Honeymoon...how to book?

[marlie]

Hi everyone!
Getting married next summer and have started looking into honeymoons. YAYYYY!! I have no idea how we''re going to decide this. The places we''re thinking of are Greece, Italy, Thailand or Hawaii. We want a combo of beaching and sightseeing so we thought those choices would all fit the bill. Problem is I have no idea how to decide amongst them! Anyone have any thoughts or opinions on these destinations? We''ll be leaving from NYC and want to take about 12-14 days if that helps.

How did you all select your honeymoon destinations? DId you go through a travel agent or book online? I feel like it''d be challenging to try to figure out the itinerary ourselves so I''m thinking of using a travel agent.

 

[AsscherNut]

Hey! I used to work for Liberty Travel and they have several locations around NYC. They can help you with all aspects of planning-basically it will be one less thing to stress about!

All of those locations sound amazing! I''ll be going to Australia and New Zealand for 3 and half weeks for my HM. I also went through my ex-company and have nothing to worry about. Make sure you buy the trip protection/insurance ( just in case you or FH get sick, baggage loss, etc)


Let me know if you need anything else and good luck

 

[AsscherNut]

Oh and I have co-workers that are at different locations around the country that I can recommend if you''re okay dealing with them over the phone.

 

[princessplease]

Hi my date twin

FI and I are going to book on orbitz.com. The only issue we''ve run into is that orbitz only has information up to June of 2010, so we have to wait another month to start researching everything. FI and I are going to Punta Cana. We picked that location based on price and recommendations by other people who''ve honeymooned there.

 

[lala2332]

i have heard that there is not as much to do in Thailand as the other spots you have chosen. I''m currently looking at the same places, but marked thailand/bora bora/tahiti off my list because I kept hearing that there wasn''t as much to do except the beach scene.

I''m planning on using a travel agent, and you may want to talk to one to decide where to go. Time of year is a big thing. Europe is really crowded June and july and then shuts down in August.

then there is cost... Hawaii is probably more expensive, because I don''t think there are many ways to cut any of the costs.

Also, I keep going back to thailand option because I know that I will get to go to Europe some other time in the future, but the really exotic beach locale is probably not going to happen except for a honeymoon.

Anyway, I''m not much help, but that is what i keep trying to go through as I plan the hm,

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 8/3/2009 3:36:20 PM
Author: lala2332
i have heard that there is not as much to do in Thailand as the other spots you have chosen. I''m currently looking at the same places, but marked thailand/bora bora/tahiti off my list because I kept hearing that there wasn''t as much to do except the beach scene.

Also, I keep going back to thailand option because I know that I will get to go to Europe some other time in the future, but the really exotic beach locale is probably not going to happen except for a honeymoon.

Anyway, I''m not much help, but that is what i keep trying to go through as I plan the hm,

I''ve been to Thailand and agree the best part of that trip was the beach. Sightseeing in Bangkok was meh....

Can I recommend Vietnam? There''s much more to see there and the beaches are awesome!

Or you might want do a week or so on a beach in Thailand and a few days in Siem Reap, Cambodia so you can do some sightseeing?

 

[princesss]

On Thailand: The beaches are great, but don''t be afraid to go a little further into the country. Chiang Mai is amazing, and you can go see the Hill Tribes, which is pretty cool. A few hours outside of Bangkok is the Tiger Temple, which is very relaxing and a nice day trip (plus you get to pet tigers!). A few days on Koh Phi Phi or even just in Krabi can be nice. Then you can go to Cambodia and Vietnam and that would give you a nice amount of time in each country. The best part is the pampering, though. Thai massages are AMAZING (even just a foot massage will make you feel like you''re in heaven).

I''m biased, though, because I lived there and it''s like home. I wouldn''t write Thailand off completely, I''d just make it part of a larger tour, you know?

 

[CDNinNYC]

Date: 8/3/2009 3:48:29 PM
Author: princesss
I wouldn''t write Thailand off completely, I''d just make it part of a larger tour, you know?

That''s what we did; four weeks in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, then a week in Portugal. (That last one was kinda random...

)

 

[marlie]

is it wrong that sometimes I''m more excited for the honeymoon than the wedding??? i just can''t wait.

asscher nut...thanks! there is a liberty travel across the street from my apartment so i may just wander over and chat with them. thanks! so fun that you worked at a travel agency...you must know all the good places. your honeymoon sounds AMAZING too. i''d love to go to australia!!! i''ll let you know once i decide on a location too so that you can put me in touch with your co-workers. thanks for that offer!

pp/date twin...i started looking online and kept bumping into that same issue. even trying to book a hotel for the two of us in nyc the night of the wedding i couldn''t go that far out. i also think that maybe a travel agent would take some of the stress of the planning out. yay for punta cana!!! i was there in february and it''s beautiful. the water was amazing and the whole trip was r-e-l-a-x-i-n-g!

lala...guess we have similar travel taste! i was worried about august in europe too. i was going to ask a travel agent that. very true about the exotic beach vacation being more likely on the honeymoon than later on.

cdninnyc...vietnam! i''ll definitely look into it! i definitely don''t want to travel halfway around the world for some ''meh'' sightseeing!

princesss...i''m drooling just thinking about a foot massage. and tigers!!! i know fi and i would love that. if we end up booking thailand i''ll definitely be hitting you up for all of the good recommendations!!


ok...it looks like i have some more research to do. still keeping all 4 locations on the table (and adding vietnam probably) for now!

 

[andex23]

I vote Travel Agent. That''s how we''re planning the DW (Fiji) and the Honeymoon (Taveuni-an Island in Fiji). Remember, you don''t pay more for the travel agent...they get the $$ from the place that they send you to (usually). So your agent may encourage you to go to a certain place, just make sure that you do a little web research too.

I called 3 travel agents before we settled with the one that we chose (plug for South Seas Adventures in Longmont, Colorado). They happened to be the first agent that I called, but the one that I got the warm, fuzzy feeling from. Cindy, our agent, asked questions, listened to what I wanted, and made suggestions. After her suggestions, I also searched out the places on the web. Everywhere has a website. And for something as special as my honeymoon, I''m not going to a place without a website...you can''t visit it in person first if it''s your honeymoon. I checked out reviews on TripAdvisor, etc. Really, we use Cindy to point us in the right direction and then we spent some time verifying all the wonderful things that she said.

To sum this all up, use a travel agent...but don''t be a passenger in the planning. Make sure that your agent is on the right road and you are telling them where you want to go.

 

[musey]

Date: 8/3/2009 2:22:16 PM
Author:marlie
Problem is I have no idea how to decide amongst them! Anyone have any thoughts or opinions on these destinations?

What might help is to collect pictures from all your options. Spend some time looking through them, thinking about what you'd do while you're there, see if something jumps out at you as being the "perfect" choice. Honestly, you can't really go wrong - but if you want sightseeing as in historical areas, cityscapes, museums, etc. etc. (metropolitan type stuff) I'd say Hawaii doesn't quite fit what you're looking for. If you're thinking of sightseeing as in beautiful natural vistas, yes, Hawaii is perfect.

How did you all select your honeymoon destinations? DId you go through a travel agent or book online? I feel like it'd be challenging to try to figure out the itinerary ourselves so I'm thinking of using a travel agent.

Actually, my husband already knew exactly where he wanted to go (New Zealand), and it sounded great to me so we just went with it. If you would use a travel agent to help plan any other vacation, go ahead and use a travel agent for this. We're pretty resourceful and used to planning our vacations on our own, so of course we did the same for the honeymoon.

Tripadvisor.com is very helpful, they have pretty active boards over there, and posters are often locals.