{"id":9117,"date":"2019-01-24T09:23:50","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T06:23:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/?p=9117"},"modified":"2019-02-18T14:17:32","modified_gmt":"2019-02-18T11:17:32","slug":"plan-for-a-honeymoon-in-uganda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/?p=9117","title":{"rendered":"How to get a cost friendly honeymoon in Uganda"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Maria Immaculate Owechi<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor our honeymoon, we wanted to go to some particular place, but we decided to save and do that later on when we put our finances together. The wedding had drained us financially and we incurred debts,\u201d narrates Doreen Namulondo Okello, a tailor who got married early last year revealed.<\/p>\n

After the stress and expense of planning a wedding, the honeymoon should be a fun and enjoyable getaway. Whether you opt for white sandy beaches, a national park or explore a new city, the trip should be just about celebrating your marriage and creating memories.<\/p>\n

But this custom has started to die out with some couples foregoing honeymoon because of work commitments or insufficient funds to cover the trip, hence postponing until a few months after their wedding or during an anniversary.\"\"<\/p>\n

According, to Ronald Muvunyi, the proprietor of Kajie Safaris on Ham Towers, Makerere Hill road, the mentality that honeymoon trips are an expensive venture and failure to include it as part of the wedding budget has caused many couples to shy away from it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet, there are affordable honeymoon destinations especially in Uganda. That\u2019s why there are many international people who come here because they will spend less and have fun,\u201d he convincingly explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of the safaris trips I conduct are with couples celebrating their anniversaries, yet here in Uganda people only think of flying out of the country to have a fun honeymoon experience,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Ronald gives examples of \u00a0less expensive destinations in the country that can be enough for a budget of Shs500,00 for example, \u00a0water rafting in Jinja, \u00a0a day at Mabira forest at Shs350,000 which includes activities such as zip lining, bird watching and natural walks with nice lodges around, Griffin falls camp, Mabira at Shs.150,000 per night, Sesse Island on Lake Victoria\u00a0 from Shs150,000-Shs350,000 for 3 days, Sharp’s Island on Lake Bunyonyi from Shs.500,000-Shs.1.3m for 2 nights and the latest new site being Serenada Eco Resort, Mukono on the shores of Lake Victoria where the highest room costs shs.250,000 per night with meals and tours included.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A night view of Serenada eco lodge in Mukono<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

True to his argument that honeymoon trips are affordable, Sara Asaba Kavuma, married and an accountant with Brand Momentum shares her honeymoon experience with us.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I even before we planned the wedding budget knew that Sesse Island will be our honeymoon destination for its affordable prices,\u201d Sara narrates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only inquired from a close friend who had been there which part was exotic within a budget of Shs.500, 000,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Sara says that they decided to only pay for a room which cost Shs50, 000 a night for the two weeks there and had meals outside in the trading centers at Shs3000 to cut on costs.<\/p>\n

Experts say that planning for a post-wedding trip hand in hand with the wedding can create more financial stress if one sees the total cost of the flight and hotel to the destination of their dreams along side the expenses for their big day.<\/p>\n

Yet, still it is possible to learn how to plan a honeymoon on a budget without it deterring the other financial commitments and priorities.<\/p>\n

Here are the following honeymoon budget tips, experts recommend to guide married couples on how to spend wisely without sacrificing on\u00a0the\u00a0quality and\u00a0romance of their newlywed trip.<\/p>\n

Set your honeymoon priorities<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
A couple enjoys a romantic honeymoon on Ssese Islands<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ronald advises married couples to discuss the kind of honeymoon they would like even before they start planning a budget for their wedding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf exploring a faraway place is what they have always wanted, then it is important to do research and find out if they can afford the packages and how many days they will spend,\u201d Muvuyi explains.<\/p>\n

He recommends after that the couple should include it in the budget with a fixed price to avoid spending all their disposable cash on the wedding<\/p>\n

Consult with a Travel Agent<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Water rafting on the Nile is one of the activities that you could try out<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He also advises couples to always inquire from professional and experienced travel agents to assist in giving options before making a decision on a specific destination.<\/p>\n

The travel agent will always have insider information for you about the best packages basing on your priorities and budget.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Consider booking early<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts recommend booking honeymoon trips at least six to nine months in advance just like for your wedding vendors so that you are more purposeful on your priority.<\/p>\n

If you are able to pay in advance for some or all of your honeymoon expenses, this means you won\u2019t have to spend time worrying about the costs in the middle of wedding-planning madness. The sooner you start planning, the better prepared you will be when it comes time to book.<\/p>\n

Actually, in case your travelling far, start planning a year or so in advance if possible, to track flight and hotel prices and find out which is the best time to book.\u00a0 Waiting to book until the last minute can leave you with less than desirable prices.<\/p>\n

Ronald mentions about most international people book a year before and already there are bookings for 2020 for his tour company.<\/p>\n

Go during a destination’s Off-Season\"\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Experts advise couples who would want discounts\u00a0 on their honeymoon to make bookings on off seasons when travelers to a designation are few. During the peak seasons the prices for honeymoon packages may increase and with no room for a bargain.<\/p>\n

Ronald says that the peak seasons in Uganda are around June-December and low seasons around January-March.<\/p>\n

He adds that since Uganda has gained a reputation of being among the best tourist destinations in Africa, this has led to a shoot up of number of foreigners visiting the destinations, which means they no longer have really low seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith many tourists, most destinations no longer offer big discounts as before,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Search on hotel Websites for their packages<\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to get the most accurate and up-to-date prices, It is advised to consider checking the hotel’s website or calling the front desk\u00a0to find out their honeymoon\u00a0 packages\u00a0 like accommodation, spa and which rooms are best.<\/p>\n

Actually, some hotels once you hold your reception there, they can offer a room for a night or more days.<\/p>\n

Think beyond flying<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instead of flying a major airline, consider getting to your destination via\u00a0car, boat or bus.<\/p>\n

According to Ronald, there are options of road trips or boat cruises. He gives an example of a road trip from Kampala to Lake Bunyonyi which can cost Shs. 350,000 per person or a budget of Shs.1.3m\u00a0 for a couple including a transport.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Beautiful lodges and scenery at Lake Bunyonyi safari lodge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere is also a safari for couples from Murchison falls to Kibaale National park, gorilla tracking at Bwindi, Lake Bunyonyi up to Lake Mburo at Shs.10m and with a cheaper package of Shs.1.5m,\u201d he elaborates.<\/p>\n

He adds that there are lots of boat cruises on Lake Victoria, wild waters on River Nile and a swamp on Serenado Eco Resort.<\/p>\n

Consider waiting<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are debating on how to plan a honeymoon on a budget, remember that there\u2019s no rule that states you have to take your honeymoon right away.<\/p>\n

If the budget is tight or wedding planning too time consuming, consider taking a mini honeymoon such as a long weekend or short getaway in order to give yourself time to save for a bigger trip later. Plan to take your honeymoon at a later time, such as your one year anniversary. Start, by creating a saving plan, reviewing destinations and costs in advance during that period in order to get the best deals.<\/p>\n

Remember your honeymoon will be amazing no matter the location, as long as you are with your loved partner.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Maria Immaculate Owechi \u201cFor our honeymoon, we wanted to go to some particular place, but we decided to save and do that later on when we put our finances together. The wedding had drained us financially and we incurred debts,\u201d narrates Doreen Namulondo Okello, a tailor who got married early last year revealed. After […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"subtitle":"","format":"standard","video":"","gallery":"","source_name":"","source_url":"","via_name":"","via_url":"","override_template":"0","override":[{"single_blog_custom":"","parallax":"0","fullscreen":"0","sidebar":"","second_sidebar":"","sticky_sidebar":"0","share_position":"","share_float_style":"","show_share_counter":"0","show_view_counter":"0","show_featured":"0","show_post_meta":"0","show_post_author":"0","show_post_author_image":"0","show_post_date":"0","post_date_format":"","post_date_format_custom":"","show_post_category":"0","show_post_tag":"0","show_prev_next_post":"0","show_popup_post":"0","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"0","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"override_image_size":"0","image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"","single_post_gallery_size":""}],"trending_post":"0","trending_post_position":"","trending_post_label":""},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":""},"footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[1424,1416,1269,1421,1418,1415,1422,563,1414,1423,1419,1420,1417],"ppma_author":[1784],"class_list":["post-9117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-honeymoon","tag-doreen-namulondo-okello","tag-griffin-falls-camp","tag-jinja","tag-kajie-safaris-on-ham-towers","tag-lake-bunyonyi","tag-mabira-forest","tag-makerere-hill-road","tag-mukono","tag-ronald-muvunyi","tag-sara-asaba-kavuma","tag-serenada-eco-resort","tag-sesse-island","tag-sharps-island"],"authors":[{"term_id":1784,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"weddingadmin","display_name":"weddingadmin","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd3996c46efafdc40969010bfd78c8e4dda9d99318e7dd6403983ea0dadbcfce?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"","last_name":"","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9117"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9875,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9117\/revisions\/9875"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9117"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mywedding.co.ug\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=9117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}