Honeymoon Travels

He’s only 27, but a die-hard romantic who doesn’t mind being called a cupid or match maker. Bengaluru-boy, Chetan Yallapurkar, founder and CEO, Honeymoon Havens came up with this inventive venture, a honeymoon planning portal, when he found a few of his friends getting married and were running helter skelter. He didn’t want the couples to go on a typical holiday for a honeymoon.

Chetan who has completed a degree in mechanical engineering from MS Ramaiah College of Engineering and is also an alumni of IIM Lucknow, confesses, “I see life as colourful and happiness is linked to love. Even though I was an engineering student, and didn’t have clarity on what I wanted to do then, I always knew I wanted to do something different. I had that entrepreneurial bug in me. Luckily I was part of the entrepreneurs cell, where a group of passionate youngsters would meet and engage in innovative ideas.”

He adds, “I also had the travel bug in me, so after working for three years with Yatra.com and makemytrip.com I decided it was time to do something on my own. A book that truly inspired me was Incredible India, Branding India by Amitabh Kant and the moment I read that I just knew I had to take the plunge. Honeymoon Havens is for the newly weds, soon to be wed and the already married looking for an adventure of a lifetime. They just have to tell us what they like and leave the rest to us.”

What excites Chetan now are the smiles he brings to the couples who have taken a beachside trip complete with a glass of champagne, or tried something off the beaten track. “We recently planned a couple’s honeymoon to Thailand, where they loved the attention to detail and exclusivity they got on their romantic getaway.” Being a globe-trotter himself, his love for travel helped him bring together romantic and intoxicating experiences with a touch of luxury. It’s true that marriages are made in heaven, but honeymoons can be planned with a picturesque setting; like a fairytale. “Be it the serene lands of Mauritius or the historic architecture of Greece, or the heavenly Maldives or Australia, we plan it with details down to the wine and the supper,” he adds.

The friendly, adventure junkie, quips, “My friends sometimes call me a romantic entrepreneur or even romeo.”