Hi all,
Me and my mrs are getting hitched in July (the thread before Xmas on engagement rings came through for me!) and whilst she’s sorting out most stuff (my role is largely to suck air through my teeth and say ‘sounds expensive’) I’ve been tasked with sorting out the honeymoon… guess what I want ideas on!

So – the criteria are:

* Neither of us are particularly inactive sit on a beach types, but I’m definitely the more adventurous. The Mrs isn’t averse to trying new things, but she does freak out a bit if there is no running water or she has to sleep in a tent.

* We’d prefer to go somewhere a bit interesting – maybe a bit off the beaten track. We’ve no problem with rocking up somewhere and sorting out accommodation when we get there (more practical in some places than others).

* A holiday with a theme / challenge would be interesting, but nothing intensive we’ll be knackered from organising the wedding.

* Happy to do a bit of riding / hiking / snowboarding / something

* No particular budget in mind, but I figure keep it to about two grand ish.

* Ideally for two weeks.

Basically I’ve not got a clue. I vaguely considered going to South America, until I realised it’d be winter there. Prefer not to go to Canada as well as we went boarding there a few weeks ago and I’m going mtbing there in September.

So please help! Where did you go for your honeymoon? Is it best just to leave it to the last minute?

My wife and I sound quite similar – we really didn't fancy sitting on a beach for two weeks so we went skiing in the states for 10 days and it was brilliant.

We were at Breckenridge (February) which is a great resort. We stayed at the Beaver Run Resort (what a name…) which was brilliant. We did Dogsledding, Snowmobiling and LOTS of skiing 🙂 Oh and there's a Pearl Izumi outlet store just down the road!

We certainly wouldn't have done anything different now that we have the benefit of hindsight.

Our honeymoon 3 years ago was in Africa –
Flew to Jo'berg hired car and drove to a weeks safari in Kruger (Stayed at Hippo Hollow – top place for honeymoon, little wooden hut above the river bank, hippos grazing beneath our balcony), followed by flight from JoBerg to Livingstone (Zambia) 2 day canoe safari down Zambeezi river (- plenty of other activites on offer in Livingstone if you fancy everything from bungee jumps of the bridge to jet boating helicopter flights over Victoria Falls, cycling and walking tours etc)
then we flew down and had a 'relaxing' week in CapeTown – wine tours, Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope, Robin Island prison etc

think it cost us about £2.5k 3 years ago for 18nights (2 of which where flights there and back), may be more with world cup in S Africa this year but guess that depends when in July you go?
Could be tailored down to suit budget anyway
We went with Virgin Holidays but could easily book bits seperate and prob cheaper if you wanted (we didnt want additional hassle ontop of booking wedding stuff)

I would say Africa too – we went to Kenya, did Nairobi, Lakes Navasha and Nakuru then flew by little prop plane to the Mara where we spent a week in a luxury tent (basically 5 star under canvas). Then another flight to Mombasa for a chilled week by the pool/sea where I also learnt to scuba.

It cost a bit more than £2k (nearer £5k) but we went for luxury all the way – it could be done much cheaper.

Are you determined to spend a lot of money?

If not then southern Spain could be just what you need. We had two weeks there, driving round finding places to stay as we went.

It's got beautiful beaches, impressive mountains (amazing biking and walking), romantic and vibrant cities and brilliant food.

Northern Italy? Move around a bit and do some Via Ferratta (sp)? Easy to get to, cheapish, outdoorsy, flexible….

Ours was in Tuscany in early Oct. Not too busy and not too hot and we moved around and saw lots…. food was nice, put on a stone in 10 days 😉

Iceland,

beautiful country, did a tour using youth hostels a few years ago.
plenty to see and do.

food was nice, put on a stone in 10 days

Haha, same problem in Spain. Must be even worse in Italy, since food is generally even tastier.

Africa sounds good – was it mentally hot? We'll be going in July, but I guess at the equator it makes little difference?

Mrs likes Italy so that might be an option – north or south? Does Italy have many islands?

Anyone gone to Corotia etc?

Africa sounds good – was it mentally hot?

During the day in direct sun it was hot, but not silly as you might expect. They had hot water bottles to warm the beds at night though.

We also had several rainstorms and some relatively cool days.

(we went at the end of July and into August).

I'm extremely biased, but how about the Basque country? You can go surfing/riding/walking. Eat fine food and drink great wine. See great cities like Bilbao, San Sebastian and Pamplona. See lesser known, but fine towns like Laguardia. As it's July you can combine it with one of the many festivals going on (including the running of the Bulls in Pamplona).

We're going to Cambodia and Vietnam for ours in less than two weeks from now!

SE Asia is good because once you're there it can be as cheap or luxurious as you can afford. I've managed to get flights (inc internal) and accomodation in for a bit less than 2K, including staying in some stunning looking places.

Fly in to Siem Reap, chill out in posh hotel and go and visit Ankor Wat (you can cycle around the temples).

Fly to a deserted tropical island, stay in a $25 beach hut, eat, drink, moped around etc

Fly to Halong Bay, overnight in a Junk or somesuch boat sailing around huge islands of limestone towering above. Maybe do some Sea Kayaking (except I nearly died last time I tried that)

Hanoi.

Go home (boo!)

Book as much as you can beforehand if you're only going for a few weeks, rather than waste time once you're there, and don't leave it till the last minute, it's not worth the nagging, and you'll get sucked in to organising wedding stuff nearer the time.

Plus you won't have any money left…so book it now! 😆

Have you considered Skegness?

Skegness – tell me more? That sounds exotic, where is it? SE Asia?

I've heard everyone (sweeping generalisation coming up! at least this is based on people who've back packed round it for a year) is not as friendly (in a quicker to pull a fast one way) as Thailand / Cambodia…? Anyone care to comment?

We did Mauritius, wife wants to go back and lie on the beach, but on one condition of my own. First a week on Reunion, the active volcano island next to it. Some hiking, climbing, maybe MTB and surfing, the a quick nip to Mauritius for a lie on the beech (for the misses, I'll be off sailing again :D)

Exotic does not even begin to describe the wonder that is Skegness.

Ewan – Member

I've heard everyone (sweeping generalisation coming up! at least this is based on people who've back packed round it for a year) is not as friendly (in a quicker to pull a fast one way) as Thailand / Cambodia…? Anyone care to comment?

Er…Do you mean Vietnam, or Skegness?

I meant Vietnam. I already know that the streets of skeggie are paved with gold and the locals all look like Cheryl Cole.

Mauritius is an interesting idea… I assumed it was just beach – is there really much more to do? How big is the island – can you not hike the entire thing in a day?

How about Corsica?

Great for road riding, not so sure on off road, hiking is superb with the GR 20 and beaches as well.

Britain has everything. Stay local.

We went to the big chill festival and then spent two weeks in snowdonia, it was ace.

Ewan – Member

I meant Vietnam. I already know that the streets of skeggie are paved with gold and the locals all look like Cheryl Cole.

I guess it depends on how confident you are about noticing when you're about to be ripped off. For instance I've been to a lot of different countries, yet mostly get ripped off when I go round the corner to my LBS…

mauritius is beautiful
lots of big jungley clad mountainsloads of hiking opportunities, plenty of watersports and some of the best scuba and snorkling anywhwere
too big to drive in a day.It is actually quite big
Outside the 5* beach resorts though it is quite poor – eye openingly so when you get amongst some of the local little villages inland
I worked there for a week a few years ago doing a structural inspection on a 500' mast that is used by their civil aviation dept as a communication link between the airport and the capital city
It is directly in line of the main flightpath and we were shocked to find all the aircraft warning lights on it were out of order!!
On this basis alone I would be to scared to go back, having seen how close planes flew to it coming in to land 😉
Being stood on top of that mast as a 747 flew underneath me so close I could see the pilots eyes is an experience I dont want to ever repeat!

What kinds of things do you like? And how good are you at adapting to other languages – especially when there is little to no chance of encountering any English?

I ask simply because there is a little gem of a city in Eastern Europe that is just ripe for exploration, super cheap, and absolutely beautiful. But you will not hear any English, and you may find it frustrating if you are not linguistically or culturally so-inclined.

Hmmm, culturally I love other languages. Unfortunately I'm rubbish at picking them up (my french extends to 'zut alors!') thankfully the mrs is very good at other languages.

Corsica is also an interesting idea…

Iceland for glaciers and great mountain biking