Honeymoon Recommendations?

[Connoisseur]

So i'm getting married next year and the fiancee has put me in charge of the honeymoon planning. We're saving up some cash on the wedding so we can hopefully splurge a bit on a nice vacation. We're looking to go to places that have beautiful resorts but also a healthy dose of activities. Neither of us are the type of people who can just sit on a beach for a week straight. We're also looking for places off the beaten path so we can do things like hiking or water activities or both. I'd personally like to go somewhere with a lot of natural beauty, wildlife or something just really unique. One suggestion I got is to maybe fly to the maldives for 3-4 days and then spend some time in Africa (Zanzibar specifically).

Does anyone have any similar experiences or recommendations?

 

[jagec]

Madagascar is unique and has beautiful beaches without tons of tourists. You almost HAVE to speak French, though.

 

[mkrohn]

Why fly someplace expensive when any good honeymoon you'll never leave the room?

 

[Connoisseur]

Why fly someplace expensive when any good honeymoon you'll never leave the room?

That's the point... My idea of a good honeymoon is not sitting in a room or even on the beach for two weeks. Seems like a waste. I want a combination of relaxing at the beach and tons of cool sights and activities.

 

[Thebobo]

We'll your in NYC so you have those tacky Poconos resorts?

 

[Leros]

Detroit.

 

[Jeeebus]

We did 12 nights in French Polynesia. 2 in an over water bungalow and 10 on a cruise of 5 islands. We snorkeled, hiked, jet skied around Bora Bora, ATVs around one island, did jeep tours of islands, etc.

Best vacation ever.

 

[boochi]

Galápagos Islands

 

[Nintendesert]

Fiji or do St. Croix!

 

[Connoisseur]

Fiji or do St. Croix!

I've actually done St. Croix. It was nice for 4 days or so but got a bit boring after that. The resorts are beautiful and there's definitely a little bit of exploring but it's a small island and everything can really be done in a few days.

 

[TraumaRN]

We did 12 nights in French Polynesia. 2 in an over water bungalow and 10 on a cruise of 5 islands. We snorkeled, hiked, jet skied around Bora Bora, ATVs around one island, did jeep tours of islands, etc.

Best vacation ever.

I second this. Tahiti/Bora Bora/French Polynesia is utterly astounding. I loved it there.

Also if you do go down the French Polynesia route check Homeaway or VRBO.com rent someones condo. Way cheaper. Even have some overwater bungalows. Its also much more private than a resort. Unless of course you want the resort experience.

 

[kage69]

Unless you two are SCUBA fanatics, I wouldn't hit up The Maldives for your honeymoon. I spent 2 weeks there when I was a kid and it was certainly fun, but I just don't see it as a honeymoon specific destination.

It's more rustic than romantic, I'd opt for someplace with more to do than dive or tan. After the first couple days of fucking till your stupid, you'll be wanting more to do.


Costa Rica, Hawaii, Bora Bora, Spain, Thailand, Santorini, looked at any of them?

 

[Chaotic42]

I've never left the US, but I do like to world travel on Google Earth.

I'd vote the Greek islands or maybe somewhere weird like Sulawesi.

 

[akshatp]

Another vote for French Polynesia. We did 12 days in Tahiti/Moorea/Bora Bora -- its the perfect place for a honeymoon -- and like nothing you have ever experienced before. Even if your marriage doesn't last, your memories of this trip will

 

[Connoisseur]

Unless you two are SCUBA fanatics, I wouldn't hit up The Maldives for your honeymoon. I spent 2 weeks there when I was a kid and it was certainly fun, but I just don't see it as a honeymoon specific destination.

It's more rustic than romantic, I'd opt for someplace with more to do than dive or tan. After the first couple days of fucking till your stupid, you'll be wanting more to do.


Costa Rica, Hawaii, Bora Bora, Spain, Thailand, Santorini, looked at any of them?

Thanks for the input on Maldives. I'll take it into consideration. As for the others in the list:
1) Spain/Santorini/Europe in General - The Fiancee's already been to Greece and a lot of surrounding islands as well as France. She still wants that "tropical resort" experience for the honeymoon so we decided to hold off on Europe until a more normal vacay.
2) Costa Rica - Seems like one of those places where you can cover everything in a couple of days and then it's back to resort. Very beautiful though. Heard it's also a bit shady.. any thoughts?
3) Thailand -Definitely a consideration. We had some friends that went there and it looked amazing.

 

[Connoisseur]

Another vote for French Polynesia. We did 12 days in Tahiti/Moorea/Bora Bora -- its the perfect place for a honeymoon -- and like nothing you have ever experienced before. Even if your marriage doesn't last, your memories of this trip will

Thanks for all the recommendations on French Polynesia. I'll definitely look into this. Is it the kind of place with a ton of natural beauty and activities (hiking, boating, diving etc.)? I've also had this dream to see volcanoes. How is it in terms of shady-ness? Any areas we have to worry about?

 

[dullard]

Victoria Falls Zimbabwe. Do Lion's Park in South Africa (not too far from the Johassesberg airport) on the way or if you have more time go to Kruger. Botswana's delta is my next stop in that area.

 

[TraumaRN]

Thanks for all the recommendations on French Polynesia. I'll definitely look into this. Is it the kind of place with a ton of natural beauty and activities (hiking, boating, diving etc.)? I've also had this dream to see volcanoes. How is it in terms of shady-ness? Any areas we have to worry about?

No shadyness at all! Its the perfect place to explore hike, snorkel/scuba, beach bum, eat some good food, soak in the stunning beauty of the islands.

In Bora Bora I snorkeled with a local family. They also gave me fresh pineapple juice for free. Another local family sold me 4 grapefruit 2 papaya and a dozen bananas U pick style from their yard for about $3 USD.

Could buy 12 inch fresh french bread baguettes every morning from the main town in Bora Bora for about 50 cents each. I rented a privately owned overwater bungalow with a car on Bora Bora and loved the freedom it afforded.

In fact if you want I can PM you details of where I stayed at if you want.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I wanted to do the Azores but the timing did not sync up with an acceptable travel season for us. We're doing Thailand (but only spending 4 days in a beach area). You can tailor a Thai vacation to fit anywhere between "do absolutely nothing on the beach" and "extreme jungle trek."

 

[crashtestdummy]

My wife and I went to Norway, because we also wanted to be able to hike a bit.

Norway's parks have an awesome cabin system that makes it so you can backpack with day packs as you go from hut to hut. They'll even cook you dinner.

The mountains there are unbelievably beautiful. The climate varies wildly in different regions (or even within the same region). This is one of my favorite shots, during our hike of the Besseggen:

I highly recommend this book, as it has a lot of the most popular trekking routes.

 

[randomrogue]

So i'm getting married next year and the fiancee has put me in charge of the honeymoon planning. We're saving up some cash on the wedding so we can hopefully splurge a bit on a nice vacation. We're looking to go to places that have beautiful resorts but also a healthy dose of activities. Neither of us are the type of people who can just sit on a beach for a week straight. We're also looking for places off the beaten path so we can do things like hiking or water activities or both. I'd personally like to go somewhere with a lot of natural beauty, wildlife or something just really unique. One suggestion I got is to maybe fly to the maldives for 3-4 days and then spend some time in Africa (Zanzibar specifically).

Does anyone have any similar experiences or recommendations?

Zanzibar is a really good one. Maldives, Seychelles, etc. Tough to go wrong. If I was going on a Honeymoon I think I'd do exactly that. If you scuba dive maybe leave a few extra days on the Maldives since the diving is better there than on Zanzibar. Also, keep in mind that if you're on Zanzibar you'll be itching to do some form of Safari. Budget for it all.

 

[randomrogue]

Bali too. I'm going there again. I think you could make an amazing honeymoon out of Bali and the Gili islands.

A lot of this really depends on if you scuba dive though. If you don't scuba dive maybe consider doing something like Costa Rica instead. If you head down to Corcovado National Park there's a hotel at the bottom of the peninsula with rooms by the beach with only 3 walls that would make a really good honeymoon destination. Wild sex, jungle, ocean, and plenty to see and do.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

there is nothing to do in the maldives except relax on the beach (and water activities like scuba and snorkeling). tourists aren't really allowed to even explore, though you can get tours of the capital (we didnt bother). In some ways you are even a prisoner since almost all resorts are on small islands you rely on them 100% for transportation.

i would hesitate to travel all the way to the maldives just for 3 or 4 nights.

if you want to do volcanos what about hawaii. you could probably get the right blend of activities there + great beach.

 

[Exterous]

My wife and I went to Norway, because we also wanted to be able to hike a bit.

Norway's parks have an awesome cabin system that makes it so you can backpack with day packs as you go from hut to hut. They'll even cook you dinner.[/IMG]

One thing to keep in mind about Norway is cost. It has a very strong economy so drinks, food and activities etc can get expensive. There are things you can do to mitigate them but definitely something to be aware of esp when compared to some of the other places mentioned in this thread

Zanzibar is a really good one. Maldives, Seychelles, etc. Tough to go wrong. If I was going on a Honeymoon I think I'd do exactly that. If you scuba dive maybe leave a few extra days on the Maldives since the diving is better there than on Zanzibar. Also, keep in mind that if you're on Zanzibar you'll be itching to do some form of Safari. Budget for it all.

I think the Maldives might be a bit tame if he is looking for a lot of hiking and activities.

As Hardcorerobot mentioned its a looooooooong flight to the Maldives so if you are thinking about that maybe only a couple of days there before moving on to someplace else in the area

 

[jaedaliu]

One thing to keep in mind about Norway is cost. It has a very strong economy so drinks, food and activities etc can get expensive. There are things you can do to mitigate them but definitely something to be aware of esp when compared to some of the other places mentioned in this thread

It's not the strength of the economy, but the socialist political system. They tax luxury items and activities very heavily. Last I heard it's 100% sales tax on dining out.

Maui is a nice place for a honeymoon. Lots of hiking and activities. Though, can get pricey.