Hot, Holy & Humorous

What to Pack for Your Honeymoon or Vacation

What does one pack for one’s honeymoon? In my short story “Suite Nothings,” from Behind Closed Doors: Five Marriage Stories, the main character shuffles through her luggage for this, that, and the other on her wedding night. Unfortunately, she couldn’t adequately plan and prepare for the night she was going to have . . .

Tourist couple walking in city with suitecaseBut the rest of us can do some looking ahead and packing for the honeymoon, or a romantic trip for any wedded couple. Since I am hopelessly bad at organizing and prepping for travel, I consulted with one of my best friends who is a near-genius at such things. She put together a list of ideas, and I fleshed it out with my comments.

Breath mints. You should be doing a lot of kissing and close-up interaction, so make sure your breath smells good. Pack some breath mints or fresh-flavor gum, and maybe mouthwash. Keep your mouth as kissable as you can!

Scented candles. You can set the mood wherever you go with scented candles. If one of you has allergy issues with candles (my husband does), you can try the battery-operated candles which also cast an inviting glow. If you’re nervous about getting undressed the first time on your wedding night, adding some low lights can ease you into the process. If you’re driving to your destination, pack matches or a lighter. If you’re flying, be careful and check the rules on what you can and cannot take in that department.

Chocolate or other sweets. You could buy something when you arrive, but if you have a favorite, you might want to pack a treat. Some wives have a tendency to get hungry post-lovemaking, and it’s nice to reward your sweet tooth when you’re done. You can also bring food items into your lovemaking with whipped cream, chocolate sauce, or whatever appeals to you.

Music CD or playlist. Put together a playlist of romantic mood music or maybe dance music to twirl around to in your hotel room. The right music can create a sensual mood and get you touching and moving together. For playlist ideas, check out my post on music for sexual intimacy.

Azo or Uricalm urinary pain relief pills. If you haven’t had sex, or haven’t had sex in your marriage much lately, engaging in lots of it carries the potential of infection of a gal’s urinary tract. Which is seriously uncomfortable. If you start to feel discomfort while urinating, start taking Azo! While this will not cure an infection — and you’ll still need to consult a doctor — it will definitely help with pain and keep you on the right track to get over the infection quickly.

Movie night package. Believe it or not, you can’t have sex the entire time. Well, maybe you could, but you might want to take a break now and then to regain your energy. Why not cuddle up for a movie night? Grab or download two movies — one manly movie and one click flick; bring microwave or pre-popped popcorn; and toss in Junior Mints or other movie candies. Maybe a little romance on screen will even inspire you!

Massage oil. Massage is such a beautiful thing. It awakens your senses, shows affection, and gets your body’s love chemicals firing. Grab some good massage oil or lotion and enjoy the experience of exploring and getting to know one another’s bodies.

Vacation Mad Libs (or other game). Games are a great way to spend time together as a couple, get to know each other, create memories, and have fun. Pack a game or two to play. Remember that almost any game can be made into Strip ___. But here are some posts on other board games to consider:

Two Player Games for Couples, Dates by Design
The BEST 2 Player Games for Date Night, Happy Wives Club
20 Two Player Games to Play with Your Husband, To Love, Honor and Vacuum

Prayer or devotional books. Start your marriage out with God at the center, using a devotional, scripture, or prayer book together. You could grab the pocket-sized book of prayers for The Power of a Praying Wife and The Power of a Praying Husband. If you’ve been married a while, try Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together by Jim and Cathy Burns to open up conversations and mutual faith-seeking. Or pick up my devotional book, Intimacy Revealed: 52 Devotions to Enhance Sex in Marriage.

Sleep accessories. Let’s face it: If you’re not used to sleeping with each other, or you’re just on vacation for relaxation, you need to set yourself up for a decent night of sleep. Pack some ear plugs to keep the neighbors, his snoring, or your snoring from interfering. Check out a white noise machine to help you sleep better (I recently stayed with a friend at a hotel who had one, and I was surprised by how wonderful it was). Be wiling to pack your favorite pillow or pillowcase. Whatever helps you snooze the night away, or at least a few hours in between you-know-what, slide it into the luggage.

Do Not Disturb sign. You can use the hotel’s provided sign, or create your own. You can find a couple of printable templates here:

Template 1
Template 2

What else do you recommend packing, in addition to the usual clothing and toiletries? What makes for a smooth, romantic honeymoon or vacation?

23 thoughts on “What to Pack for Your Honeymoon or Vacation”

  1. Good call on the AZO! I came home from my honeymoon with a raging UTI. I’d recommend that to everyone!!

  2. Good list! Wouldn’t it be great if every new bride had this list — and some seasoned brides as well! LOL

    I would like to comment on UTIs. While the use of AZO does help to ease the discomfort/pain of a UTI and can be a life saver until you can get to a doctor, prevention is the key. Some natural ways to prevent one: 1) drink 2-4 cups of all natural cranberry juice each day (NOT Ocean Spray or others with added sugar!), 2) drink plenty of water, 3) avoid excess alcohol and sugar, 4) urinate before and immediately after sex, and 5) take 1000mg vit. C daily.
    The cranberry juice and vit. C change the pH of your urine making it more acidic which helps prevent bacteria from adhering to lining of the bladder and helps lower your risk of developing UTIs.

    It’s also a good idea to take a good probiotic and/or eat natural yogurt every day to help decrease vaginal yeast infections which can also develop with frequent sex. And if you do develop a UTI and take antibiotics always use something to treat yeast since antibiotics often cause a yeast infection to develop.

    Also, if you do develop a UTI before the honeymoon or vacation is over STOP having sex! This will only exacerbate the condition.

    Just a few thoughts. 😉

  3. I know you can’t pack this but, we have heard that if the woman urinates after having sex it can help to flush out the urinary tract and help her not get a UTI… not sure it is a cure all but I think it might be a tip that might help.

  4. I was also going to say LUBE but someone else brought it up.. You do not want to use coconut oil if using condoms though… I would recommend the brand SLIQUID for lube.

  5. Ha, I was so terrified of getting a UTI on my honeymoon, I was drinking cranberry juice (bleh). In fact I never got a UTI at any point in time. Our misadventures with runny lubricant and my groom’s fruitless efforts to get the brand recommended by my GYN, LOL! So many worries. What I enjoyed were the hot tub and the museum and botanical garden visits we had planned. Certainly no lust was involved for either of us, those first couple of days! So I’d say: pack comfy shoes and invest in a really nice, sexy swim suit.

  6. Also to reduce UTI’s make sure everything is clean.
    Both should trim nails and wash hands well. Scrub those nails.
    And…always bathe beforehand.
    In addition, while hot tubs are romantic- they can be a big prob with ladies. So instead, try romance with a clean hot bath and ask hubby to wash you. It can be a fun play time.

  7. In addition to lube, bring along some small towels for clean-up, if you don’t want to get up out of bed right away. Whenever we go anywhere, even for just a night, a small jar of coconut oil and a towel or two are always packed, just in case. The ones we use are called bar towels, I think? They’re about 2/3 the size of a regular hand towel.

  8. Wow, that’s a lot of stuff!

    We went on an anniversary overnight. I packed my toiletry basics, clean socks, undies, and shirt, my swim suit, and nightwear. I may have shoved a book in the bag, too.

      1. My wife and I always have some reading material, an actual book or kindle on a tablet. She’s the type that has a never ending to-do list in her head and reading helps her relax. Even though we have different likes and dislikes, we can both read for an hour or two. It’s no different when we are on vacation, in fact we probably read MORE than usually when we are away from home.

  9. The advice given in this article is wonderful! For our honeymoon 35 years ago, my young bride only brought a special lingerie for the first night. I never even knew about the existence of lube until a few years ago! LOL!

  10. Warning about lighting candles: sometimes they can set off the fire alarm in the hotel room! And then in the rush to blow them out (before you are interrupted by hotel staff while wearing very little) you blow too hard and spray wax on your lip & it blisters making kissing rather difficult. Not that I would know anything about that…. 😉

    1. Hmmm, did you read my short stories?

      I did have a friend who started a smoke moment in her marital bedroom with mood lighting. Oops!

      1. I haven’t read them yet! This was “a few” years ago, and merely a funny memory now. I still remember the particular lingerie I was wearing when it happened.

  11. IntimacySeeker

    Regarding prevention of UTI’s, for post menopausal women, since the wall between the urinary tract and vagina thin considerably, UTI’s can become common. I have had consistent success in beating this issue with the application of estrogen cream. It is expensive, but I use much less than the prescribed amount (one tube lasts 9 months) and have had no trouble since I began using it.

    I also pay attention to hydration, using the restroom before and after as suggested by others here, and I never lie on my stomach after intercourse.

    I fondly remember a physician who when diagnosing the UTI, asked if I had had vigorous intercourse the night before. I answered “no” and she replied “that’s too bad!” 🙂

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