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The ultimate guide to honeymoon road-tripping

May 20, 2026 No Comments

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of freedom that comes with the open road – and there’s no better person to share it with than your new spouse. Just married, chasing adventure with good music, scenic stops, and uninterrupted conversation? That’s honeymoon magic.

If you’re planning a honeymoon road trip, here are a few things to keep in mind before you hit the highway.

Avoid Breakdowns and Breakouts

Before you embark on your journey, make sure your car is properly serviced – especially the filters, fluid levels, brakes, tyres, belts, oil, and water. Check that your tyre pressure is correct and inspect your wiper blades, indicators, brake lights, and headlights.

If you’re travelling through different climates or remote areas, ensure your vehicle is prepared for changing weather conditions. And if you’re road-tripping during a South African summer, don’t forget to check the air conditioner – nothing kills romance faster than being stuck in traffic in unbearable heat.

It’s also worth downloading offline maps ahead of time in case signal drops along your route.

Clean Up, Stock Up

There’s no better way to begin your honeymoon than in a freshly cleaned car. Turn the pre-trip prep into part of the fun with a quick car wash date before departure.

Stock up on snacks, padkos, and plenty of water – buying from grocery stores beforehand is usually far cheaper than relying on petrol station convenience stops. Pack blankets and pillows for extra comfort, especially if one of you wants to nap between destinations.

Finally, don’t skip the emergency kit. Include essentials like:

A flashlight and extra batteries
Jumper cables
A first aid kit
Spare tyre and tyre repair kit
Portable phone charger or power bank
Emergency contact numbers
Being over-prepared is always better than being stranded.

If You’re Renting

If you’re renting a car, companies like Hertz, Avis, Budget, and Thrifty offer a variety of vehicle options and pickup locations.

Look out for package deals that combine flights, accommodation, and car rental – they can save you a significant amount on honeymoon costs.

If you’re renting abroad, check whether your destination requires an International Driving Permit (IDP). It’s also important to note that manual transmission vehicles are still standard in many countries. If you’re used to driving automatic, reserve one well in advance, as availability can be limited and rates are often higher.

And yes – screenshot or print your booking confirmation. Airport Wi-Fi has a habit of failing exactly when you need it most.

Are We There Yet?

Planning the time spent in the car together can be just as important as planning the destinations themselves. A long drive can either become part of the adventure – or feel very, very long.

Prepare some entertainment ahead of time to keep the energy fun and relaxed. Think curated playlists, nostalgic singalongs, podcasts, audiobooks, or even a few classic road-trip games.

Here are a few ideas to make the journey more memorable:

Car games

They’re not just for kids. Classics like I Spy or the licence plate game are surprisingly entertaining when the kilometres start blending.

Story time

Take turns reading aloud from a book, sharing funny memories, or even telling each other stories you’ve never heard before.

Create an on-the-road scrapbook

Snap photos of quirky roadside stops, beautiful scenery, and funny moments along the way. The blurry selfies and petrol station coffee runs often become the best memories later.

Tunes for the trail

A good playlist can completely shape the mood of a road trip. Create one together before you leave, blending both your favourites with songs that feel like the start of a new chapter.

The journey is the honeymoon

A honeymoon road trip isn’t about rushing from one destination to the next – it’s about the moments in between. The unexpected stops, terrible padkos combinations, inside jokes, scenic detours, and quiet conversations are often the memories that last the longest.

So, leave a little room for spontaneity, keep your itinerary flexible, and enjoy the ride together. After all, the best love stories rarely stick perfectly to the route.

ALSO SEE: How to pick your honeymoon destination

How to pick your honeymoon destination

Feature image: Pinterest

In Advice

Keep your hair healthy on your summer honeymoon

December 2, 2025 No Comments

Summer honeymoons are all about salt-sprayed skin, sun-drenched days, and endless swims, but they can also be the season your hair fears most. Between ocean dips, pool lounging, and hours under the sun, your strands face a triple threat. The result? Dryness, breakage, dull colour, and that unmistakable “summer stiffness.”

The good news? With the right rituals, you can enjoy every romantic, sun-kissed moment without sacrificing your hair’s health. Here’s your ultimate honeymoon guide to keeping your hair protected from summer’s harshest elements.

The sea: Salt water 101

Salt water naturally dehydrates the hair, lifting the cuticle and leaving strands rough and brittle. Great for effortless beachy honeymoon waves — not so great for long-term hair health.

How to protect your hair from the ocean

Pre-hydrate before your swim
Think of it like a primer. Wet your hair thoroughly with clean water before diving into the sea. Saturated hair absorbs less salt.

Use a leave-in conditioner or hair oil
A nourishing leave-in creates a protective barrier, sealing in moisture and guarding against dryness. Coconut oil, argan oil, or a silicone-free serum works beautifully for beach days.

Post-swim rinse ASAP
If a shower isn’t nearby, even a quick water-bottle rinse removes salt before it crystallises on your strands.

Pool water: The chlorine culprit

Chlorine is notorious for stripping hair of natural oils and binding to proteins in the strands. The result? Faded colour, a rough texture, and for blondes — the dreaded hint of green. Not ideal for honeymoon photos.

How to protect your hair from chlorine

Wet your hair before swimming (yes, again)
Freshly-wet hair absorbs far less chlorine.

Coat your hair with conditioner
A lightweight, silicone-free conditioner forms a barrier that keeps chlorine from penetrating deeply.

Wear a swim cap for long pool sessions
Not the most glamorous accessory, but extremely effective — especially if your honeymoon includes lots of pool time or if your hair is bleached or processed.

Use a clarifying shampoo once a week
This removes chlorine buildup without stripping your hair daily.

The sun: Your hair’s UV enemy

Just like your skin, your hair suffers from sun exposure. UV rays weaken the protein structure, fade colour, and dry out the cuticle — especially on the hairline and top layers most exposed during sunny excursions.

How to protect your hair from sun damage

SPF for your hair is a thing — use it
UV-protectant sprays shield your strands from protein breakdown and colour fade. Reapply like sunscreen when spending the whole day outdoors.

Wear a hat or scarf
Chic, romantic, and extremely effective. Bonus: it protects your scalp, too.

Avoid the midday sun
UV intensity peaks around midday, making hair more vulnerable to damage — the perfect excuse for a siesta or shaded lunch date.

Deep-condition weekly
Sunlight pulls moisture from your strands. A weekly mask restores softness and keeps hair flexible and healthy-looking.

Your ultimate summer honeymoon hair routine

For dreamy, healthy hair from check-in to checkout:

• Before swim: Wet hair, apply leave-in conditioner or oil, braid for protection.
• After swim: Rinse, apply moisturising spray, air-dry when possible.
• Daily protection: UV-protectant spray and hats during peak sun.
• Weekly care: Deep-conditioning mask, plus clarifying shampoo once a week if swimming often.

A summer honeymoon doesn’t have to mean straw-like strands or faded colour. With a little preparation and a few mindful habits, your hair can stay glossy, soft, and healthy — letting you enjoy every golden hour, every dip in the sea, and every sunlit memory to the fullest.

ALSO SEE: Beyond the Beach: Unusual Honeymoon Ideas for South African Couples in 2025

Beyond the Beach: Unusual Honeymoon Ideas for South African Couples in 2025

Written by Amy Steenkmap for Woman&Home.

Feature image: Pexels

In Accessories

5 Things you need in your honeymoon beauty survival kit

November 20, 2020 No Comments

Your honeymoon is supposed to be stress-free, glowing and romantic. Make sure you’re prepped and ready for anything with these 5 beauty essentials.

1. Sunscreen

Rain or shine, sun or snow, sunscreen is one thing you cannot leave at home. From the very beginning of your getaway, from being in a car or on an airplane, you have to make sure your skin is properly protected, especially because the environment might be different to what you know.

A broad spectrum sunscreen with a high SPF, pollution filters and blue light filters will ensure you’re well protected in any season and in any environment. If you’re worried about the coral reefs, reach for a mineral sunscreen (containing zinc oxide instead of oxybenzone), but if you’re heading to the slopes, a chemical one will last longer and won’t make you look chalky.

2. Fragrance

Take something with you other than your wedding day fragrance, as this will ensure you capture a honeymoon scent memory as well. Sometimes it’s nice to try something different, but pick something that still falls within the fragrance family you know and love to avoid disappointment. Even better, pick something that you and your partner can both use, so that a whiff of it years later will instantly transport you back.

3. Hair care

Honeymoon hair means it needs as much of a break, and down time, as you’ll be having. After the stress of wedding planning and the damage your hair might have undergone on the day itself, you’ll want to make sure you’re giving your hair an extra bit of love. Try to make use of as little as possible heat to dry and style your hair, and rather focus on repairing damage and allowing it to have a bit of a breather.

Maybe you need some help to instantly repair your hair and bring it back to its renewed, elastic shape – then the Wella Fusion range is for you! Packed with reparative ingredients to help strengthen hair and prevent further breakage, it works great on all hair types, but especially colour treated and heat damaged hair.

On the other hand, a more natural approach would include the Elements range, which is free of sulphates, parabens and artificial colourants. It’s ideal for those looking for something a little lighter, while still packing a punch when it comes to regenerative and moisturising power.

Get your hands on an Elements or Fusion Festive Pack HERE or visit your nearest Wella Professionals salon.

4. Multi-purpose make-up

When space is sparse you need to only pack what you absolutely need. Go for creamy lipsticks that you can use on your lips and your cheeks, bronzing palettes that can easily translate as eyeshadow, stick foundations than can either be used as concealer or built up to achieve more coverage, and of course, a waterproof mascara to perk up your peepers that’s happy tears, rain and swim safe.

5. A good make-up remover

Nothing is more frustrating than being away from home and not being able to remove your make-up properly. Test and trial a make-up remover, preferably something like a micellar water which is more gentle on the eyes, to be sure all remnants can be removed. A brilliant way to test if a make-up remover is honeymoon-worthy is to try one on the night of your wedding when make-up has been applied heavier than usual.

Picture/s: Unsplash

In Advice

3 Easy Hairstyles to Master for Your Honeymoon

August 26, 2020 No Comments

Come wedding day, your hair is in top shape, in fact it’s never looked this good. But what comes after? You don’t want things to go south straight after the ceremony. With a few pro tips and three versatile styling products you can keep that wedding feeling going for longer than just the “I do’s.”

First Step: Repair

Take care of any damage to the hair from heat and wedding hair styling by treating it with a DIY hair treatment using Wella’s Invigo Nutri-Enrich Deep Nourishing Mask. The trick here is to not immediately rinse off, take the time to let the product soak in and allow the deeply nourishing formula time to repair stressed hair, this will take about 5-10 minutes.

Style 1: Romantic Braid

A style that works for pool-side lounging, and can also easily go from day to night, by adding a hair accessory. Even if your hair is clean, spray Wella EIMI Dry Me into the roots, a dry shampoo is a good volumizing product and for this look you want to create height at the roots so that the braid doesn’t drag you down. Leave two front sections one either side loose and sweep the rest of your hair to the side.

Divide this ponytail into three sections and braid, secure the ends with a tie. With the two front sections, lightly tease with your fingers and a brush, working against the hair, twist them away from the face and tuck them into the braid, securing with a hair pin.

Style 2: Breezy Beach Waves

3 Easy Hairstyles to Master for Your Honeymoon — Credit: Unsplash

This is the perfect follow on style from the romantic braid. The braid when undone, gives hair beachy texture to work from. Add to this texture with a Spritz of Wella EIMI Ocean Spritz (with a salt spray a little goes a long way, you want workable hold, not too much grit, so go easy).

Tong random sections of hair that need a bit more curl, about 5cm sections, then using your fingers, gently break up the curls so that you blend the tonged hair into the beachy texture. Avoid brushing at all costs as this will create frizz.

Style 3: Up ‘til All Hours

This style is one to keep for an evening when you don’t have time to wash your hair, in fact it’s easier to do on day-old hair. Make a middle parting at the front, and then using your thumbs roughly section hair in half from ear to ear, lift the top section and spray with Wella EIMI Flexible Finish hair spray, gently back comb the roots with a brush to create volume and lift.

Using your fingers, scrape both top and bottom sections together and into a low pony at the nape of your neck. Twist this section into a loose bun and secure with pins on each side of the bun, this shouldn’t be tight so that you have space to loosen it. Next, gently wiggle a few pieces of hair free at the front and massage the roots with your fingers to loosen the texture. The beauty of this style is in the imperfection, so messy is good. Once you are happy with your up-style, finish with hair spray to keep in place.

Written by Jade Leggat-Smith

Feature image: Unsplash

In Accessories

How to: 3 Easy bridal looks with RED DOT Cosmetics

January 30, 2020 No Comments

Whether you’re a super low-maintenance gal or simply want to cut costs by doing your own bridal make-up on your wedding day, these three easy-to-create looks using RED DOT Cosmetics will ensure you don’t go barefaced.

Watch the full video below then scroll down for the full list of products we’ve used. Bonus: Enter our competition to win a RED DOT Cosmetics product hamper worth R675 here.

Makeup products used in the video above:

Look 1

Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 11 Dark Brown
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 10 Twisted Brown
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 09 Nougat
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 02 Beige
Cosmetics Catchy Eyes Mascara
Cosmetics Velvet Touch Lipstick in 009 Matt Sweetness

Look 2

Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 10 Twisted Brown
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 11 Dark Brown
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 12 Dark Grey
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 05 Grey
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 06 Plum
Cosmetics Catchy Eyes Mascara
Cosmetics Velvet Touch Lipstick in 159 Boheme

Look 3

Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 02 Beige
Cosmetics Forever Eyeshadow in 11 Dark Brown
Cosmetics Giant Pro Liner
Cosmetics Catchy Eyes Mascara

In Beauty

How to: Bridal makeup with Red Dot Cosmetics Online

January 13, 2020 No Comments

We’ve shown you how to achieve a flawless natural look and how to make sure your brows are on point. Now, amp up your bridal look with a sophisticated flick of liner. Red Dot Cosmetics South Africa’s National Education Manager and National Brow Artist puts together a swoon-worthy look that’s perfect for your walk down the aisle.