Once in a Lifetime...
 

Planning a once in a lifetime trip (2-week honeymoon) to some place in the Pacific. I live on the East Coast of the United States, and I don't have any experience traveling to this part of the world.

I you were going to plan a trip like this where would go???

I live in New York City, too. I just got back from New Zealand and Australia. For 2 weeks you just can't cover all that you should see. Sydney is just incredible=much better than NYC!! Sorry...but true. I also went to Fiji, which was nice but I wasn't impressed as I was with Kauai. I looked into going to Tahiti, which looked absolutely magnificent, or Hayman or Lizard Islands in Northern Australia. I have friends who went to Hayman for their honeymoon and said it was wonderful. I have a friend who went to Lizard and said if he got married he would go there on his honeymoon. I think they are great if you are into scuba and other water activities. I believe each resort takes up most of the island so it's pretty isolated and less stressful than a Caribbean resort. Sorry I can't tell you from personal experience but from what I hear Hayman and Lizard are amazing. If you can ever go back to this part of the world, do at least a month in NZ and a month in Australia. Best places on earth (in my opinion, at least). Enjoy and congrats.

Dear Abby43,
I feel about New York the way you feel about Sydney, so if you ever decide to indulge your passion and do a return trip here, give us a call and we'll arrange some kind of hospitality exchange. Frankly, as much as I love Sydney, I think New York is just unbelievably awesome.... one of the four or five great cities of the world.
Hi, nyc8: I bet you couldn't go wrong if you tried... wherever you choose, you will have a great time. But do give serious thought to Tahiti. For a honeymoon it would have to be one of the great choices of the world.... breathtakingly beautiful. Hard to advise further without knowing WHEN this honeymoon will take place: for instance, Sydney is lovely in April and October, but I don't know if I would recommend it in, say, windy August. Can you give us more details?

I am from Philadelphia and just returned from my honeymoon for 3 weeks. I highly recommend trying to find three weeks if you can for the honeymoon. . . if not limit your trip to Sydney and one other stop (maybe an island on the GBR ).

Click on my screen name and you can read the review I posted about my trip in three parts.

Dawn

Alan-if you can help me with the visa we can definitely do a hospitality exchange! On the other thread "Moving to Australia from US" it seems as if it will be impossible for me to move permanently (1-2 years) to Sydney. I do love New York, it's a fabulous place, but in the past 3 years it's been kind of a nightmare with all that's gone on. There is something about Sydney that I am drawn to and find it amazing. I really want to live there! I am doing an apt. swap next summer with friends who live in Woolhara and I can't wait! If you can help me with the visa info my email is [email protected]. Thanks so much.

NYC8-Maybe you could do Sydney and then go up to the GBR and hit Port Douglas area. I have heard nice things about Silky Oaks Lodge and there is one more which I can't remember the name at this moment (Reef something??). Cairns is a 3-4 hour flight from Sydney so it's not too far. Or, go to Sydney for a few days and then go up to Hayman or Lizard. I agree with Dawn-2 weeks is not enough but I realize some people have limitations/jobs. Good luck!

Thanks all for your responses. I've decided that if I'm going to go that far on a honeymoon, I'm going to take three weeks...maybe four! My only concern with going to an island is that I might get bored after three weeks. Is that possible? I'm fairly active, I'm worried that I might exhaust all an island has to offer in three to four weeks. True? Thanks for your thoughts.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I will be going on my honeymoon in late July, early August. I believe that makes a HUGE difference on choosing where to go.

Hi, nyc8!
Indeed it does! July is cold, but otherwise okay in Sydney; August is not a great month at all.... mostly dry, but with sudden cold snaps just when you're getting used to the warming-up days.... and then you have the wind! I think you should put Sydney aside for this trip and come back to us in April or October sometime. Head for one of the islands that is nearer to the equator, where the southern hemisphere winter doesn't make any difference (but check their rainy/dry seasons before committing yourself). If you think you'd get bored on a small island, why not try a larger one, like the Philippines? There are a lot of islands there, with a huge ferry service connecting them. You could travel a long way in four weeks there!

I guess we were lucky weatherwise. We were in Sydney for six days in early August this year and also later in the month for one night. The weather was great. It was a bit chilly, so you wanted at least a sweater and often a light jacket, but it was always sunny. We were comfortable eating most of our lunches and and several dinners outdoors. And we had no wind at all. So at least in our experience, August was just fine as a month to visit Sydney.

Gee Al! The Philippines?
AND yes I have travelled all over them - in case you were going to ask.

Thanks, Al. I feel a bit silly asking this, but...are the Philipines safe?

I thought I would throw New Zealand into the equation as no one else has of yet.

If you were to extend your trip to 3-4 weeks, doing a combined New Zealand / Australia trip would be well worth it.

If skiing is your thing, the ski fields will all be open for action in both the North and South Islands.

If not, just go touring and take in the scenery and do a few of the adventures available.

From New Zealand, head to Sydney and then on to the Tropical North Queensland region.

A great place to warm up again, check out the Great Barrier Reef before heading home.

Have fun planning and congratulations on the upcoming wedding.

Christa :)

The Cook Islands are much cheaper than French Polynesia and MUCH less crowded. I love the Cooks because they still retain a lot of their traditional Polynesian feel. I know that Air NZ offers a free stopover on the way to Auckland, perhaps other airlines do as well (Qantas?). There are several islands in the group, although Rarotonga and Aitutaki are the two that most people visit. Any island will have limits to the activities they offer, water sports being the most popular for obvious reasons.

If you're planning to extend your honeymoon to 3-4 weeks, why not consider Thailand as an alternative? There are many beautiful islands in both the Gulf of Thailand and the Andaman Sea. Accomodations are much, much cheaper than Tahiti and even the Cooks. Airfare is cheaper to Thailand than it is to the South Pacific even though it's a longer journey. There's so much to see, lots of interesting temples, great shopping, and an tremendously fascinating culture. Bangkok is one of the most amazing cities I've ever seen, such a dynamic mix of modern and traditional. Really, do some research and see if it doesn't look tempting. If you've never experienced any of the Asian cultures firsthand, you owe it to yourself to give it a try!

To answer for Alan when you ask about the Philippines and if they are safe and also to qualify my surprise at Alan suggesting them:
Parts of the Philippines are safe/ish and other areas are not - by a long way, as you can see if you check out your Government's warnings on travel.
My comments were made really because your first question was "planning a once in a lifetime trip" and my comments were because of that statement.
I would not put any country in Asia at this time as a "once in a lifetime experience" because of 1/ some of the dangers and 2/ some of the third world status of the countries, with the exception of Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore which are not 3rd world by a long shot.
However the experience of Asian countries is an exciting one if you have not been there but probably not for a honeymoon unless you are thinking about some of the islands say around the western side of either Thailand or Malaysia. However there are warnings out on all of those areas at present and those should be noted.
There are many wonderful areas in the Pacific which are safe, clean, and wonderful in which to honeymoon and that includes both New Zealand and Australia and parts in between.