Wedding Week: The Most Overrated Honeymoon Perks, Ever!

Decades ago, a honeymoon may have been the first time a couple came to know each other in the Biblical sense. Nowadays, though, it may be the first time you and your betrothed take a helicopter ride or go snorkeling. But new exotic fun can come at a price, are you prepared to pay it?

According to a recent TheKnot.com honeymoon travel study, almost three out of four couples book “extras” on their big trip. Is it a surprise to anyone then that TheKnot.com’s study found the average cost of a honeymoon is $4,778, with higher-end honeymoons closer to $10,000?

Clearly there’s room to trim the fat—not too much fat, mind you –so MainStreet asked Sherri Eisenberg, travel editor at Brides magazine, about the most overrated honeymoon perks. If you’d really like, for once in your life, to swim with dolphins, then by all means do it on your honeymoon. Just realize that the way to pay for it may be by flying coach in the firs place.

Here are Eisenberg's thoughts on some commonly pushed perks:

SKIP THE BREAKFAST BUFFET
“$32 per person for a pancake and a piece of bacon,” is one reason Eisenberg, says to avoid your hotel's breakfast buffet. “It’s really one of the least authentic things you can do.” Instead, find out where the locals go for breakfast. (That’s the point of travel, silly.)

AVOID THE HONEYMOON SUITE
A flute of champagne, a Jacuzzi for two, and chocolates on the pillow may seem like honeymoon necessities, but the swankest suite in the hotel will blow your budget. You can still stay in a fancy hotel but a less-fancy room can suffice. “It’s better to be in a less expensive room at a nicer hotel,” says Eisenberg. A fancy-pants place will have better customer service and a better pool, she says.