Honeymoon/Holiday Ideas

I’m getting married in April next year and I’m having a look for some places to go for our honeymoon.

We’re in the process of renovating our house which is swallowing a larger than planned amount of cash and time, so the plan is to grab a week away after the wedding as we don’t fancy going straight back to work.

I’ve set a budget of £1000 (but this can stretch if needed) and ideally we’d like to get somewhere warm enough to sit by the pool and have a few lazy days, as well as go and do a bit of exploring.

The requirements are;
*£1000 budget for flights and hotel
*Sunny and warm enough to laze by the pool – high teens in mid-April
*Fairly quiet as we’re not fans of big resorts
*Something/somewhere to go and get a cultural fill
*(wish list) If there is surfing I’ll be very happy, Becky perhaps not so much

I’ve been looking and quite like the idea of Jordan, but finding flights for a decent price is proving difficult.

Does anyone have any suggestions of where to go or places to stay?

Thanks

Don't bother with Jordan. It's really not a honeymoon location. It is also relatively expensive once you get there so I'm not sure it will work on your budget (eg Petra will cost £100 for 2 of you to get in for just one day). If you want to be in that area, Israel is better but sadly not cheaper.

Save cash go to roayal Cancun

Turkey seems to tick the boxes. Loads of culture, good weather, great beaches and nightlife, etc.. and still competitive prices. Anywhere down the west coast, I would think.

+1. Very reasonable prices, and not part of the Eurozone. Personally I'd fly with Thomsons.

+2 for Turkey. Been to Alanya,Kussadasi,Marmaris and also visited Ankara. Really hot place in the summer,great nightlife and food

We did Turkey this year (Olu Deniz) and last. As has been said above it is VERY good value when you're there. If you can get cheap flights it should tick all your boxes.

Agree with the above re Turkey. The temperatures should be fine in April (bloody hot in the summer), the food is great, the people are friendly and it is not expensive. A little exotic too, if historical stuff interests you.

Portugal, the Algarve, not the resorts but hire a Villa in the Hills. Cheap, quiet, and plenty to do and close to loads of beaches.

Having said that I fear it is too cold in April, as will all the Med be.

Turkey or North Africa (Morroco, Tunisia) or maybe look for a good deal in the middle east, Dubai?

Marrakesh?? Somewhere I've always wanted to go but never got around to it. Warm enough and good for exploring.

Thanks for the advice so far everyone.

I’ll explore the options of Turkey further. Having just had a look at the climate the South and West regions have mid-high teens so a good option if I can find well priced flights and accommodation. I had thought of Turkey but for some reason it didn’t appeal to me, having heard the positive comments on here, I’m being persuaded.

Bockers & Tim42, a few good ideas there but we’re going to Greece later in the year for a friend’s wedding so I’d like to try some where different for our honeymoon. We’ve also been to Marrakesh a few years ago, we had a really fantastic holiday but again, I’d like to try somewhere different. I’ve lived in Dubai and having visited there with my fiancé about 5 times in the last 4 years to see family and friends, I don’t think she’d be too impressed if I booked that again. By ‘I don’t think she be too impressed’, I mean I’d expect a swift divorce.

I found some very cheap flights to Faro in Portugal from our local airport so I’ll look more into a villa, most of the hotels I came across didn’t really suit us but a quiet villa in the hills could be just the ticket.

Have a look here for some villa ideas.
http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/estoi-area.htm
We stayed near Estoi, it was so quite at our villa that my ears rang for the first day or two, never knew such silence existed! Then the wife arrived Estoi is picturesque and close to good roads and the airport but far enough away to be remote. Some nice restaurants too.

I do worry that April could be too cold though.

Fuerteventura (canary islands). Still hot and at the time of year should be hot and cheap. Just come back from Lanzarote and despite wanting to hate the place it was very good (stayed in playa blanca), went surfing in Famara, Snorkelling on the beaches, tour of the volcanoes and the beaches are sandy and land unspoilt (And low rise). Cost all in in August was £1000 per person including spending money. That also applies to Fuerteventura which is very quiet.

Egypt otherwise.

I think I've finally managed to get somewhere that ticks the boxes - Dahab. It's a smallish town an hour North of Sharm el-Sheikh so plenty of flights but from what I have read, is a lot quieter, cheaper and relaxed than Sharm.

Hotels look very reasonable and there seems to be a fair few things to do such as diving and water sports which will keep me happy. Most importantly, the weather looks great with very little rain and mid 20's temperature.

Has anyone been to Dahab or have friends who have been, it's only internet based so far.

As you can see am from Egypt , Dahab is a very nice place , known for its simplicity and lower price range than hurghada or sharm elsheik ,but its not by any mean less fun :-)) I d be very happy to help you ,
As I have a friend who goes there A lot , could hook u with a guide there or something .. tell me your best prices and I ll see what can I do, Or you could tell me what do you need and I can ask my friend about it for you
(by the way I m getting married nearly at the same period :-))

Well, in the end Dahab has been excluded. The better half didn't like the idea so we've now decided to up the budget to about £2500 and we're hoping to get an all inclusive week in the Caribbean. A lot of time wasted there but it'll be worth it, I hope.

Thanks for all the advice.

I took my mate and his new bride to the travel agents the day after they got married last year.
They had some money for the honeymoon as gifts off people at the wedding.
For £900 they had Spain all inclusive or as most late deals for tropical destinations Dominican Republic 5 star resort was £1100 all inclusive.

Im positive you will get somewehere special for that amount.