Honeymoon destinations?

gelato_cat

Hi all

We were looking at the Maldives for a sun seeking honeymoon and wanted a resort where we could have privacy, peace etc - own little water villa, stretch of beach in an all-inclusive resort which doesn't allow children.

However, we are open to going to other countries. Can anyone recommend anywhere we can get the same sort of setup? I've no idea where to start looking as the beach holidays I've been on in the past have been cheap deals. Our budget is a lot higher for this holiday. We are prepared to spend approx £5k altogether for the two of us.

Seychelles maybe? Somewhere in the Caribbean?

We are looking to go in January.

Suze

Lexxi

Were heading to gambia£500 for the two of us!! Why are you thinking of other places, my parents went to the maldives and said it was amazing? Id go to kenya if I could afford it, you've got the option of doing nothing or something. Sri lanka is beautiful too, we had like an island, club bentota I think, that was before the tsunami hit there though

gelato_cat

Thinking of other places because the bf was looking and said there isn't much availability in the Maldives in January. I've not looked myself so no idea how accurate he is! However I think it would be good to have a Plan B in case he is right!

S

maggie111

Kenya would have some of the luxury you want but it's not got the same calm as the Maldives. Don't know what the weather's like in Jan but maybe Mauritius?

Barbados would be good but I don't think you'll get as much for your money there as you would elsewhere. Jamaica could be a good option?

You could go to an expensive destination (like the Maldives) and have a perfect holiday. Or you could go to a cheaper country like Jamaica or Kenya, and more upgrades etc.

Personally, if I had £5k I would be tempted to do more than a 2-3 week beach holiday. I might go to America for a week and then a cruise. Or travel to the Ice Hotel for 4 days and then onwards to a warmer climate.

You have lots of options - it's exciting!!

Sammy85_2

January is a good time to go to the maldives. Weather is much better than in the summer when it can be quite cloudy and rain a fair bit.

Availability may be limited in Jan, ive been looking at going this december, and there is availability, but only apartment style accommodation, the little huts over the water (that the maldives is famed for) are generally either booked up or way beyond our £6k budget.

I would recommend you phone Hayes & Jarvis, they have been a great help, we told them our budget and what we wanted and they found the best deal available for that.

I really dont think you will find anything similar to the maldives elsewhere, its really a maldives thing! There are plenty of other great options for your money.

You could do a weeks super luxury safari in keyna, followed by 2 weeks 4* all inclusive on the beach for £5k. (again, quoted by hayes & jarvis)

There are numerous places in the carribean, or you could go super luxury in Mexico, but the resorts there are all pretty much your typical resort, not really different.

Gambia - loads of cheap deals there. A word of warning though. There are hundreds of peddlers there. They are persistant. Im fairly well travelled and would say ive dealt with my fair share of pushy touts, but Gambia really is something else. You cant leave your complex and walk down the beach without 2 or 3 people walking with you, kinda ruins any romantic beach walks at sunset that you might plan. They will not take no for an answer, regardless of how firm you are. The only peace you will get is if you stay in your hotel and dont leave, and thats providing you've booked into a decent hotel. (remember there 4 star is not a european 4 star, more like a 2) Sorry if i make Gambia sound terrible, the country itself is lovely, plenty to see and do and the majority of people are great, but some just take it a bit too far and really dont help themselves. Im sure if you go with an open mind and are not expecting luxury then you would have a great time.

mrsW2b

We're going to Sri Lanka next Monday (yippee) for a weeks AI, then from Sri Lanka, we fly to the Maldives to stay in a over-the-water hut AI for a week.

We're flying with Virgin and have access to the VIP lounge at Heathrow.

We paid just under £5k through Top Drawer Holidays.

I did shop around and kept phoning back the companies to get them competing for my business.

Naf20

We went to St Lucia for 2 weeks on our honeymoon and stayed at Sandals - The Regency. We paid £5100.00 for the both of us and it was pure luxury. As we were honeymooners they upgraded us for free and we had our own 2 storey villa with private pool.
Its a once in a lifetime experience and just perfect!

twirlypinky

Had my first honeymoon in the maldives and was bored out of my mind for the second week... Not sure if that speaks volumes about my ex or the place! I read all my books and had nothing to do.

I would recommend a week of chillaxing and a week of something interesting, stops you getting bored if you're anything like me!

LEJC

as a previous poster has said..there really is nowhere else quite like the maldives....we went to Lily Beach....its an all inclusive an I would recommend this option when booking as drinks can mount up and there is nowhere else to buy them...

The maldives is secluded luxury if you choose the right resort....but I can also see that if you are an active sort then you may become restricted as the islands are very small...the one we stayed on could be walked round in 30 mins....40 if you walked slowly...the diving is amazing and even snorkling is in my opinion the best in the world...

my only complaint about the maldives is that they do not have no smoking policies similar to ours ..and as a consequence you can find yourselves sitting amongst other diners "lighting up" in the eating areas..great if you are a smoker but a little off putting as I think we have become used to a no smoke culture...

On the plus side thou...you take your shoes off when you exit the sea plane to the island...and dont wear them again until you leave...

charlearose

try thailand if you want luxury - the hotels in thailand can be out of this world you can get villas with your own pools and beach villas and maybe do a three center holiday ie bangkok then hau hin ( mainland) and one of the island phuket krabi koh samuhi the choice is yours and its a fabulous place

or you can do bangkok and maldives or dubai and the maldives
sri lanka and maldives that way you get to move around do stuff and then chill out


i used escapeworldwide earlier this year for my trip to thailand and they were brilliant we paid around 1300 i think for 26 days and 4/5star holiday all the way in jan this year
they quoted me 2000 for thailand and the maldive in jan on a three week holiday but it was 3 star in maldive and 4 star in pattaya