Korean Job Discussion Forums

SMOE NSET · Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Location: Seoul

So the wife and I are going to delay our honeymoon to the summer as she can not take off any more days at work. We will only have a week so no long distance travel would be nice, preferably less than a day.

We have decided against the Philippines and Thailand as we have been there, but might be willing to go to different locations in the countries (not Borocay, Koh Chang, Phuket). We would prefer to be on nice beaches with some scuba diving nearby (I'm certified, and she wants to be).

We will be going during the first week of August.

I was thinking of either Malaysia or Fiji but she is scared of Fiji so that is out.

Any suggestions?

northway · Joined: 05 Jul 2010

Maldives.

DrugstoreCowgirl · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 4:46 am Post subject:

Just curious, why is she scared of Fiji? I just went last month and it was fantastic and incredibly gorgeous.

BoholDiver · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Location: Canada

I guess she reads the news about the Coup D'Etat they have had in the past.

How about Langkawi? I have heard mostly good.

Maldives will run you 2.5-3 million each on a package.

My 2nd recommendation is Palawan, on Philippines. If you have the money to spare, fly into Manila as cheaply as you can and fly to El Nido. It is about $320 round trip each, but worth it. On your honeymoon I doubt you want along road trip.

3rd recommendation: Macau.

SMOE NSET · Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Location: Seoul

Yeah, she is scared about the bombing but mostly about possible tsunamis coming from Japan as well. I think it was just that I mentioned Fiji first.

BoholDiver, when I did my Advanced Open Water in Borocay, they always said Palawan was amazing for diving.

The pictures of Palawan look amazing as well.

So fly into Manilla, then take another smaller company (Cebu Air for example) straight to Palawan? Or, do we have to take a bus to Palawan after the flight from Manilla to El Nido?

alwaysbeclosing100 · Joined: 07 Feb 2009

cebupacificair.com flies to palawan and then you can take a bus to el nido

flights from manila directly to el nido are very expensive if you can even get on a flight at all and the flights are not guaranteed to fly.

palawan is off the beaten path but IMO it is an amazing place.

a good trip is starting in puerto princesa and making your way to coron island(busuanga) or reverse the trip.....stopping at el nido in the middle......

chiang mai/chiang rai is also an exceptional trip in my opinion but not a beach trip.......i still think it is world class but it is not as off the beaten path as palawan.

a rajasthan trip is also a really good trip but maybe not in the summer heat.

the summer is the low season in all of those places but palawans weather is a little more mild than the rest of the philippines. northern thailand is also not as hot if you get up in the mountains some.

the maldives is probably the second best trip but is very expensive. the diving in palawan/coron is world class.

if you want to be away from the crowds a little bit there are some amazing deals on villas on bali and the surrounding areas even in the summer high season. near the more popular/crowded areas the villas are super expensive at that time and the airfares are high season airfares.

IMO the best country in asia is burma and they do have diving there. My trip there was my best trip in asia. No other trip has come close not even a little. Just dont spend your money at the big government hotels. $30 on a visa to the government is peanuts compared to the money i spent with local people. It is one of the safest countries in asia.

BoholDiver · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Location: Canada

I was just thinking if the OP does go to El Nido, I don't think an 8 hour bus ride is very romantic. The flight might be worth the money, as expensive as it is.

alwaysbeclosing100 · Joined: 07 Feb 2009

SMOE NSET · Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Location: Seoul

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Burma is out as my F-I-L had his heart attack/contracted some heart disease there so she is against anything "Burma".

Palawan seems hard to get to. How long do you think it would take from leaving Incheon to checking into a resort? How is the weather during this time? I loved the Philippines the two times I went. Lovely people, great food, and stunningly beautiful landscapes.

The Malaysian island looked nice as well. We will look into that location more. I wanted to go to Malaysia but she is set on the Philippines for some reason. I think she is worried about the costs. She has even mentioned Jeju a few times and I laugh every time she mentions it and I try to drop that idea fast but she keeps saying it would be cheap. No way I am spending my honeymoon in Korea. We are looking to spend about 3-4 million total. Think it could be done?

alwaysbeclosing100 · Joined: 07 Feb 2009

if you fly cebupacificair.com you can save a bundle of money.........3-4 mil is a ton of money anywhere in southeast asia......you could go to bali in the summer season for that.........if you fly sea air manila to el nido round trip is about $500 for two people......incheon to manila is a 4 hour flight.........manila to palawan is a 1 hour flight.....maybe 1.5 to el nido........malaysia beaches are very underrated b/c they are not big party beaches like thailand......unless you plan on staying in manila or cebu you are going to have a second flight in the philippines.........if you want to stay more on the beaten path maybe look at cebu/bohol.........im not a philippines expert outside of palawan.........el nido has stayed nice b/c it is hard to get to by bus and the flights are expensive........

im seeing $600 return flights on kayak.com to male maldives from incheon for days in august.........a friend of mine just did a live aboard dive trip there for about $1400........i think you could do an amazing maldives diving trip for 4 mil for two if you shop hard.........his dive pictures were national geographic quality........

i have been to kota kinabalu and thought it was really nice.......you can get there on cebu pacific for cheap and then fly air asia to Tawau for diving Sipadan.........one of my coworkers did a dive trip to Tawau in january......i have not been there.........

Sipadan and the Maldives are on several of these lists

http://www.underwaterphotography.com/Dive-Sites/Top-20-Dive-Sites.aspx

PEIGUY · Joined: 28 Mar 2004 Location: Omokgyo

New Caledonia is nice, my wife and I went there for our honeymoon. We spent just over 4 mil with everything. The only thing I hated was that the flights were so close together.. you leave Monday morning from Incheon and get there at 10 or so at night.. and then leave at 12 am on Friday and get back Saturday morning.. the weather was nice, our hotel was right on the beach..

BoholDiver · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Location: Canada

Yeah, don't go to Jeju. It's overrated and Korea is about the most unromantic place in the world.

OP, made a decision?

interestedinhanguk · Joined: 23 Aug 2010

BoholDiver · Joined: 03 Oct 2009 Location: Canada

There's more than one *beep* park in Korea.

SMOE NSET · Joined: 25 Feb 2010 Location: Seoul

I have been to Jeju with my wife and don't want to go there for our honeymoon.

We are debating between Langkawi and Palawan now. Thanks everyone for their recommendations.

I did the pricing on the Cebu Air website and the tickets would be about 1.2million for the both of us to Puerto Princessa. So you are saying that we shouldn't actually stay in Puerto Princessa but take a bus to El Nido? We don't care if there are not a lot of clubs/people there, actually prefer it but do need a bar. We just want to be able to relax on the beach, me eating balut while waiting for the next dive time, and her receiving massages.

I am still researching Langkawi a bit more.