Honeymoon Discussions

Honeymoon Ideas..

Looking for a little advice from people who have traveled! FI and I were not even talking honeymoon right after wedding because we thought we were going to have to do a family Christmas trip right before it. Now we are not doing that anymore and he's opened the floor for discussion. We like to travel, both have passports, and are open to any and all ideas. We don't have a budget yet but are very fortunate that our budget is super flexible and the amount of time we can take depends on the perfect idea. Ideally we would like a combination of relaxation and sightseeing or adventure, FI can only do so much laying on the beach but does enjoy it for a day or two. We would like somewhere we haven't been before and he has only said he has no interest in Russia for unknown reasons. Places we have been:

Dominican Republic: 7 day all inclusive with golf, we did have fun but he was over it by the end
Mexico (Cabo and Cancun): We have both done Mexico 4 times and don't really want to do it again for the honeymoon
Hawaii: Awesome fun, would consider a different Island (we were on Maui)
Alaska: Winter wedding, might not want a redo of this but the adventure part was fun

I have also done Singapore, Taiwan, UK, Bermuda and would happily go back to any but I think somewhere new for both of us would be fun.

Wedding is in January 2016 and he can't do summer vacations so we have to do it in the winter. 

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Re: Honeymoon Ideas..

  • amelishaamelisha member
    First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited March 2015
    I just suggested this on another thread, but one of my favourite trips ever was to southern Africa (South Africa/Namibia/Botswana/Zambia). So much fun, so much to do, and you can do everything from super luxurious game lodge/safari stuff to eating and drinking in the wine country to quad biking in the desert and anything else in between. FI and I both loved it and we didn't even go together. I hiked Fish River Canyon, went skydiving over the Skeleton Coast, climbed some of the oldest dunes in the world, went wine tasting near Cape Town, and stayed up almost all night watching elephants, giraffes, rhino, and some female lions at the watering hole in Etosha park.

    Another of my favourite places ever is Spain. I lived there twice working and it is fantastic, although Andalucia is my favourite. Sevilla/Granada/Ronda maybe? Or even up north and just spend a week or two in and around Barcelona? It's not beach warm in January but it's perfectly pleasant and there is so much to do and see. And you could head down to Morocco for a bit if that interests you.

    We're going to Peru for our honeymoon to hike the Inca Trail, but there's not much relaxing involved there...

    But you could certainly consider somewhere in Central or South America - Costa Rica, maybe? You can do a great combo of more active (explore the rainforests etc) and beach resort there and it's a little less built-up tourist-strip-like than, say, resort area Mexico.

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  • Thanks! This is a great place to start! We have talked about southern Africa and maybe doing a safari! It's funny to me that when you are totally open to all ideas it makes it a lot harder to decide on a spot so I like to hear ideas that other people have enjoyed. You sound super adventurous and I feel like I would enjoy discussing your travels with you over a glass of wine!

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  • We had the same problem trying to decide where to get married. We had an opened ended budget and love to travel, so we made a huge list of destinations, along with pros and cons. Our biggest problem was not havin enough time to fit everything in!

    Some places we've been:

    -Australia
    -Africa (safari then Seychelles or Mauritius)
    -Tahiti (alone or in combination with Australia)
    - Fiji (alone or in combination with Australia)
    - Cook Islands in combination with New Zealand (we've only done the Cooks, but it would be too boring for a longer trip)

    We love traveling in Europe, but in winter, it may not be ideal. We have done a few driving trips around Europe, but you would have to have snow chains on the car.




     







  • edited March 2015
    Like Amelisha, I just posted about South Africa in another thread also.  So much to do there.

    Here is a totally different and unusual suggestion: Galapagos Islands.  My wife and I visited them while we were dating and it's like no other place on earth.  We did a cruise around the islands.  Each day we visited a different one of the islands.  Did snorkeling, hiking, etc.  It was spectacular and I'm not sure I've ever found a place that matches it (though believe it or not Yellowstone is pretty damn impressive).  It's on the equator so there is no issue with temperature/winter. 

    If you're up for a long trip (say two weeks) you can combine the Galapagos Islands with another stop or two in South America.  We hit up Buenos Aires, Rio and Iguazu Falls on the same trip.
    Michael - The Honeymoon Guy  http://thehoneymoonguy.com
    Guiding you to a champagne honeymoon on a beer budget!

  • New Zealand.  It's not as commercial as Australia.  It has amazing beaches, wineries, hiking, sailing, adventure sports etc... The north and south islands are totally different.  It's a great place to just drive around and explore.  People are super friendly.  You could always stop at in the Cook Islands on the way there or back.
  • I always suggest to people looking for something a little different to go to Costa Rica.  It is not even on a lot of people's radar.  This country is beautiful and can be as cheap or expensive of a trip as you want.  There are different regions and I would highly recommend traveling to several.  I would recommend you start in either the San jose region then head down to the drier guanacaste region and then head much further south and get to stay in the rainforest.  It is a trip that has a ton of beaches as well as adventure- hiking, white water rafting, volcano's, hot springs, zip lining etc.  We went there 3 years ago and hope to go back.  We stayed in the Guanacaste region but visited the arenal region for the volcano's and rainforest.
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  • If you do Hawaii, I suggest the Big Island.  We are doing the Big Island, Maui and if time allows we will be seeing Kauai (another very good island for adventure)  The Big Island has a lot of great hiking, snorkeling, star gazing, all that kind of stuff perfect for an adventurous couple.  We are going beginning of December and leaving right before Christmas.  We both got the Hawaiian Airlines credit card so we paid around $11 for two tickets on a direct flight to Oahu with a quick layover before arriving in Kona. 

    But if you are looking for something new, I second the Galapagos Islands.  Friends of mine did their honeymoon there and loved it! I would say Alaska, (we also considered it) but in the Winter, you won't get to see as much and you will have a lot less daylight to explore.  

  • Everyone is so helpful on here and I'm making a spreadsheet of your suggestions! I'm so excited that I finally got FI with the travel bug since I have always had it, and he's up for anything! I think we will back burner the Yellowstone option since we live about 4hrs away from it and have a camp trailer so that's already on the radar for a long weekend, and yes, Alaska was a BLAST and we happened to get amazing weather in Feb but I think we will hold off on that one until we get to a place where FI can do a summer vacation! Galapagos is one I hadn't even thought of and sounds exciting! 

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  • Some of our favourite places have been Iceland, Turkey, Hawaii.   I also loved China.  The architecture was beautiful.  

    On our to go list - south east Asia, Peru (Inca Trail), Africa (climbing Kilimanjaro, that general area) and probably everywhere else I haven't been yet

  • I think the Central America idea is great! You can even combine Costa Rica and Panama if you want to see more. You get a mix of the beach but can take advantage of the adventure part by visiting the rain forest renting ATV's Zip lining etc. There is a lot of sight seeing and history if you like to wander around old towns. You can go any time of year and the weather will be great! 
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