Honeymoon: Bora Bora or the Maldives?

[Avril]

I haven't been to either but am really really REEEEEALLY hoping to go to the Conrad in the Maldives at the end of this year. Bora Bora would be a lot further to fly from Ireland. After comparing a very very nice resort in Bora Bora vs Conrad Maldives, I thought the Conrad looked far nicer. There's over 200 reviews of the Conrad Maldives on TripAdvisor and prob 99.999999% of the review are 5 stars, lol. It's meant to be amazing.

Also in the Conrad they have two islands - the main island with the beach villas and then a water villa island which is connected to the main island by a lil bridge and you can travel between the two islands by dhoni boats. The water villa island is meant to be very private and secluded and blissful! Ahhh

[Baby Boo]

ive been to the maldives but not bora bora.. i stayed at the ! hotel and by far the nicest most beautiful place i have ever been too! ITS STUNNING

[SpoilMeRotten]

We have decided on the Maldvies!!! I am BEYOND excited!!!!

It's going to be 3 trips rolled into one... since we want to break up the long flight times, and since we'll be on the other side of the world anyway, we're also going to visit Paris and Ireland!!! 4-5 days in Paris first, then a week in the Maldvies at the Conrad (in a spa overwater bungalow!) then on the way back we'll stay in Ireland for 4-5 days (I've always wanted to tour all the romantic old castles!) I can't wait!!! Depending on the flight schedules and the amount of time off we can get we may also add a few days in Dubai, since we have to stop there anyway!

[SpoilMeRotten]

Originally Posted by AvrilH

I haven't been to either but am really really REEEEEALLY hoping to go to the Conrad in the Maldives at the end of this year. Bora Bora would be a lot further to fly from Ireland. After comparing a very very nice resort in Bora Bora vs Conrad Maldives, I thought the Conrad looked far nicer. There's over 200 reviews of the Conrad Maldives on TripAdvisor and prob 99.999999% of the review are 5 stars, lol. It's meant to be amazing. Also in the Conrad they have two islands - the main island with the beach villas and then a water villa island which is connected to the main island by a lil bridge and you can travel between the two islands by dhoni boats. The water villa island is meant to be very private and secluded and blissful! Ahhh

Seeing the user photos on Trip Advisor is what really sold me on the Conrad! They should really put better pics on their website! i hope you get to go, please post and tell us all about it if you do!!!

[SpoilMeRotten]

Originally Posted by Baby Boo

ive been to the maldives but not bora bora.. i stayed at the ! hotel and by far the nicest most beautiful place i have ever been too! ITS STUNNING

What is the ! hotel? I can't find anything about it! Was it maybe the W?

[gemma04]

Thanks Spoilmerotten!!! Will let you know how it goes.

I too heard that there isn't much to do there. Our travel agent did tell us there are a couple of tours that take you around the island.

As for Dubai I've been there twice. Once 10 years ago and I just went in December 08. When I went the first time I was amazed by the culture and the sites. The second time slightly disappointed - lots of buildings, traffic, congestion...it doesn't feel like a different country anymore - but this is just my opinion (and I was in transit coming back from India....so I did have high expectations). I do have to say I did go on the desert safari - amazing! Lots of shopping there....but I found the prices to be relatively the same.

Have you thought of going to South Africa?

[Avril]

Originally Posted by SpoilMeRotten

We have decided on the Maldvies!!! I am BEYOND excited!!!! It's going to be 3 trips rolled into one... since we want to break up the long flight times, and since we'll be on the other side of the world anyway, we're also going to visit Paris and Ireland!!! 4-5 days in Paris first, then a week in the Maldvies at the Conrad (in a spa overwater bungalow!) then on the way back we'll stay in Ireland for 4-5 days (I've always wanted to tour all the romantic old castles!) I can't wait!!! Depending on the flight schedules and the amount of time off we can get we may also add a few days in Dubai, since we have to stop there anyway!

OMG I am sooo thrilled for you!!!!! Yay!!!! And so very jealous! When are ye going? OMG it's gonna be sooo amazing!

Ah n you're coming to Ireland too! You should defo visit County Kerry when you come over, I think everybody who visits Ireland goes to Kerry! And there are lots of old castles in Ireland! Galway and Cork are good places to go to too. If you love old castles, you'd prob love Bunratty Castle in Clare. Most of it is open to the public. He he, it'll be some shock coming from the Maldives to Ireland - it tends to rain a lot here, so bring an umbrella! Ah you'll have a good time, Ireland's a great place!

Originally Posted by SpoilMeRotten

Seeing the user photos on Trip Advisor is what really sold me on the Conrad! They should really put better pics on their website! i hope you get to go, please post and tell us all about it if you do!!!

Oh the TripAdvisor reviews are amazing! I have them nearly all read at this stage, LOL!

Oh I want to go right now!!! I am really hoping on going in October, it's prob the most amazing place on earth! I defo will post if I am going!

[SpoilMeRotten]

Originally Posted by gemma04

Thanks Spoilmerotten!!! Will let you know how it goes. I too heard that there isn't much to do there. Our travel agent did tell us there are a couple of tours that take you around the island. As for Dubai I've been there twice. Once 10 years ago and I just went in December 08. When I went the first time I was amazed by the culture and the sites. The second time slightly disappointed - lots of buildings, traffic, congestion...it doesn't feel like a different country anymore - but this is just my opinion (and I was in transit coming back from India....so I did have high expectations). I do have to say I did go on the desert safari - amazing! Lots of shopping there....but I found the prices to be relatively the same. Have you thought of going to South Africa?

Thanks for all the Dubai info! We're kind of on the fence about it. I keep seeing pics of couples in honeymoon books, riding camels and skiing indoors and it looks so fun, but I'm not sure if we want to add it onto our already crazy itinerary!

We haven't really thought about Africa but maybe oneday! I just recently found out they have african penguins there (only ever heard of the cold weather ones before)!!!!

[SpoilMeRotten]

Originally Posted by AvrilH

OMG I am sooo thrilled for you!!!!! Yay!!!! And so very jealous! When are ye going? OMG it's gonna be sooo amazing! Ah n you're coming to Ireland too! You should defo visit County Kerry when you come over, I think everybody who visits Ireland goes to Kerry! And there are lots of old castles in Ireland! Galway and Cork are good places to go to too. If you love old castles, you'd prob love Bunratty Castle in Clare. Most of it is open to the public. He he, it'll be some shock coming from the Maldives to Ireland - it tends to rain a lot here, so bring an umbrella! Ah you'll have a good time, Ireland's a great place! Oh the TripAdvisor reviews are amazing! I have them nearly all read at this stage, LOL! Oh I want to go right now!!! I am really hoping on going in October, it's prob the most amazing place on earth! I defo will post if I am going!

Thanks Avril!! I am thrilled to be going!! We are planning to go in early October 2010 (we are thinking of 10/10/10 as the wedding date, though this is subject to change!) From what I've read online the Maldives has yearly monsoons in May and December, and October is the end of the rainy season, though it normally rains just an hour a so a day and is pretty light, so it seems like a good time to go. It sounds like Paris should be nice in October too!

How is Ireland in October? I have read that it is chilly but shouldnt be snowing! We want to stay at the Ashford Castle. http://www.ashford.ie/index.php It looks like an hour and a half drive from the Dublin airport, so we'll have to rent a car. I wish we could just do the wedding there but we cant afford to fly everyone to Ireland with us! I have always wanted to go to Blarney castle too and kiss the stone!


I am going to look up these places you mentioned!!! Thanks for all the info!!

[Dawn]

congrats! what an amazing honeymoon you are going to have!!!

[DamierLover]

Budget....Bora Bora equal to Ashford Castle...both fairly costly.

Maldives...better bring a wheelbarrow full of money.

Three great choices....good luck

[SpoilMeRotten]

Originally Posted by Dawn

congrats! what an amazing honeymoon you are going to have!!!

Thanks Dawn I am so excited!

[SpoilMeRotten]

Originally Posted by DamierLover

Budget....Bora Bora equal to Ashford Castle...both fairly costly. Maldives...better bring a wheelbarrow full of money. Three great choices....good luck

Thanks We are planning to keep the wedding small and low key to offset the amount we're spending on our honeymoon

[Avril]

Originally Posted by SpoilMeRotten

Thanks Avril!! I am thrilled to be going!! We are planning to go in early October 2010 (we are thinking of 10/10/10 as the wedding date, though this is subject to change!) From what I've read online the Maldives has yearly monsoons in May and December, and October is the end of the rainy season, though it normally rains just an hour a so a day and is pretty light, so it seems like a good time to go. It sounds like Paris should be nice in October too! How is Ireland in October? I have read that it is chilly but shouldnt be snowing! We want to stay at the Ashford Castle. http://www.ashford.ie/index.php It looks like an hour and a half drive from the Dublin airport, so we'll have to rent a car. I wish we could just do the wedding there but we cant afford to fly everyone to Ireland with us! I have always wanted to go to Blarney castle too and kiss the stone! I am going to look up these places you mentioned!!! Thanks for all the info!!

Ah so it's October 2010? Well if I do get to go to the Conrad this year, I will defo let you know and write a massive review on it! (I'm sure it'll be pretty spectacular!) 10/10/10 is such a cool date to get married!! Yep I've read too that November - March is the high season there and that there should be mostly sunshine in October. I've heard that if there's any rain during the year it doesn't tend to last very long anyways

I'm not sure if you found this on your travels of searching for reviews on the Conrad, but here's a map of the resort! http://www.clubairtravel.co.uk/maldives/conrad/

Paris should be lovely in October! As for Ireland in October ... jees I'm trying to think! We don't have seasons here anymore, LOL! It's just rain and more rain! I think October is a good enough time to visit, it defo won't be warm anyways - like you'll be wearing a coat when you go out. It'll be mild though. Our worst months for rain are around June, July (for the last couple of years anyway) - which is why I think our seasons are all messed up over here!

As for snow - defo NO snow in October! Our coldest months are usually December and January. Cold but dry, not much rain. This February we had the worst snow that I can ever remember - it was snowing for a week. We never get snow! At least snow that actually sticks on the ground - it's very rare! Especially for February since usually that is not as cold!

Haven't been to Ashford castle myself, but jees looking at the website - what a view, I should really go! It's over in Galway. It'll more than likely take about 2.5 to 3 hours to drive there though from Dublin airport since it's at the other side of the country. Most places in Ireland take a 3-4 hr trip from one part of the country to another. So if you're driving then it's not that far! You should go to Blarney while you're there! Blarney's about a 3 hr drive again from Galway and you could visit Kerry and Cork while in that area.

Here's a route planner from AA Roadwatch so you can see distances and things for driving! http://www.theaa.ie/routes/default.asp

[Baby Boo]

hi hun sorry i meant the W hotel. its stunning

as for dubai i live in bahrian so its a 45 min ride for dubai and we go like 10 times a yr so if you need to know anything just pm me