After 5 months of being married, Thanh and I finally started counting down the days until our honeymoon. I had been planning our trip for months -- carefully crunching the numbers and doing a lot of research. As cliche as it is to say, it was an unforgettable trip. What made it even better was how little we spent for the amount of things we did in 12 days. 

The view from Punta Sur on Isla Mujeres, Mexico

We were in Costa Rica for 6 days and in Mexico for 5 days (the first day was spent traveling since we had an evening flight and arrived in Costa Rica at 9PM). We did so much during those 12 days, and even got to check a few things off our bucketlist! We went ziplining over the rainforest, hiked a volcano, enjoyed some naturally heated hot springs, walked along the shores of a gray sand beach on the pacific coast, trekked through and swam in the ocean at Manuel Antonio, saw a ton of animals in their natural habitat, swam in the Caribbean ocean, toured Tulum, climbed the Coba temple, and much more!

Tulum tour. Make sure you bring sunscreen!

In total, we spent $3,309.75. While the number can look daunting, divided by 12 days and between the two of us, each of us only spent roughly $140/day leisurely on boarding and food! Meaning we ate and drank what we wanted, went anywhere we wanted at anytime we wanted. According to bankrate, the average couple spends $5,111 on their honeymoon trip. Now our numbers don't seem so bad, eh? Here's how we did it.

The view from one of our hotels in Costa Rica

Unfortunately, being on a budget means that you most likely won't be able to go to your dream honeymoon destination. Let's be real, if we had the luxury to spend as much as we wanted, I would have picked the Maldives or the south pacific islands as our destination. So I did some research for the best places to go in February, our month of choice. If you plan on going right after you wedding, I suggest for you to do your research months in advance. Not only does this allow you to see which destinations will have good weather for your trip, it'll also give you options for things to do. From there, you just filter your options based on what you want to do and how much you want to spend on your honeymoon. The more research you are able to do, the better the deals you will find and the more you'll know what to expect when you arrive. I really like reading articles written by travel bloggers such as Nomadic Matt, he gives comprehensive details on plenty of destinations regarding price of hotels/boarding, value of food, how much you should expect to spend per day, transportation, and ideas for things to do.

Stopped for a photo with a view looking into Jaco Beach

On a whim, I randomly decided to browse on Groupon and that's when I hit the jackpot! There was a getaway deal for a 6 day Costa Rican tour for 2 people for $999. Now, I had never bought a Groupon travel deal before, but have friends who did and loved it. So I took a pretty big risk with the purchase, especially since it was our honeymoon. Before purchasing, I also browsed plane tickets and did some research on Costa Rica -- in regards to how safe it is, the cost of living, how much we should estimate to spend, etc. Since the Groupon deal included hotel, transportation, breakfast, and one dinner, we only needed to budget for lunch, the remaining dinners, and souvenirs. We had the best time and were very pleased with the services of the tour company -- they were always on time, organized in their planning, and were there to help if there were any mistakes in your itinerary. The tour we bought through Groupon was from Ecoterra. I highly recommend them if you're looking into tours in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica is so beautiful

At first, I wasn't planning on going to two countries, but then I realized how close we were to Cancun (I've always wanted to go since I hear so many good things about it). So I looked up how much it would cost to fly from Costa Rica to Cancun, and a one way ticket was about $110pp. Um, booked. So our flights were all one way. (US>Costa Rica>Cancun>US). However, since I didn't book any tours for Cancun, I had to plan that portion of the trip. Planning for Cancun took the longest because I had to do a lot of research on how to get around and which locations were the best. In the end, our one way flights ended up being about the same as how much it would have cost us for a roundtrip ticket to Costa Rica, with the benefit of adding on a whole other country! My favorite sites to use for the cheapest flight is Momondo compared with Google Flights and Skyscanner!

Punta Sur, Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Transportation in Costa Rica was a breeze for us since it was included in the tour, but we had a lot of trouble in Mexico. Uber used to be available, but due to some gang violence with the taxi industry, they were banned by the time we arrived. It made it extremely difficult for us to get around and pretty much forced us to get taxis everywhere we went. Having some cash set aside for situations like this is very useful, but not economical, especially since every ride cost us ~$10, no matter how close or far we went. So to save some money, we used local transportation whenever possible. We bought bus tickets to travel between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. It was cheap, fast, had A/C, comfortable reclining seats, and clean restrooms, 10/10 would recommend this method of travel! As for Costa Rica, I suggest for you to NOT drive -- there wasn't any street signs or clear directions to go anywhere. Most people there just knew their way around by heart, and even if you stopped a stranger to ask for directions, it would sound something like "turn left when you see a mango tree and slightly right when you see the yellow house". As our driver said, if people were to cut down that mango tree or repaint the house, you're pretty much doomed. Mexico was more developed, so I wouldn't expect to have too much trouble driving around there. But using the local transportation will save you a lot of money in the long run.

The cliffs on the eastern side of Punta Sur

Contrary to what most people believe, Central America was not cheap. The standard of living was very similar to the US, except margaritas which were about 40% cheaper than US prices (~$4 USD). Other than that, do expect everything to pretty much be the same price as they are in the US. To save money on food, it's best to order the traditional dish. Everywhere we went in Costa Rica, no matter how upscale or casual the restaurant was, Casado was repeatedly on the menu for a budget price. Casado contained an assortment of things: rice, black beans, salad, plantains, a protein (usually fish), and sometimes a fried egg. The plates are huge and will only cost you about $3-5. I ordered Casado at almost every restaurant just so I can compare the flavor and found myself being so full, I even skipped dinner on some days. And if you're lucky enough to be in a place where Yelp! exists, take full advantage of it to find the best local eats. You know you're in the right spot when the waiters don't speak English and nothing on the menu is written in English. Hopefully there are pictures to give you an idea of what you're ordering, but for the adventurous foodies, like myself, just let your waiters pick for you! I had one of the best beef arrachera in Playa del Carmen simply because I asked the waiter to pick his favorite dish for me.

Too many magaritas and pina coladas to count

My best money saving tip is to not be afraid and to push yourself out of your comfort zone. It was a blessing to stay at hotels that didn't feed us continental breakfasts every morning. You get to immerse yourself in the culture and really get to know the locals and how they live. When you eat like them, travel like them, and live like them, you'll pay what they pay -- which is usually a lot less than those upscale resorts geared for tourists. But if you like that luxury lifestyle (because who doesn't), you'll just have to be okay with spending more. Whatever your situation is, try to be logical with your spending, but don't forget to enjoy the beautiful country that you're in.