Dreaming of escaping to a tropical paradise where your every need will be taken care of immediately after you and your sweetheart say your “I do’s?” If so, Barbados just might be the slice of heaven you’ve been looking for. This Caribbean island is famed for its beauty and even more renowned for the luxury its service industry knows how to dish up.

So, why should you consider Barbados for your honeymoon? Here are just a few reasons:

• The landscape – Consider the most beautiful postcard picture you’ve ever seen of the sand, surf and sun and Barbados just might top it. With crystal clear waters, powdery beaches and a lush, green tropical interior, Barbados paints the perfect picture for a romantic honeymoon adventure. You’ll even find there are mountains to climb. Mount Hillaby, in fact, is more than 1,200 feet above sea level.
• The things to do – Barbados has more things to see and do than any couple could possibly take in on a honeymoon. From hiking, biking and swimming to touring historic sites and beyond, you’re not going to run out of fun things to explore while you’re in Barbados. You’ll find there are activities here to match just about every taste, too. It doesn’t matter whether you just like sightseeing or you want to enjoy adrenaline pumping high adventure, you’ll find it in Barbados.
• The rum – Believe it or not, this is one of Barbados’ many claims to fame. This island paradise gets the credit as the birthplace of rum. Inasmuch, you can expect to find many libations made with this particular spirit at hotels, restaurants and beachside bars. You can also tour historic sites connected to the production of rum. There are also rum shops and rum distilleries well worth exploring.
• The House – No, this isn’t an ordinary abode with historic appeal waiting for you to explore. Instead, it’s one of the premier destinations in Barbados for couples on their honeymoon. This resort is an adults-only destination that’s famed the world over. It features top-notch service, its own Zagat-rated restaurant and plenty of on-site activities. Guests here enjoy private rooms that boast a variety of luxury appointments, such as flat-screen televisions, espresso machines, private porches and more.

Finding the right place for your honeymoon is important. If a tropical paradise is your dream, Barbados is the place to go. To find out more about this stunning escape, just consult with our honeymoon travel experts.

Getting away for an anniversary calls for a destination that’s as special and your love. But, where in the world presents with perfection if you and your sweetheart happen to have a passion for gourmet cuisine, stunning scenery, history, art and culture?

While there certainly are some options that fit the bill, it’s hard to top an Italy anniversary for foodies. When you want to experience a culture through its cuisine and never tire of the flavorful choices, this country and its dishes will not disappoint. Sweetening the deal is the fact that visitors often discover the most savory epicurean delights are not just found in 5-star establishments, but also quaint cafes and corner restaurants favored by locals. This makes getting to know the culture through the food an attainable and highly enjoyable goal.

Setting Up a Foodie Tour of Italy

Foodies that want to explore the very best of Italy will discover they have a lot of choices available to them. Here are just a few ways to savor the best this country has to offer:

Sign up for a guided foodie tour – Italian cuisine is so loved by travelers from all over the world, there are tours designed specifically to make sure visitors taste the very best. These tours take travelers into some of the best-known establishments in different regions of the country and may also include sight-seeing and other adventures. This is a great way to enjoy a foodie anniversary in Italy if you don’t want to leave anything to chance.

Create your own tour – There is so much to see, do and taste in Italy, it can be hard to find a guided tour that hits all the spots you and your honey might want to take in. If you’re concerned about seeing a particular work of art, historic site or visiting a certain dining establishment, consider building your own itinerary. Working directly with an anniversary travel advisor can help you plan out a schedule that doesn’t leave a stone unturned.

Culinary tours – Want to bring home more than your memories and a few mementoes? Why not attend a regional cooking school while you’re on your anniversary trip in Italy. There are some great educational facilities that cater especially to those with a passion for great food and outstanding wine. While there you’ll not only taste some of the best cuisine in the world, you’ll learn the recipes so you can relive your trip from your own kitchen back at home.

Ready to savor the best of Italy’s cuisine? Just talk with our anniversary travel experts to begin planning the right foodie adventure for you and your sweetheart.

Thinking about DIYing your honeymoon? Here’s 6 things an online site won’t tell you.

You’ll get a better deal if you wait till next week:

Have you ever clicked the confirm button on an online site only to have it tell you that you’d get a better deal if you waited a couple days to book? Of course not! Since one of the reasons people use an online site is instant gratification, an online booking site is never going to let you know that the hotel you’ve just selected is running a promo that starts next week, and that you would really be better off to wait a couple more days before you book. And here’s the rub-if you book online and a better rate comes out after you’ve booked, the online site won’t adjust your price. Here at Bliss Honeymoons, if a better rate becomes available after you’ve booked, we can obtain the new rate for you.

At that resort, “ocean view” really means “tree view”

There’s nothing better than waking up in a tropical destination and sitting on your balcony staring at the ocean while having your coffee. But not all ocean view rooms are created equal. In fact, at some resorts, ocean views are obstructed by trees or other buildings. If you’re going to pay extra for an ocean view, don’t you want to be able to see the ocean?  At Bliss Honeymoons, we visit the resorts that we sell, so we can give you the inside scoop on what the rooms are really like.

This resort is great if you want to spend the week with rednecks!

While doing a hotel tour of Jamaica last fall, one of our agents spent a couple of nights at what claimed to be an upscale resort. While this resort looks fantastic online, what you don’t see on the online site are the 50 screaming kids doing cannon balls, and the lovely couple in cut-offs who were smoking in the pool! It’s also impossible to taste or feel a hotel from a website, and there was no mention of the rock hard beds or endless supply of box wine swill on their site.

Remember, anyone can build a pretty website. It’s impossible to judge the vibe of the resort, or the crowd it attracts from their site. And there’s nothing worse than spending a week trapped at a resort with people who make you uncomfortable.

Your hotel is closed for the season. Enjoy the Super 8!

In the last year there have been two big cases of couples who booked, only to learn that the hotel was closed for the season when they arrived. (One was a Greek Island honeymoon, the other a 25^th wedding anniversary in Costa Rica) In both of these cases, the online site refused to assist them until they could confirm that the hotel was actually closed. But how can you confirm a hotel is closed when there’s no one there to confirm it? Exactly!

In both of these instances, the travelers were left to fend for themselves. Each had to find and pay for a new hotel, and then spend months fighting with the online site to get their money back when they returned home.

You could have gotten that candlelight dinner on the beach free by booking the next room category!

There’s nothing worse than learning the  beach wedding you just paid $1500.00 for could have been free if you had just spent an extra $800.00 on the next highest room category, and stayed 7 nights instead of 6 nights.

Online sites do a great job of giving you a list of things that are available at various resorts, and making you think you’ve gotten a deal. But an experienced travel professional knows the inter-workings of the resorts promos, and can help you get more value from your trip than you can find from an online site.

Your connecting flight leaves 15 minutes before you arrive. Welcome to Duluth!

The cheapest flight is not always a flight that can actually work. Online sites are notorious for selling flights with misconnects, or failing to notify clients that their flight schedules have changed. Last year we had a destination wedding guest who insisted on booking their own flights. Imagine their surprise when they arrived at the airport with their two toddlers in tow, only to learn that Mexicana had gone bankrupt several weeks ago and was no longer flying. The walk-up fare to get to the wedding on an alternate airline was almost $2000 per person. They wound up driving home, missing the wedding, and losing everything they paid for the trip as they declined the insurance. And of course the online site they purchased the air through never notified them that Mexicana had gone under, and denied them any kind of compensation.

Italian Honeymoon for Foodies

Love great food, incredible scenery and romantic destinations? Hoping to combine the three in a honeymoon adventure your sweetheart will never forget? If so, Italy is the place spend your first post-wedding days together.

An Italian honeymoon is an outstanding choice for foodies for more reasons than anyone can count. Just a simple exploration of the cuisine is enough to show why this country is the place to go for those who love great food. And, depending on where in Italy you decide to visit, you can explore lots of different flavors along the way.

You’ll find that Italy’s different regions each have their own dishes and styles of cooking they’re famed for.  In Lombardy, for example, you can savor the taste of rice, beef, pork and maize dishes. Travel into the piedmont area and you’ll find cheese and nuts feature strongly in dishes. Tuscany brings its own flavors to the table with its cuisine that favors legumes, mushrooms, fresh fruits, cheese and bread.  Pasta, of course, is a staple in many regions, but count on it being served up with local styling no matter where you go.

How to Tour With Italian Food in Mind

Foodies will find there ways to tailor Italian honeymoons to their own personal tastes. Here are just a few options:

Go on a foodie tour – Cuisine is such a big part of Italian culture that there are tours dedicated to it alone. Check with our honeymoon travel consultants for information on tours that focus on the styles of cooking found in a particular region or several regions. You can count on some amazing meals along the way when one of these tours is booked!

Setting your own itinerary – If you have particular points of interest you want to explore while in Italy while also sampling the cuisine, it can help to work directly with our honeymoon travel advisors to map out your own adventure.

Educational tours – If you want to do more than just taste the food, you can take an educational tour that includes cooking lessons. Choose to do this for your Italian honeymoon and you’ll bring home more than incredible memories – you’ll also get to recreate the dishes you loved so much anytime you want! Check with your honeymoon travel advisor for cooking class options available in different regions of Italy.

Italian honeymoons are perfect for foodies with a penchant for romance and wonder. This country is famed not only for its amazing history and landscapes, but also the foods that set its different regions apart. Just speak with our honeymoon travel advisors to get the planning ball rolling!