Decision made!

Xin Chao! That's Vietnamese for 'hello', so obviously we've decided on Vietnam for our honeymoon. Brilliant.

The gorgeous place above is going to be our romantic and indulgent home for six luxurious nights. It's a beach villa at the Six Senses and at 176m2 it's bigger than our apartment.

We've spent the past week deciding between living it up at this place or being more budget conscious and staying in Australia. I'm not sure if this is the case for everyone, but I worry from time-to-time about how much money we're spending on our wedding. I love what we're planning and we'll have an amazing party but it's a lot to part with for one day. And we're being pretty conservative! Our figure is far below the the average wedding spends I've been reading about recently. So, until the wedding, it's all about spending Saturday nights in and making dinners that will double as lunch the next day. Thankfully - with all our penny pinching - we're coming out ahead.

So, what made us decide to go for the honeymoon we've booked? It's a once in a lifetime experience for us to spend time together as a newly married couple. Plus, with seven weeks to go until the big day, we're tired. Time away lazing by the pool (our own private pool might I add) sounds like paradise, as I look out the window on yet another wintry and wet day in Sydney. I can feel the sun on my skin already.

We're sorting out flights now, so I'll post in the coming days once we've booked. Seeing as we're going to Vietnam we've decided to make it worthwhile and make our honeymoon a two week trip. Can't wait!

Why we love accommodation for couples...

While we're adding up sums to see what's not going to break the bank for our honeymoon, I thought I'd share a pic of Casa Del Mar Langkawi with you - our first experience at child-free accommodation (OK, so it's less a picture of the resort and more a pic of Andy pouring champagne as we watch the sunset, but obviously we were enjoying ourselves!). It was quiet and intimate. No sooner had you selected your beach lounge than a courteous staff member would appear with a jug of iced water and cool towels. Watching the sunset over the ocean was a daily mandatory for me (obviously!). And the food was great too.

Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay

Now who wouldn't want to be lounging out here on their honeymoon! Can we stretch our budget for Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay?

Where to?

The Casa Del Mar was gorgeous by the way, and so relaxing. While we’re both looking forward to having a family one day, when it’s just the two of you it’s bliss spending time at a very quiet, serene resort. Casa Del Mar was on the main beach, but with only 32 rooms, their outstanding service and rooms right on the beach it was divine.

We decided to research three honeymoon options – a trip to an Australian wine region, skiing in New Zealand, and a trip to Asia for warmth, culture and shopping (I’m pretty sure it was me leading the charge on the shopping front!).
The Asia option sounded great, until we started to look into weather and found most of the region is in monsoon. Less than ideal when you’re seeking sun, infinity pools and G&Ts at sunset ...
The domestic option looked promising. The flights were cheap and we looked at staying in some stunning vineyard accommodation. We would combine time in the vineyards at places like The Yarra Valley and The Clare Valley, with shopping and fine dining in either Melbourne or Adelaide. All very indulgent. However, after some dedicated hours online, we discover that Nha Trang in Vietnam experiences its rainy season October to November, so we’re OK to head there in August - YAY! Through Holidays for Couples we find Six Senses has two resorts there which both look beautiful. We look into flights and see that Singapore Airlines can get us there via Singapore for a great price. So, now Vietnam and Singapore are looking like our Asian honeymoon option. The Six Senses Hideaway Ninh Van Bay is at the top of our list for some serious indulgence, but it is looking like it will stretch our budget! Andy costs up skiing and wine tasting on the south island NZ, but it looks like it could cost as much as Asia.
After experiencing a chilly European winter at the beginning of the year (I know, life’s tough) we need to decide if for the same price we’d prefer the warm honeymoon option. I know it sounds like we got to this point quickly, but I’d say getting it took us at least a month to get this far!

So, will it be Australian wine country or the warmth, food and culture of Vietnam and Singapore ...?

Where it all started!

Hi my name is Angela and this is my honeymoon diary!
Now, a little bit of background about me, or us, I guess I should say!
Andy proposed very romantically by the Grand Canal, Venice in January. Lucky us to be in Venice, huh? We spent five blissful weeks making our way through France, Italy, Zurich, London and Malaysia. So we returned home all set to plan our wedding. We both wanted to have a winter wedding, and 2011 was too far away so we settled on August 2010.
With all that in mind, we thought we’d leave deciding where and when for a honeymoon to mid-way through the planning process, so we had ample time to seek out the best destinations for couples! Which is where we’re at now. After staying at the Casa Del Mar on Langkawi, Malaysia on our last holiday – where children under 16 aren’t allowed to stay – we set our sights on luxury accommodation for adults only. Which is where Holidays for Couples comes in, we found it the ultimate resource when you’re seeking a holiday for you and your other half.