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Where is everyone going?

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emeraldlover1

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On your honeymoon?? We were originally going to South Africa but with the state of the economy and our situation it is simply far beyond our budget to make it happen this year. We are looking for suggestions and I''d love to know where everyone is going or has went. We are spending mad bank on our wedding and now we are tyring to cut back where we can. We are looking to spend between 10-12k for 10 days. Any suggestions and please tell me where you went/are going.
 

sunnyd

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Here''s a thread I did a while ago. Lots of replies, HTH.
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https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/where-are-you-honeymooning.108954/
 

emeraldlover1

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SD...thats a good thread, thanks. I''m having a problems cause we are getting married in Sept. at that is still during hurricane season. Here are some of the options on the table right now:

1. Greece: 2 days in athens, 4 in Santorini, and 5 on Crete

2. Italy: Rome, amalfi coast, capri

3. Costa Rica

4. Lake Tahoe

5. Hawaii
 

Inanna

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You've got quite a budget there! I really think you could go almost anywhere you want in Europe, South America, and the Caribbean and stay within budget (perhaps even Australia/New Zealand).

Anyplace you have in mind?

FI and I are having a mini-moon in Key West right after our wedding. Then we're having the real 2 week honeymoon next Spring in Sweden (he has family there) and I'd really like to visit several other countries while we're out there.

Have you checked out VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owner)? You can save a ton of money over hotels (and the accommodations can be even more luxurious and are definitely more private).

ETA: Since you mentioned Santorini, check out this place: http://www.vrbo.com/239110
 

nyc7782

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EM1: we are twins! We were also planning on South Africa but are now thinking of Hawaii! Prob not Europe because we''ve been there...I''d love to do greece but in late october i don''t think the weather is ideal. Anyway...for 10-12K I think you can still do South Africa for 2 weeks. A travel agent priced an itinerary for us for that much including 3 days at an awesome safari. I can give you details if you want. Italy is amazing though--you would love it and I''m sure it will be beautiful that time of year!
 

emeraldlover1

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Date: 4/21/2009 12:51:47 PM
Author: nyc7782
EM1: we are twins! We were also planning on South Africa but are now thinking of Hawaii! Prob not Europe because we''ve been there...I''d love to do greece but in late october i don''t think the weather is ideal. Anyway...for 10-12K I think you can still do South Africa for 2 weeks. A travel agent priced an itinerary for us for that much including 3 days at an awesome safari. I can give you details if you want. Italy is amazing though--you would love it and I''m sure it will be beautiful that time of year!
The problem with SA for us is that our itenerary is to die for and I really want to save that trip for when we can afford it. For example it was 3 nights in cape town, 4 in safari and then 5 in Mauritus. I think it is the flights and traveling to Mauritus that sent us over budget. I think that trip without food was 15-18k. My fiance is saying maybe first aniversary trip if the economy turns around. We really want to go somewhere and go all out but we don''t want to go over our budget now, you know.

He''s looking into Hawaii today, I''m just not that excited about it. I think its because I have saved up all my money for 10 years and never went to Europe. I kind of want to go now. I have a lot of other places that I want to go but Septemeber isn''t the best time of year to go to any of them. Argentina and Peru are in my top choices but not condusive to weather at that time of year. I also want to relax but also have some activity. THe SA trip was the best of both worlds but its just unrealistic right now.
 

kittybean

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We have a similar budget, and FI and I are going to Italy (Rome, Venice, Lake Region). So, you should go to Italy too
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! Capri and the Amalfi Coast are unbelievably beautiful and romantic. If we had more time, we''d be going there as well. September is a great time to be in Italy--less crowded, and the weather is usually lovely. I honestly wish we were going then.
 

nyc7782

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First anniversary trip sounds good--we may do that too. maybe I''ll see you SA! We cut Mauritius out of our itinerary because of cost---especially the flights, so I totally know what you mean. If you''ve never done Europe, I say do that. italy is beautiful and romantic and you can see a lot of different types of places--I''d also suggest adding Croatia if you have time. It is amazing. We''re also thinking of Argentina/Chile but not sure about weather that time of year. I think for cities it''s fine, but not beach weather. We may do Hawaii just because I want to relax and we can use hotel points and the weather will be good, but I was hoping for something more exotic, too.
 

AmberGretchen

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We had a minimoon in Sonoma, CA right after the wedding, which was amazing.

Then, about 3 months later, we went to London for 2.5 weeks, which was also amazing
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Lynny0780

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i think we are going to be going to milan, italy. and im sure check out some other little cities while we are there.
 

Hudson_Hawk

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We are going to Belize for 7 days. 3 in the rainforest, 1 traveling and doing excursions, and 3 days at the beach. We just found out that our flight was changed and we leave an hour earlier on the day after our wedding-ugg. That means we have to be at the airport at 6am!
 

musey

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Date: 4/21/2009 2:34:08 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
We had a minimoon in Sonoma, CA right after the wedding, which was amazing.

Then, about 3 months later, we went to London for 2.5 weeks, which was also amazing
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I sort of wish we''d done it this way - little trip now, bigger one later. I loved our long honeymoon immediately post-wedding (we left the following day), but it would have made more sense in many ways (in terms of time off, season, etc.) to plan that trip at a better time of year.
 

wannaBMrsH

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We haven''t finalized our honeymoon, but I wanted to pipe in and tell you that one of the options we are looking at is Thailand and there are some 12-14 day packages for around $3k per person which include airfare, hotels and some meals.

I will look for the travel information when I get home tonight, but the package we are looking at is 3 days in Bangkok with a few guided tours and 3 days in a hillside village and then 4-6 days in Phuket on the beach.

Good Luck!
 

bee*

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We''re going to London, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Cannot wait! We go two days after the wedding.
 

emeraldlover1

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Thanks guys! There are so many good options here I am going to forward it to my fiance.

Musey...did you love Tahiti? We are scared of being bored there. Also, I hate to ask this but is it affordable with our budget??

Unfortuntatley because of my fiance''s job we can''t take off for that long other than right after the wedding. Apparently in his industry that is a valid excuse. I guess regular vacaiton is not.
 

musey

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Date: 4/21/2009 4:16:55 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
Musey...did you love Tahiti? We are scared of being bored there. Also, I hate to ask this but is it affordable with our budget??

Unfortuntatley because of my fiance's job we can't take off for that long other than right after the wedding. Apparently in his industry that is a valid excuse. I guess regular vacaiton is not.
I haven't been, we went to Fiji for just 3 days and then 15 days in New Zealand. I think it's very easy to price this stuff, most resorts (at least in Fiji, I think Tahiti is similar) are on their own island and limit you to package deals (room + meals, activities are usually extra) so if it's $350 a day, that's all you need to budget. It depends greatly on the type of accommodation you choose - some places run in the thousands per night!

3 days was enough for us - if we'd stayed longer we would have done the structured activities offered by our resort (snuba/scuba lessons, snorkeling trips, hiking trips, village visits by boat, etc.) but as it was we had just enough time to really RELAX and also do a bit of snorkeling. I think that if you don't have an interest in the specific activities your resort has to offer, you would have to really enjoy just plain relaxing (nothin wrong with it!) OR be on a main island with a rental car so you can do your own sightseeing/activities.

Again, I don't know how much of that will translate to Fiji because I honestly am unsure how similar their tourism setup is!


ETA: For what it's worth, I would personally (just me!!) choose somewhere other than Fiji/Tahiti/etc. for that length of time if you're worried about boredom. Hawaii is a different monster... there is SO MUCH to do there, BUT you have to enjoy what they have to offer.

I think if you want to go to Europe, you should go to Europe and find a way to fit in an island for your husband... BUT 10 days is not very much time for Europe.

The good thing about Hawaii (and probably Costa Rica, but I haven't been) is that it can be done relatively inexpensively, so you could come in way under budget and save the rest for a future Europe trip when you have a little more time. In theory
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musey

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BTW have you checked out tripadvisor? It is the BEST.
 

emeraldlover1

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Crap, I meant fiji. Now I have to read the rest of the post.
 

marchswallowbird

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We''re not going anywhere. :( FI''s business has taken a nose-dive because of the recession and every penny is going to the wedding.
 

kama_s

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Date: 4/21/2009 4:54:54 PM
Author: musey
BTW have you checked out tripadvisor? It is the BEST.
WORD.

I think I mentioned it in the other honeymoon thread, but I can''t remember....anyways, we''re going to Tahiti, Moorea and Bora Bora for 2 weeks
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EM1, for your budget, you can do A LOT. Especially this year with the economy being crap. We saved almost 4-5K with our Tahiti trip because of special discounts. You mentioned Europe - I think that would make a fantastic honeymoon, and well within your budget. Here are some suggestions for a 10 days trip:

- France, England
- Italy
- Greece, Spain
- Netherlands, Belgium, Austria
 

kama_s

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Date: 4/21/2009 4:49:00 PM
Author: musey

Date: 4/21/2009 4:16:55 PM
Author: emeraldlover1
Musey...did you love Tahiti? We are scared of being bored there. Also, I hate to ask this but is it affordable with our budget??

Unfortuntatley because of my fiance''s job we can''t take off for that long other than right after the wedding. Apparently in his industry that is a valid excuse. I guess regular vacaiton is not.
I think it''s very easy to price this stuff, most resorts (at least in Fiji, I think Tahiti is similar) are on their own island and limit you to package deals (room + meals, activities are usually extra) so if it''s $350 a day, that''s all you need to budget. It depends greatly on the type of accommodation you choose - some places run in the thousands per night!
Tahiti is actually more like the Bahamas, with your room accommodation the only thing you get is your room. All meals and all activities are extra, so you must budget food expenses in addition (and from what I hear, meals can run you a fortune). You can also travel around a lot between closer islands for meals (from Tahiti to Moorea or between island pockets in Bora Bora).
 

kittybean

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Date: 4/21/2009 4:54:54 PM
Author: musey
BTW have you checked out tripadvisor? It is the BEST.
I heart TripAdvisor! I have planned many vacations using it, and they have all been amazing. You can find recommendations for everything there, from restaurants to hotels to activities to sights off the beaten path to transportation.
 

musey

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Date: 4/21/2009 7:19:24 PM
Author: kama_s

EM1, for your budget, you can do A LOT. Especially this year with the economy being crap. We saved almost 4-5K with our Tahiti trip because of special discounts.
Lucky!! We traveled at exactly the wrong time - airlines, hotels, etc. were bumping prices trying to make up for decreased business, they hadn''t made it to the "please just give us any money at all" phase. Our honeymoon cost us probably 3-4k more than it would now (I just priced something almost identical for my in-laws a couple of weeks ago)
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which was almost half our budget to begin with!
 

Dannielle

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We have two options; our first preference is Hawaii, most likely Oahu. I really like the look of Turtle Bay Resort, but it is a little exxy
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Soo.. our back-up is Orpheus Island Resort, its on a little island off the Queensland coast in Australia.
 

Haven

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We went to St. John in the USVI for ten nights. It was amazing. Best vacation I''ve ever had, and I really think it is the perfect honeymoon destination. And I''ve traveled *a lot.*

Greece is amazing, too. But St. John is definitely worth looking into.
 

honey22

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I wouldn''t recommend going to Fiji at the moment. I am not up with politics etc, but the military has taken control or something, the dollar has bottomed out, and it''s generally not advised to travel there at the moment. Thankfully we decided against booking our honeymoon there.

We are going to make a last minute booking at Hayman (to get the best possible last minute rates!!! saves $230 per night!!)

http://www.hayman.com.au/resort.php?section=resort
 

MakingTheGrade

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Iceland in August! So excited :)
 

NuggetBrain

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We are going to Costa Rica for ten nights. First five at the Paradisus Playa Conchal all-inclusive, next five at the Arenal Navara (http://www.arenalnayara.com/) which I am SUPER excited about because it looks beautiful. FI wanted to have the first five days for doing nothing but sitting on our bums which is why we picked the all inclusive. But we do want to experience the country, so we're going to go on a river tour, do some zip lining, and go to a hot spring. We're also going to rent scooters and tool around some of the smaller towns near Paradisus.

Its surprisingly inexpensive - we priced off of this year of course, but for airfare and hotel for both of us its between 4,000 and 6,000 depending on the level of rooms we pick. And when you consider that all food and booze is included in the first 5 days, and breakfast is included at the Arenal Navara you don't have to add in much for food. Excursions might be a bit pricy, but if your budget is around 10k then you'll have a ton left over for that.
 

katamari

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I think you should stick to Europe if that is what you are wanting to do now. If you want better weather, you could always do Capri, which is amazing any time but could possibly be a little less hot in September and a little more tolerable.

What kinds of things are you and your FI wanting to do on the vacation? For me, that is most important. Do you want to see art, relax on a beach, enjoy nature, eat amazing food, drink amazing wine, get a cultural experience, . . .? What kind of climate do you want? Whenever I have traveled to Europe it has always been in the late summer and the weather experiences vary so much. Holland can be downright nippy then, but Italy can be 100^F+. Do you want to stay in one city or travel around? (Sorry for the onslaught of questions).
 
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