Slightly cheaper honeymoon destinations

[Lois]

I know there's a few honeymoon threads but they all seem to recommend the Maldives. In an ideal world we'd love a little water villa but it seems funds are very unlikely to allow even a small garden hut there!

What other destinations can you recommend that are still luxurious beach locations but don't cost the earth!!

[Dupont666]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

whats your budget?

I have a few locations in asia that if you can get over the flight price the actual price overall is around 1300 for 2 weeks each for 2

[havoc]

Agree with dupont...depending on the time of year. SE Asia tends to go through their monsoon during our summer, which while not the end of the world (they tend to be all-at-once showers-then-sun not the all-day-drizzle we get, plus prices are cheaper), probably isn't ideal.

So give us a time of year and we'll suggest...

[Dupont666]

havoc said:

Agree with dupont...depending on the time of year. SE Asia tends to go through their monsoon during our summer, which while not the end of the world (they tend to be all-at-once showers-then-sun not the all-day-drizzle we get, plus prices are cheaper), probably isn't ideal.

So give us a time of year and we'll suggest...

august was the time i went and it was that price and no rain... awesome and want to go back soon...

[Lois]

Middle/end of September.
Got to be under 3k all in, preferably AI.

[missdiane]

Sri Lanka was 2k for us in, look at Thailand also.
Not sure about Mauritius- I think that was cheaper than Maldives but more than India/Sri Lanka.

[Puggit]

Cape Verde?

[Dupont666]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

doable....

best advice would be to have a look round on sites like this:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g2976...

and

http://www.indo.com/hotels/ (cause its so much cheaper than doing it direct)

Alam puri is where we went for 2 nights of our stay in bali, but we didnt do a sit by the beach type of stay it was:

1st night - cheap hotel booked near airport (arrived 9pm so whats the point)
3 nights at home stay - see the sights that you wouldnt normal see with a local family (£100 including all meals and several temple visits, monkey forest visit and local markets)
speed boat to gili trawangan (£100 for 2 return tickets)
3 nights - £35 a night for a bungalow at http://www.manta-dive.com/diving-accommodation-gil... $20 for dive (this was our beach holiday)
speed boat back to bali
2 nights at alam puri (£50 a night)
2 nights in ubud (£10 a night)
fly to borneo to drop OH with friends
fly to Singapore to see friends for 2 nights.
go home.

And include the fire dance and palace dance at ubud and it was quite a special holiday for me and the OH, plus we stayed away from all the tourist traps.

The above is my kind of holiday, but as mentioned, we need to know what kind of holiday you want?

[havoc]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

The current weak pound won't help you, but with that budget I'd look at SE Asia if the weather co-operates (check which countries are/aren't raining heavily then). Or perhaps a NICE (i.e. not Sharm) Red Sea resort...

I'd also suggest that if you do go to SE Asia then AI won't be the best use of your money - 'local' restaurants are typically 1/2 the price of the hotels, and IMHO at least as nice if you pick the right places...

Final suggestion - book long-haul flights 8 or 9 months in advance - you'll get the cheapest rates then - we managed Japan for £500 each.

[Fezant Pluckah]

The climate in SE Asia varies from place to place.

You'll find that it is wetter in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam & the Philippines in August/September, but drier in say Bali or E Indonesia.

Apart from sitting on a beach and the usual activities associated with honeymoons, what else do you want to do? See some wildlife, maybe some volcanos, some ancient monuments, some nice cultural exchanges?

[Lois]

Puggit said:

Cape Verde?

We've just come back from there so want to try somewhere different.
Will look in to those other suggestions. As for what to do, hubby to be likes scuba diving.

[Fezant Pluckah]

Is this honeymoon THIS August/September Lois?

[havoc]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Red Sea.
Northern point of Borneo.
...and lots of expensive little islands...

We did Bali and Borneo for our honeymoon in May/June 2005 - 4* in Bali, 5* in Sabah, Borneo. I think it was a little shy of £3k B&B before spending money, and exchange rates won't have helped. That said, if you can get the flights cheaply and don't mind 3* accom'n, it's doable. Single-site would save you a bit on the flights, too...

[Dupont666]

havoc said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Red Sea.
Northern point of Borneo.
...and lots of expensive little islands...

We did Bali and Borneo for our honeymoon in May/June 2005 - 4* in Bali, 5* in Sabah, Borneo. I think it was a little shy of £3k B&B before spending money, and exchange rates won't have helped. That said, if you can get the flights cheaply and don't mind 3* accom'n, it's doable. Single-site would save you a bit on the flights, too...

Sabah is where im planning for this year for the diving... done Gili Islands, got stung by the jelly fish, saw the turtles and moray eels... now its time for somewhere else and since the OH has clocked up nearly all of her diving in asia, Sabah is the area she likes most to go diving off and the small islands there.

[Fezant Pluckah]

Can I suggest here as being a possibility for you, Lois? It's a nice resort (3 to 4 star), the service is excellent, the food is good, it's got a great beach and nice snorkelling, your hubby 2B will LOVE the diving (see here for piccies I took there last September), it's got a spa for you to get pampered in, they can do day trips to the mainland for you to see rainforests, volcanos, markets, stuff like that. It IS "self-contained" in as much as it's the resort and nothing else, though there are a couple of villages on the island, but they're not worth bothering about. So it's what the resort has got to offer on a day to day basis, and not much else, though that would apply in somewhere like the Maldives as well. And you should have drier weather there than say Thailand, Cambodia etc. It may rain a little bit, but it's not monsoonal rain, so it would be short sharp bursts.

There are some silly bargains on Singapore Airlines atm (and if you flew from Heathrow you can go on their new Airbus A380, though they also fly from Manchester, but only on the 747-400), and I could do you a deal on the resort if you were interested. It would all fit in your budget - assuming you're not looking to spend 6 weeks on holiday...

[Lois]

Fezant Pluckah said:

Is this honeymoon THIS August/September Lois?

No, next september.

[Dupont666]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Start thinking about booking at least a year in advance for the flights and then you can get them for circa £350-400 instead of £600+ if of course you do go to Asia.... but I would look at doing that part of the booking soon, no matter where you go.

[Fezant Pluckah]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

OK. Well you can't usually book flights until 11 months out, so not much you can do until September/October of this year. And some airlines won't have fares out for next August by then.

But it is all doable.

[pjac67]

Palm fringe beach based full board on the cheap? I give you:
http://www.africansafariclub.com/html/kenya_offers...

Took the family there a few years ago and added on a cruise and safari for next to nothing.
Exceptionally good value especially if you book last minute (14nights FB < £400 !!)

[CraigW]

as an idea, maybe ask for honeymoon donations as a wedding gift, some friends of mine who didnt really need anything for their home did this.