honeymoon/holiday locations

[RepSpec]

well i decided it was time to propose to the girlfriend and she said yes! Now we are thinking about somewhere to go for our honeymoon.
it will be about 7-14 days.

open to suggestions. cruises are out as the mrs gets sea sick and after talking with people who have gone on them, they wouldnt again due to various reasons.

everyone says Bali or Thailand but im after places similar and peoples opinions.

budget of 5-10k, but happy to keep it under

[TATT2]

New Zealand

[BadMax]

If you want to go get **** faced with a bunch of bogans just like at the local, Bali is probably your choice, you could stay at the quieter side though.
Phuket is nice, not as rowdy as Bali.

I've been told that Malaysia is nice. Vietnam is also meant to be real nice.

Sub 10k, there is many options and Asia is pretty cheap.

Love it how you propose and go straight to honey moon...Dude, you're in for a whole heap more before that!

[Kieron]

Patong in Phuket is rowdier than Bali's Kuta/Legian area.
Stay outside of the rowdy areas on either island and you will be fine

Malaysia - KL for a few days shopping then Penang or Langkawi for the relaxed island experience, neither have the rowdy crowd. Penang probably the better of the two, stay at Batu Feringgi. Big thing in Malaysia is to try local foods - fantastic, in Penang, eat at Gurney Drive evening market, KL city area, stay in Bukit Bintang area, eat at Jalan Alor.

Vietnam is a great place - HoChiMin, crazy city so may not be the best for a honeymoon, Hanoi (stay in the old quarter) is nicer and you can take a cruise in the World Heritage Halong Bay, nice beaches in DaNang (China Beach) with huge resorts, visit ancient town's Hue, Hoi An, magic scenery around this area, despite it seeing massive destruction during the war.

Thailand also has Koh Sumai and Pattaya, havn't been to either but Pattaya I believe is similar to Phuket with Koh Samui being quieter. You could also look at incorporating Bangkok and/or KL into these places if your able to fly with Air Asia.

[GhiaEB]

[QUOTE=Kieron] Vietnam is a great place - HoChiMin, crazy city so may not be the best for a honeymoon, Hanoi (stay in the old quarter) is nicer and you can take a cruise in the World Heritage Halong Bay, nice beaches in DaNang (China Beach) with huge resorts, visit ancient town's Hue, Hoi An, magic scenery around this area, despite it seeing massive destruction during the war.
QUOTE]

We are going to Hanoi for our honeymoon in September. Well at least thats the plan. we will be going for 14days.

Cheers

[Yellow_Festiva]

What you into regarding what you guys want to actually do???

You want to be around people or have privacy? You want 5 star all inclusive or middle range - perhaps more like a flash holiday??

You want to do touristy things or just practice making babies??

Anyway... I have been to Maldives (as a back-packer - go figure lol), Vietnam, Samoa, Thailand, NZ, Tahiti, Fiji and each has its pro's and cons.

My honeymoon was at the Hilton on Bora Bora (Tahiti) in an over-water Bungalo... 10k does not last long there!

Vietnam is great. 2 weeks will allow you to go from one end to the other stopping along the way for a few nights... they are well set up for honeymooners as well.

Just got back from Samoa a few weeks ago. Great place to just relax and do NOTHING. We didn't venture to the resort areas, but I hear they are great. Not many tourists there as well, and prices are good - much better than Fiji and the locals are not in your face all the time.

Thailand, didn't go to the Islands but my brother and his mates go there to stay at the resorts, get blotto on the dodgy booze and run amuk.. wouldn't be putting that high on the list personally!

My advice... do a lot of research! 5K will get you a budget holiday, 10K will open the doors to many more options. There are also some good honeymoon packages to be found.... Ie, deals that include brecky and dinner and transfers if you are visiting an island.

Cheers,

Jason

[casabonka]

We stayed at the Sofitel at denaru island, Fiji for 5 days, very relaxing, luxurious as well as some action sports avail if your keen. We spent about $1000 on flights, $1500ish on accom and about $1000 spending money inc food.

Where you go will also depend on time of year, ie, wet seasons, too hot, etc etc.

Congrats btw!

[ZA-289]

We went to Hamilton Island for our honeymoon last year, flights and accomodation for us both was $2200 for 5 nights from adel, Everything is pricey on the island tho, but would go again.

[Kieron]

[QUOTE=GhiaEB]

Originally Posted by Kieron

Vietnam is a great place - HoChiMin, crazy city so may not be the best for a honeymoon, Hanoi (stay in the old quarter) is nicer and you can take a cruise in the World Heritage Halong Bay, nice beaches in DaNang (China Beach) with huge resorts, visit ancient town's Hue, Hoi An, magic scenery around this area, despite it seeing massive destruction during the war.
QUOTE]

We are going to Hanoi for our honeymoon in September. Well at least thats the plan. we will be going for 14days.

Cheers

Nice mate, i'd suggest 14 days in Hanoi/Halong bay is too long though. If your able too, maybe split your time between Hanoi and the DaNang area.

Halong bay needs at least one night stop on the boats, that takes a solid 2 days inc travel from Hanoi, few days in Hanoi to wander about, visit museums/HCM Mausoleum/residence/Hanoi Hilton (prison) etc. 2-3 day Sapa tour if you want then go down to DaNang for relaxation and the odd tour.

I'll be back in 'Nam next month

5K will get you a super holiday in the main tourist places mentioned so far in SE Asia Yellow_Festiva I reckon I could just about squeeze a week in Penang for two + a 3 day Cruise on one of the Superstar ships for 5K.

BTW RepSpec, don't necessarily rule out a cruise due to sea sickness. The Melacca Straits are calm waters between Indonesia and Malaysia and these big ships are super stable, you will hardly realise your on the ocean never mind get seasick

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by casabonka

We stayed at the Sofitel at denaru island, Fiji for 5 days, very relaxing, luxurious as well as some action sports avail if your keen. We spent about $1000 on flights, $1500ish on accom and about $1000 spending money inc food.

Where you go will also depend on time of year, ie, wet seasons, too hot, etc etc.

Congrats btw!

We stayed a few resorts up at Worldmark (using the points system we were trialing) and worked out that our place was worth aroud $300+ a night.

We then caught the bus into town and had a chat with a family of 4 from Sydney that got a '4 nights for $199' at the same place in a 1br apartment. During school holidays as well! Outstanding value!

Subscribe to the 'deal' websites... things come up all the time, like this:



Awesome price... only problem is the T&C's as well as availability won't suit everyone.

Timing is also very important... + / - a week can save thousands!

[Kieron]

Agreed there Yellow mate. Groupon also has great deals -
http://getaways.groupon.com.au/#

Couple that with Air Asia flights and you can score a nice honeymoon without breaking the bank, for example, Per-KL return for me in Dec this year is $331. Inter Asia flights are typically less than $150 return (to/from kl).

Like Y_F said, get the timing sorted and you can save shedloads.

Another tip, if you happen to have friends in Singapore/Malaysia, sign up for Groupon in these countries and you will get even better deals than we can

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by Kieron

Nice mate, i'd suggest 14 days in Hanoi/Halong bay is too long though. If your able too, maybe split your time between Hanoi and the DaNang area.

Halong bay needs at least one night stop on the boats, that takes a solid 2 days inc travel from Hanoi, few days in Hanoi to wander about, visit museums/HCM Mausoleum/residence/Hanoi Hilton (prison) etc. 2-3 day Sapa tour if you want then go down to DaNang for relaxation and the odd tour.

I'll be back in 'Nam next month

5K will get you a super holiday in the main tourist places mentioned so far in SE Asia Yellow_Festiva I reckon I could just about squeeze a week in Penang for two + a 3 day Cruise on one of the Superstar ships for 5K.

BTW RepSpec, don't necessarily rule out a cruise due to sea sickness. The Melacca Straits are calm waters between Indonesia and Malaysia and these big ships are super stable, you will hardly realise your on the ocean never mind get seasick

True. 5k does go far in SE Asia, all depends on the flights... Even if they are a grand each you are then down to 3K!

I stayed in average accomodation in Vietnam for $25 a night, and $50 a night was getting me into some nice places. I stayed in a hostel (in Hanoi???) for $2 a night and didn't mind it - more money for beer and Pho Ga (which is dirt cheap already) lol.

If you are up for a hike the 2-3 day Sapa extension is WELL worth it! As is the HaLong bay cruise suggested.

Def get back on here if Vietnam is the pick, seems there is a lot of knowledge regarding SE Asia. I LOVED Vietnam, and cant wait to go back.

Agree that cruises should not be ruled out. I did a 7 night cruise to New Caledonia and it was great. Sea was glass flat and the food kept coming... gained 5kg in that time.

Sent the in-laws on the same cruise and they had a shocker....

Goin back next month.... jealous!!!!

[GT0132]

Even though I love Patong in Phuket and Bangkok , to me they're not ideal honeymoon spots

[BadMax]

We did three weeks in Europe five years ago, cost was about 10-12k and the dollar was about 65c to 1 Euro.

[[THOMMO]]

I just came back from Cancun all inclusive resort for 5days. Was amazing !! flights $1500 each and hotels range from $400-$1000 a night depending on the hotel/room

Our hotel was the Royal cancun, 5 resturants and multiple bars. Each room has king bed, spa looking at ocean and epic double shower. Dont have to drop a cent till you need a taxi back to the airport


http://www.flickr.com/photos/thommo1985/7037155349/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thommo1985/6891057338/

[Barry_v]

anywhere there arent many australians.

[Feathers]

Hawaii is pretty good. Honolulu/Waikiki is the most obvious destination, but the other islands are also stunning, and offer different experiences depending on what you're after.
Even the other areas of O'ahu are vastly different to the main tourist areas.
Warm and sunny on Waikiki Beach, yet got to the windward side of the island, and it was drizzling rain, overcast, much cooler and (not surprisingly) very windy!

[Olde Bloke]

Mate, take it from an ol' bloke with 40 plus years of marriage behind him - Take her somewhere that has Motor Racing happening at the time, an Auto Museum or two and a Rally happening up in the hills nearby, 'cos very soon things might change!!!! Nah, just kidding - I also recommend NZ. Woops, nearly forgot -Congratulations to you both!!

[XP6]

Yep we did NZ for ours(20 days), 10K should get you that amount of time... pre-book some nice accommodation then just hire a car and drive about its awesome, plenty of touristy stuff!

Other option would be the US seeming our dollar is gold over there...

[RepSpec]

thanks for all the replies (and congrats) so far people.

i threw up bali and thailand as "cheaper" option places that people have said are nice.

id love to stay in Australia but prices dont dictate that compared to elsewhere.

our plan would be to not do a lot of "touristy" things, rather explore on our own time, spend the rest in pools/poolside bar.

somewhere warm. NZ is out, the missus went a while ago and wasnt a fan lol.

a mate of mine did cabo and said it was amazing. i would love to do the States, but would want to spend too long and see too much there.

looks like we got a lot of looking into!

Badmax, just trying to figure out how much it would cost to go away somewhere...well aware of whats ahead

[AU Mont]

if your spending most time in pools/bars, and not doing the "touristy things" then whygo overseas?

surely the money saved on the plane tickets could get you something flash here in oz

[Tonz]

Stuff Asia .... one of the Pacific Islands .... after all what do ya want a good feed, good bed and privacy.

[Cheech]

http://www.matamanoa.com/

Have stayed here before. Arrive by helicopter & grab a beach bure.

It's one of the furthest islands out off the Fiji main island.
Limited number of guests and no kids. High staff to guest ratio.

You can do as little as you like or get involved in everything from beach rugby against the staff to scuba diving off the beach or participating with staff in the Kava ceremony.

It's next to the island that "Castaway" was filmed on. I was staying on Matamanoa at the time and Tom Hanks and family had requested to stay here.
The management refused him because of the no children policy.

[MYVYSS]

Pools and Relaxing..then Denaru Island Fiji we just come back in Feb from 2 weeks there did 1 week at the Sheraton and 1 @ World Mark..both brilliant and stunningly good... Just be aware World Mark will be cheap at the moment as they are doing massive reno's and adding another 100+ rooms/apartments.

[trippytaka]

Congrats!

Portugal - it's where I am planning to go! Cheap as chips at the moment over there... just got to get people to pay for your flights through wedding gifts.

My friend set up an online registery where guests could purchase shares in their honeymoon - at $50 a share. Paid for her European holiday (4 weeks)

Or, if you want pools and cheap things, try Cambodia's koh-rong-archipelago

[trippytaka]

Originally Posted by AU Mont

if your spending most time in pools/bars, and not doing the "touristy things" then whygo overseas?

surely the money saved on the plane tickets could get you something flash here in oz

Not so. Jetstar has always got cheap flight deals - my fiance and I got return tickets to Vietnam a year ago for $900. IN TOTAL! You can't fly two people to WA for that!

And then the high Aussie dollar makes is more than worthwhile when in Asia etc.

It's unfortunate, but the high dollar has made it way too expensive to travel in our own country, comparitively to overseas. EG you can book flights, and a week in the ski fields of Queenstown NZ cheaper than you could drive to Vic ski fields from interstate, get lift passes and accommodation and food etc!

[TheSneakiness]

Keep the suggestions up guys, looking to take my wife somewhere OS when our 5th year anniversary comes up next year.

[casabonka]

Screw Jetstar...
As mentioned when I went to Fiji, we were waiting at the hotel for a cab back to the airport when I received an SMS (4 hours prior to take off) that our flight had been pushed back 24 hours... rushed to the airport, paid extra and flew with Virgin.

Will NEVER fly with Jetstart again as that has happened twice now, once at least was domestic and we were only delayed 5 hours...

[trippytaka]

Originally Posted by casabonka

Screw Jetstar...
As mentioned when I went to Fiji, we were waiting at the hotel for a cab back to the airport when I received an SMS (4 hours prior to take off) that our flight had been pushed back 24 hours... rushed to the airport, paid extra and flew with Virgin.

Will NEVER fly with Jetstart again as that has happened twice now, once at least was domestic and we were only delayed 5 hours...

Meh, I have been delayed by all of them, screwed royaly by all of them... if you fly enough they will find a way to insert a fist...

[Kieron]

Originally Posted by Tonz

Stuff Asia .... one of the Pacific Islands .... after all what do ya want a good feed, good bed and privacy.

I've enver been to the Pacific Island, maybe one day...but all that you've mentioned is available all over SE Asia, and cheap as chips. For instance -

http://www.groupon.com.au/deals/trav...sort/716059333

Throw in an AirAsia flight from Melbourne for two, maybe $1,500 and for less than $2K you've got a 10 day holiday in Phuket (that's more than enough for Phk), it's in quieter Karon, food/drinks/transport cost stuff all there and plenty of change to throw in a cruise on the Superstar Virgo with a balcony cabin for 3 days and/or a shopping visit to KL/BGK/Sing.



Yellow_Festiva, i'm off to DaNang/Hue/DMZ/A Shau Valley next month, love Vietnam and it's people, this will be my 3rd visit and ill no doubt go again, maybe in Dec when i'm up in KL for a month