Ecuador: A Great, Under-the-Radar Honeymoon Destination

So you are getting married (congratulations!) and are looking for an ideal honeymoon destination that will afford you and your betrothed a romantic getaway that is certain to be unlike the traditional and overly popular destinations that your friends and relatives embark on to celebrate their wedded bliss.

Ecuador Honeymoonmtchm / Nature Photos / CC BY-NC-ND

So if you want something different, yet still exotic and remarkable in its splendors.  Well, I’ve got the perfect honeymoon destination for you:

Ecuador

It’s an ideal honeymoon destination in that it offers a wide variety of geographic locales – there are four distinct regions located in relatively close proximity –  and it is also comparatively cheap as far as tropical paradise destinations are concerned.

Honeymoon Destination Ecuador geo462rge / Wedding Photos / CC BY-NC-ND

Spending a week or two in Ecuador while rejoicing in your newfound matrimony will allow you to spend time in wide-ranging environments:

• The famous Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, where you can observe the same astonishing wildlife that made a life-altering impact on Charles Darwin almost 200 years ago.
• The coastal lowlands of the west coast, where you can wander the streets of the decidedly modern and urban port town of Guayaquil, or sprawl out on many of the almost-deserted, yet pristine, beaches of the Ecuadorian coastline.
• The Andean highlands through the gateway city of Quito, with its colonial heritage and cobblestone streets, to the small mountain villages boasting some of the most amazing hikes and scenic splendors in the Western Hemisphere.
• Ecuador’s Amazonia region in the east, where you and your new spouse can undertake some truly intrepid adventures among the lush, wet and sometimes daunting rainforest ecosystem.

An incredible honeymoon experience could be formulated by trekking to any one of these regions, or by making a whirlwind tour of all four.  Traveling to Ecuador to celebrate your nuptials has logistical advantages, too.  They include:

• From most U.S. airports it is a relatively quick flight to Ecuador (about five hours) and because you are generally traveling along a longitude, there is only a token amount of jetlag to deal with.
• As previously mentioned, Ecuador honeymoons can be had on a relatively small budget.  Food, lodging and even many guided tours can be had for pennies on the dollar of what you would pay for similar stateside.
• Speaking of dollars, the U.S. dollar is the currency of Ecuador, so there is no need to follow exchange rates or deal with trading in notes when you arrive or depart.

So, for inquisitive, intellectually curious couples with a yen for adventure travel, Ecuador can be the ideal honeymoon destination.  The fact that it is not the most common post-matrimony excursion for U.S. honeymooners only adds to the potential attraction for couples that want to have something more unique to remember when they look back on this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Author Bio:

Charlie Bennett is an aspiring travel writer who cannot wait to get back to South America. Although he has never been married, he is constantly on the lookout for the perfect getaway. He currently writes for GAdventures who specializes in Ecuador travel.