[AWBimmer]

Gents,

Planning the honeymoon due latter part of this year and thinking of going Bali + Hong Kong. Mrs has asked for Bali and I'm keeping HK as a surprise 2nd destination.

I'm going for about 15 days and have asked a travel agency on a package deal per se. I've asked for 2 diff hotels in Bali to break it up between a Beach hotel and a forest stay hotel thing... and plan on spending about 4 days in HK - the city break sort of thing.

So far I've been quoted £5.5k for flights, half board and hotels, including the Viceroy (Bali), the Elysian (Bali) and Mira (HK).

Now then, I really like the looks of Viceroy so happy with that. The Mira in HK also looks elegant, but I'm not sure on Elysian..... would anyone be able to recommend anything a bit more lavish - suave - luxurious etc?

I don't want to spend more than £5.5k as my budget really was less - lot less - but I understand it's once in a lifetime thing.

So could you please recommend if this is a good price overall or whether negotiation should be done and if so, whether you guys can recommend travel agencies you have found useful and well priced?

Cheers

[dobbo99]

Chedi Club, Gajah.
Great place.

Not sure how it compares price wise, but its once in a lifetime as you say.

[Kerr]

Your second hotel in Bali is in Seminyak which I've been. Our villa was close by.

I'd honestly not recommend the area to anyone. Most people were nice and the food was excellent. Most of the area is grubby and the harassment you get is unbelievable.

Our Villa was nice, but as soon as you left the compound, the harassment was relentless.

I thought Bali was relaxing and romantic. Both of us felt strongly otherwise. Bali seems to really split decisions. Some people really love it, others really don't.

It's a long way to go too.

[Kerr]

If you plan it yourself, you could save a fortune.

We went in September 2013. Flying from Glasgow(which is usually more than English airports) with Emirates airlines. It was Boeing 777s and Airbus A320s for us. The flights were to Singapore via Dubai and we paid not much more than £1000 for both of us.

Had free accommodation in Singapore as I know the manager of an oil company who has a house out there.

Singapore was really nice and we both enjoyed that. We went for when the Formula 1 was on and it was an experience when the F1 rolls into town. I've so many things to see in life and will not be back in the near future, but would recommend it to most people. It is very hot though.

It was something like £200 for both our flights out to Bali from Singapore.

Lots of comparison sites to see hotel prices. Also contacting the hotels directly can get you a great deal.

As for Bali, just watch as soon as you land all the taxi drivers swarming over you. They'll all ask for about 5x times what the actual taxi fare. The driving well terrify the life out of you!.

The beaches aren't that nice for most of it. Seminyak beaches weren't up to much at all. They were poor and you weren't even allowed in the dirty water for large parts of the beach.

The main streets are a disgrace. The paths are barely paths and all corroded and falling to bits. The majority of shops are selling poor quality counterfeit items.

Different people enjoy different things when they go on holiday, but I can't quite see why people love Bali. The main part of Bali, Kuta, is like the Australian version of Ibiza, but not even that nice. I'm not really sure what to compare Seminyak to, but you really know you are in a third world country. The main streets show this and go a street or two back and your eyes will be opened.

The resorts aren't as cheap as they should be. The workers are paid an absolute pittance and it seemed to us a lot of people enjoyed them working their socks for a few extra pennies. I found it a little uncomfortable.

I like going somewhere that is relaxing where I don't stand out and nobody harasses me. I don't want to have to negotiate the price of everything to get it for the correct price, I want to break my ankles walking down the main streets and be offered drugs on every corner.

The Villa was nice with our own pool and jacuzzi. The weather was nice at 29-30 degrees every day. However I see no point travelling that far across the world not to leave the villa.

There is a lot of videos on Youtube that are worth a watch. I wish I had seen many before I went.

[Jase 320d]

Originally Posted by Kerr

Your second hotel in Bali is in Seminyak which I've been. Our villa was close by.

I'd honestly not recommend the area to anyone. Most people were nice and the food was excellent. Most of the area is grubby and the harassment you get is unbelievable.

Our Villa was nice, but as soon as you left the compound, the harassment was relentless.

I thought Bali was relaxing and romantic. Both of us felt strongly otherwise. Bali seems to really split decisions. Some people really love it, others really don't.

It's a long way to go too.

I also stayed in seminyak (astana batubelig) ended up having a rat in the roof

Seemed a bit 3rd world to me. Beach wasn't great either

Would much rather go to the maldives (my idea of paradise)


Also went to singapore and the f1 in sept 2013 so probs seen you there

I much preferred singapore and added bonus got a spanking 535i to drive about in (other halfs uncle's)

[E92Dan]

I found Singapore to be very sanatised, it felt a bit plastic. But Hong Kong was fascinating, I would definitely go there again

[Kerr]

Originally Posted by E92Dan

I found Singapore to be very sanatised, it felt a bit plastic. But Hong Kong was fascinating, I would definitely go there again

I can kind of see what you say. It is a very materialistic place, but scratch below the surface and the history is more than you think.

I'd not recommend it as a honeymoon location though. Just an experience especially with F1 is in town.

It's too hot to start with and too many shops you can't afford to shop. £8 a beer would make me bankrupt before long.

[AWBimmer]

I'm all up for somwhere like Bora Bora but I do think 2 weeks would get boring there with such little to do... me and the other half like activities - not extreme - but the idea of being able to head out during the day and what not would be nice - hence why I've chosen HK.

With Bali now not so high up in the rankings, I'm considering other options but needs to be in that part of the world.... and not Singapore. Needs to be luxurious and pampering.

Any ideas?

[Jase 320d]

Ko Samui in thailand is ment to be nice

[AWBimmer]

Originally Posted by Jase 320d

Ko Samui in thailand is ment to be nice

Funny that since I was talking about to the mrs last week.

Will look into this more... anything else chaps?

[gangzoom]

All depends on what you want from the trip…

I’ve been to Singapore a dozen times, HongKong once, personally I much prefer Singapore than HK, but thats maybe because I can speak Mandarin and not Cantonese. Either aren’t great places to relax if I’m been honest.

We spent 2 weeks driving around NewZealand, £5.5K will get you there, near top of the range accommodation and leave with you with plenty of spending money.

It’s still one of the best holiday we’ve had, though a drive through the Switzerland alps just pips it as one of the most speculator places we've been to. But we could go to Switzerland every summer if we wanted to, but NZ is almost once in a life time trip due to the distance (literally a 24hr flight).

Theres, good food, culture, amazing scenery, empty roads, friendly people, and if you just want to bum around in a lovely hotel suit than you can do that…



But when you have views like this from your hotel room, its unlikely your want to just sit around reading book/sun bath









It's also the only place in the world I've been to where you can look up at the night sky and see this thing called the 'milky way'!!

[bamboostk86]

F**k her right in the Pu$$Y

[SiKkBaSs]

Only one place...Maldives.

[AWBimmer]

You guys aren't making it easy are you !!!

[gangzoom]

If your after a deserted beach, Goa (India) has plenty, not our type of holiday, we got bored after 30 minutes...



There are so many more interesting places in India to see…





…And the Taj is the most magnificent man made object I’ve ever seen, photos simply don’t do it justice…it wouldn’t be there forever, that part of India is prone to earthquakes


Ofcourse if you do end up in HK, you might as well go to main land China, two weeks is more than enough to see a lot. We spent 1 week and managed to cover Beijing and Xi'an (Terracotta army)







Both holidays COMBINED probably cost us around £5.5k, the trip to Xi’an is something ill never forget, it ended with us cycling on a 400 year old UNESCO heritage status city wall!! We booked everything our selves, used a combination of Loney planet, and Tripadvisor. We do have the advantage that I'm Chinese, and my wife Indian, so we could spot the 'tourist traps/rates' from a mile off. But even than you can pre-book everything here in the UK, and your £5K will take you very very far, in a lot of luxury



We also had the best roast duck in Beijing in one of the best restaurants in the city, cost us £40 per head :thump:



….or you could spend £5.5K doing this kind of stuff

Originally Posted by SiKkBaSs

Only one place...Maldives.

[Calum95]

I would second NewZealnd, such a beautiful place of the world, the south island is my pick and you can do endless amounts of activities there. £5.5K would be more than enough to travel in style out there!

[AWBimmer]

I'm Indian and so is my fiance and those pics look incredible. Despite being born in India I've still not visited Taj Mahal. On my bucket list for sure!

[dy63]

Originally Posted by AWBimmer

I'm Indian and so is my fiance and those pics look incredible. Despite being born in India I've still not visited Taj Mahal. On my bucket list for sure!

crazy to see those pics aswell...think we are too used to the pend

[AWBimmer]

Originally Posted by cupraraj

crazy to see those pics aswell...think we are too used to the pend

Just about Raj. Pend di galliyan is too much for me bro!

Sam

[AWBimmer]

So I've booked this now guys thanks for all the help

5 nights in Ubud Bali
4 nights in Seminyak Bali
5 nights in HK with Harbour View

HK will be fun as plenty of things to do see and a day trip to Maui or however it's spelt.

All in, £6k so not cheap but it was the best deal I was getting.

Slightly disappointed that I paid my deposit for a hotel in Ubud, only to be then reapproached by my travel agent to say that hotel was no longer available, but another one was.... so I had to go for the next best option. In my mind I was really wanting it to be the 1st option I'd set my heart on.

Funnily enough the trip advisor reviews both ranked them really high with option 1 being slightly higher than option 2 which is what I've settled for, but there was no difference in price. I was hoping then that option 2 was going to be cheaper but no.

Rant over. All booked and I'm Uber excited!