Honeymoon - best travel trip of your life
Honeymoon and travels have become parallel to each other
As per popular belief, the word honeymoon came into existence in Babylon city of Mesopotamia now known as Iraq almost four thousand years before where the first month after marriage was better known as honeymoon month. Now the first thing that comes to our mind when we hear word honeymoon is all about a tour to a beautiful tourist spot according to choice of newly married couple which they plan well in advance and in most cases before even marriage takes place. Honeymoon although a foreign tradition but has come to stay in our country with a big bang with willingness of newly married pair to spend some time to understand each other in better ways and of course travel industry has done a lot to popularize it as well.
Although there is another meaningful fact behind honeymoon trips that such trips provide couples a very good chance to understand each other when they spend some time away from daily tensions and family members to know each other better and celebrate the beginning of future life. Whatever the reasons but the honeymoon trips provide some useful moments and reasons to couple to remember and cherish for whole of their life which come in handy in their future life. A beginning almost always decides the future course of life and if a honeymoon trip gives a pair some thing to remember for whole of 
their life that certainly is worth and that is the reason that most couples go to such trips to certain locations popular among honeymooners. Although there are hundreds of such places but let’s look at some of these in this article and I shall stick to Indian travel sites in this chapter.
Goa and its beaches
Goa comes to my mind because this is too cold in north India here in this marriage season and most people want to go to places where the temperature is comfortable for peaceful and natural outings and to top it all the sea beaches of Goa are not only popular among Indian travelers but foreign tourists as well. Besides the travel agencies are offering wonderful packages to honeymooning couples to make their travel comfortable and memorable. Although for me Calangute is the number one beach but I would not suggest it for newly married couples because it’s too crowded and packed with people almost throughout the year. Here is a list of other beaches- Anjuna, Arambol, Baga, Benaulim, Bogmalo, Carmona, Chapora, Cavelossim, Calangute, Candolim, Dona Paula, Miramar and different other beaches. Dabolim airport is the only airport in Goa and Vasco Da Gama the main railway station both of them situated nearby therefore I would suggest you choose Bogmalo beach which is not only nearest but among the most peaceful beaches of Goa with all facilities for a newly married couple with excellent facilities.
Beauty of Kerala
Kerala has many wonderful locations to select from for your unforgettable trip for a honeymoon. Apart from other popular places Kovalam, Alappuzha and Munnar are among the most visited places by Indian and foreign tourists with complete privacy and unique experience especially for honeymooners. The backwaters of Alappuzha with hundreds of houseboats ready to welcome you with all facilities available in them would make your trip memorable for all your future life. You can enjoy natural Aurveda therapy of massage and spa which is world famous and make Kerala all the more popular among people visiting God’s own country, as the state is known allover the world. 
There is so much to visit and enjoy in Kerala that you may get confused therefore, it is well advised to select your destination carefully if you are going for honeymoon purpose. Adding too many places according to suggestions by travel agency would only spoil the basic purpose of spending quality time together rather you shall be packing and moving all the time. Here I would suggest you to go to Kovalam and Alappuzha for world-class experience of sea beaches, backwaters and Munnar for greenery and wandering midst the peaceful tea gardens. Choose very carefully to take full advantage of your once in a lifetime experience of beginning of married life.
Andman and Nicobar Islands
Once a feared destination Andman and Nicobar is popular place among honey mooning couples now a days for the beautifully spread scenario that makes you feel as if you have arrived in a different world from your own and this all is situated within a radius of hundred kilometer or so. Once you reach to Port Blair the capital of Andaman and Nicobar by air or ship you find yourself lost in amazing beauty of so many places for tourist attractions depending upon your interests and availability of time. You have Cellular Jail, Barren Island, Baratang, Mount Harriot, Havelock Island, Carbyns Cove Beach, and North Bay Island to see in Andaman.
There are some other places like Viper Island, thick forests areas of Baratang, Chidiya Tapu, Red Skin Island, Mahatma Gandhi Marine national park etc. But you need time to go to these places because despite being not far off from each other you cannot make haste while going there, you need to stay there and watch the wide spread beauty of the naturally gifted area while enjoying your own newly developed relations. I am sure you would find it a heavenly experience sitting in front of wide spread sea watching nature in company of your life partner with no one to disturb you around.
Royal Rajasthan
If you want to have an experience of royal touch of life, you should visit Rajasthan with all its royal glory of past and uniqueness of forts. Rajasthan is most famous destination on the tourist map as part of the golden triangle. With popular places like Jaipur, Bikaner, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer etc you shall find yourself as part of the kingly family while wandering through forts, lakes and markets with old structural beauty of the glorious past of this royal state. Rajasthan with its rich Indian culture and land of kings and princes and princesses a state where the traditions still count and lifestyle of people still reflect the old traditions. Rajasthan is one of the most wonderful experiences that a visiting couple would experience about culture, traditions and lifestyle to remember forever.
While visiting Rajasthan you can see so many different colors of our country in the form of amazing and beautiful items belonging to Indian traditions like bangles, clothes and wooden toys. Again there is so much to see in one of the most beautiful states in our country therefore you should be careful to select your destinations carefully to enjoy your honeymoon trip while visiting Rajasthan. However, Rajasthan has more than 5000 years old culture to boost about which shows in every thing that you go through while in this royal state.
I have a suggestion for you- Rajasthan tourist Development Corporation in collaboration with Indian railways have launched a super luxury train named ‘Royal Rajasthan on wheels’ that starts from Delhi which covers Jodhpur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jaipur, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Agra. This train ‘Palace on Wheels’ has every luxurious item that you look for in a five star hotel for your comfort and facilities in mind.
Kashmir the heaven on earth
As I said in the beginning that winters are not the right time to visit hill stations in north India because the temperature dips down too low in this season but there are almost half the honeymooning couples prefer to go to hills especially Kashmir. Although the political situation discourage people in general to visit the best tourist place any where in the world known as Kashmir but those who go find places like Dal Lake, Gulmarg, Khilanmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg , Tangmarg, Anantnag etc as an experience they would never ever forget in their life. The couple would find an altogether different world in Kashmir and the whole effect would make them find in love even more with each other. (Photo from wikipedia- Sanjhichat)
You should be careful while taking a travel package.
!- Most reputed travel agencies try to keep their words by giving you what they promise in their agreements therefore it is important to go for a travel agency that has good reputation. Also see to it that you have proper insurance cover before going out for a tour. You must confirm about the hotel facility because that becomes the worst cause of a bad experience of a tour, you should get what you have been promised for. You must see to it that your transfers during the tour are included and your return journey is confirmed properly.
!- You should pack your clothes according to your trip with proper consultation from your travel agent and from other sources as the weather conditions of places may vary where you intend to visit. You should take enough clothes but not too many because you are going to enjoy your trip and not to carry extra luggage which may become problem at times.
!- You two should not make duration of visit a point of conflict but do it according to your budget and availability of time.
!- Consider the trip the best opportunity to show your true qualities because the two of you are traveling together for the first time especially if your marriage is an arranged one. You can impress each other with your table manners, lifestyle and sense of humor, hotel etiquettes and art of conversation. You can take the opportunity to know each other at different levels to make your future life a pleasant experience.
!- There is no need to show off with lavish spending on useless items but spend as much required, purchase as much must and enjoy as much possible because you two are on this tour to explorer each other as much as the places you are visiting. You should take full advantage to know and understand fully well during this time because that is the basic meaning of a honeymoon trip.
!- Finally, keep your partner in good mood because that is another need of the trip, a partner not enjoying the trip would only prove it a waste of money.
Honeymoon a full-fledged industry
Honeymoon has become almost a status symbol for newly married couples because market has converted it into an industry. Tourism, hotel business, hospitality are very much dependent on this particular segment therefore leaving no stone unturned to attract newly weds with their adverts and promos offering different discounts etc and Internet is helping them in their mission a lot. As I said honeymoon is status symbol for new generation and the first question a friend asks on their return is about the destination, hotel they stayed in or the transport they used. Even shopping on honeymoon is talk of the lunchrooms that makes it mandatory to plan every thing according to status even if one has to go out of the way.
I think there is no harm if a couple wants to stay together without any disturbance or willing to know each other on better terms but it should not be at the cost of undue pressure or going out of the budget. There should be no pressure from either side to make it immediately after the marriage if the situation does not permit so. I know a couple who had plans to go to Kerala but could not make it because father of the boy was not well. Later they went to visit whole of south India for longer duration and enjoyed their trip.
Most tour & travel agencies offer tour programs based at your budget and your destinations. As most couple want to visit Mata Vaishno Devi while visiting to Kashmir therefore agencies take full advantage of their desire and try to make programs like this -
Katra and Srinagar - you have to meet them on your arrival in city or they arrange a pickup at railway station or airport. The first program is sightseeing of Jammu especially Raghunath temple near bus stand and then travel to Katra, the base for Mata Vaishno Devi by a shared taxi. The journey to Katra takes almost two hours with a break of few minutes on the way for refreshment, as most women feel dizzy due to circular roads.
Once you are fresh to begin the journey to Vaishno Devi which is almost 12 kilometer on foot or pony. Most people stay there overnight at main temple and come back next day by late noon to start for Patnitop. Patnitop is the last station for most tourists who wish to have an experience of snowfall and do not wish to go to main valley for safety reasons. Those who wish to move ahead, cross Benihal tunnel also known as Jawahar tunnel that takes tourists into Kashmir valley and to Srinagar in about two hours time. In Srinagar most people want to stay in houseboats but this season does not allow them to do so because Dal Lake almost freezes so they stay in hotels near Dal Lake or Lal Chhowk where most of the hotels are situated.
In next few days they visit to Pahalgam, Gulmarg, and Khilanmarg etc as per time available. Most newly married pairs end their visit here and come back by air taking a plane from Srinagar to save time.
Other popular honeymoon destinations 
Our country is full of places where couples go for their honeymoon trips. You can choose from places like Shimla, Darjeeling, and Gangtok, Neonatal,
Mussorie etc if you prefer a hill station for your trip and if you prefer wild life then you have many National parks like Jim Corbett, Bandhvgarh national park etc where you shall find natural beauty along with birds singing sweet songs for you. You would love to travel to Khajuraho with your partner for your first trip together as Khajuraho which is well-known tourist site famous for archaeology for its temples with world famous sculptural beauty.
A honeymoon trip should be of week’s duration at least, more the better but depending upon your budget and time however if you are short on time or funds a shorter trip to places around you would work wonders for you. You can go to Ooty if you are (Photo from wikipedia) anywhere in south India or Lavasa if you live in Mumbai maybe a tour to Almora or Kasauli for north Indians would be perfect idea of a mini honeymoon for two- three days.
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