Bali or Croatia
May 26th, 2007, 09:36 AM
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Bali or Croatia
We have 2 weeks in late August/early Sept. We are undecided on where to go for our belated honeymoon.
Has anyone been to both and which do you recommend for a honeymoon?
Thanks!
Has anyone been to both and which do you recommend for a honeymoon?
Thanks!
May 26th, 2007, 09:53 AM
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where are you coming from? i ask this because 2 weeks is not a long time to spend in asia given the distance....
tell us more what you like....
the weather would be quite nice in both places i think...
tell us more what you like....
the weather would be quite nice in both places i think...
May 26th, 2007, 10:29 AM
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I live in SEattle, and while I prefer to have three weeks when I travel to Asia, I have done one week trips a number of times. So I disagree with Bob that two weeks is too short fort he long flights to Bali. Two weeks in Bali would be lovely. It's a perfect place for a honeymonn. It has such a great combination of relaxation and opportunities to learn about a unique culture! Spend some time at a beach location and some time inland in the Ubud area.
Sorry, I haven't ben to Croatia, so I can't compare them.
Sorry, I haven't ben to Croatia, so I can't compare them.
May 26th, 2007, 01:02 PM
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I have been to both places within the last two years so I can compare them for you but will need some idea of what you want to do with your honeymoon and perhaps your budget as well. I agree with kathie that two weeks is really no problem for either place.
May 27th, 2007, 08:28 AM
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It really depends on what you like -- Bali is a wonderfully exotic location, so very different from Europe, and was quite the honeymoon/wedding destination for years. Two weeks is more than enough time -- our last trip to SE Asia from US was 2 weeks, the time before that we only had 12 days on the ground (not counting flying days). I have not been to Croatia so cannot compare them for you, but I have to the Italian coast and would go back to Bali in a heart beat before spending precious vacation time in Europe again.
May 27th, 2007, 08:45 AM
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I haven't been to bali yet but I spent 2 wonderful weeks in Croatia a couple of years ago.
There are over 1000 islands along the Croatia coast and many are very romantic and beautiful although only a couple of handfuls of the islands are inhabited.
If you are interested in my trip report from Croatia please email me at tkoedoot at prunw dot com. Replace the words with the symbols and remove the spaces first. I also have many beautiful photos of Croatia posted on my photo website at www.windjammer.smugmug.com
Cheers!
There are over 1000 islands along the Croatia coast and many are very romantic and beautiful although only a couple of handfuls of the islands are inhabited.
If you are interested in my trip report from Croatia please email me at tkoedoot at prunw dot com. Replace the words with the symbols and remove the spaces first. I also have many beautiful photos of Croatia posted on my photo website at www.windjammer.smugmug.com
Cheers!
May 27th, 2007, 10:11 AM
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Been to several places in Asia, but not to Bali. Been to Croatia too, and would pick that, as there is no one trying to sell you something everytime you turn around. It got annoying. I`m sure you would enjoy either place though.
May 27th, 2007, 03:54 PM
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As mentioned above, both places are great and yet so different. One factor that you may want to consider is the weather. I once stupidly took a trip to a beach destination in SE Asia in the wrong season--guess what, I never had the chance to go near the beach as there were thunderstorms and heavy rain all day long.
In terms of cost, Bali is a lot more affordable though it's now not completely cheap. Late Aug/early Sept is peak season in Croatia and thus you should book your hotels now. Not sure what the weather is like in Bali and what travel season it is at that time of the year.
In terms of cost, Bali is a lot more affordable though it's now not completely cheap. Late Aug/early Sept is peak season in Croatia and thus you should book your hotels now. Not sure what the weather is like in Bali and what travel season it is at that time of the year.
May 27th, 2007, 04:26 PM
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I've been to Bali six times. Bali is as close to heaven as you will get on this earth. Trekking in Ubud is simply wonderful. Lovina is a great place for a couple of days to watch dolphins frolicking in the sea at sunrise.
Asian Affair Holidays, www.asianaffairholidays.com alsways has a killer deal to Bali. The package includes transfers from the airport, 5 nights at a 5 star hotel including full buffet breakfasts, and 1 full day of sightseeing. You can extend the airfare on Singapore Airlines up to 45 days for free. Your extra week I'd spend in Ubud. You can get a reasonable hotel with rice terrace views for less than $30 dollars a night including breakfast. Trekking in the rice terraces, buying beautiful art that you will cherish for the rest of your lives, relaxing in the natural beauty, and just getting into each other makes Bali the better choice in my opinion. August is usually cremation season in Bali. Seeing a cremation ceremony is something that will mesmerize you and your spouse. Either choice, enjoy your belated honeymoon with your honey!
Asian Affair Holidays, www.asianaffairholidays.com alsways has a killer deal to Bali. The package includes transfers from the airport, 5 nights at a 5 star hotel including full buffet breakfasts, and 1 full day of sightseeing. You can extend the airfare on Singapore Airlines up to 45 days for free. Your extra week I'd spend in Ubud. You can get a reasonable hotel with rice terrace views for less than $30 dollars a night including breakfast. Trekking in the rice terraces, buying beautiful art that you will cherish for the rest of your lives, relaxing in the natural beauty, and just getting into each other makes Bali the better choice in my opinion. August is usually cremation season in Bali. Seeing a cremation ceremony is something that will mesmerize you and your spouse. Either choice, enjoy your belated honeymoon with your honey!
May 28th, 2007, 08:25 AM
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dr ralph, have you been to Croatia? In my opinion, it is a slice of heaven! Romantic little islands, great food, friendly people, interesting (and sad) history and affordable if you stay in sobes.
That being said, your post is tempting me to go to Bali!
That being said, your post is tempting me to go to Bali!
May 29th, 2007, 04:35 PM
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Thank you so much for all the great advice! The relaxation, beach as well as new cultural experiences are what we are searching for.
We will be flying from San Francisco. As far as budget...we are willing to realistically "splurge" a little while there. (In other words...no Four Seasons for our pocket book).
Lonely Planet gave some advice on avoiding the "tourist traps".
Any other suggestions or incredible experiences while in Bali? I would love to read them!
Thank you again!
We will be flying from San Francisco. As far as budget...we are willing to realistically "splurge" a little while there. (In other words...no Four Seasons for our pocket book).
Lonely Planet gave some advice on avoiding the "tourist traps".
Any other suggestions or incredible experiences while in Bali? I would love to read them!
Thank you again!
May 29th, 2007, 06:54 PM
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I've been to Bali, but not to Croatia, but one of my best male friends has. He and his wife and their extended family have been going there almost annually for years and he says it's wonderful. They started going before lots of folks found out how wonderful it is. Happy Travels!
May 29th, 2007, 08:22 PM
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I think which destination you choose will depend on what you want from your honeymoon.
Flight time and cost of flight should be similar out of SFO to both destinations. Cost will depend on what specials the airlines are running. Singapore airlines sometimes has some good packages to Bali. We flew Cathay with a stop in Hong Kong but you can also go through Singapore with a stop in Tokyo or Hong Kong or via Tokyo. You can sometimes get creative with fares to get to Croatia by flying roundtrip to Europe for the cheapest fare and getting a low fare airline to get to Croatia. We connected via LHR but you can also connect via Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt for a one stop connection to Croatia from SFO.
I should warn you that airfares to Europe and Asia are quite high this summer and if cost is a major issue you might want to wait for the fall when hopefully the airfares may go down.
Bali will be in the dry season when you want to go on your honeymoon. Will be quite warm and humid as you would expect in the tropics with highs in the mid 80’s. Hotels are very nice and inexpensive. Ritz Carlton rooms should start in the low $200’s and nice 4 stars like the Westin, Nusa Dua, Conrad etc. will start in the low $100’s. Food is quite exotic and inexpensive. I think for example that my daughter had a 3 lb lobster for about $15.
Hire a car and driver to take you around. This should cost less than $75/day. Spas are everywhere and quite inexpensive by US standards. Beaches are ok but not the high point of Bali. There will be people on the beach trying to sell you things but we found that a quiet “no thank you” was all that was needed. Bali is a very exotic destination from a cultural standpoint with warm welcoming people.
Croatia is a completely different world. It also may be quite hot during your time of travel. My wife described herself as a saltllick last July while in Croatia. Tourist infrastructure not as developed as Bali and oriented more to inexpensive travel. Hotels are rather expensive for their quality. If they say 4 star think 3 star by western standards. The Hilton in Dubrovnik for example is the only 5 star hotel in Croatia and while it is very nice with rooms starting around $300/night, I would put it in the same class as the Westins etc. in Bali. 3 star hotels will be like 2 star hotels elsewhere in Europe with a cost around $150/night. Food, particularly seafood is decent with costs similar to the US. Lots of Italian food like Pizzas. Hard to pinpoint Croatian food as a cuisine as it seems to be an amalgamation of many cruises. Beaches are ok here but not as nice as Bali and the water is colder. Beautiful place to sail as there are hundreds of small islands off the coast. Dubrovnik is a picture perfect walled city spoiled in the summer by hoards of tourists. Think of St. Mark’s square in Venice in July without the rest of Venice to entice you. Inner Croatia towards Zagreb becomes more like Hungary. Croatia would be best described at this time as a popular beach destination for Northern Europeans who are looking for sun and water after a cold winter at a cheaper price point than Spain or Italy. Lodgings can be quite inexpensive at Sobe’s which are rooms in people’s houses for rent. Also lots of apartments and inexpensive hotels on the coast for package vacations for Europeans. Travel by rental car, bus or ferry. The country is very much gearing itself as a tourist destination as there is not much else in the economy at this time. Interesting country but I must admit it does not do as much for me as it does for many people. If I want a beach vacation to snorkel and scuba ( I do not tend to spend much time lying on the beach) I do not go to Europe. Much nicer beaches in the Caribbean, Hawaii, South pacific and Southeast asia.
I do think you can have a nice honeymoon in either destination. Which you choose will be dependent on what you want to do with your time.
Flight time and cost of flight should be similar out of SFO to both destinations. Cost will depend on what specials the airlines are running. Singapore airlines sometimes has some good packages to Bali. We flew Cathay with a stop in Hong Kong but you can also go through Singapore with a stop in Tokyo or Hong Kong or via Tokyo. You can sometimes get creative with fares to get to Croatia by flying roundtrip to Europe for the cheapest fare and getting a low fare airline to get to Croatia. We connected via LHR but you can also connect via Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt for a one stop connection to Croatia from SFO.
I should warn you that airfares to Europe and Asia are quite high this summer and if cost is a major issue you might want to wait for the fall when hopefully the airfares may go down.
Bali will be in the dry season when you want to go on your honeymoon. Will be quite warm and humid as you would expect in the tropics with highs in the mid 80’s. Hotels are very nice and inexpensive. Ritz Carlton rooms should start in the low $200’s and nice 4 stars like the Westin, Nusa Dua, Conrad etc. will start in the low $100’s. Food is quite exotic and inexpensive. I think for example that my daughter had a 3 lb lobster for about $15.
Hire a car and driver to take you around. This should cost less than $75/day. Spas are everywhere and quite inexpensive by US standards. Beaches are ok but not the high point of Bali. There will be people on the beach trying to sell you things but we found that a quiet “no thank you” was all that was needed. Bali is a very exotic destination from a cultural standpoint with warm welcoming people.
Croatia is a completely different world. It also may be quite hot during your time of travel. My wife described herself as a saltllick last July while in Croatia. Tourist infrastructure not as developed as Bali and oriented more to inexpensive travel. Hotels are rather expensive for their quality. If they say 4 star think 3 star by western standards. The Hilton in Dubrovnik for example is the only 5 star hotel in Croatia and while it is very nice with rooms starting around $300/night, I would put it in the same class as the Westins etc. in Bali. 3 star hotels will be like 2 star hotels elsewhere in Europe with a cost around $150/night. Food, particularly seafood is decent with costs similar to the US. Lots of Italian food like Pizzas. Hard to pinpoint Croatian food as a cuisine as it seems to be an amalgamation of many cruises. Beaches are ok here but not as nice as Bali and the water is colder. Beautiful place to sail as there are hundreds of small islands off the coast. Dubrovnik is a picture perfect walled city spoiled in the summer by hoards of tourists. Think of St. Mark’s square in Venice in July without the rest of Venice to entice you. Inner Croatia towards Zagreb becomes more like Hungary. Croatia would be best described at this time as a popular beach destination for Northern Europeans who are looking for sun and water after a cold winter at a cheaper price point than Spain or Italy. Lodgings can be quite inexpensive at Sobe’s which are rooms in people’s houses for rent. Also lots of apartments and inexpensive hotels on the coast for package vacations for Europeans. Travel by rental car, bus or ferry. The country is very much gearing itself as a tourist destination as there is not much else in the economy at this time. Interesting country but I must admit it does not do as much for me as it does for many people. If I want a beach vacation to snorkel and scuba ( I do not tend to spend much time lying on the beach) I do not go to Europe. Much nicer beaches in the Caribbean, Hawaii, South pacific and Southeast asia.
I do think you can have a nice honeymoon in either destination. Which you choose will be dependent on what you want to do with your time.
