Honeymoon - April 2013

My fiance and I are trying to plan our honeymoon for next year. We're looking for:
- A few nights beach luxury (with some activities to do - hubby-to-be gets a bit restless lying on the beach for too long!)
- Somewhere we can move on to where we can do some exploring/take in a bit of culture

Originally we were thinking Bora Bora / South Pacific but it's looking pretty pricey. Ideally we don't want to spend more than £4k-£5k between us. We're usually backpackers so that feels like an awful lot of money, though it doesn't stretch very far when you look at nice hotels instead of hostels!

Had a couple of suggestions from travel agents:
- Singapore, Bali (I've already been to Singapore though so not bothered about going back)
- Malaysia, Borneo

We've also been to Thailand & Vietnam before. Would consider returning to Thailand for the perfect holiday, but Vietnam was only last year so it's a bit soon yet.

Interested to hear any suggestions from you well travelled lot!

Bali was by far and away one of my favorite places to stay. Flights there are usually fairly expensive, but once you're there it isn't expensive at all. You can stay in gorgeous resorts for next-to-nothing prices. It's a pretty romantic place, but you can also travel throughout the island and explore all sorts of things. I went about four years ago and my favorite part was exploring all of the Hindu temples. I don't know too much about the other places you've listed as I've never been, but I've heard brilliant things about Malaysia!

Congrats on your wedding and I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon wherever you go!

R

You can try Philippines for a change... there are plenty of really nice & famous beaches for tourist round here. Choose from Boracay, Bohol & Palawan's underground river (just voted as 1 of the 7 wonders of the world). There are always Promo Tours on airfares available.

Blessings on your honeymoon plans :-)

Having been to both Bali and Phuket (Thailand), I would say that Phuket is much nicer than Bali. It has much more to offer in a total sense. However, in saying that Bali was fantastic and it was actually where I proposed to my now wife.

Both places do have a number of things to do. I probably don't need to tell about Thailand, but in Bali, you can certainly do surfing at many of the beaches and do small day trips. We went on a couple of one's that were really good and very well priced. The bes one that we went on was a full day trip (pick-up from hotel) and went Mount Batur volcano at Kintamani where you get your bike and ride to the Elephant Safari Park where you jump on an elephant and go for a ride. It was one of the nicest things to do.

The other area I'd recommend is Ubud. A town up in the hills of Bali. It is just a really beautiful area.

If however, you decide on Phuket, you can still do the Elephant ride there and most definitely do the day trip to Phi Phi island.

But nevertheless, whatever you decide, make sure it is for you and you have a wonderful time

Thanks everyone - that's very helpful!

Although we loved Thailand last time we went there, I think we'd prefer to go somewhere new if we can - I always feel a bit guilty returning to somewhere I've already been when I have so many others on my list to visit!

[ Edit: Edited on 19-May-2012, at 11:35 by Chix ]

Vietnam is the great place for you.
You can relax in the beach at night such as Nha Trang beach, Vung Tau Beach with the air and water is fresh. Vietnamese culture may be still mysterious and unknown to most people outside the country. If you come to Hanoi city or Hue city, you will have opportunity to explore the traditional cultural of Vietnam.

Malaysia is nice. Langkawi, Georgetown and Kuala Lumpur gives you a mix of sun, sand, sights and shopping. Be sure to check when monsoon season is because sometimes the west coast is nice but the east coast is having crappy monsoons.

Have you been to Cancun or other parts of Mexico? Cancun is gorgeous and my favorite is that most places are all-inclusive and there were so many activities that were easily accessible. If you like relaxing and just hanging out on the beach, listening to music and taking it easy, and even taking a few excursions during the week, Cancun was perfect.

Bali is a great place as long as you stay in the right area's, and make sure that you go and experience what there is to offer.. Get up to Ubud, Uluwatu is beautiful, and the sunsets are amazing..

Philippines is also another great destination especially around Boracay - its stunning.

Borneo is amazing too, it just really depends on what you want to do, the beaches aren't as nice as Thailand but there is great wildlife to see and plenty of activities so you will not be bored.

If you do want something a bit more reasonably priced for Tahiti you can always stay at Moorea, still stunning and much cheaper than Bora Bora..

Great - it sounds like all of these options have plenty to do. Hopefully we can't go too far wrong.

@ Fairflights, thanks for the tip on Moorea. I hadn't heard of it before but will do some investigating.