Tips for Planning a Babymoon (What You Should Know)

I considered that my and Dan’s babymoon would be the last time we’d get to take a trip just by ourselves, and this was the truth!

After taking our babymoon (see where we went, below!), we have lots of tips that helped make it successful and easy! Here are some tips I’ve thought up, for taking a perfect babymoon trip before the baby comes.

What is a babymoon?

A babymoon is a vacation (whether long or short) that a couple or expecting parent takes, before the arrival of a new baby. What’s interesting about babymoons is that they “became a thing” more recently in the last few decades, with a cute name for this pre-baby trip that resembles a “honeymoon.” Our babymoon is a sweet memory for us as the last time we really traveled before the baby!

Babymoon tips

I have so many tips to share with you from our babymoon! Keep this list of helpful ideas in mind when you’re doing planning your last bit of travel before a little one comes into your life.

Plan a babymoon during the second trimester

During the second trimester, most pregnant women feel pretty “great.” My second trimester fell almost perfectly in line with the June-August summer months, and we chose to go right on the cusp of Labor Day and September in order to beat the heat.

Regarding feeling “good” during the second half of the second trimester, my rib pain and back pain started to kick in during our trip! Luckily we had a really comfy bed at Hotel on North, where we stayed. Had we gone a week later, I may have been a bit more uncomfortable.

Choose a location that’s not too far

Originally, we wanted to take our babymoon to Portugal, which is one of our favorite places. Ultimately, I got a little overwhelmed with wanting to beat the summer travel rush. I also got stressed while thinking about flying to Europe at the end of my second trimester and beginning of my third. So, we opted for a New England road trip for a babymoon closer to home.

We can always go to Portugal with our little one in the future, as it’s a family friendly place to travel! For more ideas on babymoon cities and getaways, I summed up all my research in this list of the best babymoon destinations.

Bring along pregnancy products for comfort

A few things I brought for comfort were a belly support band and compression socks for the car.

I recommend more products in my flight essentials during pregnancy list, as there are quite a few must-haves that’ve kept me comfy and sane!

Expect that there will be some change in plans

Always remember that pregnancy is a health condition, and that due to unexpected pains, aches and fatigue, plans can change. Go with the flow.

For us, a change in plans had to do with weather, and this would have affected any old trip! The day we got to Waterbury, Vermont, it just wouldn’t stop raining. We had plans to visit a brewery with views of the mountains, and a small hike for sunset, and instead we watched HGTV in our hotel room until we drove off in the rain for a pizza dinner in Stowe.

Find a way to see friends & family along the way

During our babymoon road trip, we got to see some family and two different friends. It was very nice to visit them before our baby came, and we recommend it! They got to see us before we become parents, offer family tips and pamper us with food!

A babymoon is also a great opportunity to get back in touch with friends or old contacts who live in the place where you’ll be traveling. Being pregnant is a sweet time to see anyone with whom you have fallen out of touch and can reconnect with.

Focus on food if you like!

There is nothing wrong with a culinary or gastronomic babymoon; in fact, this is a great way to see the country or the world. Pregnancy is a great time to enjoy a lot of guilt-free dining.

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Avoid planning any activities that may be strenuous

I got very lucky during our babymoon that I felt great; however, the week we got back, I almost fainted at a friend’s house at 27 weeks pregnant.

Keep your health in mind during a babymoon and err on the side of caution.

Stay away from extreme heat, extreme cold, extreme sports or extreme time away from your hotel or an area where you can rest, if needed. Always keep your doctor’s after-hours phone number handy, as well as the password for getting into your obstetrician’s health portal online. (I keep my password securely in 1Password, so that Dan can access it, too.)

Eat anything you want!

The great thing about traveling while pregnant is you probably have a great appetite, and eating at restaurants is very exciting! For me, toward my third trimester, I tended to get full very fast because the baby was pressing on my stomach. I would eat half my meals, and bring back the rest to the hotel mini-fridge, to enjoy again later as a nighttime snack!

Appreciate your partner’s support

If your partner offers to drive, or suggests it’s time to rest, accept the support. Being pregnant is a special time, and it may be your first pregnancy so everything is a “first.” Sometimes your partner may notice things that you don’t notice, such as if you’re acting more fatigued than usual.

Have a plan for needing to contact your doctor/OB

We traveled to Mexico City earlier in my pregnancy (it wasn’t our “official” babymoon because I hadn’t shared my news yet!) and I got pretty sick. I wound up needing to call my obstetrician’s emergency hotline twice, and luckily had a way of dialing out to the US from Mexico using AT&T cell service, for free.

Luckily, I had been following most tips for how to avoid getting sick while traveling.

While pregnant, you never know if you will need to be in touch with your doctor, whether it’s sensing something’s not right, or having a bigger pregnancy-related health scare.

In a way that’s best for you, figure out how you will do the following, while traveling:

• How you’ll reach your doctor in at least two ways (phone, online portal or other)
• How you’ll provide a backup set of contact info for the doctor, to share with your partner in case of an emergency
• How you’ll seek local health care, if needed, whether by researching a few health clinics beforehand, or receiving a referral from a friend.

Plan for short drives, stops and stretches

With pregnancy, it is common to need to use a restroom often. Plan to be patient about this during flights, airport time or car rides.

When planning our babymoon road trip route, I calculated the estimated time of driving between two places, and then added an hour for bathroom stops, snacks and gas stations. If you are flying, don’t be shy about asking others to let you use the plane’s restroom first! If you are very visibly pregnant, most people will have no problem letting you cut the line.

How to plan a babymoon

The best way to plan a babymoon is to keep timing, as well as health, in mind. First, let’s talk about timing, as it will likely affect your trip, and if timed wrong, you could sour your babymoon experience.

When to go on a babymoon

The best time to take a babymoon trip is during your second trimester, or weeks 13-27 of pregnancy. This is because your belly is not yet too big, and your symptoms from the first trimester have subsided. Also, you have not yet experienced the fatigue and back or rib pain that might come with the third trimester.

Could you take a babymoon after 28 weeks?

You could take a babymoon at 28 weeks or after 28 weeks if you wanted to. This is because every woman is different and feels different during pregnancy. Once you get toward the third trimester, you’ll really understand (like I did) what it means to have an “easy pregnancy” versus a “difficult pregnancy.” Many friends tried to convince me not to plan a babymoon for after 28 weeks, in case I was dealing with complications or soreness.

My friend Danielle, an avid world-traveler, took a babymoon to Tahiti from her home in Los Angeles at 34 weeks pregnant! Is this for everyone? Probably not, but she loved it and felt great! What a relief.

I actually did take a flight (see how it went, in my guide to how to take a business trip while pregnant!) for a one-day work trip at 32 weeks pregnant. I had asked my doctor about flying domestically while pregnant, and she said flying was fine before 36 weeks and up to my preference.

Given that I know a couple of women who’ve given birth early at 34 weeks, I chose to not fly past 32 weeks for neither my babymoon nor for business, for peace of mind.

The best type of weather for a babymoon (and time of year)

You will also want to take into account the time of year and weather when planning a babymoon vacation. For example, if your entire second trimester falls during summer like mine did, you will want to choose a cooler destination to head to during the height of the heat, like Canada, high-altitude regions of the US like Colorado, or the Pacific Northwest, which tends to get days that are not painstakingly hot.

If your second trimester falls during winter, it’s a great time to head to the Caribbean, to a country like the Dominican Republic or coastal parts of Mexico. You will probably want to escape to a warm destination during winter by then (unless you live in already-warm Florida or California). Planning in advance gives you and your partner lots to look forward to!

I would suggest still doing your research in terms of average annual climates and temperatures for any destination in the Caribbean or the tropics. For example, when we arrived in Merida, Mexico in late December, it was 97 degrees F. This was incredibly hot, and would’ve been too hot for me if I had been pregnant at that time! (Check out more at our list of the best places to take your babymoon!)

How long should you go away for your babymoon?

A nice amount of time for a babymoon trip is between a long weekend (three days) and a week, or ten days. It depends how far you’re traveling, and how far your budget can get you!

We originally planned to go to Lisbon, Portugal for over a week, as mentioned. That didn’t work out, as our first choice of a babymoon destination, so we planned a seven-day trip to New Hampshire, Vermont and the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

Going away for a week was perfect! It’s just enough time to become tired toward the end of the trip and get excited about going back home to your bed and all the things in your kitchen. Plus, you probably have a lot of baby prep to do, like nesting!

How much to spend on your babymoon

There are two ways to look at this question. Keep in mind that you’re asking us, two people who have chosen to live in NYC on a modest budget!

While it’s tempting to spend a big budget and go all-out for a babymoon, some couples prefer to use a smaller budget and go basic. We chose to take the route of spending comfortably, while saving a little bit of money during traveling. We stayed at moderate hotels, looked for deals on gas along the highway, ate at casual restaurants and opted for free attractions like state parks and city walks. We had a blast.

On the other hand, some couples consider the babymoon to be the “last hurrah” adventure that they can have together as a couple without a baby on a vacation. Many couples like to save up for a babymoon and blow several hundred or thousands of dollars on resorts, massages, lavish dinners and private excursions to make the babymoon memorable for a lifetime. They also might hire a photographer to do a babymoon or maternity photo shoot. There’s no wrong way to take a babymoon!

Choose a babymoon trip that’ll make you happy

A tip worth mentioning is to avoid comparing your babymoon to your friends’ or family members’ babymoon trips. A babymoon should be the type of travel that reflects you, and makes you happy.

Your friends might opt for babymoons on luxurious islands or in mountain resorts because their favorite activities are sitting by the ocean or the pool. In our case, what makes us happy is exploring new cities and towns, taking photos (taking maternity photos!) and being ourselves, while filling up our days with memories. We did exactly that, and we look back on the beautiful photos with bliss!

Where to go on your babymoon

I have an entire list of ideas for where to go on your babymoon! (Spoiler alert: as we’re based in the NYC metro area, we tend to like somewhere within two to three hours by flight or one to five hours by car!) We hope you enjoy our guide to interesting and fun babymoon destinations.