How Long is a Honeymoon? 10 Tips to Determine How Long Should a Honeymoon Be For You

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One or both of you said, “Yes,” and possibly picked out your dress or suit, but now you’re likely thinking about how long is a honeymoon.

So let’s talk about how long should a honeymoon be and figure out how long to honeymoon for yourselves.

When it comes to the original honeymoon, which dates back to the 5th century, honeymoons were a full moon cycle where couples were given mead to drink daily. Mead is a fermented beverage made with honey and thought to help with fertility, and as this ritual lasted a full moon cycle, the term “honeymoon” came about. Not exactly a time for traveling though.

It wasn’t really until the 1800s that couples actually embarked on a trip together during their honeymoon. And, as you can imagine, without planes and cars, honeymoons lasted quite a while to get to and from a certain destination.

But in today’s time, honeymoons are quite different. You can fly fairly easily around the world to almost wherever you want to go, making a long honeymoon more doable in that regard.

Kat and Chris kissing at Blyde River Canyon | South Africa honeymoon

However, there are a lot more things fighting for your time and money these days, including work and other social obligations, meaning you likely won’t spend a full moon cycle lounging around on your newly wedded blissful honeymoon.

This is where this article comes in handy.

So if you’re currently wondering how long is a honeymoon trip, by the end of this article, you should have a better idea of the best length for your honeymoon.

How Long is the Average Honeymoon Length?

Well, this certainly varies based on the country you’re from. Here in the US and also in Canada, between 7-10 days is the average honeymoon length.

For Europeans, Australians, and other countries with more generous vacation time, that increases to closer to 14+ days.

But why aren’t honeymoons super lengthy? Well, chances are many couples take time off leading up to the wedding for various wedding planning items as well as hosting family, doing nails, etc. in the days leading up to the event.

And as vacation time in the US isn’t the best, there is only so much time you can take off of work.

This means for a lot of us, 7-10 days is about how long to honeymoon on average.

However, there are a TON of factors that go into your honeymoon length. This means that while the average honeymoon length is around 7-10 days, that may not be best for you!

How Long is a Honeymoon: 10 Tips For Determining How Long Should a Honeymoon Be For You

Kat & Chris kissing with sign in front of Machu Picchu: Top 10 Travel Do-Overs

Okay, now you know how long the average honeymoon can last, but it is time to focus on you and your honeymoon.

There are several factors to consider when it comes to figuring out how long should a honeymoon last for you, so let’s get into it.

1. How Much Time Off Can You Spare

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Unless you’re self-employed or your employer really means unlimited time off when they say “unlimited time off,” chances are you have a certain amount of time off per year you get to take from work.

Together, you should take a look at how much time off you both get per year and see if you have unused time off accrued from the prior year that you can roll into this year. For example, say you get 15 days off a year, and last year you only took 12, so you have an additional 3 days to add to your time off this year, meaning you can use up to 18 days this year.

Having accrued time off roll into the following year varies by employer and state, so you’ll have to see exactly how and if this works by checking your work employment manual. Some employers don’t allow you to roll days over from the previous year, whereas some do.

The more time off you get, the more you can possibly use it for your honeymoon!

2. How Many Days Off Do You Need During Wedding Planning

This is another key factor. Many people take time off while wedding planning either in the days before the wedding and/or for planning months in advance.

Perhaps you don’t live in the city where you’re having your wedding. You may need to fly out every so often to get planning done. This means you may need to take a couple of days for that.

This certainly plays a role in how much time you can take for your honeymoon, as you’ll have to subtract out the number of days you’ll need to take off of work for wedding planning stuff too.

3. What Type of Wedding Are You Having?

Are you planning to elope, have a destination wedding, a multi-day wedding, or have a traditional Western ceremony? Yes, this can affect time off too.

Many people who plan destination weddings also tend to have their honeymoon at the location afterward. Or you may need to take off the week before for wedding events for the destination wedding.

Conversely, if you’re planning to elope and go straight to your honeymoon, you likely won’t take much time off ahead of your honeymoon, meaning you can possibly have a longer honeymoon.

4. How Long is Your Bachelor/Bachelorette Party?

Some people just do a fun evening out on the town. Others plan elaborate multi-day getaways. Both are fun options! But if you’re planning to jet off somewhere for a bachelor/bachelorette party, you’ll likely have to take time off from work to do this.

Again, this will lower the amount of time you can take for your honeymoon.

These factors will certainly help you determine the maximum amount of time that you can get away for your honeymoon. So take the total paid time off you have available and subtract out days needed for wedding planning, the wedding itself, and your bachelor/bachelorette party.

That will total the amount of time you have available for your honeymoon!

For example, you have 15 days off per year, but you can roll over your 3 unused days from last year, meaning you have 18 days off. You’re doing most of your wedding planning on weekends and end up taking off 3 days from work for your wedding.

That leaves you with 15 days. Then, you take another 2 days off for a long weekend bachelor/bachelorette party. So, in total, you can take up to 13 days off of work for your honeymoon.

Sounds pretty fantastic, right? It is! But other factors will determine your honeymoon length too.

5. When Do You Plan On Going On Your Honeymoon? Another Factor For How Long Do Honeymoons Last

Are you planning to depart on your honeymoon right after the wedding or shortly after? Or do you plan to go after a couple of months? This makes a difference because you may actually accrue more time off during that time period between your wedding and honeymoon!

If you choose to wait a couple of months to go on your honeymoon, then you could perhaps bank more vacation time with each pay period, meaning you’ll have a couple of extra days to spare!

Versus you may have fewer days for your honeymoon if you’re going immediately after your wedding. There is no right or wrong answer for this, but it does affect the length of time you can get away.

6. How to Maximize the Length of Your Honeymoon

So you know how much time you can take off work, but there are ways to maximize your time off to get even more days for your honeymoon!

For example, Chris and I were able to save some vacation days because we honeymooned around Thanksgiving. As he got the Thursday and Friday of that week off, that was 2 extra days we had for our honeymoon!

Aside from adding on weekends, you can also maximize your time off by going around a holiday if you get that off of work. Whether that is New Year’s Day or Labor Day, you can use less of your hard-earned vacation time or you can extend your honeymoon even more!

Some great holidays you can honeymoon around include New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, MLK Jr. Day, Labor Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. This depends on your family traditions, what country you live in, religious beliefs, and which holidays your work gives you off.

7. How Long Do Honeymoons Last Factor #7: How Much is Your Honeymoon Budget?

This is a huge factor in how long a honeymoon lasts. How much is your honeymoon budget?

According to Brides.com, the average honeymoon cost is right around $4,800 for American couples. However, this can honestly be anywhere from $3,000-25,000+ depending on where you’re going, your travel style, and more!

Only you know how much you have to spend on your honeymoon. And don’t forget, you can also create a honeymoon fund to help with some of the expenses!

But figure out your budget. If it is on the lower end, you likely won’t be flying across the world, but rather looking at places closer to you. You also may want to take a shorter honeymoon.

If you have a larger budget, you can possibly use up all your time off and have a 1-month honeymoon! It really depends on your budget and time off work.

For people in the US, I’d expect something like a European honeymoon to cost closer to $5,000-10,000 for a 10-14-day honeymoon trip whereas somewhere in the Caribbean and Central America can possibly cost closer to $5,000 or less (but also more depending on your travel style) for a week to 10 days.

If you want to ball out in overwater bungalows for a week, that’ll also be closer to $10,000+ when factoring in flights and food/beverages along with your stay. If you’re staying in an Airbnb it’ll likely be less expensive than that.

So how much is your budget? When you figure that out, let’s move on to the next factor in how long should a honeymoon be: where are you going?

8. Where Do You Hope to Go on Honeymoon

Kat and Chris looking at Grinnell Glacier and embracing from the Grinnell Glacier Overlook

Okay, this can either come before or after factor #7. Perhaps you’ve always dreamed of a European honeymoon and priced out a 10-day honeymoon for $7,500. Then, you make a plan to save up that money for your honeymoon.

Or you can figure out your budget first and then pick a destination. But the distance you want to travel will certainly determine how long you should honeymoon.

Here are some examples for people in the US:

Continental US Honeymoon/Canada: Planning to stick to a honeymoon in the US or perhaps head to Canada? Well, you could definitely do a 7-day honeymoon or less anywhere in the continental US or Canada. Whether that is a national park honeymoon like Glacier National Park, a road trip around Vermont, or you prefer an all-inclusive honeymoon in Florida, this can be done in about 7 days or perhaps less.

Hawaii or Alaska: These are a bit further away, although this largely depends on where in the US you’re coming from. Regardless, it isn’t just a short hop over to either Hawaii or Alaska. While you can certainly do either in a week from the continental US, I’d recommend something closer to 10 days for a trip like this.

Kat and Chris smiling in front of Xunantunich

Caribbean or Central America: Central America or the Caribbean are relatively easy to get to from the US for the most part. So, if you want to head to Costa Rica, Belize, Puerto Rico, or even St Lucia, you can visit these places within a 7-day time frame. You can also easily do a 10-day honeymoon here if you plan to do a lot of sightseeing like in Costa Rica or Puerto Rico!

South America: I would say that destinations in South America, like Peru or the Galapagos/Ecuador, can be done within a 10-day to 2-week timeframe. This is a great amount of time to enjoy the sights and get a little relaxation during your romantic getaway. Places in the northern part of South America including Columbia, Peru, and Ecuador can definitely be managed within a 10-day trip. But if you want to add on another further destination (or a more difficult place to get to) like the Galapagos, or you’re looking at Argentina or Chile, perhaps 2 weeks is a better time frame.

Europe: Planning a European trip for your honeymoon? Well, if you’re planning on just visiting a city or two, you could pull off a shorter honeymoon of about a week or less. However, if you really want to get the most out of your honeymoon, at least 10 days or 2 weeks is a good amount of time to go city hopping or have a mix of cities and wine regions/islands/etc.

Piedmont Italy Itinerary | Chris and Kat in Barolo

Africa: Okay, if you’re wondering how long is a typical honeymoon in Africa, this depends on where on the continent you’re going. If you’re planning a trip to Morocco or Egypt for your honeymoon, you could certainly see a lot in just 7-10 days. If you’re flying all the way to South Africa or over to East Africa like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, etc. you’ll want at least 2 weeks. This is because it is a long flight to get to these places, and plus, you’re likely going to go on a safari in southern or eastern Africa, which is more remote, meaning you’ll need time to fly there and back. You can do a 10-day trip to some places that are easier to get to (i.e. many spots in South Africa), but 2 weeks is a better idea.

Asia: Whether you want to head to Southeast Asia or Japan, you know that flight isn’t going to be short. Between losing time going over to Asia and the length of the flight, you’ll want at least 10 days to 2 weeks to spend here. This could easily stretch into 3 weeks if you want to country-hop around places like Southeast Asia including Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Oceania: Planning a honeymoon to Australia, New Zealand, or somewhere else in Oceania? You’ll certainly want to take at least 2 weeks off. Again, you’re going to lose time getting there, and the flights are lengthy. As such, 2 weeks is a good amount of time to plan for this. And this is if you just plan to do something like 2 weeks in Australia or 2 weeks in New Zealand. Want to do both? Then at least 3 weeks is a better idea.

Antarctica: Planning to have an adventurous honeymoon to Antarctica? Well, this remote continent isn’t the easiest to get to. You’ll likely need to fly all the way to Ushuaia in Argentina and hop on a boat bound for Antarctica. And many of these cruises to Antarctica last at least between 11-14 days. So you’re looking at a honeymoon length of at least 2-3 weeks to really enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime trip!

Okay, these destinations provide a good context of how long you could get away for your honeymoon. This doesn’t mean you can’t spend a month in Europe or Australia.

This just means that you’ll need at least X amount of time there to really enjoy it and get a lot out of it. This factor, along with the other how long do honeymoons last tips above will help you narrow down the amount of time you can get away.

9. What Do You Want to Do On Your Honeymoon? A Very Important Factor in Determining How Long to Honeymoon

Aside from your time off of work and where you want to go, what you actually want to do on your honeymoon makes a difference in how much time you need.

If you want to head to the Caribbean and spend time at a luxurious all-inclusive resort in St Lucia, you probably don’t need more than a week. That is plenty of time to relax for several days, perhaps go on a snorkeling trip, and see some of the sights on the island.

And if you only want to hang out on the beach for 5 days and head home, you can certainly do that too!

Conversely, if you’re hoping to go wildlife watching, swimming, and ziplining around Costa Rica, 10 days is a better idea.

Or if you want to city-hop or explore Europe in-depth, you’ll want to spend a longer amount of time there.

Kat and Chris being silly in the Loire Valley

But if you just want to go to Paris and spend all your time really enjoying your Paris honeymoon, then a week is more than enough time.

You see, it depends on how much you want to see and do just as much as how far away you’re going.

10. Here are Some Tips For Each Length of Honeymoon

Okay, at this point, you’ve figured out your time off work, how to maximize that time, where you’re going, and how long to travel for. So, depending on each length of honeymoon time, here are some ideas:

Long Weekend Honeymoon Ideas (Less than 7 days):

How to Spend 3 Days in Seattle
3 Days in DC
Weekend in Austin
Weekend in Chicago
Adventurous 3-Day Trip to the Smoky Mountains
Best Weekend in Shenandoah National Park
3 Days in Portland, Oregon
Weekend in Philadelphia
Long Weekend in Portland, Maine
3 Days in Asheville, NC
Romantic Getaway to the Finger Lakes
4 Days in Paris
Vegas Honeymoon Guide
Savannah Georgia Honeymoon Guide
Weekend in Vancouver
3 Days in Montreal
2 Days in Quebec City
Weekend in Kelowna
St Lucia For 5-7 Days

Mid-Length Honeymoon Ideas (7-10 Days):

7-Day Trip to Belize
Italy Honeymoon Itinerary
10 Days in Peru
How to Spend 10 Days in Thailand
10 Days in Costa Rica
Unique 7-Day Italy Itinerary
Perfect California Road Trip For 10 Days
10-Day Christmas Market Trip in Europe
10-Days in South Africa
1 Week in Greece
1 Week in Paris
7 Day Trip to Puerto Rico

Longer Honeymoon Ideas (10+ Days):

These are some great destinations for inspiration depending on how long your honeymoon lasts.

How Long Was Our Honeymoon?

Sometimes it helps to have a little anecdotal evidence for how long should a honeymoon be. And if you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I like to be transparent about things including trip budget guides and how much we actually spent.

So I figured I’d let you know how much time we took off for our honeymoon trip, and how we maximized our time off.

Back in 2018, we left for our honeymoon about 6 weeks after our wedding. We ended up taking 3 full weeks off to travel around Southeast Asia.

While I had left my job to work on my blog full time and had ample time to take, my husband’s full-time job allowed for 4 weeks or 20 days off work a year.

He definitely used some of those days leading up to the wedding and for his bachelor party in Boston. But we decided to go on our honeymoon in November, rather than September when we got married, because 1) we wanted to visit Southeast Asia during the dry season in November rather than the rainy season after we got married and 2) we could take advantage of Thanksgiving to save 2 days of time off for Chris.

So, in total, we used 13 days of time off of work for Chris and we were able to swing 3 weeks in Southeast Asia as we returned the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

This meant that Chris still had 7 days off for the year to use for the wedding, bachelor party, and for things like the Christmas holidays.

I’m not saying you should have a 3-week long honeymoon, but this is how we were able to swing a longer honeymoon.

It also helps that Southeast Asia is a fairly inexpensive place to travel around, meaning we didn’t have to spend a lot of money to enjoy 3 weeks here.

So that is how much time we used for our honeymoon, but I hope between this and all of the tips above, you are able to figure out exactly how much time to use for your own honeymoon!

Where are you planning to honeymoon?

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