UK honeymoon

heidirs731

I would really love to travel to somewhere in the UK (Wales, Scottland, Irreland, or England) for our honeymoon.

My fiance would really love an all-inclusive resort or cruise. He's looking for the least amount of fuss and worry as possible.

So far, most of the all-inclusive things we have found are in the Caribbean. I think we found one in France. Most cruises also seem to stay below the UK, hitting France, Span, or Greece.

Has anyone done a honeymoon in the UK, and can anyone give us some advice on budgeting or finding a place that would make my fiance happy?

music11

We are going to Ireland and England (spending most of our time in Ireland).  So far, planning/budgeting hasn't been too bad.  We are staying at B&B's, and have tried to pre-book all of the activities we are doing (Cliffs of Moher, horseback riding, etc.) We did try to give ourselves flexibility, allowing a few days to explore the cities so that if we needed more time to rest, we could have it.

Neither of us are really resort/beach people, so this was a good option for us.

Jells2dot0

IMHO, going to Europe and trying to do it all inclusive is a total waste. The best part about being over there is to be out exploring and taking the cuture and the history, not being stuck at a resort because you paid all of this money upfront and you now want to your money's worth. People go to Europe to explore and be on the go. A cruise is probably the closest thing to what you are looking for, but I am not well versed on that. I do not think you are going to find an AI resort in the UK, though. It's best to focus on cruises or just realize you will be eating most of your meals out while exploring.

TravelingJen

Jells2dot0 said:

IMHO, going to Europe and trying to do it all inclusive is a total waste. The best part about being over there is to be out exploring and taking the culture and the history, not being stuck at a resort because you paid all of this money upfront and you now want to your money's worth. People go to Europe to explore and be on the go. A cruise is probably the closest thing to what you are looking for, but I am not well versed on that. I do not think you are going to find an AI resort in the UK, though. It's best to focus on cruises or just realize you will be eating most of your meals out while exploring.

I agree with all of this.

How much time will you guys have? If you have two weeks, a good compromise might be to stay in two different locations (i.e. one week in London, one week in Bath or Edinburgh) and do day-trips from each location. That way you guys aren't constantly on the go and have home bases. I would recommend renting apartments to save a bit of $$ not only on lodging, but also on food as you could utilize the kitchen to cook meals. 

My husband has a similar attitude as yours does (doesn't want to deal with logistics, stress, etc) and would prefer to go the all-inclusive route. However, I am personally not a fan of all-inclusive vacations. I enjoy go go go vacations with lots of sightseeing and activities. I find that a good compromise that works for both of us is one that involves staying in a location for a longer period of time versus city hopping. Just something to consider!

manateehugger

I totally agree on the no all-inclusive thing. You can easily do trains in the UK and explore a couple different areas for a while. 

The last time I went, we flew into London, took a train up to Edinburgh, stayed a week there (took day trips up north), took a train to Bath (2 days), and finally did a week in London. We took trains literally everywhere. 

I highly recommend stopping off in Bath for a few days - tons of B&B's and guided regional tours to be found there. And it's a beautiful town. 

ETA: If you're doing Edinburgh in the summer, the University of Edinburgh converts some dorms into basically hostels/hotels. The prices are very reasonable for Edinburgh. 

hz80408

What about a package that includes airfare/hotel and rental car if needed?  There are so many of these out for Ireland and most are a great deal.

We booked a trip with Sceptre Tours (via Travelzoo) for 8 days in Ireland for LESS than the price of just our flight would be been if we'd purchased through the airline.

I'm not sure what your interests are, but you could easily do Ireland as your entire honeymoon on a budget if you wanted to.  Ireland had never been on my list of places to go but now having been, it's so gorgeous, I recommend to all: http://justcallmehaha.blogspot.com/2012/10/ireland-day-1.html

tiny speck

You won't be able to do all inclusive in the UK. Like others said it just won't be worth it.

Don't try and do too much! My advice would be to pick one or two areas (depending on how long you are staying in total) and rent a house or apartment to stay in. Yes you'll have to do some of your own cooking, but it will save you a ton of money on hotels, especially if you are going for over a week.

Also, anywhere outside of London will be significantly cheaper. I have been living in Yorkshire (2 hours north of London by train) and there is so much to see and do here. Yorkshire and/or the Lake District would make a lovely honeymoon and there are definitely cottages and apartments available to rent throughout these regions.

JaneAustensGhost

I live in England.  We're going to the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides then to Paris.  Isle of Skye looks absolutely stunning with cliffs and sea life and gorgeous golf resorts.   We're planning to take a boat ride around the island to see the otters and birds.  

It might be an area for you to look into. I've also heard good things about Cumbria.

I haven't seen any all-inclusive resorts in England at all.   

mercimarie

We are getting married in York and if you are going to England I would highly recommend a visit to this totally amazing city. It is so full of history and is absolutely beautiful. 

ohmena

Don't forget Wales.

Castles, dragons, sheep, lots of green.

As others said you aren't going to find all inclusive in the UK. Hotels yes but not AL.

orwhatuwill

We're planning a trip to London, Cardiff, Norwich & Edinburgh over 12 days in May 2014. We're from Maine, USA, but we'll be leaving from Boston, MA landing in London and eventually flying back out of Edinburgh.

We spent a lot of time looking at coach bus trips, that would arrange all the travel, accommodations and many of the meals. We ultimately decided to plan our own trip. But some of the least expensive coach trips we found were:

http://www.expatexplore.com/tours.html

http://www.affordabletours.com (search for england, the month you hope to travel and then sort by price)

KHarding2B

I spent a month in the UK this year and I would probably say that Wales seems the most relaxing for a honeymoon. There are some GORGEOUS beaches, and breathtaking castles. in particular, I loved Caernarfon and Conwy, and Rhossili beach. 

I also felt that Edinburgh had a laid back, fun vibe. 

heidirs731

I would love to do Whales, and I think booking B&Bs would be the way to go. But we've decided to forgo the flight costs and do a Euro trip some time later in our lives. Thanks for all the input!