Just married! 

As a couple, you’ve made it through all the wedding planning, the family drama, the funny-but-all-too-revealing toasts, and the incident at your reception when your second cousin threw up on your former roommate.  Now it’s time for you and your new spouse to just get away from it all and enjoy each other.  You want an amazing and memorable honeymoon and you’re looking for unique honeymoon ideas.

Sure, you could spend a week or two at the beach.  But let’s face it… by day four you’ll be a toasty red, energized, and ready for some adventure.  So skip the beach and let your first experiences as a married couple be adventurous!  Here are some over-the-top and unusual honeymoon ideas that’ll make for incredible photos and memories.

Road Tripping

Doesn’t matter whether you’re in college, newlyweds, or retirees, nothing says “American” like jumping in your car and heading out into the vast horizon, eyes and heart open for new adventures.  If you got married at a unique wedding venue in New England, there’s nothing like making your way up through Maine, stopping through Boothbay Harbor, Acadia National Park, all the way up to St. John (North America’s oldest city) in Canada.  Don’t miss out on a tour of Stephen King’s (haunted?) house in Bangor.  Or head south and experience the food of Boston, the nightlife of New York, and the museums of D.C.  If you’re in a car, spend each night in some super-cute bed-and-breakfast or boutique hotel.  Better yet, borrow a friend’s camper or RV and take the road less traveled.

Backpacking

Nothing tests true love quite like being stuck on an 18-hour bus ride in Central America with your new spouse the moment Montezuma’s Revenge strikes – and you’re out of Cipro.  OK, so maybe that’s not the best way to spend your honeymoon.  But loading up your backpack with the bare essentials, hopping on a plane destined for Paris or Amsterdam, and being guided by your imagination and a 10-year-old Lonely Planet guidebook – that really is romantic.  Backpacking is about simplicity and spontaneity.  Sick of the food in London?  Hop a $19 flight on EasyJet and check out Berlin’s music scene.  Then buy a Eurail pass, book a private sleeper, and make love to your new spouse with views of the Swiss Alps as you make your way to Venice.  After an overpriced gondola ride, enjoy the best seafood dinner you’ve ever had before catching a bus to Rome.  It’s all possible when your honeymoon plans consist of a backpack, some clothes and toiletries, and a round trip tick to Europe.

Festival hopping

Why spend your honeymoon all in one place and time?  There’s no rule against breaking it up into parts.  In February, drink a Hurricane in New Orleans to celebrate Fat Tuesday.  In March, celebrate St. Patrick’s Day like the Irish in Dublin – or remain stateside for outrageous parties in Chicago or Savannah, Georgia.  Let the nation’s capital light up your night on the Fourth of July.  In August, cover yourself in body paint and head to the Nevada desert for Burning Man, and in September head to Bavaria for massive sausages and steins during Oktoberfest.  Of course, if music is your game, America has some of the world’s best music festivals, whether you’re into EDM, country music, rock, or even bluegrass.

Vegas, Baby!

Vegas isn’t just for bachelor and bachelorette parties.  As one of the only cities on Earth that is truly 24-7, Vegas provides nonstop entertainment for literally everyone, with outstanding restaurants, mesmerizing shows, top-notch pools and spas, and activities for even the most jaded adrenaline junkies.  No longer Bugsy’s trashy Las Vegas full of gambling and prostitutes, today’s Las Vegas is a family-friendly city full of gambling and prostitutes and much, much more.  But seriously, Vegas provides opportunities for newlyweds that no city can come close to matching.

Island hopping Southeast Asia

Getting to Southeast Asia is expensive – but everything else is cheap.  Fly into Bangkok and then make your way through the incredible Thai islands of Ko Tao, Ko Samui, and Ko Phi Phi.  The scuba diving is amazing and the Thai islands are ideal (and inexpensive) places to get certified.  If you time it right, make your way to Ko Pha Ngan for the incomparable debauchery of a Full Moon Party.  Make a side trip to the incomprehensible Vietnam, then end your journey back in Bangkok, the world’s most colorful city.

Adrenaline Worshiping

You just spent tens of thousands of dollars on a reception where Grandma complained that the chicken got stuck in her dentures and one of your wedding gifts was a subscription to the Relish-of-the-Month Club.  It’s time to cut loose, let go, and release your inner adventurer.  Make a list of everything that you and your new spouse need to do, and then DO IT.  Here are some ideas:

• Bungee jump or sky dive. It’s the same thing.  Either way, for about two seconds, you are the craziest person the planet.
• Fly an airplane. For about $150 an hour, an instructor will take you up in a single-prop plane and let you take the controls!
• Scuba dive or snuba. Exploring the ocean under neutral buoyancy feels a lot like flying, but with the added bonus of lots of beautiful fish and marine life.
• Ride a jetski, water jet pack, or any other device that ejects water like a rocket engine and makes you feel invincible.
• Surf, parasail, or windsurf – in other words, let nature move you.
• Ride a suborbital rocket as a space tourist. OK, unless you have several million dollars to blow, this probably isn’t in your future.  But who knows?  Maybe in 20 years it might be affordable!

Cruising to Antarctica

There’s nothing like honeymooning on a cruise ship, where you’ll be toasted by thousands of well-wishing cruisers (many of whom will be in speedos on the Lido deck competing in ridiculous games for worthless medals).  Mix in lobster dinners and midnight buffets and you really can’t go wrong.  But imagine the unforgettable experience and awesome photos – not to mention the bragging rights – you’d get if the cruise was destined for the world’s loneliest continent!  Many Antarctic cruises start in the sexy city of Buenos Aires and pass through Ushuaia (the world’s southernmost city) before heading to penguin land.

Food, wine, food, booze, and more food…

If a honeymoon is all about the carnal pleasures, what’s more carnal than good food and good wine?  Choose your favorite region in the world and explore its culinary offerings.  Here are some ideas:

• If you’re looking for meat – piles and piles of spicy, seasoned, tender barbeque – head to Nashville.
• One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor. Mexico is the only country licensed to distill tequila, so go to the source.  Fly to Guadalajara then head north toward the city of Tequila to watch los jimadores in action – then taste the goodness at a variety of distilleries.
• Love vineyards? Forget Napa … Explore the wine country of northern Virginia, America’s second largest wine exporter, and revel in their chardonnays and sauvignon blancs.
• Want the best and most authentic variety of world cuisine? Spend a week in New York City and try everything from street food to Michelin three-star restaurants – but make reservations far in advance!
• Discover the Stellenbosch wine region of South Africa, with hundreds of outstanding wineries, many of them only $2 for a full tasting!
• Brave and adventurous? Head to Cambodia for some of the most ridiculous food in the world, from grasshoppers to testicles to balut (partially developed eggs) to deep-fried tarantulas, a strong stomach will yield some of the best selfies you’ve ever taken!  While you’re there, trek through Cambodia for some incredible history and amazing temples.

Other Ideas

Also, for ideas on outrageous ways to get married, here is our blog post on “The Ten Most Adventurous Ways to Get Married.”

And if you’re seeking the Wow Factor for your wedding night, here are America’s Ten Most Unique Honeymoon Suites.

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If you’ve got other unique and interesting ideas for honeymoons, or if you have recommendations, please comment below.   At the Agora Grand Wedding Castle in Maine, we LOVE unique weddings, interesting wedding ideas, and unusual honeymoon adventures.