Quick Tip(s) #7: How to Handle Your Money When Traveling Abroad

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

One of the last things you’ll want to worry about during your honeymoon is whether you’re handling your money properly. Follow these quick tips to make sure that you get the most bang for your buck when traveling abroad:

Mo money, no problems

1) As I mentioned in a previous post, make sure that you tell your credit card company in advance that you’ll be traveling abroad!

2) Don’t bother with travelers checks – you may have a hard time finding people who’ll accept them, and the exchange rate isn’t always the best.

3) When possible, use credit cards that don’t charge foreign transaction fees.

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Real Honeymoon: Iceland

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When most people think of the ideal honeymoon location, they think of somewhere warm and tropical… and probably not a country whose name starts with the word “ice.” However, Iceland is becoming a very popular tourist destination. For one thing, it’s a lot closer to the U.S. than most people realize (only 5 hours from the East Coast), and the other-worldly scenery is just breathtaking. My husband and I would love to go there someday, so when my best friend put me in touch with Carrie, I couldn’t wait to read all about their amazing Icelandic honeymoon.

When and where did you honeymoon?

My husband and I roadtripped around the Ring Road in Iceland for our honeymoon from May 23 – June 3, 2011.

How long was your trip?

We were in Iceland for 11 days.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

Neither my husband nor I are huge beach people, so we didn’t want the typical Hawaii-Fiji-Mexico honeymoon. And having been fortunate enough to travel quite a bit previously, we wanted to try something new and different. We’d heard great things about Iceland, and it seemed like a perfect size for us to be able to cover the major and many minor sights for the time that we had. Finally, the economy in Iceland hadn’t fully recovered, so we were able to take advantage of slightly lower prices, in an otherwise very expensive country!

Icelandic horses at Eld Hestar

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Well, the best part was that we were able to get there! The Grímsvötn volcano erupted on my wedding day, May 21st, so we weren’t sure if our flights would be cancelled. Fortunately, our last leg was only 6 hours delayed, and we made it into Reykjavík safe and sound.

In Iceland, my favorite part was the Southern coast of Iceland. It was absolutely gorgeous, particularly the areas between Höfn, Vík and Hella-Hvolsvöllur. I followed the first half of this Frommer’s itinerary for that portion of the Ring Road, and it was incredibly romantic.

Skógafoss

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

I don’t think I would change a single thing–except maybe to stay for a couple more days!

Jökulsárlón

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Don’t Let Travel Scams Bum Out Your Honeymoon

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Lonely Planet’s blog just published a great piece on 10 Common Travel Scams, including the ever-so-popular bird shit and fake police scams that trick far too many travelers. Fortunately, I haven’t encountered many scams myself during my travels abroad, but my husband and I did have one little “incident” during our honeymoon. Here’s the story of our “You look tired, do you want to stop for some coffee?” scam:

While my husband and I were honeymooning in Bali, a prearranged driver was supposed to take us from our first hotel in Ubud to our next one in Nusa Dua. During the drive, Aaron let out a yawn and the driver made some sort of joke about how honeymooners never get enough sleep. He asked if Aaron would like some coffee because he knew of a wonderful coffee plantation nearby. We don’t really remember saying yes to the driver, but the next thing we knew we were in a parking lot full of other taxis.

Balinese Coffee Tasting

We were quickly shuffled to a table where trays of different coffees were set before us, and a young woman recited her memorized shpiel about the different blends. We tried them all, and Aaron even paid an extra $10 to try the coffee made from luwak droppings. (I passed on that.)

At the end of our tasting, we were given a quick tour of the plantation and our guide explained to us how poor the workers were. Right on cue, we arrived at the gift shop where we were told that every purchase makes a big difference in the workers’ lives. We decided to buy two little bags of flavored coffees and were shocked by the humungous price tag.

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Real Honeymoon: Italy

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Have I not yet mentioned that people love honeymooning in Italy? Allie and Jeff also chose Italy for their honeymoon because of it’s rich culture and incredible food. Read all about their wonderful Italian honeymoon below:

When and where did you honeymoon?

We traveled to Italy (Rome, Venice, Florence, Lucca, Cinque Terre, and Milan) in May, 2012.

How long was your trip?

May 6 – May 22, 2012

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

My (now) husband and I love food and really enjoy different food experiences. To me Italy was the place to go to see not only 3000 year old ruins on every corner, but to explore a delicious food culture.

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Going to this amazing small, family run winery. We were in Lucca and asked our concierge to recommend a winery we could go to for the day. She told us about a big winery that was very commercial and another small one that didn’t take visitors very often. When she called and told the gentlemen that we were on our honeymoon and wanted to come, he told her that we should be there at noon.

We drove through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen and got to experience the Montichiari Winery. This man was the 3rd generation in his family to own and operate the winery. He and his wife were the most warm, inviting, friendly people I have ever met. He spoke English, Italian, and French, his wife spoke only French and Italian with a little English mixed in. I barely speak French and my husband understands a little Italian…but we made it work. We were taken around the vineyards and olive trees, shown all the best views of the property, and then sat down for one of the top meals I have ever eaten. He and his wife not only opened and shared with us 4 bottles of wine, but also opened a few bottles from their private cellar because they were just so happy to have us there.

And the food…oh man, the food she cooked was out of this world. All food was from their land or things traded with their neighbors. In total we spent 5 hours there touring the property, enjoying the beautiful view, and the hospitality of these lovely people.

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

Falling asleep a few hours after we got to Rome on the first day of the trip. It threw me for a loop and I didn’t feel right the first 2 days in Rome, so it felt like a waste.

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Is a Honeymoon Cruise a Good Idea?

Posted on January 29, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

I have a confession to make. Okay, deep breath, here we go.

I don’t hate cruises.

This may be even more shocking than when I wrote about why I used a travel agent to help me plan my honeymoon, but it’s true. Did I want to go on a cruise for my own honeymoon? No, but I can definitely see why people would choose to go that route.

1) Cruises are a stress-free way to see many destinations on one trip. Whether you want to check out a variety of Caribbean islands or multiple ports around the Mediterranean, you won’t have to worry about transportation between each place. No delayed flights, smelly trains, or confusing roadmaps to dampen your honeymoon!

2) All-You-Can-Eat and midnight buffets. I don’t know about you, but I was ready to chow down once my wedding was over. So not only can you eat a ton on cruise ships, picky eaters or people on special diets don’t have to worry about what they are eating while they’re in foreign countries.*

3) It’s pretty impossible to get bored on a cruise ship these days. Between the rock climbing walls, the spa, the shows, the ice skating rink, etc., your days at sea can be as active or relaxing as you’d like.

Even though there are a lot of good reasons to cruise, there certainly are some turn-offs as well. You can’t be flexible about your itinerary, cruise ship cabins can be comically small, and some cruises have strict seating assignments and meal times. Despite the monstrous size of cruise ships these days, some people feel claustrophobic nonetheless.

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Real Honeymoon: Germany, Croatia & Hungary

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

One of the best parts about starting this blog is hearing about my friends’ friends’ honeymoons. Although I haven’t met Jamie before, I’m so glad she shared the details of her amazing European honeymoon with one of our mutual friends. Thanks for contributing, Jamie!

When and where did you honeymoon?

Sept 2011 – Oct 2011 (3 weeks)

– Munich, Germany (Oktoberfest) 3 nights

– Croatia 12 nights total:

Dubrovnik 4 nights
Hvar 4 nights + Plitvice Lakes/National Park (Day Trip)
Rovinj 4 nights

– Budapest, Hungary 3 nights

How long was your trip?

3 weeks

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

We knew we wanted to go to Europe for our honeymoon. We quickly discovered that our honeymoon would fall during Oktoberfest. We decided to take a direct flight to Munich from SF International airport and start our honeymoon with a party.

Next we decided to travel to Croatia for a little R&R. We stayed in three different cities and rented a car between cities to get from one place to the next.

Finally we decided to end in Budapest; we had heard great things about the city. It ended up being one of our favorite cities on the trip.

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Experiencing so many new things with my new husband as both he and I had never been to those locations before. We have some great pictures of the two of us in our Oktoberfest costumes, that was pretty unforgettable. Other great memories: Buza 1 and 2 in Dubrovnik, Plivice Lakes/National Park, beach of Hvar, Truffle hunting in Rovinj, Beef Goulash in Budapest, European history of Budapest.

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

Spending one or two less days in Dubrovnik, the city was amazing, but the people were not that warm and the food was our least favorite out of all our destinations. Make sure you get to Rovinj before the tourist day ferry to Venice stops (we missed it by one day). Go wine tasting just outside Budapest, we ran out of time for that trip.

How much planning did you do in advance?

We had our flights and our hotels booked before we left. We studied our Lonely Planet guides on our way to the next destination. We rented cars with the help of our hotels once we arrived. It was difficult to plan a wedding and really plan a honeymoon.

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My Top 10 Australian Beaches

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

When I composed my list of top 10 beaches for serious beach bums a few weeks ago, I realized that I was having a hard time narrowing down the best beaches in Australia alone. I decided to include only two beaches on that list because it would only be right to dedicate a separate blog post entirely to the best beaches Down Under. So without further ado, behold the 10 best beaches that I visited during my six months in Australia:

1) Whitehaven Beach

Whitehaven Beach via Damien Dempsey

Look familiar? Not only is Whitehaven Beach my favorite beach in Australia, it is also my favorite beach of all time. Sailing around the Whitsunday Islands was one of the best things I did during my time in Australia, so don’t miss out!

2) Lake Mckenzie

Lake Mckenzie Beach via Sensenmann

This is the other beach that made my all-time top 10 list. Lake Mckenzie is on Fraser Island, an all-sand island just off the coast of Hervey Bay. The whiteness of the sand combined with the incredible colors of the lake is absolutely unreal. If you want to rough it, rent a 4WD on the mainland and then camp out on the island for a few days.

3) Coogee Beach

Coogee Beach via Mynameisben123

Alright, I’m definitely biased on this one. My house was just blocks away from Coogeee Beach, so how could it not make it to the top of my list? Prejudices aside, Coogee Beach is great because the sand is soft, shark nets allow swimmers to enter the bright blue water without fear, there are great little restaurants along the shore (I highly recommend A Fish Called Coogee, and when you’re done sunbathing and ready for a cold beer, the CBH Beer Garden is just across the street.

4) Bondi Beach

Bondi Beach via stealthtractor

Arguably one of the most famous beaches in Australia, Bondi Beach has it all. Although it can get quite crowded on summer weekends, it’s a wonderful place to surf or sunbathe on weekdays.

5) Byron Bay

Byron Bay via Bigbewo

Just a short plane flight from Sydney, Byron Bay is the perfect destination for a short getaway. The long beaches are great for surfers and kayakers, just watch out for the jellyfish (a.k.a. blue-bottles). Make sure to hike up to the Byron lighthouse, too.

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Real Honeymoon: Greece & Turkey

Posted on January 21, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

Last week I published Jennie and Chris’ Napa mini-moon post, and this week we have all of the details on their longer European honeymoon in Greece and Turkey!

When and where did you honeymoon?

Greece and Turkey in May/June 2012. We went to Athens, Santorini, Ephesus, and Istanbul.

How long was your trip?

2 weeks.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

We’d heard great things about Greece and Turkey, and we wanted to take advantage of living a bit closer to Europe (we were living in DC at the time but live in California now).

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Spending a lot of time reading and laying in the sun in Santorini. We stayed at a great little hotel overlooking the caldera, and it had nice beach chairs right outside our room, on a balcony with a gorgeous view.

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

I’d spend maybe one less day in Istanbul. It is a really cool city, but six days was one day too many. We just got tired of sightseeing and walking around a city.

How much planning did you do in advance?

We booked hotels, flights, and ferries in advance. We also booked a nice dinner in Istanbul for our first wedding anniversary. Otherwise, we planned everything else once we arrived.

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Honeymoon Destination Recommendations For… Serious Beach Bums

Posted on January 16, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

You know how the surfers in the Endless Summer movies spent their days searching for the perfect wave? Well, I wish I had more time to travel the globe in search of the perfect beach.

Fortunately, I’ve already visited some pretty spectacular beaches over the past 28 years, so I am going to share with you a list of some of my favorites*. Hopefully the list will help the beach bums out there decide where to go on your honeymoon:

1) Whitehaven Beach, Whitsunday Islands, Australia

Whitehaven Beach via Damien Dempsey

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Whitehaven Beach. Located in the Whitsunday Islands (which is FULL of incredible beaches), Whitehaven is quite aptly named because it has the softest, whitest sand that I’ve ever seen in the world. My friends and I were told that brushing our teeth with the sand acts as a whitener, but in retrospect that probably wasn’t the best idea for us to do. That aside, it is the most spectacular beach I’ve ever seen.

2) Cap Juluca, Anguilla

Cap Juluca via Tiarescott

Popular with celebrities like Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, the pristine beach at the Cap Juluca resort makes it a quintessential honeymoon destination. It’s also just a short boat ride away from nearby St. Maarten, so you can just check it out for a day if you don’t want to stay at the resort. Okay, okay, I know we all WANT to stay there, but it’s just really expensive, that’s all.

3) Playa Cristal, Colombia

I was blown away by Playa Cristal because of the clearness of the water and the beautiful backdrop of the lush jungle. You can hire a boat in Taganga to take you to the beach. Unfortunately I couldn’t bring a camera with me to the beach because our next stop was Playa Brava where we actually swam to shore, slept on the beach overnight, then hiked out of Parque Tayrona the next day and hitched a ride back to Santa Marta, so bringing electronics along was a no-no. You’ll just have to trust me that the beach was so wonderful that it made my list of top 3 beaches in the world.

4) Playa Blanca, Colombia

Playa Blanca, land of magical beagle puppies

Yes, yes, another Colombian beach. I don’t know if I’ve expressed how much my husband and I love Colombia yet on the blog, but we highly recommend going there if you love beaches, friendly people, and good food. You can reach Playa Blanca from Cartagena in one of two ways: hire a private boat down by the fish market (just hold your nose while you’re there – it really stinks), or sign up for an “organized” day tour. It seems like the organized day tour is less than ideal though because it only brings you to the crowded part of the beach, so go with the private boat for a more relaxing experience.

For honeymooners who want to rough it, you can spend the night in hammocks at Hugo’s. My husband and I thought it was the greatest place ever because 1) it was BEAUTIFUL, 2) it was the first time we slept in hammocks during that trip so the novelty made it fun and not back-breaking yet, and 3) we woke up in the morning to a litter of beagle puppies that were born overnight. Beagle. Puppies. In. Paradise. Probably one of the best days of my life.

5) Lake Mckenzie, Fraser Island, Australia

Lake Mckenzie Beach via Sensenmann

The colors of Lake Mckenzie look totally fake, but I assure you, this is really, really what the lake looks like.

6) Lanikai, Oahu, Hawaii

Lanikai Beach via Cristo Vlahos

A friend of mine who was living in Honolulu at the time took my husband and me to Lanikai, a beautiful beach that isn’t terribly overcrowded with tourists. Do yourself a favor and pick up some Leonard’s malasadas to eat when you get to the beach. A perfect combination.

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Real Mini-moon: Napa

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Peonies to Palm Trees

I’m excited that today we have Peonies to Palm Trees‘ first ever real MINI-moon blog post! More on mini-moons in general later on, but check out Jennie and Chris’ quick trip to Wine Country below. And then next Monday, make sure to come back and read all about their longer European honeymoon, too.

When and where did you honeymoon?

Napa in June 2011. We stayed at the Napa Valley Lodge in Yountville, which I would highly recommend.

How long was your trip?

3 days.

How did you decide on your honeymoon destination(s)?

We wanted to go somewhere close to our wedding location (Santa Cruz) since we only had a few days available for our mini-moon. And we love wine and good food, so Yountville was the perfect place to go to enjoy both.

The best part about our honeymoon was…

Staying in a hotel that was walking distance from so many fabulous restaurants. It meant we got to go on some nice walks, we didn’t have to drive to all our meals, and we didn’t have to spend lots of money on cabs.

If I knew then what I know now, I’d change…

I’d eat a little less of each course at French Laundry so I didn’t get too full by the time the meat courses arrived. They give you a ton of food, so unless you have a huge appetite, I’d suggest eating a portion of every serving and taking the rest to go so you can enjoy all of it without feeling too full.

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