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Honeymoon Help!

OUpearlgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
3,081
Hi everybody. My sweet FI and I are trying to plan our honeymoon in April, and it's not going great. We found a travel agent through a family friend, and I've found she seems to be pushing Sandals pretty hard. While I have nothing against it, we were hoping for a little more unique of a honeymoon.

Our dream is to go to Cinque Terre, but budget may keep that from happening. Have any of you ever stayed somewhere great in Italy that didn't cost an arm and a leg? Flights will cost us about $2400 to get there, so we were hoping to find a place to stay for under $2k for 5 nights. This has turned out to be harder than I thought. Even hotels that post less expensive rates online have been more expensive through this travel agency. I'm contacting the hotel privately to see if I get the same number, because I'm beginning to wonder if this travel agency is tacking on fees to make this trip cost more.

Anyway, long story short, I'm looking for honeymoon ideas. Total budget is $6k, so we were hoping hotel and airfare could be $4500 and under, so that we can eat some great meals and maybe do a little shopping.
 

amc80

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 18, 2010
Messages
5,765
My biggest regret with planning my wedding/cruise is going through a local travel agent. I did this because I thought it would be nice to have a local contact, and someone else to take care of the details. Wrong. If I had to do it over I would have become a TA myself and handled all the bookings. If you are someone who enjoys doing research and like to have control over what you're doing, book it yourself. If you don't really care and just want it planned, use an agent. And yes, she's probably pushing Sandals because of the commission. TAs don't make much (if any) commission on air these days, and a lot of hotels are non-commissionable as well. So the only way for her to make decent money is by selling you a resort, cruise, etc.
 

OUpearlgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
3,081
amc80|1311356547|2974674 said:
My biggest regret with planning my wedding/cruise is going through a local travel agent. I did this because I thought it would be nice to have a local contact, and someone else to take care of the details. Wrong. If I had to do it over I would have become a TA myself and handled all the bookings. If you are someone who enjoys doing research and like to have control over what you're doing, book it yourself. If you don't really care and just want it planned, use an agent. And yes, she's probably pushing Sandals because of the commission. TAs don't make much (if any) commission on air these days, and a lot of hotels are non-commissionable as well. So the only way for her to make decent money is by selling you a resort, cruise, etc.

Gotcha. She gave me this whole speech about how if you buy a t-shirt online and don't like it, then you can return it. If you book a trip online and you don't like it, sorry Charlie. I totally bought it! But it seems like getting her help for anything outside of the US is hard and she can't keep us at a reasonable budget!
 

havernell

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 10, 2006
Messages
571
If you aren't getting a good vibe from the travel agent, don't use her. We planned our entire honeymoon through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Singapore by ourselves. Sure, it took a lot of research and planning, but we like doing that anyway. Plus, doing it ourselves let us find some cool, more off-the-beaten-path things to do that we likely wouldn't have found booking through an agent. With discount hotel websites and so much other info on the internet these days, you can do it all yourself pretty easily. Best of luck!!
 

Upgradable

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
Messages
5,537
I know someone who has experience doing these things, charges nothing, and has lots of free time on her hands.

I think you have her number. :naughty:
 

iheartscience

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
12,111
I would definitely ditch the travel agent! There are tons of hotels and pensions that would be way less than $2k for 5 nights! I'm not a fan of super expensive hotels-I'd much rather spend the money shopping and eating and doing activities. Check out Let's Go Europe, Fodor's, Rick Steves, etc. for tips on good hotels and restaurants at all budget levels. (Let's Go usually focuses on budget travel but the others should have a range.)

If you're worried about something falling through you could always pay extra to get refundable tickets on Orbitz or get trip insurance.
 

Clairitek

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
4,881
Another one here for no travel agent. I've never used one and I don't see it happening in the future. Before the internet? Sure, I would have used one. Now? Definitely not. If you use our resources wisely (threads here, TripAdvisor.com, Kayak, etc.) I think you can do pretty well and stay in budget. We are in the process of planning a trip to Europe (9 days) for about the same or smaller budget using those very resources.
 

princesss

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Mar 18, 2007
Messages
8,035
Ditto claritek! My friend and I are doing a 2.5 week trip to NZ on our own. I'd never dream of using a travel agent.
 

chemgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Sep 16, 2009
Messages
2,345
Ok, I agree with everyone who says you should ditch the travel agent. They don't show you all of the options and will often try to push packages. Packages can be great if you're going to a resort, but if you want to travel and see the sights, you're often better off booking on your own. We are frequent travelers and we have flight cancellation insurance as well as travel medical insurance to cover us if there are any issues with our trip. The insurance gives me far more peace of mind than a travel agency guarantee would. What do they actually cover you for?

I just looked up Cinque Terre hotels in Tripadvisor and many of the top 10 rated hotels are between $150-250 per night. That's not even close to 2k for 5 nights! I'm not sure about that flight price either. Flying in to Italy tends to be expensive, but you might do better if you shop around on your own. I usually check out orbitz, and expedia to get an idea of rates. I find expedia to be good for European travel. I've even had luck going directly to the airline. If you want to tour the country a bit, you can book a different departure airport if you book directly with the airline. Just spend a day hunting around and I'm sure you'll be able to make your own vacation package that works for you. DH and I have almost as much fun going over trip plans together as we do on the trip!

ETA: we're doing a 10 day trip across Germany in September and we have everything booked for less than $4500 AND we're going to Oktoberfest (super expensive). I'm sure you can find something fantastic in your budget.

ETA again: Not sure about your exact dates and departure, but tried looking up flights and $2400 looks like a decent price if it includes tax and you are flying in to Pisa. If you are leaving from Tulsa (think you're in Oklahoma right?) on a Sunday (overnight flight) and returning on Saturday in April I can't find anything under $2500 including tax.
 

OUpearlgirl

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 26, 2007
Messages
3,081
Thank you for all of the tips everyone! I found the hotel I'd like to stay at in Monterosso (Villa Steno, for any of you on the hunt for a neat hotel in Cinque Terre.) It's small (16 rooms) and family owned... Exactly what I'm hoping for. I've figured out airfare and the hotel without her assistance, so I'm absolutely ditching her.

I got back with the travel agent today to see why the price was so high. Oh, that's because they had us with private transfers to and from the airport to the tune of $1k!! Are you kidding? It's not like Italy lacks public transportation, also known as TRAINS!

I'm on a price alert with several different airline sites-- so far Travelocity can get us there for 2400 with taxes, which isn't ideal, but definitely doable. Now I may need to see if I can find an awesome, less expensive hotel so that we can prolong our stay! :naughty:
 

rainwood

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 29, 2005
Messages
1,536
OU -

You made the right decision. We stayed in Monterosso and traveled by train, and it was fine. You just need to know how the train system works (tickets, seat reservations are separate, how and when you get your ticket validated, etc.) It's all part of the adventure and Rick Steves is a really good source for that kind of info.

There's a great gelato place in Monterosso that's on the beach side (new town) that we always stopped at. The flavors will be according to what's in season. We were there in October so it will be different in April. The CT hike is a must if the weather is good. You can do it in one day if you're in even halfway decent shape. You want to start at the Monterosso end and head south so the steeper (both up and down) is at the beginning, and then take the train back from Riomaggiore.

Good day trips from the CT are Portofino - really, really lovely little town - which is north and Portovenere to the south. The only tricky part about Portovenere is that you have to take the train to La Spezia and then take a bus because there is no train there. It also might be possible by boat.

The food is wonderful. We ate a lot of pesto, which is a local speciality but I'm not sure if basil is ready by April so I'm not sure if it will be pesto season. The fish is always good though, and the sights are spectacular.
 

centralsquare

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 18, 2009
Messages
2,216
Have you checked out the Lonely Planet books? They usually have really good options for every budget. Not everyone is a fan of using guide books, but I've found them very valuable with finding deals and unique, local attractions
 

sphenequeen

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Messages
640
For budget issues, check out honeyfund.com and see if you like the idea of getting a honeymoon instead of gifts! I have a friend who just got married and this was their request and they spent 3 weeks in Argentina...

SO awesome.
 

tina sparkle

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
171
Another good source is VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owner) You may be able to rent an apartment for the price of a hotel room. It's worth looking into. Good luck.
 

movie zombie

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jan 20, 2005
Messages
11,879
i'm glad you ditched the travel agent. travel books and magazines are great research tools. have fun planning your honeymoon!
 

Clairitek

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
4,881
OUpeargirl|1311379542|2974932 said:
Thank you for all of the tips everyone! I found the hotel I'd like to stay at in Monterosso (Villa Steno, for any of you on the hunt for a neat hotel in Cinque Terre.) It's small (16 rooms) and family owned... Exactly what I'm hoping for. I've figured out airfare and the hotel without her assistance, so I'm absolutely ditching her.

I got back with the travel agent today to see why the price was so high. Oh, that's because they had us with private transfers to and from the airport to the tune of $1k!! Are you kidding? It's not like Italy lacks public transportation, also known as TRAINS!

I'm on a price alert with several different airline sites-- so far Travelocity can get us there for 2400 with taxes, which isn't ideal, but definitely doable. Now I may need to see if I can find an awesome, less expensive hotel so that we can prolong our stay! :naughty:

I wanted to thank you for sharing your hotel research. We need some starting points for planning our trip in October, which will include some Italian travel, and this place looks awesome!

$1k private transfers? Really? Without your consent??
 

Amys Bling

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
11,025
We did Italy for two weeks for our honeymoon two weeks ago.... we stayed in Sorrento at a simple and modern hotel right in the center of the town easy walk to the coast and beach abs marina for 200 a night- Hotel Plaza. It included breakfast and had a rooftop pool :). It's more southern coast of Italy but we loved it! Easy trip to Pompeii, amalfi coast, and isle if Capri from there via ferry, or cab, or tour package. We also dis Rome for 200 a night for the hotel.
 

Amys Bling

Super_Ideal_Rock
Joined
Jun 25, 2010
Messages
11,025
sphenequeen|1311386470|2975003 said:
For budget issues, check out honeyfund.com and see if you like the idea of getting a honeymoon instead of gifts! I have a friend who just got married and this was their request and they spent 3 weeks in Argentina...

SO awesome.

We used "travelersjoy" and registered for our honeymoon instead of gifts for our bridal shower. We have been living together for 2 years and already had all the necessary house items.
 
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