At Peter Thomas Photography we LOVE a good holiday. We always love to hear of our wedding couple’s honeymoon plans – even if they often make us a little jealous!
The planning of your honeymoon is one aspect of your wedding that you can look forward to once the big day is over. With caterers,photographers, groomsmen, flower delivery and music, the honeymoon can be the cherry on top of any stress.
We caught up with top Travel Counsellor, Bruce Cairns, to ask him what couples love to do for their honeymoon, tips about booking it and help for those unsure of where to go.
What are popular destinations for honeymooners?
Many honeymooners like combining an active holiday with a relaxing few days. Popular this year has been fly-drives in California then staying at a beach, self-drive in South Africa combined with Mauritius, cruising is always popular as is the beautiful islands of the Maldives.
Where did you go for your honeymoon?
We went on Far East cruise, visiting Hong Kong, the Philippines, Borneo, Singapore, Vietnam and China. It was my wife’s first cruise and gave her a real love of cruising. It is a great way to see some amazing destinations but only having to unpack once!
If a couple didn’t know where they wanted to honeymoon, what questions would you ask?
I spend time chatting about what they want to do, less about the destination and more about how they want to spend their time. Often they want completely different things from each other for their honeymoon and we have to look for compromises before we even chat about destinations. The more that they can tell me about their wants and needs the better I can tailor their perfect honeymoon.
The road in Asia leads to many a magical place…
What exactly is a travel counsellor?
A Travel Counsellor is like a travel agent but better. We put our customer at the heart of everything we do, rather than just selling a travel product. We always look to add value to everything we do and only work with carefully selected suppliers who also place the customer at the top of their list.
How would it differ from a couple going into a travel agent or doing it all themselves?
Many travel agents are now targeted to sell particular products, whether they are ideal for the customer or not. Also they are unable to offer the bespoke service that we offer as Travel Counsellors and being available for our clients outside normal business hours.
https://www.travelcounsellors.co.uk/bruce.cairns
Doing it all themselves, most clients will research one or two holidays each year, I research more than that every day so I can save huge amounts of time by finding great solutions quickly. Also I have real concerns about the growth of online fraud which is becoming a huge problem. I always advise people never to send money to someone they have never met and who may be in a foreign country.
Hot Springs at 5* Resort
What else can you tell me about planning and going on a holiday?
Our time is the most precious thing we have, yet we waste it so often looking for that elusive deal. I know of people who spend hours searching for the cheapest price which then has them waiting the longest times in airports to save a few pounds. Remember to not always believe everything that you read online, I can see the same deals online that the public can, but they cannot see the special airfares, tour operators and DMCs who only work with travel professionals like me.
The beach of Abel Tasman
