medelste

First time user of these forums -- they're great!

Here's the situation: since she has enough work to do this year, I'm in charge of planning the honeymoon! It will be the last two weeks in October, 2009. Here are the requirements:
1.) Must have: Tropical
2.) Must have: Romantic (obviously!)
3.) Must have: We'd really love to stay in one of those huts on stilts out over the water
4.) Great to have: Food and spa options
5.) Great to have: Mindless, where we won't feel guilty for not being "touristy" and visiting local museums/ruins/siteseeing attractions.

Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Thank you,
Mike

Kathie

Well, Asia has lots of tropical. And since romantic is what you think it is, you can have that in Asia as well. Asia doesn't have a lot of the overwater bungalows, though I believe there are some in the Maldives. For the overwater bungalow experience you really want French Polynesia - especially Bora Bora. You'll find food and spa options at many places in Asia. And you can be "mindless" anywhere.

The problem is the last two weeks in October. None of the Thai beaches have great weather at that time of the year. Though if you just want a beautiful beach locations, you could opt for a Thai beach and just relax in your room or the spa during periodic downpours. Phuket has some of the best romantic resorts. Take a look at this website:
http://www.phuket.com/hotel/recommen...ic-resorts.htm

Bali is a good choice for October. No overwater bungalows, but some lovely place to stay. Many of the best places are inland overlook rive terraces and a river valley. The beaches on Bali aren't as nice as the Thai beaches, but Lombok, the island next door has lovely beaches. There is so many unique cultural experiences on Bali, I expect you'd want to indulge in some of those, but you needn't feel guilty if you just want to relax and be pampered. Bali has great spas as well.

Malaysia also has some beautiful beaches, though it will have the same weather issues as Thailand. The Maldives are also rather rainy at that time of the year. So part of the issue in planning will be how you feel about rain. In many of these places rain tends to come in short, but intense downpours. It usually doesn't rain all day.

Take a look at www.weatherbase.com for historical weather information.

Hanuman

Thailand for no. 5 and then fly to the Maldives for no. 1 - 4(especially no. 3). Maldives will be the most expensive and the best there cost over $1,000 a night. If you cut out your requirement for a trip to see the "ruins" then you can add Malaysia & Singapore as well.

marmot

medelste, Go to Bali! It's about as romantic as you can get. No huts on stilts but plenty of intimate villas with spectacular vistas -- over jungly river valleys or across the sea -- and spectacular facilities. And when you decide to venture out there are ample opportunities for shopping, dining, spa-ing, even sightseeing if you should so desire.

What's wonderful about Bali is that the culture -- arts, pageantry, religion -- comes to you. It's everywhere.

These are two of my favorite spots for a Bali honeymoon, but there are dozens of others. The Legian Resort in Seminyak, Kayumanis in Ubud.

http://www.ghmhotels.com/
http://www.bali-kayumanis-villas.com/ubud/index.php

Cilla_Tey

I love Bali, I love Phuket and I grew up in Malaysia but think Maldives is your perfect honeymoon destination. I was there in October and had great weather but perhaps I was lucky. Some resorts have specials. From memory resorts like Taj Exotica, Kanuhura and Reethi Tah charge between $600 to $800.

Cilla_Tey

Meant Reethi Rah.

Cicerone

Please see my reply to your same post on the Australia and Pacific board. As I mention there, while I love the Maldives, October is not a great month weather-wise as you are still in the rainy season then. There are lots of lower price options in the Maldives; it’s a huge package vacation place for Italians, Brits and other Europeans, and they don’t go to the Reethi Rah, see places like Veligandu Island Resort http://www.veliganduisland.com/ and J Resort Handhufushi http://www.jhotelsandresorts.com/handhufushi/ Rates for J Resort Handhufushi run from US$300 and at Veligandu Island Resort run from US$500, but those prices include all meals and non-premium wine/alcohol; while the luxury hotels like Four Seasons, Reethi Rah, etc only include room and charge somewhat steep prices for food and drink. But I am not sure that in October it is worth the money in any event due to rain. But see weatherbase.com and other sights and see for yourself if you would be comfortable with rain risks. Gan and southern atoll areas (where J Resort Handhufushi is located) will be a bit rainier than the Male and north atoll areas.

As I mentioned in my other post to you, with a US$5,000 budget for two, getting to Asia for 2 weeks on that budget may be tough if you want over-water type luxuryk, as airfare is going to take a big bite out of it. Rain is also going to be an issue. I would look at the Philippines, see my other post.