What to Pack for a Honeymoon

Honeymoons top the list for our favorite type of vacations to plan for clients. Take the most romantic week of your life & mix it with delicious food, beachside cocktails, and that once in a lifetime ‘spare no expense’ attitude. While sipping sunset champagne in Cabo sounds like the ultimate honeymoon dream, the reality is that the weeks leading up to your honeymoon can be stressful. As if you weren’t already busy enough planning a wedding, you also need to plan for a week-long international vacation that can take LOTS of coordinating. Lucky for you, you are in the right spot for help navigating the stressful parts of honeymoon planning. When you hire a luxury travel advisor to handle all of your honeymoon logistics, you can focus on the fun stuff (like which couples massage sounds the most romantic) and leave the rest to us.

We are helping check one major item off of your list by sharing our top tips for what to pack for your upcoming honeymoon. We’ve worked with hundreds of honeymooners and have narrowed down our list to the top 10 items essential for your honeymoon.

What to Pack for Honeymoon

1. Travel Documents

If you forget everything else on this list, the most important thing you can bring are your travel documents. If you have the below items, the rest can be purchased when you make it to your destination! Check your luggage & then check again to make sure you have all of the important travel documentation needed to get in & out of your honeymoon destination. We recommend downloading a digital copy & carrying a physical copy of the below items in case you are in an airport or destination with no wifi access. Always better to be safe than sorry!

1. Passport (Expiration date is 6 or more months out)

2. IDs (Driver’s License)

3. Airline Boarding Passes (Be sure to add to your Apple wallet for easy access in the airport)

4. Travel Insurance policy

5. Resort & Transfer Confirmations

6. Emergency Contacts

2. Travel Insurance

Behind having your travel documents, this is the second most important thing you can purchase & have handy during your honeymoon. Let’s face it, honeymoons are an investment and we can’t stress to our travelers enough how important travel insurance is to purchase. Especially if you are spending tens of thousands of dollars on your dream vacation.

Our advice, don’t make it an option - just purchase travel insurance. This will cover if you trip gets delayed due to personal, weather, or medical reasons and help (depending on the policy you purchase) can help cover you medically while you are in destination. We’ve seen too many honeymoons get postponed at the last minute and thousands of dollars lost. Don’t overthink it, just buy the travel insurance so you have peace of mind your entire trip!

3. Carry On Extras

Let’s face it, sometimes travel days don’t go as planned. There is a chance (unlikely, but we’ve seen it) that your luggage could get lost or you might not be able to check into your room quite as early as you’d hoped. We recommend packing a swimsuit, sunscreen, coverup, basic toiletries, a pair of flip flops, and a quick change of clothes in your carry on bag in case this happens to you. Don’t delay your vacation any longer just because you aren’t able to get into your checked luggage as quickly as you would like to. With that being said, make sure to pack any medications, contact lenses/glasses, and any other items you can’t go without in your carry on bag.

4. Non-Luxury Items

We know, it’s your honeymoon and it’s finally time to show off that sparkly new diamond ring. But what if we told you we actually recommend our honeymooners to leave their precious diamonds & luxury items at home for this trip? Depending on the type of travel and the destination you are traveling to, having flashy designer brand items in tow can make you a target for pick pocketers and thieves. Not to mention, if you plan to spend the week basking in the Caribbean and snorkeling with your spouse, you are at more of a risk of losing that precious diamond. Trust us here, leave as many luxury items as you can at home and take advantage of the endless ‘Dupes’ you can easily find over on TikTok.

If you can’t stomach parting ways with your new bling for the week, we understand. We just recommend storing all luxury jewelry in a locked safe at your resort when not wearing and please please please do not wear any diamonds in the ocean. Just trust us on this one!

5. Local Currency

Prior to your vacation, go to your bank and pick up local currency. You will want to have cash ready to go for tipping, local restaurants/bars that might not accept credit cards, and to avoid unnecessary exchange fees at the airport or while in destination. We recommend checking with your credit card company to see what (if any) international transaction fees will be charged to your credit card if used.

6. Sun Protection

Don’t forget to pack sunscreen & hats! The last thing you want to do is to get sunburnt on the first few days of your vacation and spend the rest of your beach getaway covered under an umbrella. We’re speaking from experience over here 😅. Pack a travel sized sunscreen bottle in your carry on and a full size in your checked luggage for backup. Most resorts & hotels will have sunscreen for purchase but it will be triple the price of what you will pay at home. Our advice, if you think one bottle is enough, think again. The sun hits different in the Caribbean!

7. Medication

This is one of the most important items to pack when traveling to an exotic destination. Not only will you need your daily medication amount for the length of time you will be traveling (we recommend a few extra days just in case) but you will also want to think about other common medications you & your spouse take. Take a look at the below list of additional medications we recommend packing. Most resorts will have over-the-counter medications available but they will be triple the price and probably not the name brand you prefer.

While these are the sexiest things to pack for your honeymoon, you do not want your vacation to get interrupted by some common illnesses that happen while traveling to a new environment with different quality food/water. Pack these items and take as needed to knock out anything that might come up during your trip.

1. Advil/Ibuprofen

2. Anti-nasuea (For boat rides & flights)

3. Pepto Bismol

4. Imodium

5. Allergy meds

6. Hand sanitizer

8. Appropriate Attire

Always check the weather in your destination prior to packing for your trip. Just because you are traveling to Mexico, doesn’t always mean it’s going to be hot and sunny. We recommend learning when rainy season is in your destination and packing accordingly. A light jacket could come in handy on a breezy cool Caribbean evening. Also, you want to research about the culture you are traveling to in case you need to modify your outfits for specific religious or historic sites you plan to visit. Remember, you are traveling to someone else’s culture and you want to be mindful to respect the environment you are in.

Also, be sure to check dress code policies for restaurants or activities that you plan to attend. There are a lot of fine dining restaurants in the Caribbean that (while it might be 100 degrees) still require long dress pants, collard shirts, and dress shoes for men. Your travel advisor will help you with these dress codes but you don’t want to miss out on a delicious meal because you aren’t prepared.

9. Waterproof Laundry Bag

Another must-have item is a waterproof laundry bag. Especially if you plan to hop from island to island or from destination to destination. You won’t always have access to laundry services and the best thing you can do to prevent all of your clothes from smelling like the jacuzzi is to organize clean clothes in a separate compartment while stashing dirty or wet clothes in a sealed laundry bag. Plus, this will save you lots of time when you get home separating your laundry. It’s a win-win situation!

10. Perfume/Cologne

Okay hear us out on this one! A new trend we are jumping all over is when honeymooners pack a perfume & cologne that they’ve purchased for the trip. Not only is it a special way to treat your spouse prior to the trip but the idea is to wear this special scent throughout the entire vacation. Then, whenever you use this perfume or cologne again in the future it will transport you right back to the slice of paradise you honeymooned at. We think this is such a special reminder of your once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon and what sweeter way to celebrate.

That sums up our ultimate honeymoon packing list for any upcoming honeymooners. Looking for more? Check out our blog posts on Must Have Airplane Essentials and our Best Places to Travel in 2024.