This is our honeymoon paradise . . .
Now, this is how it came to be . . .
We really struggled with where to go on our honeymoon… Those of you who know us, know that we’re all about adventure… but we’re also about doing nothing and sitting on a beach with a drink in our hand and enjoying the warm sunshine….. ahhhhhh! It was agonizing because Mandi wanted something different…… for both of us! So that ruled out everywhere I’ve been! (that means Italy, Tahiti, Bora bora, st. XXXXX (where XXXX is lucia, thomas, croix, etc!!!!), puerto rico, bahamas, cabo, cancun, playa, costa rica, yada yada yada The list goes on and on and quite frankly – i’m glad she drew that line in the sand. It pushed me to come up with something unique.
So i spent days…. hours every night surfing and trying to find “the perfect place”… or Places! Just to change things up!
I finally came up with a great trip…. Italian island (capri) for beach, sand, sun, water, AND wine/food/culture…. then either a french island or Greek island…. i had the whole trip mapped out, hotels picked out, flights, EVERYTHING!
She said “ummmmm i dont want to do that much.”
Back to the drawing board I went!
After another amount of countless hours on Trip Advisor, I finally put it all together… Fiji! Outrigger Fiji was perfect… I got flights laid out, pricing…. everything was good to go…. and then I started having second thoughts. Fiji is where Mandi always wanted to go…. but is it r e a l l y the perfect honeymoon spot? Let’s look into this further:
For Americans, we travel to Florida… the Bahamas… Mexico… that is our “easy vacation spot”. Easy in, easy out. It’s a known quantity and a very popular destination for couples, familys, etc. Because it’s so easy, there’s a lot of families.
Let’s be realistic!!! Would we go to Orlando for our honeymoon? Not having kids… (but wanting kids someday)… Orlando wouldn’t really be the best choice for us.
Let’s dig deeper….
Europeans… where do *they* go for family vacations? They hit the mediterranean… Southern France… Northern Italy… Even Morocco… Spain…. all the places that we think are luxurious….. have european families that go there too! Not as much as say Disney World…. but they’re popular destination for Europeans. The “CRAZY ADVENTUROUS TRAVELLERS” from Europe…. go to Mexico. Strange? Yes! Yes it is!
Let’s go back to FIJI. Where do australians go for their family vacations?!? That’s right… you guessed it…. FIJI!
I started to look at the Outrigger in the Lagoon, Fiji reviews and the more I read them… the more I saw things like “kids center” and an “adult only restaurant” (which means the rest of the restaurants were NOT adults ONLY!) — it became clear to me that this would be less “honeymoon-like” than what image was in Mandi’s head.
Plan B, down the drain.
I then came up with THAILAND! Beautiful Thailand! I found this modern zen-like resort that looked AMAZING! A hidden Gem! It was beautiful! I emailed the owners and had regular contact back and forth… each villa has it’s own name, theme, and vibe. It was amazinggggggg. It was off the beaten path…. not a lot of families – more tailored to couples… or even multiple couples as some did have 2 bedrooms. Yes, we’d probably have SOME kids – but certainly wouldn’t be disney world! The more I thought about this — which I was ready to pull the trigger on…… the more I thought about the LONG flight and how much time would be wasted enjoyed in the air. 
Round and round and round we went — with Mandi’s favorite saying being “Just book the $!%& trip already!”
On a whim, I started really digging in deep into Trip Advisor forums.. started asking questions… putting the “no kids” thing out there and seeing what response we got. I could tell Mandi really just wanted to have this fiasco over – but for me, planning the PERFECT HONEYMOON was essential. Something different… unique… and uniquely US.
I also looked at where the non-stops were out of LAX and SFO airports to see if there was something that was on a US Airways partner airline — you know, use some of the frequent flier perks while I still have them from all the commuting to/from Dallas for years. I found an Air New Zealand nightly out of LAX to Raratonga. I couldn’t even pronounce it, but I did see that it was in the South Pacific… Cook Islands to be specific. I know about the cook islands because Mandi got me into the TV show “survivor” which i swore I would never watch!!!! And one of the seasons was in the “cook islands!”
Then looking at the RARATONGA forums on Trip Advisor, I found this little island off the coast of Raratonga called “Aitutaki”. I still remember the first time I told Mandi where I was looking she goes “WHAT!?!??! Ahooooa Ahooooooa Walkie-Talkie!?!” To this day, she still calls it that, although she finally did pronounce the name of the island correctly just recently. IT’s pronounced EYE-TWO-TALK-EE. AT least I think that’s how it’s pronounced! I guess we’ll see when we get there…. because THAT’S WHERE WE I DECIDED ON!
This little tiny island in the Cook Islands Chain…. is where we’re going to be calling home for 14 days. Now, first – we’re going to Las Vegas on our way out for a couple days….. get the time zone a little closer, get our “doing things” out of our system because once we get to the island…. there’s not much to do except relaxxxxxxxx and enjoy each other’s company.
I’m actually very very excited because had we done Europe the temptation would be there to use phones and internet… there in paradise, people say it’s discouraged. I mean you CAN and i’m sure we will communicate with home… family and friends… just a little to make sure people know we’re safe….. but not on a daily basis…. and certainly want to MAXIMIZE the relaxation factor… after the wedding, i’m pretty sure we’ll need to check out of life for a while!
So, let me tell you a little about the resort we’re staying at….
Well, we are first doing a little stint in Vegas….. And you know me. Caesars Palace is where it’s at. I have ADORED Caesar’s Palace since I saw it for the first time. And the great part is that since she’s never been — she’ll absolutely be WOWED at Caesar’s. And I got a great great great rate!!! I dont know what happened but I just checked the rates just to see if we got a good deal and one of the nights is COMPLETELY SOLD OUT! What’s going on August XXXX ????? No idea, but it’s sold out at Caesar’s Palace. I might try seeing if other places have availability just to see if it’s just Caesars or if it’s something bigger! Wouldn’t it be great if it was something really fun and we were in the middle of it!?!?!?!?!?
So we are going to Caesars Palace for a few days to get all the excitment out of our system… maybe take in a show… some nice dining… see some “MUST-SEE’s”. Who knows, maybe we’ll do the Grand Canyon, or see the Hoover Dam, or maybe we’ll just park ourselves at the pool all day! We’ll figure that out once we get there. I’m sure after the whirlwind of everything going on, we may be exhausted and not want to do very much!!! We will see now won’t we!?!?!?
Then after we do Las Vegas for a few days, it’s off to Los Angeles (LAX International Airport) to catch a flight to the Cook Islands…. Raratonga being the capital and then a little tiny puddle jumper plane (quick 40 minute flight if that!) to the tiny island of AITUTAKI. A.k.A. Heaven on Earth!!! Now…… if I tell you the name of the place, it might become too popular!!! But i guess we’ll take that chance…….. The resort is Etu Moana.
Most every review I’ve ever read about this resort is FANTASTIC! I mean you’ll get your occasional person who hasn’t done their homework and say “There’s nothing to do….” I mean, why fly to the middle of nowhere and expect there to be a hoppin’ nightlife???!? Seriously. Do your homework when you’re researching places to stay. I did!
That’s the Trip Advisor review for the resort. 3 STARS? Yup. Why so low? Because it’s not a FULL-SERVICE resort. They cook you breakfast in the morning…. they have an honor bar… but there’s no spas on the property… no restaurants. Just 8 bungalow villas directly on the beach!!!! Each one is unique and has it’s own flair and personality…. in fact, people request specific ones! The owners seem SO helpful and will assist you in making reservations…. telling you where to go and really go the extra mile for their guests. And from everything I’ve read… you get to know the people in the other 7 villas too! “Happy Hour” pictures have been posted where they are all there with their new friends on the resort — beers in hand — and WOW. The pictures are incredible. This sounds like a vacation of a lifetime….
…will we miss having restaurants and spas? Probably not. It’s a fraction of the cost of hotels/resorts in Fiji, Thailand, even Hawaii! The villas are very reasonable and if any couples are looking for honeymoon ideas that are full of culture, fun in the sun, beach, pool, exotic romance….. I say look into this resort.
And from all the research I’ve done, I don’t think we can go wrong!!!
Now……… we just have to make it to August 6th, get married, take a couple decompression days….
….and then we’re off to Vegas…… and then to the South Pacific!