We're due to be married in May 2010 which is plenty time away, but we really need to start planning the honeymoon.

We've been to Dom Rep a couple of times and Mexico this year, but we'd like a truly one-off experience really, as we'll never do it again.

I'm thinking Maldives or Mauritius, so can anyone recommend somewhere to stay?

I've been browsing Trip Advisor to compare, but really need to get into travel agents and pester them.

Kuoni look like the best bet for booking, as their prices seem most reasonable and i'll make sure we mention it being a honeymoon....discounts available.

5K is probably our budget, but we'd be happy not to pay even as much as that.

 

had this dilemma back earlier in the year, the Mrs wanted to spend 2 weeks sitting on a beach in St Lucia or Maldives, I wanted to go to Croatia. A colleage suggested Borneo which we have booked for April next year using 'trips worldwide'. Looks like a great location with lots of options for any kind of stay.

 

Thanks fella. Will have a wee check of that.

 

whatever you do don't go to the seychelles -- utter rubbish

in fact any long haul after a wedding takes its toll

 

Vietnam on a bike

 

not Dubai !!!
maldives can be a hit or miss for many. £5k in 2009 will be top top money. Kuoni are great , but most holiday companies will be going bust by easter so make sure , ok .

Vietnam might be great for you. so different and as many will have seen on Top Gear it got the Thumbs up.


depends on what you want ??? just a hotel based holiday or some adventure?

 

we did mauritius for ours a few years back, lovely place and lovely people, the weather would be nice at your time as well, the only gripe we had was that we couldnt do the dubai trip for a few days at the end of our hol, this would of made things so much better as you fly with a better airline and also you r flight is split into 2 6 hour flights unlike ours which meant a 1 hour flight to france followed by 11 hours from there.

 

Thanks guys.

Can't say i've seen anywhere in the Seychelles i'd like to visit anyway, so won't be considering there.

Wouldn't bother with Dubai if i don't need to. I'm quite a tall chap, so always need extra legroom, therefore the 1 long flight doesn't bother me much, as long as i'm comfy. If going VIA Kuoni or Virgin, will standard seating be better than the likes of Thomas Cook?

We're completely beach orientated, so no big journeys into the wilderness....we're not great fans of insects etc. Other half doesn't like water tbh...won't go in further than her ankles, but i might give diving a try.

 

mauritius has some of the best beaches ever, it also has a reef that surrounds the island and you can walk out fairly far without much trouble, some places you can go a few hundred feet.

 

Thats sounds cool.

Seen a small video earlier of Mauritius and it looked a lot bigger and built up than i imagined and a lot less aqua coloured water than Maldives.

 

it depends on where you go. we were over the east coast which is relativley quiet, we did hire a car though an covered the island in a few days, i never liked the capital though wasnt my cup of tea at all. Our sister hotel was the La Tousock (spelling!!!) and we went there for tea one night, it blew us away it was the 'best' hotel we have ever been to, bloody expensive though

 

We've done both Maldives and Mauritius.
We loved both.
Maldives is lovely, but expensive.
Mauritius is still very nice indeed, and more likely to suit your budget.
We stayed at Beau Rivage, and it was very nice indeed. Had a lovely setting, excellent food and great staff.
I think we spent about £6K, but that included premium-economy seats on the flight, and was Full Board if I recall correctly.

Try giving Trailfinders a ring, they sorted our holiday out and have done ever since. Impecable service.

I nearly forgot to add, make sure you stay on the East side of the island.
West side is very windy (can be), North side is turbulent.

If you dive, then I'd say the Maldives is tons better, but Mauritius was enjoyable, although outside the reef there are some hellish currents (as bad as some of those in the Maldives).

 

I would think twice about "trailfinders" .

they are on the list for going "under". Kuoni will be your best bet.

 

Luke, which 'list' are you referring to?
I think all business is at risk currently. If RBS can nearly go bust then most organisations should be considered at risk.

Trailfinders is ABTA and IATA covered, so refunds would be provided if they did go down.

 

Ive done both, Maldives '05 and Mauritius '07. Mauritius has more to do but sounds like you love the beach just like me so Id think the Maldives suits more. You cant beat it for chill out factor.

There are plenty of islands in the Maldives to suit budgets from £1k to unlimited so it doesnt need to be that expensive. We are going Feb 1st and its pretty much bang on £5k for the both of us but we are doing two islands for a bit of variety and this was booked about 9 months ago so maybe better deals to be had.

Ive been to quite a few places around the world and the Maldives is at the top for most memorable. Last time I went was after the Tsunami and the island was hit mildly around Xmas time. When I went end of March you would never have known.

Be sure to book seaplane tranfers from Male to your island as will get some breathtaking views in. When you hear the Maldives referred to as diamonds in the Indian Ocean its a spot on description.

Cheers
Simon

 

Very many thanks for the info...plenty to consider.

IIRC my mum used Trailfinders when she visited my bro in OZ and she was very happy with them too.

Seaplane seems like the only way, as the fiance would rather a plane than a boat.

I've never done diving before and although i'd be doing it without the other half, it seems like something you MUST do when you have tropical watera around you.

Simon, what made you want to visit 2 different islands? Do they not all tend to look the same?

 

Am also getting married in May. We're off to the Italian lakes though. Don't want to fly too far.

 

The only thing id say about the Maldives is if you go go all inclusive, my cousin has just got back and he went B+B, he got a packet of crisps one day and it cost him £6, you can safely say it was the only packet he got

 

What do you want to do? We wanted to totally chill out and found a quiet little island in the Seychelles which was perfect and very quiet.

 

Other than all having sand, vegetation and being surrounded by the indian ocean they can be very different in terms of size, facilities, activities, location (some require a 2nd transfer flight after Male) and how modern they are i.e. ranging from hand made beach huts up to 6* luxury (One & Only have 2 resorts in the Maldives).

We decided to do 1st week on a larger island with a bit more to do whilst we get used to the sun and the 2nd week is on a sister island that is a lot smaller, 500m long actually. Which reminds me to tell you its very very hot - due to being pretty much bang on the equator the sun is very intense.

Id never tried diving before last year so plan to do a couple in the Maldives. That said we've picked two islands with good house reefs and Ive splashed out on some pukka snorkelling gear this time as plan to spend a fair bit of time in the water

Simon

 

Again this depends where you go. A bit of research (tripadvisor is very helpful but a lot of islands have their own website & forum and some even have their own independant forum) will avoid you getting stung. You have to remember you are on an island some way from the mainland and that prices of consumables will be effected. That said when I was on Meeru in 2005 a bottle of Corona worked out at just under £3 a bottle which is the same as what I was paying in the UK. Admittedly the drop in the US dollar & inflation means its probably nearer £5 now.

Our travel agent was offering AI at around 50euros a night per person and we arent big drinkers so I didnt think it was worth the money just for drinks. Anyway our itinerary says AI now even though we paid for FB only so fingers crossed we get it anyway.

Simon