Honeymoons are one of the most romantic vacations you will ever take in your life (at least it should be). A honeymoon is meant to be a time where you and your new spouse can get away from family and the stresses of planning your wedding and enjoy being together. It is the start of your new life.
 
Honeymoons can be an added stress if you are not careful, as many times they can be quite costly. This post will be my first of ten to help give ideas of luxurious and adventurous vacations for new couples that would be great honeymoons and still keep some green in your pocket.
 
Why the Bahamas? Gorgeous beaches, exquisite shopping and dining, and not to far off the mainland- it’s only an hour flight from Miami. You’ll love it here. On average the temperature is around 70-80 degrees all year round. For just $1.25 you can take a bus into town and go shopping, tour the pirate museum, walk around the city, or go on a variety of different tours and excursions.
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I’m going to do things a little differently this year. I’m still going to write about my travels and share interesting travels news and tips but on top of that, I am going to write editorial pieces and actually do the research by experiencing them myself. So I have some great plans for this year to expand my blog and make the content more valuable, worthwhile and entertaining for my readers- who I love and am grateful for. I’m also going to be doing a complete re-design and rebranding of my blog. The name will stay the same and so will the mission statement: To share my travels and experiences while inspiring others to explore their world- but the look and feel of my blog may change. And finally I will be opening up my blog for some advertising. No I am not selling out, this has always been a part of the longer plan, it will just help me out with funding some of my travels.If you are interested in advertising keep your eye out for the advertise with us link which will come very soon. Some of my great editorial plans for this year include:

Best Places to Honeymoon on a Budget (ongoing): This will be a series of ten editorial features on different locations throughout the world. The feature will go throughout the year with hopefully one feature a month. At the end I will re-cap and talk about the best locations and give my final recommendations. This will be a unique gathering of resorts, excursions, cities and planned itineraries. I will actually be doing these different vacations and breaking it out in terms of how much money it will cost, the type of experience you will get, and different activities, restaurants, spas, etc to check out. It should be fun and I’m open to suggestions and recommendations so please email me at dottingthemap@gmail.com

The Bed and Breakfast: Last year I focused on hostels and offering tips for the hostel virgin. This year I will focus on the ever growing popular B&B front. I myself have never stayed at one before and realize it is a different type of vacation and vacationer who prefers these accommodations but excited to explore the new experience.

Dissecting Priceline.com: I had planned to do this last year but only got one opportunity to try out one of the features of this website, so this year I will explore it more widely, get interviews from priceline.com as well as from both people who swear by it and others who have had really bad experiences. I will do the research and learn the tricks of the trade to help ease others into finding better deals and make travel more affordable.

The Cruise: I plan to do a few features both video and written on the cruising industry and how it has changed the way some people vacation. I plan on talking to avid cruisers and offer tips and recommendations. Along side that- in a few weeks I will be taking my first cruise ever and be giving my own recount of the experience along with recommendation, tips and tricks.

Questions and Answers: I encourage my readers to email me with their questions and ask for recommendations and I will do my best to answer them on my blog. I am always happy to hear from my readers since this blog is mostly written for you. I will research, pull from my own experiences and ask others. Also look for polls this year on my blog. I love hearing your feedback.

International Travel (crossing fingers): Last year I boasted so much about my upcoming Europe trip and we saw how that worked out for me. My husband ended up breaking his collar bone in two places and our Europe fund went to surgery instead. So I learned my lesson to not count my chickens before they hatch- however we do have some trips tentatively planned throughout the year, so keep your eyes out for them!

My editorial content is not limited to these specific topics by any means. I come up with new topics daily and will be constantly updating. If you have any exciting travel news or ideas please let me know! I’m excited for 2009 and the growth that will come from it. Please tell your friends and don’t be a stranger!