Attn: World Travelers!

[Hudson_Hawk]

FI and I are starting to think about honeymoon destinations and we're really stumped. We want to go somewhere different and a place where neither of us have ever gone before. We've both been to various places in Europe (Italy, Germany, UK, Belgium) and elsewhere (Dominican, Bahamas, Caymans, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Ecuador, Baha Mexico, Hawaii).

We're planning to travel in July. We know that some of the ideas below are not really great at that time of year, but c'est la vie!

Some places we're considering are:

Belize
Myan Riveria
Costa Rica
St. Lucia

Egypt
Greece
The Maldives
The Seychelles

I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions. Also, please suggest the best way to go about reserving the trip (for best deal and ease of travel) travel agent vs. online.

Thanks!

 

[October2008bride]

Hi Hudson Hawk - sounds like a fun project!

I haven''t been to all of those places, but I just returned from Egypt a few weeks ago and I wouldn''t recommend it as a Honeymoon destination. Just my personal opinion, but if you are comparing it to places like the Maldives and the Seychelles, I don''t think you are looking for the type of trip Egypt will give you.

It is definitely worth going to at some point in your life (seeing the Pyramids is incredible!) but it is busy busy busy, very dirty, and I found it to be not a comfortable place as far as just walking down the road to find something to eat (for example).

Anyways - if you want more info just ask, but that is just my opinion!

 

[Pandora II]

If you are looking at the Maldives, have a look at Sri Lanka as well. It''s just up the coast, has some of the world''s best beaches, amazing hotels, safaris and loads of other things to do (baby elephant orphanages and gemstones are high on my list!) - and it''s WAY cheaper than the Maldives.

My sister went to both and said she''d pick S L everytime. DH and I are off there in October for our honeymoon.

 

[mimzy]

we have our honeymoon booked for Belize, so i''m partial to there! BUT, i think July might be rainy season there? anyways, we chose it because it was a good mix of adventure stuff and beach, plus you can do a few days at the beach and a few days in the jungle. reasonably priced too

(we had a relatively small budget)

greece was amazing, but we spent most of our time visiting family. there are gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous places to visit and stay, but i think it would be much pricier than belize, and you would have to pick and choose what you do/see (you really need like a month there!)

 

[marchswallowbird]

You don''t say what sort of vacation you envision for your honeymoon. Do you want to relax on the beach? Be active with watersports? Visit cultural sights? All of the above? This will play a part in your decision. I would also really pay attention to whether July is the right time of year to visit some of these locations. You could be completely miserable because of weather, insects, tourist hordes, etc. Again, it all depends on what type of honeymoon you want.

Of the places on your list, I would go to Greece. I''d do a sailing trip of the Greek islands, with overnights on a couple of them, in luxury hotels.

Alternatively, I''d go to the British Virgin Islands or the Seychelles.

Or you could go to Southeast Alaska. Not on a cruise, book stays in Juneau, Sitka, Skagway and some of the other inside passage cities. Take a day cruise of Glacier Bay to view whales, bears and other wildlife. Take the White Pass and Yukon Railroad to Lake Bennett for lunch, with breathtaking views and the same route taken by Klondike stampeders during the gold rush. Different, you haven''t been before, lots to see and do. July is one of the best months to go.

 

[Neveah]

I would HIGHLY recommend Australia. I''ve been fortunate to have gone many places in my life, and it was my absolute favorite! July is technically their winter (July in fact, 2 years ago is when I went!) but it''s so mild, not at all like our winters. At night I needed light jacket, but during the day a sweater and jeans was perfect!

There are so many fantastic cities that are so different.... Sydney of course, Melbourne.... then if you go to Cains to the Great Barrier Reef (just unbelieveable!) you will have the beach weather as well. Driving from Port Douglas to Cains was truly the most incredibly beautiful drive of my life!

We also went to New Zealand (only a 3 hour plane ride away from Australia) and it was a very close 2nd in my list of favorites! We did multi-destination flights through priceline.... literally flew: Cincinnati to Los Angelos. LA to Sydney. Sydney to Melbourne. Melbourne to Cains. Cains to Christchurch New Zealand. Christchurch to Auckland. Auckland back to LA... then home. The total ticket(s) were $1800. Thought that was a fantastic price! The multi destination was incredible because you don''t get hit with high 1 way tickets... or lose time backtracking.

Whew.... I really went off.... Ah, nostalgia!

Obviously would be more than happy to give you more info if you need it! Good Luck and have fun picking a destination!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Thanks everyone.

we''re not sure what kind of honeymoon we want. Part of me wants a lux/relaxing time and the other part of me wants an adventure. I''m fully aware and prepared for Egypt to be the latter of the two. It''s a dream vacation of mine. As a child I wanted to be an Egyptologist.

Interesting point about Sri Lanka. I''d not considered SL for a destination...

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

I''d for sure consider Greece.... I went there a few years back and was taken a back at how romantic the islands were... Santorini is a honeymoon paradise!

 

[TravelingGal]

Australia (as someone mentioned) is nice in July. My favorite time to go as I like Oz in the winter (bugs are down to a minimum) and it''s still nice up in FNQ (Far North Queensland...hehehe). The Australian dollar is way high at the moment to the USD though.

I have not been to any of those destinations except for Greece and the Mayan Rivera. You''d have to really decide what you want in a honeymoon and check out if the infrastructure is there. Personally, I am not a fan of Greece. But I''m weird.

 

[jcrow]

hum... they are all very different.

i went to st. lucia. stayed at ladera. i''ll be honest.... i would HIGHLY recommend going to st. lucia if you''re staying at ladera... but not sure if i''d recommend going to st. lucia and staying at some of the other hotels.

if you''re looking for a ton to do, i also don''t think st. lucia is your place. sure there''s stuff to do, but not like some of the other places you listed. st. lucia is mostly for relaxing. not so much for discovering. we didn''t rome around the local towns or restaurants or anything. we stuck to the resort, and i think that''s what most travelers do.

again, that said, i absolutely loved st. lucia (ladera). it was breath-taking. and i''m so happy we went.

oh and...i read that the westin is opening in st. lucia... not sure what sort of experience that would be.

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

I'd look into a private villa in Santorini... and did I mention the sunsets are pretty much the nicest you will ever see ?? The whole town feels like you are suspended between sea and sky -- a real touch of heaven on earth.

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

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[ilovethiswebsite]

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[swimmer]

How awesome to have so many great destinations on your list. OK, so how hot can you be and still be fine with it?
I was just in Greece in early July and it was over 105 every day. It was not as hot as summer in Morocco or Cairo, Egypt but it was insanely hot and of course super expensive because of the Euro being so much stronger than the dollar. I love the Sinai peninsula of Egypt, not as hot as the rest of Egypt, (which is hot and busy and not romantic) because of the Red Sea, awesome hiking and world class snorkeling for like no money at all. You could take a couple of days and get your own sailboat with personal chef to take you on the Nile, the ships are called feluccas. That keeps you away from the hustle and bustle of the urban areas.

I loved Belize, but again, that is going to be dicey weather, check out all your locations for anticipated temp and rain possibilities...

Sri Lanka is indeed amazing, but all of SE Asia is going to be hot and wet in July.

We went to Argentina and loved it, the money is tied to the USD so eating out was super cheap. Amazing steak dinners every night with Argentine wine and dessert for less than $30 with tip. The most amazing icecream ever. July is winter there so you can ski, snowboard in the mountains, or wear jeans and a fleece in Buenos Aries. Tango lessons at night were about $5. Very romantic city, street markets, cafe culture, in many ways like Paris, but friendlier and high school Spanish will get you through. A super mild winter. You can fly to Patagonia and see the penguins! If that is your thing,

penguins

 

[Pandora II]

Date: 9/9/2008 10:27:21 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Australia (as someone mentioned) is nice in July. My favorite time to go as I like Oz in the winter (bugs are down to a minimum) and it''s still nice up in FNQ (Far North Queensland...hehehe). The Australian dollar is way high at the moment to the USD though.

I have not been to any of those destinations except for Greece and the Mayan Rivera. You''d have to really decide what you want in a honeymoon and check out if the infrastructure is there. Personally, I am not a fan of Greece. But I''m weird.

Ditto - I seriously disliked the holiday I spent going round the islands there. I found it full of drunk Brits or dirty and boring and I couldn''t believe how little there was to see. Yes there are some great views - but I''ve seen better in other places. Very disappointing all in all.

Italy is a million times nicer - or Croatia.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

We''re from New England, so we''re used to hot sticky summers. Probably the max we''d want is 90 with humidity or 105-110 with little to no humidity.

 

[swimmer]

Date: 9/10/2008 9:01:28 AM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 9/9/2008 10:27:21 PM

Author: TravelingGal

Australia (as someone mentioned) is nice in July. My favorite time to go as I like Oz in the winter (bugs are down to a minimum) and it''s still nice up in FNQ (Far North Queensland...hehehe). The Australian dollar is way high at the moment to the USD though.

I have not been to any of those destinations except for Greece and the Mayan Rivera. You''d have to really decide what you want in a honeymoon and check out if the infrastructure is there. Personally, I am not a fan of Greece. But I''m weird.

Ditto - I seriously disliked the holiday I spent going round the islands there. I found it full of drunk Brits or dirty and boring and I couldn''t believe how little there was to see. Yes there are some great views - but I''ve seen better in other places. Very disappointing all in all.


Italy is a million times nicer - or Croatia.

I agree, Greece was nice, but hotter than heck (this coming from an Israeli). And I was unclear in my earlier post, Argentina was $30 for two for dinner with all the trimmings. Croatia is fabulous, way more friendly people than Greece, where they just seemed overwhelmed by all the tourists, streets filled with garbage and mangy cats and dogs. Hoping to not hurt any Greeks, but in July, the islands might much nicer than the peninsula temp-wise, but they will be packed to the gills and a small salad and water will cost you $20.

Croatia is amazing!

 

[Blackpaw]

Hi Hudson!

My boyfriend and i have been backpacking here and there this year so i thought id add my two cents!!

We were in Egypt in June/July and it really is a must see destination - however id agree with October2008 that its not really a honeymoon destination. We loved it and stayed a month but thats the hottest time of year that you''ld be going - it was 45 degrees out some days (sorry dont know the farenheit but you cant physically be out in it long its so ridiculous!!).

We''re in Greece at the moment and it certainly is a powerhouse honeymoon destination. Santorini, as mentioned, is beautiful, and does lux style travel very well. We''ve been on a few islands and id also recommend Kefalonia and Naxos, which are more laid back than santorini.

My ultimate recommendation though, if you''re after a bit adventure and a bit lux, would be to go to Tanzania!! You could do a week safari in the serengetti/ngorongoro crater at a couple of spectacular game lodges. Do two or three chauffered game drives a day, eat great food, have spa treatments, watch the action at the waterhole from your balcony, enjoy the romance! Sadly we were doing it backpacker style in tents but still i cant tell you how amazing a sunset over the serengetti is!! From there you could spend a week on Zanzibar (still in Tanzania), where you''ll find 5 star beach resorts, watersports and the amazing ''stone town'' which is like a little slice of the middle east in Africa. I think for a honeymoon it would be a perfect destination, though of course more pricey than a south american country.

I would also say about Australia (as an Aussie myself), that it too would be a fantastic destination. But at that time of year you''ld need to stick to far north queensland (as travellinGal mentioned), Melbourne (where im from) will be too cold and miserable. Sydney will be like this too so just a few days to do the opera house etc would suffice. But you have the daintree and barrier reef in FNQ and could do the red centre as well!!

Phew! Cant wait to hear where you''ll go!!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/10/2008 9:41:21 AM
Author: swimmer

Date: 9/10/2008 9:01:28 AM
Author: Pandora II

Date: 9/9/2008 10:27:21 PM

Author: TravelingGal

Australia (as someone mentioned) is nice in July. My favorite time to go as I like Oz in the winter (bugs are down to a minimum) and it''s still nice up in FNQ (Far North Queensland...hehehe). The Australian dollar is way high at the moment to the USD though.

I have not been to any of those destinations except for Greece and the Mayan Rivera. You''d have to really decide what you want in a honeymoon and check out if the infrastructure is there. Personally, I am not a fan of Greece. But I''m weird.

Ditto - I seriously disliked the holiday I spent going round the islands there. I found it full of drunk Brits or dirty and boring and I couldn''t believe how little there was to see. Yes there are some great views - but I''ve seen better in other places. Very disappointing all in all.


Italy is a million times nicer - or Croatia.

I agree, Greece was nice, but hotter than heck (this coming from an Israeli). And I was unclear in my earlier post, Argentina was $30 for two for dinner with all the trimmings. Croatia is fabulous, way more friendly people than Greece, where they just seemed overwhelmed by all the tourists, streets filled with garbage and mangy cats and dogs. Hoping to not hurt any Greeks, but in July, the islands might much nicer than the peninsula temp-wise, but they will be packed to the gills and a small salad and water will cost you $20.

Croatia is amazing!

I''m a big Croatia fan, which is no secret around here. If you want to do something "different" but not way out there, Croatia is awesome. I haven''t been to Argentina, but heard such raves about it, it was tops on my list until I got ball and chained to domestic life.

btw, in those gorgeous pics of Santorini (and it is pretty), you don''t see the giant mounds of mule poo everywhere.

 

[blushingbride]

I second Croatia!! We went this summer and had the time of our lives, plus it's gorgeous there!

I just posted some pics of Dubrovnik, Croatia and our drive down the Dalmation Coast in the TTC thread (I should've started a thread in Hangout, but just posted them there since all the gals there knew about my trip).

Anyway, the pics start on page 140 and continue onto page 141 Dubrovnik, Croatia

 

[ilovethiswebsite]

Date: 9/10/2008 12:38:35 PM
Author: blushingbride
I second Croatia!! We went this summer and had the time of our lives, plus it''s gorgeous there!

I just posted some pics of Dubrovnik, Croatia and our drive down the Dalmation Coast in the TTC thread (I should''ve started a thread in Hangout, but just posted them there since all the gals there knew about my trip).

Anyway, the pics start on page 140 and continue onto page 141 Dubrovnik, Croatia

hahaha nice one... I loved Greece! I wasn''t a fan of the bigger cities (e.g. Athens) and how dirty some places were, but the islands were gorgeous and clean (except for Mykonos and Crete, which were a bit dirty). We did a cruise and it was fantastic!

I hear Croatia is amazing too!

 

[Haven]

ST. JOHN is amazing! We were just there in July for our honeymoon and it was truly wonderful. I know it''s not on your list, but I can''t say enough good things about it. We met a ton of couples who were there for repeat visits because it''s so wonderful.

So is GREECE. I was there in June, and it was amazing. There is so much to see and do there, especially if you are a history buff, and it is incredibly beautiful. And the food is to die for.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Is St. John the island where you can camp on the beach?

 

[SanchezVVV]

The possibilities are endless.

I loved honeymoon planning! We wanted something similar to you a mix of luxury/relaxation and adventure... so we choose South Africa (in Feb). We are staying in Cape Town for a few nights (relaxing, wine, culture, leisurely sightseeing, pool, spa, etc.) and then flying to Sabi Sands for a few days at a safari lodge. Now these lodges can be anything from tents to 5 star exclusive private bungalows - we opted for a well-established, beautiful lodge with a lot of privacy and perks... plus the animal viewing is supposed to be spectacular. I saw there was no Africa on your list - so just another place to consider! Good luck making your decision...

(I also can vouch for Greece and St. Lucia - both appeal to visual beauty and relaxation and "getting away from it all." If you want to cut back on travel time and fees you should consider what''s closer to you.)

As for making reservations - we did the research upfront and essentially knew what and where and then contacted a few travel agents and went with the most responsive and fair priced one. I am not sure if it saves you a ton of money but I do think there is a savings - it was more about piece of mind for us.