Everything you need to put on your honeymoon packing list, broken down just for you.
This isn’t just packing for another trip to somewhere nice. No. This is packing for that once-in-a-lifetime vacation. It’s leaving your wedding to a send-off of confetti and cheers, the popping of champagne and the clink of beers as you get ready for you next-day departure to a bucket list destination of your choice. It’s the great trip you will ever go on, bar none, fact. However, there is one teeny-tiny little hiccup, and that’s packing for this romance-filled adventure.
No matter how many times you’ve daydreamed about how perfect your honeymoon will be, it still seems to be that one thing most brides (and all grooms) put-off until the very last second as they pull everything out of their wardrobe and washing pile and stuff it into a suitcase not realising how stressed-out this part of the wedding process would be. But as daunting as it might be to pack for a week, two weeks, or a month away, it doesn’t have to be a stress-maker. Not with our help.
Whether you are packing for a week of poolside perfection, an east coast road trip through California, a mountain spa resort, a far-flung jungle adventure, or a combination of them all, we’ve pulled together the ultimate honeymoon packing list to help make your trip even more memorable.
First Things First: The Bags
When it comes to your honeymoon, packing is an art -- and the bags you use are your paintbrushes. That’s why you’ll want a combination of durable backpacks and holdalls to make your honeymoon a thousand times less stressful. You want a hold-all bag that’s big enough to squeeze your honeymoon outfits into and still looks timeless, and a practical backpack that’s perfect for those dawn-to-dusk excursions.
The ultimate honeymoon luggage: The Weekender and The Backpack by Stubble & Co.
What makes them perfect: Not only are these high-quality bags stylish, durable and refined, they’ve been thoughtfully-designed to put style and practicality first. Crafted with waterproofed canvas, they’ve got everything you could possibly want, from outer passport pockets to safe and secure inner-pockets for your valuables, cushioned straps for comfort to magnetic fastenings for quick access, high-density protection pockets for your laptop to a reinforced base. And then there’s the little extras that make you think wow, these really are perfect, like two side pockets that are perfectly sized for a bottle of wine.
Your Absolutely Must-Haves
It doesn’t matter which pocket of paradise you are heading to, or for how long, there are some essentials that you absolutely need to pack before you leave, and they are:
- Your flight tickets - whether they are hard copies or e-tickets on your smartphone.
- Valid passports, visas to your chosen destinations and your driver's license.
- Credit and debit cards (but only those you’ll actually need)
- Any and all booking confirmation numbers you have (hotel reservations, restaurant bookings, surprise events etc.)
- Travel insurance that covers you for each destination
- At least three photocopies of all of the above (that way you can keep one set on you at all times, leave one in the hotel room and give one to your next of kin, just in case)
- If you’re on any prescription medication, make sure you take it in the original bottle.
- ID tags to label your luggage inside and out.
- A camera (in case you’re planning on taking some photos on something other than your phone)
Honeymoon Bits For The Bride
This is your honeymoon. Your honeymoon. So while you’ll want to pack some stuff you’d take on any other vacay - jeans, sundresses, shorts, tees, swimsuits, sneakers, sandals, cardigans, bikinis and a little black dress - you’ll want to feel like a bride from the moment you start your honeymoon all the way through, and that means dress the part. Don some bridal whites on the beach, or for day trips out, or to dinner. Rock some chic kaftans and kimonos. Go floral with your moment-stealing maxi dresses, pack plenty of boho blouses that cinch the waist, throw in some double-duty swimwear and don’t forget your sweet and sultry sets for the boudoir.
For Grooms That Want To Set The Standard
Like your absolutely stunning bride, you’ll want to pack a lot of your vacay favourites - jeans, slacks, button-up shirts, tees, shorts, polos, sneakers, swim shorts and lace-ups - but you’ll also want to be the groom of her dreams on the trip she’s always dreamed about. So while you need to make sure you have everything you’ll need for the sake of practicality when hiking through the jungle and hot air ballooning at sunset, make sure you look the part come those romantic moments too. Have a linen button-down shirt for your hand-in-hand beach strolls, a lightweight suit (or jacket) for your dinner date at that jaw-dropping restaurant and pack a few new pairs of boxers and bottoms for your lazy resort mornings.
The Pack Before You Go Stuff
Telling yourself you’ll buy this and that when you get there might sound like the easiest move to make right now, but no one wants to run errands on their honeymoon. You want to kick back and relax with your soul mate, soaking up the best moments of a lifetime, not shopping for insect repellent. And to help you out with this, here is a list of everything you should consider packing before departing:
- Insect repellent, along with some cream to soothe any itches that do get through
- Sun cream that’s both high in UVB and UVA protection
- (Stylish) sunglasses that have enough substance to protect your eyes
- Hats - from sun hats with wide brims to baseball caps, always pack a hat
- Your everyday precautionary medicine: plasters, paracetamol, antihistamines, tummy settlers and motion sickness medicine.
- Those two epic books you almost started last summer
- A deck of cards
- Power converter and/or adapter
Bathroom Basics
Sometimes you’ll walk into a hotel bathroom to find a thousand mini-bottles of colourful smellies and other times you’ll walk into a gorgeous villa to find nothing -- either way, it only takes a few simple swaps to create a zero waste bathroom, which is what the world deserves. And to help you get started on this journey, start off by packing some solid hand cream bars, silk floss, safety razors, dry shampoo, natural soap bars, DIY lip balm and a bamboo toothbrush. As for the other bathroom basics you’ll need, they include:
- Toothpaste
- Deodorant
- Makeup
- Cotton balls
- Comb
- Stuff to keep your hair in place
- Nail files and clippers
- Shaving cream
- Contact lenses
- Hair ties
- Hairdryer
The Little Things That Make A Honeymoon
In addition to the basics, there are a few something specials you should save some space in your luggage for because these will set your honeymoon apart from all the other romantic trips you’ve ever taken together:
- A gorgeous/special outfit you can wear out to dinner on your first night (including some drop-dead-wow lingerie to surprise your new spouse with that night).
- A bottle of the perfume/cologne you wore for your wedding to get those happy memories rushing back into your hearts.
- Your wedding playlist and a portable speaker so that you can enjoy a romantic dance on the moonlit sands
- A little cooler bag you can use to keep a few bottles cold (water, wine, champagne) for when you venture out of your hotel for a romantic adventure, whether it be a walk through a city park or a boat ride to a secluded island.
- We know it’s not the most romantic added extra, but pack some birth control. You’ll be surprised how many couples accidentally started a family on their honeymoon because there were no major pharmacies on the remote island they were calling home.
- A gorgeous/special outfit to wear on the last night of your honeymoon because, trust us,you're going to take a gazillion photos that night (and, yeah, another set of gorgeous lingerie to make the last night as special as your first).
- A comfy (but cosy) outfit that you can travel home in -- one that will suit the returning climate when you land because, as is universally known, there’s nothing worse than waiting for the shuttle bus in flip flops and short-shorts when it’s freezing.