By Desire Mbabaali
After intense months of running up and about ordering service providers, endless phone calls, disappointments, adrenaline rushes and arguing with your bridesmaids (they can be quite a lot of work) to pull off the wedding you want, an enjoyable honeymoon is exactly what you will need to enjoy each other’s company, bond and to revitalize yourselves for the journey you have embarked upon.
You already have your honeymoon destination picked (and hopefully booked) and your bags packed ready to hit the road. Having a Honeymoon destination alone is not enough. Killing time might become hard so, here are activities to not only make your honeymoon romantic and fun, but also memorable. Regardless of a tourist destination, in the wild, in the city or a foreign country, you can still create a great time for you.
Mark Kyokunzire a tours and travel agent advises that unless the activities one wants to engage into must be booked beforehand, it is always wise to have an open mind to explore what you will find interesting when you finally reach your destination; especially for couples travelling. “Only book or pay things like flight tickets, hotels, transport provider (if needed) and any other things that are a must. The rest, just move with money, visa or credit cards. The problem is, people sometimes book for activities especially online and at the end, they find them less interesting, and yet there are more exciting things to explore but they have already spent money,” he shares adding that avoid over planning for your honeymoon but rather, go with an open mind to enjoy.
Here are activities you can try out;
Road trip 
“I had never gone on a road trip, and it was one of the things on my bucket list. On the other hand, my husband loves cars and driving long distances. So, for our honeymoon, we just took a road trip, just the day after our wedding. We didn’t decide on where to go. We just threw everything we needed in the car and got driving. We had the two most important things – each other,” Lydia Musisi recalls.
Taking turns to drive, their first stop was in Jinja where they went sight-seeing at the Nile. Next was Mbale, where they spent the night. By nightfall, the following day, the couple was in Kenya’s capital touring the place and taking pictures.
“It gave us time to talk about things, hear each other’s thoughts on a number of things, listen to music, sing together, watch each other sleep while the other was driving, we took lots of pictures, put we also enjoyed the places we saw. We were under no time pressure and that allowed us to stop over on the road for interesting things,” she adds. So, this could be what works for you.
Sunsets and sunrises 
Unless you’re in a country where it is snowing, watching the sunrise and set on your faces will have you feeling special. If any of you is a nature lover, watching nature do its magic as you seat beside the beach, on top of a mountain, or on your balcony as you sip wine or coffee is a beautiful venture for honeymooners. At night, you can watch the starts together as you share stories of the life ahead of you.
Explore nature
Kyokunzire says that many couples like retreating to nature for their honeymoon, and there are always countless options there. “You can tour game parks and reserves, camp, visit other physical features like lakes, rivers, waterfalls, mountains. There are numerous games too; like kayaking, zip-lining, nature walks, boat cruises and other fun things to explore. Just be sure to get a credible tour guide or company so that you are not cheated,” he says, cautioning. If you are in a new place, you can just decide to move around and explore your new location. Blending this with a fun lunch or picnic, shopping, or even window shopping will make your day even great, Kyokunzire adds.
Engage in your passions
The best way to enjoy each other without the other feeling left out is to do things that the two of you like doing, Gertrude Ndibalekera, a marriage counsellor tips. “This gets even better if both of you have things that you share in common that you are both passionate about. That should be where you look first when thinking about honeymoon activities. But again, don’t worry if you don’t have the same passion as your partner. Seeing them do things that make them happy will give you real satisfaction and enjoyment in turn,” she explains. She thus cautions that one should be able to adjust to doing what their partner enjoys and not be too rigid.
“During our courtship, we talked about the craziest things we both wanted to do. So, when we went for our honeymoon, I decided to arrange a surprise for my wife of one of the craziest things she has always wanted to do. I have never seen her that free and happy. We still talk about it up to now,” Moses Mangeni shares. So, whether photography, sports, adventure, reading, writing, movies, cooking, cycling; mention it. Always do those things that make you happy.
Exercise together
Keeping healthy is another of our current preoccupations and often, either of you might love exercising and keeping fit, so tag along. “My husband is all for exercising and yoga. So, a few days after we arrived in Barcelona, Spain for our honeymoon, he wanted to do yoga – I didn’t do yoga, but I just decided to go along. The first days were hard! He would be strict about how it should be done, push us to the limit even when I was tired. I hung in there. So, we would google exercises that couples could do, and before long, we were trying and learning new things together. He would also give me a treat; like a chocolate bar, a cup of coffee or a kiss every time I did a given exercise perfect. It eventually became something to look forward to,” Clare Kirabo Walsh shares her experience.
Just relax 
During your honeymoon, relaxation and a lot of it will surely come in handy. Spoiling each other with a treat at the spa, a steam bath, a couple’s massage, or just relaxing at the beach/ swimming pool, cosying up as you sip your cocktails will do you some goodie good. Brenda Murungi a bride-to-be shares that one of the things she plans to do during her honeymoon is to just spend a day in bed. “With all this running up and down, I plan to stay in bed all day and night sleeping, talking to my husband, eating cookies and wine, sleeping again till I have no more sleep.” So, whichever version of relaxing you want, your honeymoon could be the time. However, take note that it will be difficult to lay in bed for two-weeks straight.
Come up with traditions
Ndibalekera also says that one of the few things that create bonds between a couple are the things they share in their little relationship bubble that other people don’t know about, or without any third parties, and honeymoon time is an ideal time to create these. “These could be habits, actions, games, or simply things that the two of you do. For example, you can watch a movie every evening in bed, drink alcohol, tea or coffee together in the evenings, gazing at the starts together, praying together every morning, writing letters to each other, taking walks together, dancing, playing games like hide and seek, truth or dare, singing to each other, and any such things that interest you,” she shares.
The list is seemingly endless but one thing to remember though: capture all these moments of your honeymoon and don’t hesitate to take those selfies, photos, and videos of you.
