up??
SO MUCH. We just got back on Thursday, so it was light pretty much the whole time. We’re on the east coast, so we expected to just adapt to Alaska time like we did to Hawaii time and that was not the case at all! Our RV had a vent above the bed that let in tons of light and we had to stuff the lid of a pizza box in it so we wouldn’t be woken up by the full sun at 3 am! One of my first text to my best friend was “The endless sun is misleading.” That being said, it was wonderful being able to do an after-dinner 2 mile hike in Denali, and our days didn’t feel rushed by anything but ourselves, so overall, I really liked the non-stop sun. It also didn’t feel like the sun was screaming at me constantly like it does at home. Plus, everything is so pretty that I would have been sad if it hid from me! :)
we did Banff and Jasper NP in Canada.. it was the best trip ever!
We're planning on going to Greece since his family has a house there, left to all aunts, uncles, and cousins by a late grandmother. Super glad that we won't have to worry about a housing budget and can really just enjoy our time there!
I just started looking at honeymoons and I wanted to stay local to keep cost down but then stay at a nice resort... Prices are $6k-$10k for 4 days!!! What? I'm looking in Austin, TX. Some of these are all inclusive but not all. I dont understand how some of you are doing international travel for much less. I thought it would be cheaper to stay home but...
Omg girl why Austin!?? Sorry I’m from Texas so I think any other state is better
Haha. Because we live in Dallas and Austin is not too far but far enough to feel like a getaway. The wedding will be in Austin as well so it's just easier. No flights, etc.
Oh that makes sense! If there’s any place to go and enjoy for a vacay in Texas it’s Austin ! Have fun!!
Charleston!
Going to Galveston, TX. I’ve never seen the ocean so I’m pretty excited.
I’m a Texas native. Go to mustang island!! It’s the cleanest. The only beach I go to in Texas! Have fun!
I’ll look into it! Thank you!
Started talking about it today with my fiancé actually! We are looking at Greece, Italy, the Caribbean, or Key West. I’m excited and I hope we can pull that off. In our first couple of years dating, we went to AZ, CA, and CO, (and we live in the Midwest) so I am leaning towards an international trip since we have both never been out of country yet.
Trying to figure out something we don't have to leave the states or fly for. Looking at the mountains or Florida currently!
Look into Amtrak! If you have a station near you, you can get on and go anywhere. Vacations by rail, and Amtrak vacations, are two tour companies that do trips based around the train. Amtrak vacations is actual Amtrak staff and stuff. The Amtrak subreddit will definitely have a lot of info, but Amtrak goes quite far, and there's different cars and different levels of service you can get, which may be worth it depending on how long you're on. The train stops periodically, and while it's similar to flying in the shared space aspect and the potential delays, it's way less hassle. If you want to go to the Midwest, your options are limited, but the east coast is well connected, especially the northeast, and everything eventually leads to Chicago, the Amtrak hub. If you Google Amtrak map you can see where all the routes go. The green ones are not always trains though, so if you want train specific, stick to the red lines. The green might be a train, bus, ferry, etc.
We went to Thailand for two weeks! The first week we spent in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and then the second week we went to a few of the islands. It was a perfect combination of travelling and vacation!
We're going to Aruba in a couple of weeks😄
We are thinking of doing a Journee trip and making it a surprise (with preferences given)!
Our honeymoon deposit was our first wedding purchase! We're going on a Caribbean cruise and splurged for a nice balcony cabin. Cannot wait to just watch the ocean and make zero decisions.
Haven't finalized yet, but right now we're thinking Portugal! My fiancé has never left the US, loves history, and wants to do more of a "trip" than a chill vacation. I'm very privileged to have done quite a bit of traveling and wanted to do more of an all-inclusive type vibe. We're trying to get the best of both worlds. It seems fairly possible in Portugal for a more affordable price and I've never been to Portugal, so that's a bonus too! Worth a mention that I live on the East coast so a flight to Portugal is nearly the same flight time as one to California, though it is more expensive. We're hoping to have enough points to cover 90% of the flights at least.
Going to an all inclusive resort in Cancun for 7 days! Booked lots of excursions, massages, fancy restaurants. It was a super generous gift from my parents we for sure couldn’t have afforded otherwise. So excited!