It would be fitting to label this book The Triple H – Hassle-free Honeymoon Handbook. Indeed, the plethora of destination images and honeymoon clipart swept across every turning page will have you and your partner licking your lips at the prospect of drawing up a shortlist of all your honeymoon wishes. This Lonely Planet publication places a strong emphasis on adopting the KISS model (keep it simple stupid). By way of example communicating to your partner about their visions for how the honeymoon should unfold will help bridge the gap between the chalk and cheese elements that may exist in your thought processes.
The honeymoon calendar section of the book immediately creates a focus for partners to eliminate several destinations that may not be suitable at a particular time of the year. Indeed, this could avoid the need to incessantly google search places not to go to for reasons XYZ. Also included is a humorous honeymoon multiple choice quiz that is an excellent methodology for partners to see their common interests and what style of trip may cater for them both, whether it be unrivalled romance or a touch of yolo (you only live once) style backpacking.
Throughout the handbook there are insightful fact files on countries across the globe with suggested honeymoon itineraries of must dos. These ensure that health and happiness remain at the forefront of your honeymoon agenda. It is highly likely that you will stumble across a new fact on every destination covered in the handbook. How many of you knew that Bhutan is the happiest honeymoon destination worldwide and better still measures the country’s welfare via GNH (Gross National Happiness)!
If you wish to have a precursor to your honeymoon to see if you can connect with each other abroad or away from surroundings you are familiar with, then this handbook suggests an alternative. Dubbed the ‘minimoon’ – and there can be many of these before or after you get hitched in order to maintain that feel good factor of always having something booked up in the diary to look forward to!
The descriptions included in The Honeymoon Handbook are largely caption based and indeed they capture the reader’s attention. The theme based style of honeymoons is an attractive feature of the book, whether you prefer a foodie honeymoon or an intense wildlife trip. Another excellent visual aid within each destination guide is the pie chart that illustrates the weightings of the three common themes that each place has to offer. So if you like a piece of the adventure whilst your partner likes a chunky slice of the beach then you might find that there are destinations which cater for both of you.
Whilst all the joyous aspects of planning a honeymoon form a key part of this handbook, the essentials are explicitly listed. These include the boring but potentially overlooked contractual terms and conditions of booking a honeymoon, such as making sure that the names on your passports match up with your flight tickets and booking reservations! Do not let shortfalls in common sense turn your honeymoon into doom. After all assumption is the mother of all mishaps.
Finally a nice touch is added at the end of the handbook with a notes section. Hence during your spells of honeymoon brainstorming you can impress your other half by illustrating that you have done your homework. Furthermore there are sufficient notes pages for this section to double up as a travel diary.
The Honeymoon Handbook retails at £12.99 and suffice to say that it will be the cheapest and likely most cost effective investment you make in your honeymoon plans.