Book Honeymoon-- Check!

Warning: This may be my longest blog post yet!

I, of course, am no travel agent. But with Josh and I recently booking our honeymoon-- yay :)-- I thought I would share my advice! I know a lot of people have absolutely no idea where to start and although I have done my fair share of traveling, I remember the feeling of being completely lost when I booked my first vacation! Since for many couples, this is the first "big vacation" either of them have gone on, it's important to make it a good one!

First of all, come up with a list of things that are important to you. We had quite a few, and that's fine! With all of the vacation options out there, it's much easier to choose when you can greatly narrow it down. Here are the things we came up with:

• Caribbean-- We were not too picky on which island but wanted to go somewhere warm, with gorgeous crystal clear water and sunsets.
• All-Inclusive Resort-- This was extremely important to us. We didn't want to have to worry about carrying money around or budgeting in extra cash for food and drinks. We also knew we wanted an actual resort, not a cruise. (Just our preference!)
• Multiple On-Site Restaurants-- This was another one of my biggies! I knew we were going to go for at least 7 nights and if I'm going to be somewhere for that long, I don't want to eat at the same restaurant over and over again.
• Excursions-- We wanted to have the option to go on excursions away from the resort. While some resorts are far away from activities, others have a TON to choose from. We definitely wanted days to do nothing and relax but we also had zip-lining and a catamaran in mind!
• Jungle-like Feel-- We knew we wanted to be somewhere lush, and laid-back as opposed to a city with high-rise buildings (like Cancun).

{These are obviously just the criteria that we came up with! There is nothing wrong with wanting to be in a large city, not wanting all-inclusive, etc. It's completely up to personal preference and I'm not suggesting that those are the things you look for!}

Next, look at the weather! Any tropical island might seem like a good idea but keep in mind that some have rainy seasons. Some places may also be in hurricane season during your stay while places up North could have the threat of huge snow storms keeping you stranded. Depending on the month that you will be traveling, temperatures in some areas may be different than you would expect. I looked up the weather in April for every island in the Caribbean that I could think of and temperatures and rain alone narrowed it down to 4 places, with many of the being much cooler than I would have thought!

If price is a factor, make sure you check local festivals and events. If there is a popular event during your stay, chances are prices are going to be much higher than usual. Much like going to Ireland during St. Patty's Day or New Orleans during Mardi Gras!

Lastly, visit a travel agent. Especially if you don't like research. They can clue you in to the best places based on everything that I've listed above. They also tend to know which places will have the best deals and what will be in your price range without even having to touch a computer. We did all of the research ourselves but visited a travel agent when it came to the actual booking because I like the security of booking through a travel agent for big vacations. I also wanted it to be known that we were on our honeymoon (Hint-- A lot of places will give honeymooners a free upgrade at check in!) and a travel agent can put that in when he or she books your vacation. Our travel agent even matched a cheaper price that we found online! Luckily, we were on point with selecting the best resort based on everything that we wanted. And it met all of our criteria above! There are even some luxurious amenities at our resort that were not on our criteria list. So be picky-- It's your honeymoon :)

Here are two resorts that I can absolutely vouch for as fabulous, just in case you need somewhere to start!

Dreams Punta Cana

Riu Caribe in Cancun