justdmbobbo

Here comes another token "Honeymoon" thread.

Getting married in late Nov. of this year. We've decided to let the holidays pass before heading off on our honeymoon. I'm a bit concerned with the rainy season in such places as Seychelles, Bora Bora, Fiji, etc. I see the Maldives has their dry season at that time, so it might be the one we consider. Though I've got DL Skypesos to burn and was hoping to make it a Skyteam location (Which I don't think MLE is)

Any other options for The last week of Dec and early Jan of 2013 I should consider?

I've been to lots of places, (S. Africa, Jordan/Israel, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Thailand, Japan, etc.) Fiance has not been outside of Europe. - would def. want it to be INTL to expose her to Asia/Africa/S. America.
I'm sure she would love to have a beach incorporated somewhere,

Any thoughts would be more than appreciated, even though it's another "Honeymoon" thread.

Kagehitokiri

so first figuring out weather for over XMAS/NYE? how long? (in case of minimum stay requirements)
beach plus one stop or multiple stops?
general budget might also help with specific properties/accommodations.

MLE >
http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_mi...eage/index.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim...d_destinations

justdmbobbo

Thanks-
Would like to do two weeks or so.
We would be open to 1-2 stopovers.
Budget would certainly depend on how I could work the miles into the flight plan. Total budget could be up to 10-15k range so looking at being comfortable.

Londonjetsetter

How about Hong Kong (FS or Upper House are my favourites) combined with Amanpulo?

vuittonsofstyle

Nice idea - shopping in HK then beach/romance at Amanpulo. Good combination!

Anther thought would be The Siam Bangkok (opening June) followed by Trisara Phuket or Amanpuri Phuket.

Another thought would be The Greenwich New York followed by Amanyara, Turks & Caicos (probably too expensive at this time of year, though).

Big challenge will be getting into high-end resorts at this time of year, and of course, the cost.

justdmbobbo

I called Amanpulo and they do have a Beach unit available for the first week of January.
Now I need to see if I can make any of the flights work.
Hong Kong on the way in and maybe Tokyo on the way out?

Talk about taking out a 2nd mortgage!

5khours

Yeah, but it's worth it. Congrats on the upcoming wedding. If you push the honeymoon back a week, you'll have better luck with the flights.

PomPalm

First, Congratulations!

I highly recommend Langkawi Island, Malaysia as the perfect honeymoon spot.
I think the rainy season there is a bit earlier (October - November), and my stay there was for roughly a week around the New Years holiday and it was lovely.

For some info on Langkawi, look here: http://wikitravel.org/en/Langkawi
Langkawi has a decent, modern airport, and is a short, direct flight from KL.

We stayed in 5-star resort called "The Andaman Langkawi" and it was fantastic - the location, the service, the food, everything. The resort is situated on a private beach to which only guests of The Andaman and a sister resort called "The Datai Langkawi" have access. These two resorts are at opposite ends of the crescent-shaped beach and share restaurants and other facilities (spa, activities, etc). I thought The Andaman was quite luxurious, but The Datai is supposed to be the more luxurious of the two.
Here are links to a site with photos, guest reviews, and more info for both resorts:

http://details.seasiahotelier.com/Ho...n_Langkawi.htm
http://details.seasiahotelier.com/Ho...i_Langkawi.htm

NYBanker

Congratulations on the upcoming wedding.

A key question to ask yourself is the level of activity that you are seeking. High/medium/low, or would you like activity some of the time, but not all?

If you can wait till early January, except for Australia (where January is August-ish to us northerners), you'll generally find better availability and lower hotel costs (versus te week between Christmas and New Years.

If the Maldives interests you, don't be so dismissive of getting there with Delta points. Albeit a few years ago, that is where I went for my honeymoon, all on DL points.

As a destination, think of it as Robinson Carusoe, but with room service. There are water activities (above and below the surface), but beyond that, it is all R&R.

You will find a number of ways to get to CMB with SkyMiles. It is a short and inexpensive ($200-300 for J) hop to buy flights from CMB to MLE. Perhaps spend a few days in CMB, too, for a bit of activity.

Some properties you might consider:

http://www.amanresorts.com/amanwella/home.aspx
http://www.fourseasons.com/maldiveskh/

MikeFromTokyo

Flying Delta to BKK and then purchasing flights from BKK to MLE on Bangkok Airways (PG) would also work.

Or fly Delta to NRT and connect to paid flights on Sri Lankan to MLE (direct on certain days, on other days there is a stop in CMB).

Kagehitokiri

budget is solid (but not necessarily for maldives?) and stay would meet the longest holiday requirements

wiki shows >

MH KUL

SU SVO
MU KMG CMB / FM PVG
CZ CAN

MikeFromTokyo

I think a $15k budget will be a problem in the maldives over the holidays. Last year I was quoted $2,600 for beach villa with pool or $2,200 for Sunset water villa at FSLG, and during that time only a breakfast inclusive rate is available. The packages which include diving, spa treatments, or other benefits are not available during the festive season, so one would need a substantial budget for activities, spa treatments and meals in addition to the room rate.

I decided not to go as rates were high and the resorts are crowded with vacationing families which would likely make booking activities and spa treatments difficult.

OORR would also likely be very expensive. I wonder how rates are at Taj Exotica, Soneva Fushi, or Soneva Gili.

If Amanpulo has availability, personally I would strongly consider it. It's an Aman, so even if fully booked it probably won't feel crowded.

justdmbobbo

Still working on this. I've been trying to get cheaper flights to work for the last few weeks in business/first

Finally think this is my best option:
Dec- 31
DL - IND > DTW > NRT > HKG
One revenue ticket- $4252.60
One Miles Ticket- 180,000m

Jan- 5
HKG > MNL
Philippine Airlines 2 in Biz = 700.54

Jan- 13
DL - MNL > NRT > ATL > IND
M-class economy with avail seats to upgrade with miles -
2 X $1644.70 = $3289.40 + 50,000m

Grand Total= $8242.54 + 230,000m

Good value to get that all in business esp. around the NYE Holiday?