Honeymoon .... Please share your experience:)

So DP and I know we will get married, but the honeymoon has us stumped!

Please share your experience, what you loved about it, if you'd do it again, etc. If you didn't like it, what would you do different?

We are so undecided whether we honeymoon in Australia or go overseas. A nice beach, sunfilled honeymoon is hopefully on the cards!

Ideas? TIA

We live in NSW and we decided to go to Perth WA for our honeymoon. Neither of us had been there before and we both wanted to go. The only thing we would change is that we would go for longer. We only had a week for our honeymoon and it just wasn't long enough.

We went to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, stayed at Pacific Resort. If there is a heaven on earth - that's it. We went for 10 days and it was the most relaxing holiday we have ever had.

Swam, snorkled, restaurant is on the sand next to the bright blue lagoon. People are beautiful and friendly, hired a scooter and you ride helmet-free at 40kms max speed. It is just so divine. Google it!

we went to Bali for a month!

We loved it and if you havent been overseas before then I'd definately say DO IT!!!!!!

we laid on the beach, drank cheap cheap ****tails and shopped and discovered all the Bali has to offer, culture wise the festivals, full moon party, temples and natural hot springs, Bali money is about 9000 rupiah to the dollar and beer sonly 7500 rupiah and meals start at 4000 rupiah, so cheap and absolutely the best continent on earth !!! Hands down, we would love there if they had 'good' healthcare....

We went to Vanuatu for about 2 weeks. Loved it. We stayed a really basic place on Tanna island which was really magical and special then we stayed at Iririki resort in Port Vila- ****tails in the pool, massages, gorgeous accomodation etc. We loved the whole trip :D

We went to Brampton Island - part of the Whitsundays. We chose that one because it was cheaper, and it's kind of adults only - not that we don't like kids but we didn't want lots of them around on our honeymoon!

It was beautiful, but we soon realised maybe we shouldn't have gone somewhere so 'remote'. The island is a national park, the only thing on it is the resort. So if you're hungry or thirsty, you've got to buy from them and it's not exactly cheap. There are activities there which we were really interested in, but you need to book and schedule it all, and even then there's no guarantee it'll happen because it all depends on the weather. So we missed out on sailboarding and a few other things. But never mind, we swam, slept and drank ****tails instead!

Honestly though I think if we were to do it again we'd somewhere where there was more variety

We stayed at Coconut Beach at Cape Tribulation (daintree). We got married in Cairns so it was nice and easy to get to, but also remote enough to relax and forget about the rest of the world. No mobile reception... which I loved!! But still quite close to the Cape Trib township so there were other options for dinner and lunch etc. The breakfast included in the resort package was the best breakfast I have ever had!
We went horseriding on the beach and lounged around the pool. Unfortunately it was only 3 nights, as we had lots of relatives in Cairns from overseas and interstate that we wanted to spend a few days with before they had to leave. We will get back there soon... hopefully.
Growing up in Cairns I have always been of the opinion that if I want a holiday at a beach, then I might as well stay in Aus, since we have amazing beaches. If I pay for long flights etc I am going somewhere really different. :)

I would definitely go somewhere where you can really be alone, a slightly more remote beach near a busier centre if the sun and surf is what you are after. Don't spend too much either... your honeymoon is about spending time together, not about being in the fanciest place in the world. Especially after the expense of a wedding! Have fun deciding. :)

We had 1 week on Long island in whitsundays and 1 week Gold coast!!

Long island was great, when first arrived I was disapointed in 1980's decor but we were hardly in room, we booked into lots of day trip Whitehaven beach on a Raggamuffin, parasailing, Reef world. We had a secluded picnic included in package so they pack massive picnic take you to a secluded small island by boat and come back later for you, we also had helicopter flight included. All meals were massive buffet included!! Would go back we liked it as not commercialised like Hamilton.

Gold coast was OK we had both been before we did seaworld, movie world and dream world, we hired a smart car convertable and frove to Byron bay, had fun but not as nice as Long island.

We went to the Cook Islands for 2 weeks, it was fabulous. Everything that PacRakMG said.

Regards,
Dianne

We did Fiji for 10 days. 7 on Tokiriki Resort. Beachfront bure, no kids allowed, no clocks, snorkelling 10 feet from the bure (cabin), outdoor private showers (ROR!) and we even were taken to our own deserted island for the day with a big picnic basket full of ymmuy food and bubbles. It was right across from where that Tom Hanks movie was filmed.

Totally awesome and I cried when I left.

We went Phuket and stayed at Karon beach for two weeks. We chose a no kids resort with a day spa. Had an awesome time! The only downside was flying Jetstar - horrific and full of feral drunk men

we went to Penang, Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur in malaysia.

Penang was AWSOME!!
we loved every minute of it. we stayed at one of the shangri la properties, did lots of sight seeing and relaxing, it was pretty cheap as well!

Langkawi was OK....
not as much to do as penang, but still fun.

KL stopped coz we had to with our flights, the shopping centers were AMAZING!!!

i second BALI.....
we have been quite a few times and we love the place!
like the PP if we could live there we would! so cheap and friendly!

we are going on a OS trip next year and MIL is coming with us but wont go to Bali which im shattered about! so looks like Fiji or Vanuatu it will be for us

if u want to stay in Oz, Hamilton Island is great!
not cheap when ur there, eg sausgae roll at the bakery was around $4 for a small-ish one, but driving the golf buggies was great fun and the trip to the barrier reef was amazing as was whitehaven beach

We went to the Four Seasons in the Maldives and it was heaven, service was spectacular. I wouldnt stay there or in one place too long - the islands are small and while constant sun, sand and snorkelling is awesome, you want fun too :)

I'd look for an inclusive package if you can so you don't have money worries while you are there - when we spoke to a couple they said they had all their meals included and we were spewing that our travel agent didnt mention any meal packages to us, would have been heaps easier. The food was pricey, so was a little surprised at the expense especially when you think about it every time you want a drink or snack! :) But highly recommend it. Went with Singapore Airlines and felt awesome the whole time.

I also just got back from Fiji too which would be brilliant for a honeymoon. Strongly recommend the Yasawa Islands, and the Nanuya Resort which is mostly couples and not as big and commercial - but spectacular. I have some pics on my FB page if you want to see, I stayed at two places though, both awesome.

meow - I stayed at Iririki in 2008!!! Loved it there too. Too many nice places, hard to choose - but all are awesome :D

We live in Victoria and decided to go to Tasmania for our honeymoon. It's somewhere we both were dying to go and decided to have 3 weeks over there. We caught the ferry and took our own car. We planned for months and probably spent more on our honeymoon than the actual wedding! It was different to a traditional honeymoon as we were soooo busy and packed so much into those 3 weeks!
We had an amazing time and really spoiled ourselves! It stands out as the best holiday we've ever had!

We went to airlie beach in QLD and LOVED it but any beach would be good.

For us it wasn't so much about getting out and seeing XYZ but instead just being able to have time with the 2 of us. We did a sunset champagne yacht thingy and a scenic helicopter thingy and that's it for the week we were there. The rest of the time we spent laying in the sun together, reading, eating whatever whenever we wanted. Heaps of other couples were going here there and everywhere every day of their honeymoon but that just wasn't for us.

It was a bit late (2 years after the wedding :rofl:) but we had 10 days in Port Douglas. Snorkelling, drinking, eating, swimming, golfing and sight seeing! So much fun!

We went to NZ South Island and campervanned around for two weeks. Was so much fun! i wish we had longer over there though. Two weeks just wasnt enough. people are friendly, the campervan we hired thru pacific horizon and they were fantastic (had a box of choccies and some local wine waiting for us in the van). we also went back to NZ this time the north island for out BABYmoon. South is so much nicer!!

we were married in tassie so honeymoond there too. My DH is really not a beach guy. he doesn't liek swimming in the ocean and derives no pleasure from lounging by the pool drinking endless streams of ****tails (his wife on the other hand... lol).

so we went to Strahan on the west coast of tassie. It's isolated and rugged but most of all, there were things to do! we went on a fishing charter, quad bike riding along the sand dunes (heaps of fun, even for a novice like me), bush walks, hired bikes and explored the area and old cemeteries, jet boat ride, shopping at boutique wood carvers/lace/pottery shops, went on an old steam train and ates lots and lots of scallops!

we stayed at the best accommodation we could afford, right on the water. took a 2 hr spa bath with champers and cheese every night and had the most lovely time. I only wish we had longer than our 5 nights.

:)

We went to Daydream Island on a honeymooner package and it was fabulous. Pool bars, snorkling, parasailing, swimming in pools surrounded by the ocean, we had a meals by the ocean. They also have a day spa too as well as water sports. It was so much fun. We met up a few other honeymooners and drank the island out of all white spirtis, LOL!!

We had a week in the Maldives and to put it simply, it was heaven on earth. We stayed at Soneva Gili (a Six Senses Spa resort) in an overwater bungalow. The service was out of this world, food was incredible, accommodation and location was amazing. I seriously can't describe just how good it was. Even the photos (ours and on their website) just don't do it justice. I cried when we arrived as I honestly couldn't believe we were staying at such a magical place.

My only regret is we should have stayed for 2 weeks, lol! In saying that though, 2 weeks would have been pushing the budget a bit. I was a travel agent at the time so we got an amazing deal but even if we had paid full price, it would have been worth every penny. We hope to return again one day.

We did a Round the World trip. We were going to the UK anyway and it turned out a round the world flight was cheaper than a Oz-UK return. Saved forever for it too.

We had 3 days Hong Kong. OK, but wouldn't go back
12 days UK including a few days in the Lakes district. Wish we'd had more time in the Lakes, it's so beautiful, but we were catching up with rellies the rest of the time.
5 days New York. Could have spent a couple of weeks there. Would definately return. Saw all the sights, ate at great restaurants, saw a Broadway show. Amazing!
3 days Las Vegas. Meh - it's more DH's thing. We did a chopper ride out to the Grand Canyon and saw Tom Jones. It was fun, but really hot and not my kind of fun
5 days Fiji. Fiji is devine! Loved it and would love to return. We stayed at Lomani resort which is adults only, though next door to a family resort. We mostly slept cos we were exhausted from travelling. We'd move from the bed to the sunbed to the hammock...it's a hard life :) We'd wanted to go to Tokoriki, which Lulu mentioned above, but that was out of our budget.

If I could do it again, I'd go to Italy. Otherwise, the South Pacific is a gorgeous part of the world. Go island hopping in Fiji or Vanuatu.

We went to Mauritius and Reunion (a little piece of paradise off the Island of Mauritius).
We got a great package of stay 7nights get 7nights free, it was perfect. Also had breakfast and dinner included in the package.
We went to Reunion for 2nights before Mauritius, it was amazing. It was quite funny as not one single person on the Island of Reunion spoke English, including the hotel staff Lol!
Mauritius is just beautiful. I have just had a girl friend come back and she absolultely loved it. They stayed in the Royal Palm.
We stayed at Le Victoria, it was really nice as well.
My GF asked a Taxi drive in Mauritius if any of the hotels were not good, he said they were all great and could not say a bad word about any of them.
Will you be taking your DD? If so, pretty much all the hotels have great Kids Clubs.
Grand Bai is the major town of Mauritius. I want to go back for our 20 yr anniversary, only another 7yrs to wait :)
It really is a beautiful place *sigh*.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE them all!! Such great places! Just reading them to dp, too hard to choose!

We went to Fiji - The Radisson at Denerau Island.. We loved it! So beautiful, so relaxing, just paradise - Even with a Category 3 cyclone on our second day haha! I used to live on Hamilton Island, that place would also make a wonderful tropical beachy Honeymoon destination as all of the Whitsundays would! I also love Vanuatu, that's my 'special' place, I have been 3 times and would like to go at least 3 more! Hawaii didn't live up to the hype for me, Maui definitely but Waikiki not so much, wish we had've had more time on Maui!

Our next big holiday which should have been our Honeymoon, we are going on a 5 week long P&O Cruise in 2012 that goes all through Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia (Been there before too and not such a fan) Norfolk Island, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Bora Bora, Hawaii and more! THAT is going to be AMAZING!!!

Aaaah so many places! Would also love to do Bali & Thailand soon! Heard so many happy travellers rave about them!

Good luck choosing! Have fun! xx

We went to Samoa for 7 nights, stayed at Sinalei in a waterfront fale. Our fale had this amazing outdoor bathroom so we could shower under the stars :) Was so quiet and peaceful. Then we caught a ferry across to Savaii and stayed in these little huts on the beach, extremely basic but awesome. We stopped in Fiji on the way home for 4 nights and stayed at Matamanoa for 2 of them, it was nice and offered fabulous snorkelling.

We went to Hamilton Island..Pool, hot balmy nights, yummy dinners!!...Was brilliant! Very easy to organise which was a bonus too.
When I was pregnant with our first baby we also went back for another holiday (when I was about 30 weeks pregnant, and it was a surprise all organised by DH!)..A gorgeous way to spend our last few weeks as just a couple!

We went to Port Douglas for a week. I was 20wk pregnant, but awesome. We stayed at the Tree Tops resort and ended up hiring a car and going where we wanted to go (instead of catching their public transport!) I loved it and want to go back with the kids!

Another one that went to Port Douglas & we stayed at Tree Tops! We hired cars and scooters to get around

wow, they all sound so awesome!

Thanks everyone for sharing with me!

We stayed at Kewarra Beach (near carins/palm cove) and spend some time on Double Island as well. We LOVED ti and wold most def do it all again - sun/****tails/beach/champagne. Ah...I want to go back now!

We did the same as Lulu and went to Tokoriki Island in Fiji. Absolutely awesome, ate heaps, swam, lounged around. Awesome snorkelling, went to a deserted island for a picnic and had a great snorkelling trip on the island where they filmed Castaway.