The food, flowers, dresses, favours and fun of a big fat Indian wedding often leave newlyweds with bare minimum savings to splurge on the most awaited holiday of their life – Honeymoon! If you want to enjoy an ultra-lavish honeymoon but your budget is holding you back, here are 6 money-saving tips to help you plan a perfect honeymoon on a low budget.
1. Use Apps to Plan Your Honeymoon Package
Planning a honeymoon on a tight budget can be downright stressful but there are several smart apps that you can use to take the pain out of your planning process. These apps will help you with everything – right from finding you great things-to-do on your trip and locating cheaper hotel alternatives to keeping all your information in one place and suggesting an itinerary for your honeymoon based on your interests. So use technology to your advantage; hunt for the best bargains, stay organized and make your honeymoon memorable even with a low budget.
2. Work with a Travel Agent to Explore Affordable Options
An experienced travel agent is your one-stop, stress-free honeymoon planner with all the resources in one place. A travel agent with a high business volume can help you save big on hotel, cruise, air travel, and honeymoon destination. Make the most of their wisdom and their ongoing discounts and enjoy a travel itinerary that keeps everything that you desire and cuts down only on what you don’t need.
Image: via Harshaan Travel
3. Choose an Off-Season Honeymoon Destination
Since you would be taking a honeymoon trip following your wedding, you have the time to choose your honeymoon destination so make sure your travel dates coincide with less people and drastic price breaks. For instance, the beautiful Caribbean islands have hospitable weather round the year but the rates go skyrocketing between January and April. Whether you are looking for underwater romance, cozy-fires in snow-clad mountains, vibrant beach parties or passionate quietude by the lakeside, there are several off season honeymoon destinations for every season.
4. Book Early to Save Big
Early hotel bookings will guarantee that all affordable accommodation options are not sold out. The best time to buy air tickets is 30-59 days before your departure. You can also look for airline launches and flash sales to find the cheapest tickets. If a cruise is under booked, you can also snag those last-minute deals on limited cabins and enjoy big savings.
5. Try Alternate Modes of Travel
Give major airlines a toss for low-fare carriers with no-frills and for a change enjoy the picturesque views from the window of a car, bus or train. If you are travelling by car, break down your journey and enhance the enjoyment by taking pit stops along the way to enjoy scenic breaks. 
Image: Pixelena Studio
6. Watch Out for All-inclusive Deals on Honeymoon Destinations
An all-inclusive honeymoon package means zero surprises and limitless enjoyment. You pay a flat fee that includes your stay, meals, drinks, entertainment, taxes and air travel. Hotels also have promotional packages for specific locations so call hotels directly and ask about their honeymoon packages to get a direct scoop on sales and get an idea of how much the best rooms can cost you.
7. Secure Your Honeymoon Plans with Personal Line of Credit
Image: Harshaan Travel
Is your honeymoon budget still running short? Don’t worry because you can have your once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon without sacrificing your lifelong savings if you leverage a line of credit. With a personal line of credit, you pay interest only for the amount you use. It is a great option for those who are on a low budget because a line of credit carries variable interest rates that are less expensive as compared to most consumer loans and since it is an unsecured loan you don’t need collateral. The approval process is pretty quick, the money gets transferred to your bank account in a day, and the payback periods are flexible so don’t compromise on your dreams because life is too short and your honeymoon high won’t happen again.
This article was contributed by Shiv Nanda, a financial analyst who currently lives in Bangalore and works with MoneyTap– India’s first app-based credit-line. Shiv eats, breathes and sleeps finance, to the dismay of friends who’ve endured unsolicited advice on their investment choices, budgeting skills, or lack thereof. Luckily for them, Shiv has diverted this energy toward writing about various financial topics online. He loves it when people actually ask him for advice, so email him your questions at [email protected]. He’ll try not to get carried away with the answers!
Featured image courtesy Dreamshot
