The world's longest honeymoon: This couple's epic adventure covered six continents, 33 countries and 302 places in 675 days (and yes, they are still together)
By Angelica Malin and Toni Jones 17:38 02 Jun 2014, updated 08:12 03 Jun 2014
- Trip included 41 safaris, 39 scuba dives and 110 hikes
- Couple pooled savings and budgeted £25 per person per day for their travels
- Favourite place was Myanmar (formerly Burma)
- Average length of a honeymoon is eight days
While most newlyweds dream of falling into a hammock and doing precisely nothing immediately after their 'Big Day' one young American couple decided that a regular honeymoon just wasn't romantic enough for them.
Instead Mike and Anne Howard decided to pool their savings, quit their jobs and embark upon an epic adventure that turned into the world's longest honeymoon.
Covering six continents, 33 countries and 302 places in 675 days the holiday of a lifetime included 57,397 overland miles, 226,152 photographs, 110 hikes, 105 buses, 46 jars of peanut butter, 41 safaris and 39 scuba dives.
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Mike said: 'We met a couple of friends who were talking about doing a round-the-world trip, and we spoke to another person who had just completed one. So we thought, we could take this nest egg and buy a house or a car, or we can do something that most people wait to do until they're retired.
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'Why not do this in our late twenties and early thirties, and we'll have these amazing memories rest of our lives? '
And in true modern traveller style, the media-savvy New Yorkers blogged their every movement to their 7,000 online fans.
Using Anne’s background as a magazine editor and Mike’s as a media strategist and photographer the couple launched the HoneyTrek.com/TripCoach blog to share the experience with friends and family.
Starting in South America, they moved through Africa, Asia and Europe, sharing snaps and updates with their followers on social media as they went.
Their travel philosophy was to go to places too far to visit while they have jobs and too rugged to tackle when they are old.
Their favourite place was Myanmar (formerly Burma) for the friendly people and fascinating blend of styles and cultures.
Mike also fell in love with Entre Cielos in Mendoza, Argentina. He said: 'Only one or two people before us had stayed in the property. They built a loft above an actual vineyard, and brought in a German treehouse architect. To get to the room, you go through the vines, off this ladder, and into this vineyard loft. There was a big Jacuzzi tub out on the porch. It was really great drinking wine there, having a vineyard loft experience.'
The couple say there are too many memories to list them all, but also highlighted having a cheetah jump on top of their open-roof safari vehicle in the Maasai Mara in Kenya, wreck diving the WWII ships in Coron, Philippines and watching the Northern Lights from the Arctic Circle in Norway as highlights of their immense trip.
And, maybe surprisingly for some married couples out there, they both say that the trip has made their relationship stronger. In an interview during the trip with CNTraveler.com Anne said: 'People were like, "You must really like your husband. I don't think I could spend that much time with mine." It made me, think, "Yeah, I do really love him. I think it's going to be okay, right?"
'You start to bond on a level that is not possible on a regular schedule. Your brain starts to fuse and you can sense each other's needs or humor or reactions. We play off of each other really well.'
Mike added: 'We've just become even better husband and wife than when we started. It's so amazing to have someone to share those experiences with, and the next day laugh about the scary thing that happened and become stronger for it.'
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