TheAuthority Posted January 9, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 9, 2015 Honeymoon in August is business class round the world air ticket, courtesy of air mile hoarding over the last couple of years. Starting in Rwanda for Gorilla trekking, Tanzania for safari on the Serengeti and The Ngorongoro Crater. Onto Bangkok, Myanmar, & Vietnam. Down to Bali via Singapore and home through Tokyo. (Buenos Aires portion of the ticket we will finish in 2016.) 5 weeks total so I'm working on generating hotel points right now! Also heading to Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon again in April (I can't get enough of the American West.) Any tips/experiences from any on those destinations would be very appreciated. (I'm looking at you Tony ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Other than Rawanda I've been to all of those so can probably help with some suggestions I'm on my phone now but will update some ideas for you when I'm in front of the PC next Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted January 11, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 11, 2015 Other than Rawanda I've been to all of those so can probably help with some suggestions I'm on my phone now but will update some ideas for you when I'm in front of the PC next Thanks Tony - I remember getting some good suggestions from you for Oman a few years back. After booking the flights I now I realize how much work I've got to do the plan the whole thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villa4europe Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 got a weekend in Edinburgh booked with the blokes from work, think the idea was we'd go somewhere where you can have a drink without feeling the need to spend all weekend drinking, i like Edinburgh, not sure what its like for a night out though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) Honeymoon in August is business class round the world air ticket, courtesy of air mile hoarding over the last couple of years. Starting in Rwanda for Gorilla trekking, Tanzania for safari on the Serengeti and The Ngorongoro Crater. Onto Bangkok, Myanmar, & Vietnam. Down to Bali via Singapore and home through Tokyo. (Buenos Aires portion of the ticket we will finish in 2016.) 5 weeks total so I'm working on generating hotel points right now! Also heading to Lake Powell and the Grand Canyon again in April (I can't get enough of the American West.) Any tips/experiences from any on those destinations would be very appreciated. (I'm looking at you Tony ) BKK , Myanmar ,Vietnam Etc was a few years back when I went to Myanmar and still tricky to get in ( Aung San Suu Kyi was still a prisoner and some American had just swum across the lake to see her so they were a little hot on foreigners enter the country at that time ) , I believe it's easier now but I think you will need a travel agent to sort the visa , I don't think you can just decide a day or 2 before I entered Myanmar from Singapore and exited via BKK , so in terms of countries you've listed you may be better to do Vietnam first , then Thailand , then Burma then down to Singapore and save doubling back on yourself . We stayed at The Strand hotel in Rangoon , not cheap but in theory it was going to be the R&R part of our trip so we splurged a bit , not knowing that we'd spend all our nights in Burma out drinking in bars and clubs until gone 5am (you'll almost regret taking the wife ) .... the afternoon tea was great fun at the strand worth the trip for that alone some nice temple complexes , giant Buddha's and what not and take a ferry across the river to see how the locals live but you wont need more than a few days there ..unless you want to take the train out and visit the old colonial hill stations and what not In terms of Vietnam .... after Burma we flew to BKK and then took a local air Asia flight up to Udon Thani .. from there you can cross the friendship bridge into Laos (bus route or we hired a private car to take us .. if you go by bus you have to buy your Laos visa at the bridge and the bus wont wait for you ( maybe bribe the driver a few $'s ) , meaning you'd have to sit and wait for the next one ) Laos isn't that big but has some interesting things to look at .. if there is a bit of student back packer in you then you can go off into the "jungle" and kiss elephants and white water raft , but we just stuck to Vientiane from Laos you can get cheap flights to Hanoi in Vietnam Not a great deal in Hanoi (imo) but you can make that your base to visit Ha Long bay .. great way to spend a few days , we had the whole boat to ourselves which made it bliss from there we flew to Hue ..which was the old capital ... some good Vietnam war stuff there and also the DMZ line so you can in effect see the old dividing line between North and South ..the old war tunnels from the war with the French were great but not if you suffer from claustrophobia .... it was also the old capital so some interesting tombs to visit and what not from there we went to Ho Chi Minh .. again some war stuff but it's loads of other tourist stuff and generally a busy Asian city if you want to take in Cambodia then a little tip for you is Chau Doc a few hours by car from HCM but then you can basically take a water taxi into Cambodia (Phonm Penh) and tick off riding on the Mekong river at the same time .. there is a hotel there that sort out your visa and the boat transfer and accompany you along the way ... Phonm Penh gives you the killing fields and the genocide museum , just what every honeymoon wants and some old world palace type stuff and then you can catch an internal flight down to Siem Reap ... and Angkor Wat ... if you go there ask about the panoramic balloon flight , it's on a rope so doesn't fly anywhere but it goes up and gives you a great view of the whole complex ... Angkor Wat was probably the highlight of the trip so well worth considering you can fly Silk Air from Siem Reap to Singapore , so again it gives you options for your routing Some pics here on Facebook from the places mentioned , hopefully you can access them (don't think you need FB to see them) Singapore , i just walked about for a few days , no real wow factor but plenty to see ... for a honeymoon treat maybe splurge on Raffles .. sure there are better hotels and everyone will tell you it's a waste .. but hey it's one of those old world era places that I always wanted to stay at and it has it's charm . Bali - a bit meh if I'm honest ... I know plenty of folk that have been there and love it , but for everything it has I've seen the same but better in other countries ... don't get me wrong I enjoyed my stay there , in spite of all the bloody Aussies in their vests !! we even beat Arsenal 3-1 during my stay so maybe it's my lucky town .. but venture around a bit it still has it's charms the draw that Bali does have for you is Komodo .. the company i went with appear to have shut down (least the web site isn't ' working) but you take a short flight to Lauban Bajo and pick up a boat from there ( travel light , you really wont need your hair-dryer and make-up and 30 changes of clothes ) ... it's a small boat with a captain who is also your chef and your guide .. you wander around the national park and see the dragons , then off on your boat , quick snorkel in the sea and then dinner and time for bed ... bed time is a mattress on the floor of the boat under the stars .. I'm a dreadful sleeper , can honestly say there were the best few nights sleep I've ever had .. we got some great encounters with the dragons and on the trip even saw two sea turtles shagging in the water as we sailed on by anyway this is probably turning into war and peace but hopefully it's given you some pointers ..there are of course other places in those areas that I haven't been too or missed out I'll finish be briefly adding that for Ngorongoro you'll probably fly into Arusha and get some great views of Mt Kilimanjaro as you come into land .. but when you are done in Ngorongoro ( we stayed here , from your balcony you can look down into the crater ) and head back to Arusha you can get a direct flight from there to Zanzibar and spend a few days on the beach and visit Stone town ( birthplace of Freddie Mercury but don't let that put you off ) .. from Zanzibar its a short flight back to Tanzania and Dar es Salaam for your onward flight Edited January 13, 2015 by tonyh29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAuthority Posted January 15, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 15, 2015 Tony - thanks so much for taking the time to share all of that. I'm going to write a longer response when I get home from work tonight with a few questions. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AVTuco Posted January 17, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 17, 2015 Just booked a sea-side villa for a week in Cyprus in July. Going with the family, been there before. Magnificent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted January 19, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 19, 2015 Mexico for me I think. Probably try somewhere new in Spain too. Mexico is booked. 2 weeks in June Gone for the very lazy option of an all inclusive resort in Playacar (as opposed to all the travelling around we did in Thailand last year). Will still make the effort to go and see plenty of the surrounding area, but looking forward to a more chilled out holiday. Only 138 days to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 (edited) Mexico for me I think. Probably try somewhere new in Spain too. Mexico is booked. 2 weeks in June Gone for the very lazy option of an all inclusive resort in Playacar (as opposed to all the travelling around we did in Thailand last year). Will still make the effort to go and see plenty of the surrounding area, but looking forward to a more chilled out holiday. Only 138 days to go! Be sure to check out Xcaret and Isla Mujares. You will not be disappointed. Edited January 19, 2015 by Tayls 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenko#4 Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Mexico for me I think. Probably try somewhere new in Spain too. Mexico is booked. 2 weeks in June Gone for the very lazy option of an all inclusive resort in Playacar (as opposed to all the travelling around we did in Thailand last year). Will still make the effort to go and see plenty of the surrounding area, but looking forward to a more chilled out holiday. Only 138 days to go! Me and the other half have just booked Mexico in June as well. I have the small matter of a stag do in Berlin late February to get out of the way first though. Has any one been on a stag do there before? and suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Whatever you do , don't do one of those bloody irritating beer bikes ... they've even got them in Budapest now you could look at a Trabi safari for a laugh , if anyone is sober enough to drive .... something a bit different and you get to see Berlin before you all get totally slaughtered ... night-life wise , I'm not into the club scene so can't offer much .... I've just sorta been to bars and a few clubs , couldn't even tell you the names of them tbh ... but I think the underground scene is worth a google ... tbh I'd imagine a lot of these places wont like a group of blokes on a stag do ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted January 20, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 20, 2015 Mexico for me I think. Probably try somewhere new in Spain too. Mexico is booked. 2 weeks in June Gone for the very lazy option of an all inclusive resort in Playacar (as opposed to all the travelling around we did in Thailand last year). Will still make the effort to go and see plenty of the surrounding area, but looking forward to a more chilled out holiday. Only 138 days to go! Be sure to check out Xcaret and Isla Mujares. You will not be disappointed. Cheers. Isla Mujares looks great but we probably won't get the chance to visit to be honest. We might, but we'll see. Xcaret looks great, but the prices through the hotel/Thomson look pretty sky high! Is it cheaper if you buy tickets out there or in advance? $100 seems a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 (edited) Mexico for me I think. Probably try somewhere new in Spain too. Mexico is booked. 2 weeks in June Gone for the very lazy option of an all inclusive resort in Playacar (as opposed to all the travelling around we did in Thailand last year). Will still make the effort to go and see plenty of the surrounding area, but looking forward to a more chilled out holiday. Only 138 days to go! Be sure to check out Xcaret and Isla Mujares. You will not be disappointed. Cheers. Isla Mujares looks great but we probably won't get the chance to visit to be honest. We might, but we'll see. Xcaret looks great, but the prices through the hotel/Thomson look pretty sky high! Is it cheaper if you buy tickets out there or in advance? $100 seems a lot! Both are incredible experiences. Honestly. Xcaret is literally a whole day trip. Surrounded by animals, beaches, gardens and anold village within the grounds. Toward the end the price includes the evening show. Was probably one of the coolest things I have seen. Definitely worth your bucks. Isla Mujuares is cool if you fancy a bit of snorkelling in the middle of the carribean sea in the way to the island (beer and wine served without cost as well) and chilling on a beautiful island for a few hours. You can also drive a golf cart around the whole island in about an hour. I assume you have already planned your trip to Chichen Itza? Of course you have. Nobody would go to Cancun and not go to Chichen Itza. We paid for all of ours out there. Managed to negotiate a bit of because we booked all 3 for two people. We stayed at the Sensatori who had someone on site to help us out. All three were so worh the cost. Made the trip to be fair. Edited January 20, 2015 by Tayls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted January 20, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 20, 2015 Definitely going to chichen itza. Still surprised by the price for that. $90 per person if we book through Thomson. To see a pyramid. Includes transport as well but **** me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Definitely going to chichen itza. Still surprised by the price for that. $90 per person if we book through Thomson. To see a pyramid. Includes transport as well but **** me. You'll probably find that you stop off en route to basically what is a massive hole in the ground and take a little swim. That was a pretty cool experience. A pyramid!!! It's not just a pyramid!!! It's one of the greatest most iconic pieces of Myan history that still exists in the modern world! Don't forget to clap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Teotihuacan Says Hi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted January 20, 2015 VT Supporter Share Posted January 20, 2015 Definitely going to chichen itza. Still surprised by the price for that. $90 per person if we book through Thomson. To see a pyramid. Includes transport as well but **** me. You'll probably find that you stop off en route to basically what is a massive hole in the ground and take a little swim. That was a pretty cool experience. A pyramid!!! It's not just a pyramid!!! It's one of the greatest most iconic pieces of Myan history that still exists in the modern world! Don't forget to clap! Oh I'm not dissing the pyramid. It looks amazing. I just didn't expect to pay $90 to see it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tayls Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Teotihuacan Says Hi Hah, I did say "one of" And you will have to trek to Mexico City to see that one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derryvillan Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 We were thinking of going to Greece in August.I don't really follow the news much but I know theres's a bit of a hulabaloo at the minute with elections.Could someone give me a basic rundown.Something about the eurozone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milfner Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Going to Cologne with my housemates next week. Book a return for £20 last night and it just so happens that Koln are at home to Stuttgart. We booked tickets for that before realising we'd got them for the away end Anyways, anything we must do/see? I hear the cathedral is incredible but other than that I don't know anything else. Also, most importantly, where is best to drink? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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