OT: Honeymoon destination contemplation - YouLookFab Forum

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OT: Honeymoon destination contemplation

rae

(website)

Veteran

OK, so hubs and I are finally considering doing a honeymoon trip this year! I've asked a few friends and coworkers for their thoughts, but the forum is definitely more worldly overall, so I have to ask. The ideas we've come up with so far:

-Venice, Italy (Hubs' favorite from a trip he made years ago)

-Paris, France (Another fave from the same trip) - benefit of Paris is that we could hop over to London for a day as well.

-New Zeland (have not picked a city) - the drawback of going here is that we *may* not want to leave. DH said very seriously that if we loved it, he'd try to find work there, and that I might have to return home alone for a time. :0

Do you have any thoughts on what might be best? Or suggestions that may be better? I have only been to Japan, so I know exactly nothing about these places that hasn't come from a tourist-y website.

Our main "travel values" include:
- Cool places to wander about - not necessarily "attractions" but nice atmosphere
- Affordable accomodations - hubs stayed in hostels when he wend, but we do NOT want to do that for this trip.
- Safety
- Thrift shops and similar are a plus, though not necessary. When travelling in Japan and the states, these were our fave places to get souvenirs.
- Access to affordable food - we're not really into fancy dining, at home or abroad. Small hole-in-the-wall type things are very cool.
- We also like outdoorsy stuff, which was part of the draw of NZ.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be most greatly appreciated - you all know me pretty well, and I trust your judgement implicitly!

General

51 replies

Latest reply was from Diana

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

All these options sound GREAT!

I'll throw in Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Cape Town.

Debora

Veteran

If you are considering Amsterdam, a day or two in Brugge, Belgium would be lovely!

rae

(website)

Veteran

You guys are fast! Hong Kong sounds amazing - though I would be tempted to shop the whole time!

HelenInCanada

Veteran

Oooh...Paris and London would be at the top of the list for me! Bonus that the Olympics will be held in London this summer, so the city is really being buffed and beautified to the max for the event. Then again, Europe is in a transitional crisis with riots erupting here and there...Grrr, to be blissfully ignorant! But perhaps things are well under control. Europe-dwelling YLFers, feel free to knock me off my soapbox!

NZ sounds like a more outdoorsy-fun trip, with hiking, boating, extreme sporting, camping, and the like. Yikes, but the danger of the hubby-staying-behind thing...

Time to cruise the online travel sites and ooh and ahh over videos, pics, and suggested itineraries. I always find the TripAdvisor site verrry helpful too!

Sylvie

Veteran

Ooh, I have been to every one of your locations and they are all fabulous.

If one of you hasn't been to Paris, then I would recommend that. I rented a studio through VRBO in Paris for somewhere between 80-90 euros/night and I was really happy with it (can pm you a pointer if you like). The cliche is true imho - Paris *is* more romantic than other cities.

I love NZ, but it's better to visit it as a hostel/camping/driving yourself around in a car vacation, rather than a honeymoon. We went to Iceland for our honeymoon and foolishly spent a lot of time driving around. In hindsight, we would have preferred a vacation where we were based in 1-2 cities and doing daytrips, rather than carting ourselves around the country to a new location every night.

How much time do you have set aside? 1 week or 2 or... more?

Anonymous

Why not get a rail pass and make a Europe tour. I found London rather expensive ( versus Italy where you can find more cheap meals) but we actually bought lost of tesco foods ( they had grilled chicken cut into pieces and put on a vacuumed tray, fruit pieces, fruit salads, etc and we did a light lunch of them, picnic style) . But even in London there are cheaper places. We ate a two person breakfast at a small bistro near king's cross with 18 pounds ( for two persons).
But if you like outdoorsy AND cultural why not go to Austria! Austria has bike lanes, beautiful mountain lakes, and also jewels of cities like Vienna or Salzburg. And also, i find food is cheaper than Paris or London. And the European atmosphere , cobblestoned streets, small bistros it's there.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

The only reason I didn't mention London is because it's very expensive. EVERYTHING about London is pricey - even the thrift stores!

I vote Amsterdam :). Edgy, fun, great food, good shopping, affordable, stylish - and people speak English. Plus, you can take the train to Germany or Belgium really easily.

HelenInCanada

Veteran

This is so exciting...planning a trip! Wheeee!

I must add, if you are both under 35, check out Contiki.com for lots of trip ideas (better if you're up for meeting a LOT of new people from around the globe, though!): http://ca.contiki.com/

Mochi

Veteran

I like all the suggestions. Paris has so much and you'd never run out of things to do. And I thought it would be hard for an American to get a visa to work in NZ? So that would eliminate that problem. New Zealand has long been a place I want to spend time in. Amsterdam probably would be a little more original of an idea than Paris. London, yes, is expensive.

I was in Rome a few years back and it was gorgeous. Not cheap but probably not as prohibitively expensive as London. And I would think NZ is pricy? (Set me straight if I'm wrong.)

Ornella

(website)

Veteran

I was going to say Paris (endless possibilities for wondering *anywhere*), but Angie makes a great point about Amsterdam.

I'll also throw Prague or Budapest in. WONDERFUL cities, very affordable, you can get by with English easily PLUS you can get to Vienna too by simply hoping on the train.

ironkurtin

Veteran

These are all lovely destinations! What's your budget, and are you set on a non-American trip? DH and I honeymooned by driving up the coast from LA to Portland, stopping in San Luis Obispo, Monterey, etc. It was a great trip, not a bankbuster, with *lots* of what you mention above!

rae

(website)

Veteran

Wowee, so many great ideas here!

- Rail Pass Tour/Timeframe - Unfortunately I am new at my job and so only have 2 weeks vacation for the entire year. I think I would use most of it on this trip - maybe 10 days? Not really enough time to tour.

-Amsterdam - Hubs for some reason thought I would not be interested in Amsterdam...? I will have to research for myself and see if he should be set straight.

- Austria/Prague/Budapest - quick online pics look really pretty! Definitely adding these to my list to research.

- NZ - To elaborate on this idea, we first starting looking at NZ when researching the possibility of leaving the US. The one wild card we have going for us in NZ is that Hubs is in film/TV, and that is one of the desirable industries their immigration site mentions. Sylvie, are there any cities in NZ that you would recommend for a longer stay, VS touring the whole lot?

- Contiki - What a fun concept for travel... though Hubs does not fit the age requirement...

- Paris - Seems to be in the lead over Venice! How is the food there? I no nothing about French food.

- American Vacation - I'm open to this! Hubs might take convincing, tough. I've actually had Montana held loosely in mind for a while... big sky, horse riding. Yeah, I'd have to make a good case to Hubs for that, lol.

Diana

Veteran

Rae, what month will you be traveling in? I love Europe, but prefer to go in spring or fall, not summer (it is hot and nothing is air conditioned, plus there are crazy crowds. Also lots of stuff is closed in August.) Paris in the spring (I went in March, I think) is delightful and it is possible to do it for less money. I also love Florence, if you want another suggestion. One thing you might consider is flying to London and spending a day or two there, then getting a cheap flight (Ryan Air or Easyjet) to somewhere else in Europe.

Laura (rhubarbgirl)

(website)

Veteran

NZ is awesome, but it can be really pricey to get there, and of course the flights are *looooong*. There are a lot of outdoorsy options though.

I think any European city would be awesome, or pick a couple if you are going to use the whole two weeks of vacation. Paris is super-fun (and people were a lot friendlier than you might have heard when I was there). My SIL and her husband had a great time in Amsterdam and stayed on a canal boat. London is one of my favorite cities in the world, but it is pricey and will probably be pricier still with the Olympics coming up. I will throw Barcelona in the mix too - beautiful, interesting architecture, easy to get around, good food.

There are a lot of cool places to go in North America, but if you've got the cash and the desire, I'd say go to Europe first.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

You need to get your head around a holiday in Paris (we used to live there and I have visited many times for work). It could be fab or absolutely awful. No exaggerations.

Prague is a goodie too! So are Croatia and Barcelona. Croatia has become the number one holiday destination for the Dutch living in the Netherlands because it's so affordable.

I also love Cologne, Zurich, Stockholm and Antwerp. Although my food experience in Stockholm was awful.

And I'm throwing in Singapore. We know it quite well - it is FOOD HEAVEN and very affordable. Plus it's beautifully tropical and you can cross over into the rest of Malaysia with a bus. But the weather is relentless.

And now that we have done is confused you.

velvetychocolate

Veteran

I'm throwing in another vote for Amsterdam, and you might also consider Budapest.

Confused yet?

PS - Angie, I didn't know that about Croatia, very useful!

HelenInCanada

Veteran

Oooh...10 days vacation? For NZ, It will take you at least 2 days both ways to even travel there! May have to wait until you have at least a month to spare!

So many ideas here...too bad about Contiki. I did the Western-Europe-cities tour & the Spain/Portugal tour and LOVED both. Absolutely gorgeous cites, lots of art, food, history, and atmosphere. Amsterdam was on the stop too. Met many fab people who I am still in touch with!

The Eurail pass is a fab idea - and you'd be surprised at how exhilarating and crazy fun cramming in a tour of Europe in a short time can be! A sampling of all the best!

For total relaxation...an all-inclusive resort + some daytrip excursions? The Caribbean is your oyster.

Jjsloane

Veteran

My only advice is GO while you can! All these places sound wonderful (Paris is a favorite, and travelling around the countryside by train is fantastic, but there are other great ideas here). DH and I got an IOU for a honeymoon as a wedding gift and have yet to cash it in (we did get married in Hawaii but it doesn't count as a honeymoon if your mom is nearby IMO - even if we had a lovely room at the Halekulani) Once kids are in the picture (if you go there) it gets harder to get away.

Katiepea

(website)

Veteran

I have to be cheeky and say you should come to Australia of course.

(Although with only ten days my head says you would more than likely be better off travelling to Europe - the flights to Aus (and NZ) are very long and I think you'd really need to consider the time-zone and season issues. My feeling is your bodies would only just aclimatise to the differences and you'd then have to turn around and go back.)

I can put in a vote for Venice as a very romantic holiday destination, along with Paris.

annagybe

(website)

Veteran

NZ, the jet lag will kill you. Also I don't think 10 days is enough.
Venice is nice, but I did it in less than 24 hours. It's small and VERY touristy. I would add something like Florence.
Paris is fantastic and my top vote.
Budapest is fine for a week, but 10 days would be too much unless you went to another city as well.

Debora

Veteran

Jeanne's advice about going while you can is so true! Once children enter the picture, it becomes much more involved logistically. Oh, the stories I could tell!

Rae, Switzerland is beautiful, too, for hiking and outside activities, and I love the romance of Tuscany.

Girl X

(website)

Veteran

Barcelona! Florence! If you hadn't already been to Japan, I'd add Tokyo to the list (seems very you somehow).

Like Sylvie, I've had great experiences with VRBO.com Sometimes seemingly silly things like having a real refrigerator and a stove can totally enhance your experience while traveling. I don't need to have my sheets changed and bathroom cleaned daily, so the price break from renting an apartment instead of staying at a hotel doesn't have any drawbacks. There are differences of course; travel feels less luxurious in an apartment, you're not being taken care of, the way you would be in a hotel. Instead, you feel more a part of the city you're staying in, you're immediately not a tourist.

anne

Veteran

Well I don't know about the fim industry, but my general impression from Australia is that NZ is not the best place to find work. But maybe the Kiwis should give their opinion on that
From all accounts it is a gorgeous location.

catgirl

Veteran

Has anyone suggested Portugal? I've never been there, but it's someplace I'd love to visit. Paris is great, although I much preferred the more rural areas and the beach (Nice and Cannes) to the city experience (where my college French was snubbed!).

DonnaF

Veteran

NZ is beautiful but it struck me as a place where you could also go with kids, assuming they would survive the flight. What about Slovenia in addition to Croatia? Central Europe is just beginning to become popular so you can get there ahead of the curve. DD went on a choir tour there a few years back and stayed in a medieval village. You have to wear cobblestone safe shoes, however, as one girl twisted her ankle. Ice cream was reportedly excellent. (She was in middle school at the time.)

Travelgal Nicole

Veteran

I'm an American living in NZ and I have been to over 60 countries. NZ is the most beautiful place. The South Island is amazing and if you want any tips just PM me. Queenstown is fab along with Wanaka and you could easily spend your time around there.

I know quite a few people who work at the Weta workshops and they're all heading up to attend the Oscars. Its very easy to immigrate here as long as you have a college degree.

If you're looking to go to Europe my vote is for Barcelona. There is so much to see and do and the whole place is colourful and vibrant. You can also go to the beaches in Stiges just outside Barcelona.

Debbie

Veteran

I loved Italy. We also rented an apt for the time we were there. It was a great experience. I have not been to Hong Kong since I was a teenager but I think you would have a great time.
Please share with us where you decide to go.

crazyone

Veteran

Una, I was just about to recommend Portugal! I spent a week there and highly recommend it--people are very friendly, the country is very easy to get around, and things are not at all expense. And there are so, so many beautiful sites to visit. We didn't do this, but there are old castles that have been converted to hotels, and depending on the time of year staying in them can be as cheap as 60 euros a night. You could also spend a day or two in London on your way back, or go to Spain for part of your trip, as well.

bj1111

Veteran

fyi...the hostels have received a great reno. very hip places.

istanbul. gorgeous, affordable, great sight seeing, excellent foodie scene as well as great street food. you can spend a few days in the city then head to the coast...similar to the greek islands, but cheaper. bodrum is good.

love the south of spain. you can fly into madrid, head south to seville, granada, etc, overnight train to barcelona, then fly out of barcelona.

many many options only limited by the time of year and your preferred style of traveling.

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