How to budget for a honeymoon

Part 1

What a honeymoon really costs

A honeymoon budget has five parts: where you sleep, what you eat, what you do, the fees you can’t avoid and the flights. The first decision, the destination, sets all five. Across the 83 places we cover, a comfortable week for two on the ground costs from $910 to $9,020, and the middle of the range is about $2,940. That’s before flights.

That spread is why “how much does a honeymoon cost?” has no single answer, and why the most useful thing you can do is decide your total first and let it narrow the list of places, not the other way round.

The most affordable weeks

Simple, lovely stays (guesthouses, small boutique hotels, local restaurants) for seven nights for two:

• 

  Mount Abu

  Best: Sep–Apr

• 

  Mahabaleshwar

  Best: Nov–May

• 

  Darjeeling

  Best: Nov–Mar

• 

  Shimla

  Best: Feb–May, Oct–Dec

The priciest weeks

At the other end, even a comfort-level week runs high, usually because the resort is the only place to eat, there are daily park fees, or the last leg is a seaplane:

Part 2

Step 1: Set the total you’re comfortable with

Start with one number for the whole trip, flights included, that you can pay without debt you’ll still be carrying on your first anniversary. Add up what you’ve saved, any money from a honeymoon fund or gifts, and what you can put aside between now and the trip.

Then agree on what matters most. A couple who care about one extraordinary hotel and a couple who want to eat out twice a day can spend the same money and have completely different trips. Rank these four together: the room, the food, the experiences and the length of the trip. The top one gets protected when the numbers get tight.

Part 3

Step 2: Price the flights first

Flights are the line that surprises people. Take a comfortable week in Bali for a couple flying from London: the flights are the single biggest cost.

Flight estimates are distance-based ranges, not live fares.

The same week from Delhi or Singapore costs far less in flights, which is why a destination that’s “cheap” for one couple can be expensive for another. Our country hubs show flight times and local prices from your home country.

• Be flexible by a day or two. Midweek departures are often cheaper than Fridays and Sundays.
• Check nearby airports at both ends, and whether a one-stop route saves enough to be worth the extra hours.
• Book about two months ahead for most routes, earlier for school holidays and the Christmas weeks.

Part 4

Step 3: Choose your comfort level, night by night

We price every destination at three levels, for two people, per night, including food, experiences and fees:

• Simple & lovely: characterful guesthouses and small hotels, local restaurants, one or two paid experiences.
• Comfort: a good four-star or boutique hotel, a mix of casual and special dinners, a paid experience most days.
• Splurge: the room with the view, the tasting menus, private transfers and the big-ticket moments.

The split stay

You don’t have to choose one level for the whole trip. In Bali, three nights at the splurge level and four at the simple level costs about $2,820, against $5,620 for seven splurge nights and $1,910 for seven comfort nights. Put the splurge at the end, so the trip finishes on a high.

Part 5

Step 4: Add the fees that quotes leave out

Package prices and room rates regularly leave out costs you can’t avoid: seaplane transfers, conservation fees, tourist levies, resort fees. They’re easy to miss and can add hundreds to the bill. These are the biggest we track, for two people for a week:

Part 6

Step 5: Food, experiences and the little things

On the ground, two everyday honeymoon purchases show how far money goes in each place: a couples’ massage and a nice dinner for two.

Typical mid-range prices, editorial estimates.

• Half board can pay off on islands and in remote lodges, where there’s nowhere else to eat. In towns and cities, eat out.
• Book the one big experience early (a sandbank dinner, a balloon flight) and keep the rest flexible.
• Tipping customs vary widely. Check before you go so it doesn’t become a daily guess.

Part 7

Step 6: Add a buffer and pay smartly

Add 10% on top of everything. It covers the taxis, tips, upgrades and the dinner you didn’t plan, and it means the trip doesn’t end with an argument about money.

• Pay in the local currency. When a card machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline: the rate is almost always worse.
• Use a card without foreign transaction fees, and carry a little local cash for tips and markets.
• Keep one shared note of spending. Checking it every couple of days is enough.

Part 8

Worked example: what three budgets buy

Here is what a week for two, flights from London included, buys at three total budgets. A place counts if it fits at that comfort level.

Seven nights for two including flight estimates from London, at today’s rates.

Flying from somewhere else changes the picture completely. The calculator below does this for your own city and currency.

Part 9

Eight ways to make it stretch

1. Go in the shoulder season. The weeks either side of peak often cost 20% less for the stay, with weather nearly as good. Every destination page rates each month.
2. Split the stay between a splurge and somewhere simpler.
3. Price flights before falling in love with a place.
4. Look closer to home. India, the USA and Australia each have honeymoon places that rival the famous ones abroad: see our collections.
5. Choose all-inclusive only where it pays: private-island resorts yes, cities and road trips rarely.
6. Tell hotels it’s your honeymoon. Perks cost nothing; our perks guide shows how.
7. Ask for a honeymoon fund instead of gifts, if that suits your families.
8. Consider a minimoon now and the big trip when you’ve saved. See minimoon or big honeymoon.