The Maldives or St Lucia?

Endora_2

Just to say many thanks to all those who have commented on this so far, looks like the Maldives is in the lead. We are also possibly thinking of spending a few days in Singapore first as my friend lives over there and I've only seen her once in the past 30 years! We would then go across to the Maldives for the remainder of our holiday, we're hoping to renew our wedding vows too! Anyone know of best way to book this type of holiday, through agent or direct online?:A

jyonda

We booked our Maldives holiday with Hayes and Jarvis (who are part of First choice) via Quidco for 3% cashback. First Choice operate their own flights which are good quality compared to other charter carriers such as Monarch (apparently). You may need to go with another airline if you wish to stop off in Singapore but I can recommend Bandos island resort and the transfer is only a 10 minute boat ride from the airport which is great after a long haul flight.

bclark

I have done both and whilst st Lucia is really special I just felt that the Maldives was more unique! There really are very places like it on earth and it is just so beautiful!

It isn't cheap but good deals have been found. I went for my honeymoon two years ago as a once in a lifetime thing and now we are going again next year because once just wasn't enough!

Endora_2

jyonda wrote: »

We booked our Maldives holiday with Hayes and Jarvis (who are part of First choice) via Quidco for 3% cashback. First Choice operate their own flights which are good quality compared to other charter carriers such as Monarch (apparently). You may need to go with another airline if you wish to stop off in Singapore but I can recommend Bandos island resort and the transfer is only a 10 minute boat ride from the airport which is great after a long haul flight.

Thanks for that suggestion, will check it out, as we're also looking to renew our wedding vows we'd have to see if this was on offer at this island/resort as I don't think they all offer this service.:A

Endora_2

We are getting some quote through from a company on the internet called Holidaysplease, has anyone heard of them before or used them. The lady dealing with us (Linda) seems very nice and sounds it too but as we're not regular holiday bookers with anyone we're not sure who to go with or use for this. Any suggestions would be grateful. :A

oneknight

Check bluebay travel, who are part of caribbeanwarehouse dot co dot uk. We booked a good deal with them for the maldives.

Have never been to St lucia, but went to the maldives for honeymoon last year (again as a once in a life time thing), and it is absolutely stunning. We are heading out again later this year.

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check the photo

Honestly I cannot descibe how fantastic it was, and I was not that fussed on going. I thought I would be bored, but I cannot wait to go back and am counting the days.

I cannot believe that anywhere else in the world would compare to the scenery, the service and friendliness, the feeling of total relaxation and the most pleasurable holiday I have ever experienced. BOOK THE MALDIVES!!

Endora_2

oneknight wrote: »

Check bluebay travel, who are part of caribbeanwarehouse dot co dot uk. We booked a good deal with them for the maldives.

Have never been to St lucia, but went to the maldives for honeymoon last year (again as a once in a life time thing), and it is absolutely stunning. We are heading out again later this year.

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check the photo

Honestly I cannot descibe how fantastic it was, and I was not that fussed on going. I thought I would be bored, but I cannot wait to go back and am counting the days.

I cannot believe that anywhere else in the world would compare to the scenery, the service and friendliness, the feeling of total relaxation and the most pleasurable holiday I have ever experienced. BOOK THE MALDIVES!!

Thanks for that tip, I'll check them out and see what they have to offer. We're waiting for Virgin to get back to us also. Not sure whether it's best to go with a big, well-known travel company like Virgin/Thomsons/Thomas Cook or a smaller one due to what has happened just recently with XCEL/XL!

vickyfrance

If your after a totally relaxing break then the Maldives is the place.
We went for our honeymoon 4 months after Tsunami. We stayed on The Sun Island which is the biggest island (it takes about 45 mins to walk all the way round!)
You have to options of doing extra stuff there, like: diving, water sports, beauty treatments, excursions.
Facilities at the hotel are: swimming, diving, pool, billiards, table tennis, squash courts, hire bikes, jacuzzis etc.
Not been to St Lucia so can't comment.

On Sun Island you can have the standard room or upgrade to a beach bungalow or water bungalow.
We had the beach bungalow, you get your own sunbeds in front of the bungalow and you also get an outdoor shower! If you menton when booking it will be your honeymoon you get a bottle of bubbly and a fruit basket.
The water bungalows are lovely as well (we had a look at one as you can upgrade to them whilst your there) but there is a bit of a walk (well about 10mins to restaurant)
Hope you get sorted

freeky

I would at least get some quotes from one of the big companies like Thomson. This will give you a good baseline to work from. Then you can try some other operators or even look at "packaging" the holiday yourself by looking at airfare prices and hotel prices. Try a site like Travelsupermarket.com for this.
Have a great trip!

Endora_2

vickyfrance wrote: »

If your after a totally relaxing break then the Maldives is the place.
We went for our honeymoon 4 months after Tsunami. We stayed on The Sun Island which is the biggest island (it takes about 45 mins to walk all the way round!)
You have to options of doing extra stuff there, like: diving, water sports, beauty treatments, excursions.
Facilities at the hotel are: swimming, diving, pool, billiards, table tennis, squash courts, hire bikes, jacuzzis etc.
Not been to St Lucia so can't comment.

On Sun Island you can have the standard room or upgrade to a beach bungalow or water bungalow.
We had the beach bungalow, you get your own sunbeds in front of the bungalow and you also get an outdoor shower! If you menton when booking it will be your honeymoon you get a bottle of bubbly and a fruit basket.
The water bungalows are lovely as well (we had a look at one as you can upgrade to them whilst your there) but there is a bit of a walk (well about 10mins to restaurant)
Hope you get sorted

It's funny you should mention this resort as this is the one we seem to be leaning towards. Got a quote from Thomas Cook for a 10 day all inclusive holiday there in beach bungalow for £4740. This price also includes sea plane transfers, insurance, vip lounge at heathrow airport and renewal of vows package. Not bad price but still out of our budget, we've only got £4k to spend on it in total. Might have to drop it down to a 7 night holiday as we're really keen on getting water bungalow. Not sure if it's good idea to book the renewal of wedding vows through the travel agent as have heard it can be booked directly at the resort for a lot cheaper, don't know if that's true or not? Also not sure if we could get cheaper travel/holiday insurance elsewhere, will have a check on internet to see what other options there are as they are going to charge £69.99 for the both of us.