Honeymoon - HELP??

AmanPulo is not the best Aman resort to be at. The amenities were limited, the spa service was below the other Aman resorts. There were sandflies on parts of the beaches except at the tip where the sandbars are gorgeous. Plus the diving around Pamalican is no better than Boracay. Great plane ride from Manila too.

The Mandala Spa in Boracay is excellent. We enjoyed it more than the Aman or even the Begawan Giri in Ubud. Not as private, but more comfortable and excellent service. We were at both in Jan this year and preferred the Mandala.

I personally wouldn't go to PG for a honeymoon... being that close to the cesspool of Sabang just isn't conducive to romance, but then again a lot of the guys at Sabang think their activity is "romantic"

Palau has 2 nice options, I prefer the seclusion of Carolines. The rooms are basic but the views are great and you can still use the facilities of PPR. Sam's or Fish N' Fins are both excellent dive ops, can be a bit crowded.

Yap, Trader's Ridge Hotel has nice views and better rooms than Manta Ray. It is farther away from the sea but a little walking is good for you. Pathways is also nice in the jungle backdrop sorta way. Food was excellent. I dived with Manta Ray Bay and Beyond the Reef's Dave. Dave is less crowded and goes to other places (read non manta dives!).

I think if you want awesome land based diving, try PNG or Vanuatu. Port Moresby has some awesome dive sites and Jan/Feb is a good time. Besides Loloata, there's the Airways Hotel and the Dive Center. I liked diving from Moresby proper as I could go around PM. John from the Dive Center is a great guy and knows a few plane wrecks which is always great fun to dive.

Fiji has a plethora of dive resorts. Land based I liked the diving in SomoSomo. I liked Vanua Levu as an island but Taveuni has easier access to SomoSomo and 2 nice resorts which I can't remember the name of now.

Anyhow, just go somewhere and have fun. Congrats!

As already mentioned Kuredu, Maldives is a great place. Me and Zoe were staying in their water bungalows when the Indian Ocean tsunami hit and we still didn't want to go home!

Thanks Simon for the Keredu, Malapascua and Andaman suggestions. I'll look into them.

Probably the most exclusive resort in the Philippines is this:

http://www.amanresorts.com/home.aspx?id=398

Wow Stu! Those Aman resorts look incredible. I think that would be up to the standard Michaela is hoping for. Also thanks for the tip about Martin. He could come in very handy on this or even future trips

Anthony

Also consider Mozambique. Awesome diving and one resort stands out... Quilalea

The Quirimbas area is as frontier as you can get. The St Lazarus channel has been hit by illegal longliners but still some great stuff out there.

Ilhambane/Tofo are also known for macro and big stuff like whalesharks and mantas. Just choose the proper moonphase to go for the mantas. Then there are the sharks!

I would not consider diving in the Andaman during Jan/Feb. 200 divers at the best sites will remind you of the inner reefs of GBR plus the best sites are mostly accessable by liveaboards only. I've had a few friends honeymoon at the Rayavadee on Railay Beach. Very private areas but not the beach. There are some nice resorts on Phuket and the surrounds though. Plus after the diving in Indonesia, you'll be wishing for more in the East Andamans.

I also agree with Pakman's assessment of Malapascua. It's a nice place and has some decent food... but the accomodations on the entire island are mostly pretentious shacks and definitely not much privacy.

If you want good diving and privacy, I suggest Anilao/Batangas. Most of the resorts are empty during the weekdays and busy during weekends. A few of them have "villas" but the food is pretty basic. Contact me via email if you want more info.

If you are going to The phillipines. Consider Dumaguette. the new La vida resort is very nice. Good macro diving and daily trips to Apo Island

http://www.pura-vida.ph/index.html

You can also have a combination trip with http://www.sea-explorers.com/

If you are going to The phillipines. Consider Dumaguette. the new La vida resort is very nice. Good macro diving and daily trips to Apo Island

Thanks Lasse - will do!

I just got back from the Seychelles, not the best diving but you could combine it with a safari or diving trip to Africa if you have the time.

If you are curious, i'd recommend Praslin and La Digue if you want a nice atmosphere and some stuff to do other than diving. Mahe is not a place to stay for long. Many of the islands have endemic wildlife (mainly birds) so if you like topside photography it could be interesting for you.

If you want something super fancy try www.north-island.com - more expensive but everything is included: a winelist of 40 wines, diving , awesome food and your own golf buggy to get around the private island. You can choose where they setup dinner for you etc, so you can eat on your own secluded beach.

Not the best diving, but bluewater and probably your own private guide, being able to do what you want is sometimes better than seeing great stuff but being in a group of 20.

Turtles should still be laying and the Giant Tortoises roaming free on the island are interesting.

Wow - North Island looks incredible! Ohh for having the cash to splash on that!

A very nice resort in Anilao is by Wetpixel member Solanabezo. Dive Solana Resort was recently upgraded to rather high end status. I used to go there when it was with the original owners, it's now run by one of the daughters of Manila's high society. http://www.divesolana.com/

Anilao is famous for critters, beautiful wide angle reefs if you time Bahura/Sombrero correctly.

I've never been to Aman Pulo but do agree that the Mandala in Boracay is nice, bit far from the beach though, you may want to try Waling Waling. We threw a party there for 30 of our closest friends who tagged along on our honeymoon. Great rooms, cabanas available on the beach and really good food.

Regarding PG, Sabang area is a cesspool, dirty old men looking for young girls, hence my suggestion of staying in Small La Laguna. Less gungy, more family oriented, you'll still get the parade of old guys having breakfast with their young girlfriends but not near as bad as Sabang...the smell is a lot better too! I'd spend 2 weeks in PG and would maybe go to Sabang once to get a reload for my local cel phone. Though I'd rather send the boatman when he's on

Congrats btw, I forgot to add that to my first reply as I got pre-occupied answering your questions.

Stu

Wow - North Island looks incredible! Ohh for having the cash to splash on that!

That's what kidneys are for Should I also mention Aldabra is super nice?

I've never been to Aman Pulo but do agree that the Mandala in Boracay is nice, bit far from the beach though, you may want to try Waling Waling. We threw a party there for 30 of our closest friends who tagged along on our honeymoon. Great rooms, cabanas available on the beach and really good food.

30 friends tagged along on your honeymoon?!? Yikes

The Mandala is about a 7 minutes walk to White Beach... which isn't the most private beach in the world which is why I like the hilltop scene of Mandala.

Less gungy, more family oriented, you'll still get the parade of old guys having breakfast with their young girlfriends but not near as bad as Sabang...

Well in the philippines there's almost no escape from that bar/sex scene. I saw it at the Aman ( 60+ yr old guy with 2(!) errr consorts) too. Not that there's any wrong with that (I'm covering myself just in case I turn into one of those dirty old men ) But spa/retreat type places like the Mandala are almost immune since it's holistic and vegetarian. We were there for 4 days and we had to head down to the bars on White Beach, which we did for 1 hr before running back to the resort. And really, after you do the Watsu(if you do go, I strongly recommend that you 2 do it as a couple with Karen, you won't want to leave the villa after that.

There's a crappy promo vid done by the same guy on the resort... it's really better than what it looks like. Dunno who the hell hired that guy to do the promo.

However if you want a more private experience, Anthony, I really suggest you look at Fijian islands as we discussed. There's less traffic at the resorts I mentioned and so more privacy. Another alternative is to do both Philippines AND Micronesia. Easy enough to get to Palau/Yap from Manila...then just go to Boracay to detox and reenergize after all the diving.

Boracay "to detox"? more like "to retox" with the party scene at the beach there if you venture out of the Mandalay...

Boracay "to detox"? more like "to retox" with the party scene at the beach there if you venture out of the Mandalay...

Hey I said I'm NOT a dirty old man .... YET!

Congrats Anthony!

Please reconsider Tahiti, you wont regret it. In 2005 we honeymooned for 2 weeks between 3 islands and it is still is THE BEST vacation we ever had. We plan on going back in a few years when our baby is older.

You dont have to stay at the fanciest of hotels to have a great time in Tahiti!

Drew - as always - you have presented a compelling argument! Michaela really loved the look of the Mandala and combining it with something in Palau/Yap could really cover off the diving side of things. I'm not sure what a Watsu is, but will look into it... And that video is just plain wierd btw!!

We are still seriously considering Fiji as you also suggested Drew. Michaela remains a little concerned about the weather - although it sounds like even 'bad' visibility in Fiji is something like 15 m which doesn't sound too bad to me. It also sounds like the rain showers are intermittent and interspersed with sunny skies.

Chris - thanks for your Tahiti recommendation. It really does look like an idyllic location. Only thing is, I want to factor in Michaela's love of luxury. We stayed at Waka Namya in Ubud last which has set the benchmark pretty high and I don't want her feeling like we're not in a beautiful, luxurious and special place on our honeymoon. Also, we were only able to afford Waka because they discounted the price very generously for us.

In Tahiti, the nice overwater bungalows in pretty places like Bora Bora and Moorea seem to start at around $6-700/night min and then food sounds really expensive, plus one or two dives, would mean we could prob only afford 3-4 nights before we'd have to go home. We've got the time to stay away for around two weeks, so that would be a bit of a shame.

I'd be absolutely delighted to learn that there are ways around our conundrum re Tahiti, but I can't see it yet.

Drew's Mandala suggestion looks superb and if we can swing something in Micronesia as well that would also be sensational...

Drew, any airline/route recommendations?

We stayed at Waka Namya in Ubud last which has set the benchmark pretty high and I don't want her feeling like we're not in a beautiful, luxurious and special place on our honeymoon.

Aww man, you got it backwards! First, you set the bar as LOW as possible, if she marries you, then the only way is UP!

Good Luck with your Honeymoon planning! I am sure you will have fun no matter where you guys go.

Edit: BTW when you book anything and everything, make sure you mention you are on honeymoon, usually they have an extra or discount for you.

Long and Happy life for both. Cheers!!!

I think 3 weeks is too much time for spend in the same location.

My suggestion is St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

You can jump from island to island, not expensive, beautifil and romantic and fantastic diving.

Take a look in this sites:

http://www.svgtourism.com/

http://www.youngisland.com/

http://www.divestvincent.com/

http://www.frangipanibequia.com/

http://www.bequiadiveadventures.com/

http://www.grenadinesdive.com/

http://www.mustique-island.com/

http://www.scubamom.com/grenadines/mustique/scuba.htm

Congrats,

Tigershark

Well thank you so much to everyone who has helped us out in this decision!

We genuinely appreciate the time you have all spent answering the many questions. And I'm certain (judging by the number of people who've read this thread) that the responses will help many more couples who are facing similar dilemmas.

In the end, it was an airfare sale that tipped our hand. We have decided to go to Fiji.

The Fiji sale airfares were around a quarter of those for pretty much every other destination we were considering which was a pretty compelling argument. That will mean we have plenty of money for luxury accom, diving, food and perhaps even some cash for a house deposit down the track.

I adore soft corals, which are apparently common in Fiji and Michaela is fascinated by wall/reef diving, so Fiji seemed interesting. From what we have read, even in Fiji low season (when we are going) vis is still 10-15m, which for us is heaps. Also, Michaela is very fond of warm water and Fiji hovers around 30C which is toasty.

We are looking at going to Wananaru and trying to dive the Bligh Waters as recommended by a number of people on WP. We are certainly very interested in other suggestions of locations. In total, we will be away for nearly three weeks which should leave some time for looking around. We have considered Taveuni, but some reports on here have been disparaging.

Finally, thank you to all those who made such interesting suggestions including the most recent of St Vincent, Tahiti and the Philippines. We have by no means forgotten those ideas. We have them high on our wish list for future trips. The criteria for this trip was luxury accom and reasonable diving, but on future trips, we will be more flexible on accom and may be able to afford the more expensive destinations such as Tahiti.

Thanks to all and we'll look forward to sharing our experiences from Fiji when we return. Now, if you could all cross your fingers for some good weather for us...