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Where Do We Go?!

Knottie1445895152Knottie1445895152 member
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in Honeymoon Discussions
My fiance and I are trying to narrow down honeymoon destinations. I want to take "the trip of a lifetime" and a vacation we most likely will never be able to take again once children are in the equation.  We love to travel and have been to plenty of Caribbean Islands, so that area is out. I'd prefer somewhere less beachy, more adventurous, and are open to bouncing around from city to city as we'll be taking a 14 day honeymoon. So far we have Greece and Africa, but want to have a few more in mind when we meet w/ our travel agent this week. Any suggestions for MUST SEE destinations and why did you love it?! Thanks in advance! 
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Re: Where Do We Go?!

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    Jells2dot0Jells2dot0 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    edited May 2016

    I just got back from New Zealand last month. We were there for two weeks and were very active. It was just so stunning and everyone was nice. It was one of our favorite trips to date.

    We have also done Australia and never even left Queensland during the 2.5 weeks we were there! Lots to see and do. Again, everyone was super friendly and the areas we stayed in were gorgeous.

    We have also been all over Europe. It's easy to bounce around via train if you stay within a certain area and there is TONS to see! I've been all over Europe and in particular, really enjoyed Switzerland, England, Belgium, and Germany. I just got back from Norway a few days ago as well and that was interesting!

    I think budget will play a role in what you can make work, but I'm sure your travel agent can help you narrow everything down based on what yours wants and needs are for this trip.

     







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    climbingsingleclimbingsingle member
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    We did Italy for our HM and I can't recommend it enough. We're actually going back next year on a hiking trip with Backroads Travel.
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    STARMOON44STARMOON44 member
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    Jells2dot0 said:

    I just got back from New Zealand last month. We were there for two weeks and were very active. It was just so stunning and everyone was nice. It was one of our favorite trips to date.

    We have also done Australia and never even left Queensland during the 2.5 weeks we were there! Lots to see and do. Again, everyone was super friendly and the areas we stayed in were gorgeous.

    We have also been all over Europe. It's easy to bounce around via train if you stay within a certain area and there is TONS to see! I've been all over Europe and in particular, really enjoyed Switzerland, England, Belgium, and Germany. I just got back from Norway a few days ago as well and that was interesting!

    I think budget will play a role in what you can make work, but I'm sure your travel agent can help you narrow everything down based on what yours wants and needs are for this trip.

    I love all of these suggestions and always wonder what your job is. Major travel jealousy!
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    Jells2dot0Jells2dot0 mod
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    STARMOON44 said:
    Jells2dot0 said:

    I just got back from New Zealand last month. We were there for two weeks and were very active. It was just so stunning and everyone was nice. It was one of our favorite trips to date.

    We have also done Australia and never even left Queensland during the 2.5 weeks we were there! Lots to see and do. Again, everyone was super friendly and the areas we stayed in were gorgeous.

    We have also been all over Europe. It's easy to bounce around via train if you stay within a certain area and there is TONS to see! I've been all over Europe and in particular, really enjoyed Switzerland, England, Belgium, and Germany. I just got back from Norway a few days ago as well and that was interesting!

    I think budget will play a role in what you can make work, but I'm sure your travel agent can help you narrow everything down based on what yours wants and needs are for this trip.

    I love all of these suggestions and always wonder what your job is. Major travel jealousy!

    LOL Only one of those trips was for my job and that was to Norway. However, all of the travel we do for work allows us to use FF miles and hotel points for fun travel :) We used our FF miles for air to New Zealand and use hotel points most of the time when we go to Europe. I think Australia was one of the only trips that we did completely out of pocket.

     







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    Knottie1445895152Knottie1445895152 member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    I did think about adding Australia to the list, so thanks for the reply! We've had a lot of family members recommend Italy too. We'll be going right after our wedding, so it will be June 2017.  We live in CT, so while anything 50+ degrees is warm to us I don't want to have to pack stuff to bundle up in. 

    Thanks so much for the suggestions!!! 
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    delujm0delujm0 member
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    What is your budget?  going from CT to Europe is going to probably be a different budget range than from CT to Australia.  Also, consider that you lose 2 full days on the way to Australia from the east coast (20+ hours of flights, plus layovers, plus crossing the international date line), and that June is winter south of the equator, so if you do want to spend time on a beach, keep that in mind.  Personally, I wouldn't go to Australia from the east coast with less than 3 weeks of vacation time (because I'd only want to deal with that travel once in my life, so I'd want to see EVERYTHING that one time).

     

    Europe does tend to be more expensive in the summer, so keep that in mind as well.  Also southern Italy can be uncomfortably hot, even as early as June.

     

    We went to South Africa and Mauritius in June 2014.  We knew it was winter and that it would potentially be chilly in Cape Town, but we lucked out and had great weather there - 4 sunny days between 60-75 degrees and one all our rainy day of about 55 degrees.  On safari it was cold when the sun was down but 80's when it was up (which I think is almost a year round occurrence) and Mauritius is tropical, so a pretty consistent 70-85 degrees (with one out of 5 days being rainy...we just shopped that day).  Flights are a bit pricey but the exchange rate, especially in South Africa, is really good right now.  I desperately want to go back (but my 10 month old baby is kind of making that difficult right now).  We had 2.5 weeks off.  I could have used at LEAST another half week.  But if we had just done South Africa without Mauritius, two weeks would have been enough time I think.

     

    Really think through your monetary and time budgets.  Research flights (to figure out if you can go nonstop or need multiple layovers to get where you are going).  Go to the library and take out travel guides to research what you'd like to see and do and make sure you'd have enough time to do your must-sees.  If you don't have a lot of international travel experience, a travel agent is a good idea.  I typically plan my own trips, but for the honeymoon I used an agent because the flights in Africa were kind of confusing, and it worked out great.  She was able to get us some hotel deals that were not published online.  Make sure you find an agent with a lot of experience where you want to go.  A good agent is amazing, but a bad one can be a terrible experience, and they both cost you the same thing (nothing).

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    Knottie1445895152Knottie1445895152 member
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    Our agents are actually my fiance's aunt and uncle, so we very much trust them to get us the best deals and trust their advice. Our budget is approx $10k.  My fiance did mention the travel time to Australia as being a con for him, so we're going to do some more research tonight! 
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    CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited May 2016
    When is your wedding, and when do you plan to travel?

    This is similar to our favorite trip.  You do have to sign in to see the deal, but they won't bother you.  Any travel agent can get you a similar deal.
    http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=19859

    As for never being able to travel after children, you will be restricted for a few years, but many cruise lines are family friendly and have special programs for kids, age elementary school through high school.  We have taken 21 cruises, starting at age 50, and this was our favorite.

    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
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    ernursejernursej member
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    We went to Helsinki/Stockholm/Oslo/Tallinn and Copenhagen this past Christmas and loved it. It was a bit pricey but adventure was worth it. There is a ton of stuff to do and the weather would be really nice in June.
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    ei34ei34 member
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    We went to Rome, Florence, and Venice, and it was phenomenal.  I'd go back in a heartbeat.  It was just under $10k.
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    kahluakoalakahluakoala member
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    I suggest Argentina! You can do wine country, cities, see glaciers - lots of variety and adventure. It also may be a little cheaper once you get there so you can spend more on hotels and such.
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    TyvmTyvm member
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    @KahluaKoala Australia is really good for wine country, cities, wildlife...and for nervous travelers who don't like going to countries that don't speak English.

    If you're considering Asia, Thailand is FANTASTIC, and super cheap once you get there. Rain forests! Lagoons! Amazing temples! Fantastic island beaches! Spicy foods! Just the best.

    k thnx bye

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    CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited May 2016
    Tyvm said:
    @KahluaKoala Australia is really good for wine country, cities, wildlife...and for nervous travelers who don't like going to countries that don't speak English.

    If you're considering Asia, Thailand is FANTASTIC, and super cheap once you get there. Rain forests! Lagoons! Amazing temples! Fantastic island beaches! Spicy foods! Just the best.
    I was a bit uncomfortable in Thailand because of the huge economic gap between ourselves, the rich Americans, and the local people.  I was embarrassed.  Indonesia (Bali) wasn't as obvious.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
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    thisismynickname2thisismynickname2 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    Have you met with the travel agent? How's it going?

    I'll add that we, too, were confused about where to go for a honeymoon. We're not beach people. We wanted to do something "different" (not the typical places where most people in our social circles go). 

    Try to think of places off the beaten path by perusing travel blogs or lists on sites like Trip Advisor. I have to admit, the only reason Lake Como, Italy, occurred to us is because my mom suggested it and pointed out that George Clooney has a villa there. Good enough for George, good enough for us, right? And when I searched hotel prices around our wedding date, it was shockingly affordable. Done and done. 

    Friends of our went to the Galapogos for their honeymoon. Pretty darn cool and off the beaten path. 
    ________________________________


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    WinstonsGirlWinstonsGirl member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Our big trips have been:
    - Eastern med cruise - Italy, Greece, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, 3 weeks total, though not all of these places are the safest anymore.
    - Iceland, Finland, the 3 Baltic states, Russia (Moscow and St. Petersburg) for about 3 weeks as well.  We got super cheap airfare through IcelandAir and their free stopover program.  Russia was one place we've always wanted to see too.  

    Future trips:
    - Manchu Picchu (Peru)
    - Spain/Portugal/Morocco
    - Africa (Rwanda/Kenya/Tanzania area, and climbing Kilimanjaro).  That's the current one we're planning, but budget is hard cos it's so much to spend on 1 trip
    - Thailand/Laos/Cambodia
    - Australia/NZ (for me, DH has been before)
    - Chile, to visit DH's family, but he has little interest (he left when he was about 10 and hasn't been back)

    There are other places we want to go, but those are the big ones.  What did you decide with your travel agent?


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    TyvmTyvm member
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    @WinstonsGirl You MUST do Southern Spain! Oh man, the architecture there. It's lovely! Although, I'm a bit biased as we got engaged there   ;)

    Greece is nice, and bouncing around the Greek Islands is a bunch of fun, although a bit beach-focused. Crete was heaven on Earth!

    I did study abroad in Turkey when I was much younger. Cappadoccia is a fairytale. Hot balloon yourself all over that nonsense!! Oh, and Mt. Nemrut. And the Iznik tiles!!

    k thnx bye

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    WinstonsGirlWinstonsGirl member
    First Anniversary First Answer First Comment 5 Love Its
    Tyvm said:
    @WinstonsGirl You MUST do Southern Spain! Oh man, the architecture there. It's lovely! Although, I'm a bit biased as we got engaged there   ;)

    Greece is nice, and bouncing around the Greek Islands is a bunch of fun, although a bit beach-focused. Crete was heaven on Earth!

    I did study abroad in Turkey when I was much younger. Cappadoccia is a fairytale. Hot balloon yourself all over that nonsense!! Oh, and Mt. Nemrut. And the Iznik tiles!!
    That's the plan.  We just need more time off work and a LottoMax win.  ;)  We almost did Spain instead of Russia, but flights were about $700 more per person, so we left it for later.  

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    CMGragainCMGragain member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited May 2016
    We loved southern Spain, too.  We did a cheap trans-Atlantic cruise that stopped in Portugal and southern Spain.  Hot weather, but fantastic history and architecture.  Photographer's delight!  We are looking forward to Barcelona next month, the one port we didn't visit, since our cruise ended in Rome.
    We took a cheap Aer Lingus one-way flight back to the USA.
    httpiimgurcomTCCjW0wjpg
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