Honeymoon outside of Europe

[kowalski655]

Not THAT much outside Europe, but totally different-Morocco. Old cities,Sahara jeep safaris, fun markets,and great beaches, also fking hot
You may also get offered gold bars and camels for the missus( I did when we went to Agadir on our honeymoon) so result there

[Zachlain]

kowalski655 said:

Not THAT much outside Europe, but totally different-Morocco. Old cities,Sahara jeep safaris, fun markets,and great beaches, also fking hot
You may also get offered gold bars and camels for the missus( I did when we went to Agadir on our honeymoon) so result there

Lol! Yes its not much out of Europe but when I began researching about Morrocco this afternoon, the place just appealed to me so much. I feel that there is loads I could do there with my future wife and we would not get bored.

I am planning on staying in Marrakech, and then arranging excursions to the sahara desert, visits to the Great Atlas, and other cities like Fez etc. and a trip to the beach too.

Can I ask - did you book your excursions when you arrived there or in advance?
Do you have a recommendation for good hotels there?

[Rob_T]

believe it or not, for my honeymoon, i took a cruise up the inside passage....

this was a 10 day affair.

and before you get too excited, it's this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Passage

flew to vancouver and cruised up to alaska. saw glaciers calving, took helicopter trips up mountains - lots of brilliant stuff. and not a beach in site.

totally recommend it.

[kowalski655]

Zachlain said:

Can I ask - did you book your excursions when you arrived there or in advance?
Do you have a recommendation for good hotels there?

IIRC we booked them when we arrived, but it was 18 years ago( Blimey you get less than that for murder!!!)
We stayed at the Hotel Tagadirt in Agadir, which was nice enough, but it probably isn't there any more.
I wanted to go to a hotel in,I think, Tangier, that hadn't changed since the 40's, (faded 4 star beauty) but got outvoted
I'm sure someone else will be able to give better advice than my fading memory
Just watch out for pigeon pie- I ended up but from both ends

[Zachlain]

kowalski655 said:

IIRC we booked them when we arrived, but it was 18 years ago( Blimey you get less than that for murder!!!)
We stayed at the Hotel Tagadirt in Agadir, which was nice enough, but it probably isn't there any more.
I wanted to go to a hotel in,I think, Tangier, that hadn't changed since the 40's, (faded 4 star beauty) but got outvoted
I'm sure someone else will be able to give better advice than my fading memory
Just watch out for pigeon pie- I ended up but from both ends

Thanks mate! Yep i will avoid the pigeon pie then.

I think Marrakech will be a good hoenymoon destination, because it should have enough things going on without us getting bored.

I will welcome any other opinions/advice on Marrakech from others, and thanks for all your help so far

[northwest monkey]

Zachlain said:

northwest monkey said:

The Maldives is an incredible place & somewhere you should go before it disappears! It is a beach place though so what about a split holiday - 1 week Maldives & 1 week Sri Lanka? There was a couple when we were there that did exactly this.

Goa is a great place - beaches are beautiful & there is also plenty to do. We went to South Goa for 3 weeks & barely scratched the surface.

Flight times are about the same for both places. We flew direct to the Maldives from Manchester (about 12 ish hours) and the flight to Goa stopped in Bahrain for a couple of hours - total was about 12 ish hours.

I'm pretty sure Goa will be hot in May, not sure about Maldives.

Hi Mate,
What kind of things can one do in the Maldives then?
Is it mainly water sports orientated?
Are their historical sites and museums to visit?
Is food and hotels reasonably priced?

Not a huge deal to do to be honest. The islands are small - the one we stayed on was about a 10 minute walk from one end to the other! There was a 2 storey block in the "middle" of the island (20 rooms or so), about 20 bungalows and about 6 or so water bungalows. 1 restaurant, a coffee shop, gift shop and a bar. That's pretty much about it. No tv in the room & internet was via a 56k modem (optimistic). It was surrounded by a reef & we were on the "lagoon" side of the island (other side was where the bar was). We do a lot of snorkelling so it was perfect. Lazy mornings, snorkel, lazy lunch then watch the baby sharks hunting. Another snorkel in the afternoon & watch the big sharks coming in to hunt. Then to the bar & restaurant. There was entertainment in the evening & I'm not normally one for socialising on holiday but we did there. Distinct lack of chavs which was nice.

You can visit Male (sp?) which is the capital, but we didn't bother. There isn't a great deal to do really which was perfect for what we wanted. Food & drink isn't cheap, but when you think about the logistics of getting everything to a tiny lump of sand in the middle of the Indian Ocean, it's actually pretty reasonable!

If sitting on a beach & snorkelling / diving isn't your thing then don't go - you'll hate it! There were also no watersports (jetskis / windsurf etc) allowed on the island we were on so that's also worth checking before you go.

Probably one of the best holidays I've ever been on & felt very lucky to have had the chance to go really.

I don't think I'd ever go back though & that's purely because I think it's a memory I'd like to keep exactly as it was & not ever have to compare.

p.s - if you do go, then get the seaplane transfer to your island - fantastic experience!

[havoc]

We honeymooned in Borneo and Bali in May-06. There aren't any 'resorts' in Sabah (well, not 7 years ago), but there are some properly nice hotels (can recommend the Tanjung Aru). And of course the wildlife.

I recommend booking your excursions there before you go (inc. permits to see the turtles), and you'll probably want to spend at least one night in Sandakan, as a lot of the wildlife stuff is in the top corner near there. Abdul Rahman national park is worth a boat trip too, if only for the effing great monitor lizards at the back of the beach!!!

Thailand/Vietnam/etc. is likely to be very wet in May. Africa a decent idea - Tanzania/Kenya might be pretty cool, esp. if you do a safari/beach split.

[Zachlain]

Thanks for the above information Northwest Monkey and Havoc.

Although I like going to the beach (I have scuba dived in Turkey, canooed in Greece etc.), for the honeymoon I want something land based where we can soak in the culture of a city.

One other thing which has become more apparent to me is that I will have to keep a tight budget for the honeymoon as the wedding itself is going to cost a fortune.

I am pretty sure I will go for Marrakech, Morrocco, but I havent let the fiancee know that yet! Morroco appears to be cheap to get to, and plenty of things to take in and do there. I know it doesnt sound as exotic as a 'paradise' island like Maldives etc., but i think its still very different compared to the rest of Europe.

[northwest monkey]

Zachlain said:

I know it doesnt sound as exotic as a 'paradise' island like Maldives etc., but i think its still very different compared to the rest of Europe.

To be honest, I don't think it should matter too much where you go for your honeymoon really. I hope you have a fantastic time

My advice for Morocco would be to check the rates when you are changing money & then count out every note. And to be on the safe side, take some Diocalm

Is it Morocco you can visit the original Star Wars sets?

[havoc]

Tunisia I believe.

Arab culture is very different...possibly mot the most relaxing honeymoon destination but a lot more interesting than a lot of the Med...

[Hayabusasailing]

Mauritius gets my vote, easy flight , minimal jet lag, interesting island with some great (complimentry) water q sports. Try the prince Maurice or the beau rivage. I also like Malaysia but the jet lag and night flight are not very welcome. Try the anderman or the datai in langkawi.