Where to Moon with your Honey

Ok, so the honeymoon. I love Victory Bird's dream of Egypt- I had the pleasure of going in 2005 and it was pretty magical! As a former luxury travel agent and a bit of a travel fiend, I've had many ideas swirling in my head for where to spend those special days or weeks following a wedding.

Working with clients, I found that island destinations were the most popular- people tend to think that hot and steamy places are, well, hot and steamy. There are many options in terms of culture- you can head to the trendy and fashionable French-speaking St. Barths in the Caribbean, the wildly exotic Maldives in the Indian Ocean, the lush, fun and American-friendly Hawaiian islands in the Pacific, or the spiritual and culture haven of Bali in Indonesia. Tropical vacation choices go on and on! Tahiti, Cabo san Lucas, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Antigua, the Seychelles, the Riviera Maya, Fiji, Barbados- those are just a few of the options. (An over-water bungalow in the Maldives is pictured below.)

Some couples, however, prefer a siteseeing destination and use the honeymoon as a chance to go somewhere they've always wanted to see. Trips to Thailand, India, China, Turkey, Italy, Greece and France tend to fall into this category. Some choose to see many countries on a cruise- my favorite cruising scenario would stop in Cyprus, several ports in Turkey, Greece, Croatia and Italy. Yachting lines- like SeaDream and Seabourn- are great alternatives to the traditional cruise, as some carry as few as forty couples.

There is yet a third set of honeymooners who tend to be the most adventurous in spirit- these are the honeymooners who board flights of umpteen hours to go on safari in Kenya and Tanzania, go trekking around New Zealand and Australia, hike and wine-taste in Patagonia or maybe, if they're really full of wallet, take a private jet trip around the entire world. Yes friends, I know one couple who did this!

Mr. Livalittle and I have toyed with all sorts of options and had a bit of a time making a decision. The first hump is that we already live in Hawaii (ok, I'm not complaining!), meaning that we probably wouldn't want to do a tropical destination. Also, we're getting married at the end of September, when the weather is not completely ideal in some world destinations of interest (hurricane season is in full swing in the Caribbean and monsoon season is threatening in parts of Southeast Asia). Thirdly, we are getting married in DC, but will end up in Hawaii, so flying to Europe or Africa would mean a terrible flight back home at the back end. What to do? We toyed with the idea of Patagonia- hiking, biking, wine-tasting and utter beauty- but the places of interest are REALLY far away.

So, at the risk of being prosaic, we decided on the Canadian Rockies. Initially, I thought, "meh," but over time, the idea has grown on me. The physical beauty is breathtaking, there are many fanatasic chateaus in which we can stay and it will be crisp and lovely, a great contrast to the warm and balmy air of Hawaii. The outdoor activities at the time of year are cool and there are actually some sites to see- the great divide, etc. The best part is that it is half way between DC and home, so the flights will be easy breezy after so much commotion. Oddly enough, my parents also went to Canada for their honeymoon, so in a way, it's tradition. Perfect!