maztoz

KR
(You can cut this part out before you place it on the kitchen counter)
An airplane reservation, a car rental and a visit to Caymanvillas.com is well within the abilities of any husband, even my brilliant but totally absentminded beloved. (Still don't think I'd let him book anything TransAtlantic) He was SO proud of himself !! Go have fun.

wemr

I think a surprise trip only comes from Mars. I have planned trips that were not evan a surprise and the people involved with the planning backed out. I have lost lots of money and time, and I decided years ago that I will never be the guy who plans a trip.

Patrick

Years ago I surprised my partner with a trip to New York for four days for his birthday. I planned to tell him, but then got nervous about it. I had booked the hotel, the flights, show tickets, restaurant reservations and all. He thought we were going to go to Ft. Lauderdale for the weekend (a couple hour drive for us). We had packed our bags and planned to leave work about noon that day (a Friday). I went home early and repacked his bag with what I thought he'd need. At noon we left work and he thought we were driving to Lauderdale, but instead I turned into the airport and he thought we were picking someone up as a surprise. I didn't tell him we were going until they called our flight. Would I do this again??? Never! He was upset because it wasn't what he had planned, he didn't have the clothes he wanted, etc. But we ended up having a great time. He hates surprises though.

Marilyn

For my husband's 40th birthday, I gave him a gift-wrapped copy of Bob Marley's biography, and stuck in as a bookmark were 2 tickets to Jamaica. What he did not know until we arrived was that very close friends from the other side of the country were meeting us there for the vacation. Our friends were hanging out in the airport lounge when we arrived, and as we walked past them not really noticing them, they asked if we wanted to buy some ganja, in their best imitation of the other "vendors" at the airport. Boy, did he do a double take!

Kir, I'll just have a word with your husband at the SF GTG.

Scarlett, I swear, you lead the most romantic life.

As for me, my husband knows me well enough to know that he could plan the trip but I'd have to know where we were going in advance in order to pack the right stuff.

FainaAgain

This is my husband's attitude: just tell me when to pack! Of course he never complains whenever anything goes wrong. I can only dream of him making any reservations!

Maira

About four years ago, my husband picked me up at the airport from a weeklong business trip. As I picked the bags, thinking we are heading home, he turned around and told me we had an hour to catch another flight. I had no clue, but an hour later we were on our way to Puerto Rico. No special ocassion, just a nice surprise. Great memories.

Chicago_Heather

Kir, thanks but it's very easy to be nice to my mom. She's been terrific and is a whole lot of fun to travel with ... she also enjoys lots of "wine breaks". Though, she's been pouting of late that she hasn't been to Europe since 2000 (hopefully next year will be another trip with her ... and it'll be another surprise but am thinking southern Germany and Austria perhaps).

Scarlett

Thank you Marilyn, but what would you expect from a Yankee that carries me up that staircase like that ?

vcl

I've frequently surprised my husband with trips. The first, and most surprising, was a 50th birthday trip to the Bahamas. We celebrated his birthday with a family dinner on Sunday, and when he opend his gifts he found his present from me was a three-day weekend on Paradise Island, leaving that Thursday. He was pleased and flabbergasted.

I've also surprised him with trips to New Orleans, Portugal, and Arizona, but these were given as Christmas gifts and taken on Spring Break.

He returned the favor and surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas for my 50th.

We're retired now, and enjoy planning trips together. At the moment we're plotting our Spring trip to London. And next week I'll take him away to the Jersey shore for a few days, for his birthday.

MelissaH

I have friends (married couple) that decided to surprise each other on their anniversary. The male has the "odd" years and the female the "even" years. They usually try to stick to the week of their wedding anniversary so that the other knows how/when to coordinate with work.

Whomever has the year, plans the trip without telling the other from start to finish including packing for the "surprised" spouse. The planner makes the pet arrangements (no kids yet) also.

Basically the "surprised" person knows there will be a trip, but has NO IDEA the destination until they land in the city and/or arrive at the location. (As soon as the dates are set in stone, they advise the spouse so no problem with work).

We (my husband & I) joined them one year and learned of their system. In order to keep the "surprised" one in suspense, the "planner" usually does flights that make a stop or books one airline into the city and another one out. It was great fun keeping my friend in the dark until we arrived at the final destination. She kept guessing all along the way (Houston to Tampa to Newark, rental car to the Pennsylvania Mts.) thinking first we were going on a cruise from Florida or to Walt Disney World, etc.

They also agree not to snoop in the mail or arrange to have the tickets or confirmation #'s, etc. sent to work email and such.

After hearing and somewhat experiencing their fun, my husband came home and planned a birthday weekend a couple of months later and kept me in the dark until our arrival!

So KirRoyale, maybe you have some mutual friends that you can hint to or can plan a surprise trip for your partners and it will grow from there.

Good Luck!

bob_brown

I doubt if even my wife of 45 years could anticipate where I would want to go on a trip and what I would want to see. Hence I figure the planner would come up short.
That is a heck of an expense for most people to throw several thousand out the window with an event that does not meet the objectives.

I fail to see the benefit of spending big sums of money for something that may or may not suit the surprisee.
I supposed is money was no object or if the beneficiary of the effort did not care where he or she went it might work.
But I am quite sure I would not be entralled if someone hauled me off on a cruise that saw only the ocean when my preferences were Scotland, Paris and Switzerland.

Scarlett

I would think that a couple who has been married for a few years would know what each other likes and know their tastes and preferences in travel. My husband knows better than to plan a trip somewhere in -say, Africa. I like to read about it and look at the photos, but I don't want to go there!
On the other hand, I know that he would be happy in a small village in England just driving around in a small car (reliving his past)..so I think surprises are not such a bad thing. How bad can it be? You get to go on a trip somewhere and get to see and do different things~

KirRoyale

Wow, there are some great ideas out there about how to do something like this. Thanks everyone for sharing.

My DH would not have too much trouble picking a destination that would please me as I am a major Francophile, with Italy running a very close second. Any place in either country would make me soooo happy. And the earlier Cayman Island idea is pretty fantastic, too.

Thanks Marilyn - I will steer DH over to you immediately upon arrival!

Carroll

My husband and I are hoping to surprise our nephew with a trip to Italy. It will be his Christmas and graduation present and given to him this Christmas. The challenge will be that we would like to use our FF points for our airfare and, of course, pay for his fare on the same flights. Getting exact dates that will work for all of us could be a problem. I hope we don't have to tell him of our plans in order to make it work. He has never been to Europe, and I know we can give him a fun and wonderful experience. If we are unable to use our FF points, we will just have to bite the bullet and pay for all three tickets.

Marilyn

Carroll, I did something similar many years ago, but a reservations agent at American Airlines made a brilliant suggestion.

Instead of using your FF points for your tickets and buying your nephew's, use the FF points for your husband's and nephew's tickets, and pay for your own ticket. That way you will get FF miles for the trip.

I thought that was pretty nifty, and great customer service!

Jayne11159

My husband surprised me many years ago with a brief get-a-way for my 34th birthday. Our youngest was only a few weeks old, so it was a simple overnight to a hotel at the nearby beach. He tried to think of everything, bless his heart. I had no matching clothes, nothing he brought fit post-baby and he brought every cosmetic I owned including the stuff that had been at the back of the drawer for years. His crowning moment was when he pulled out my electric breast pump!

MaryZ

It sounds so romantic and I would just hate it for the following reasons:
1) I love planning trips. Can't imagine that a trip would be as good without the planning, reading, and anticipation.
2) On some Friday nights, I have given my all and want to do nothing more than crash on the couch.
3) Opening a suitcase that was packed for me by my husband would make me cry and not want to leave the room.
Surprise me with really good chocolate, but PLEASE let me be in on the travel plans!

Marilyn

Oh MaryZ, #3 says it all for me.