the birthday extras will normally just be a cake and decorating your room with petals (in the maldives) but that of corse depends on what Island you choose.

What island to go to is the $64,000 question. Probably need a bit more info from you.

What size island would you prefer?
Good house reef required?
All inclusive option required?
Budget?
Relaxed casual atmosphere or more formal (well, formal for the maldives at any rate!)?

Hello Cynical,

We would like AI as I understand drinks and stuff are expensive. A nice size island, we do want to relax but I am worried that we may get a bit bored? We both like snorkeling and have both done our induction on PADI whilst in Egypt earlier this year. As regards to cost, its our honeymoon so what ever it takes. It has to be relaxed.
Thanks for your help on this, have you been to Mauritus.?

Probably wise, the drinks are fairly pricey so AI is a good option.

Some of the bigger Islands that have more facilities included Kuredu, Paradise Island and Sun Island. we prefer smaller islands for that real Robinson Crusoe feel.

I haven't been to Mauritius but the girl I sit next to at work is from Mauritius so i can ask her any questions you want as obviously she knows the Island extrememly well. She is quite familar with a lot of hotels as it is quite common for her family to stay weekends at a resort. She herself got married at a mauritian hotel 18 months ago. Best weather in Mauritius is usually in our winter months (Oct -/March).

Thanks for the handy tip. Which place would have the best weather in April / May. Mauritus or the Maldives?

Spoke to my friend and she says probably maldives will be better for weather. She said in the last two weeks there has been two cyclones in Mauritius so there has been a lot of rain - still warm though.

I use this web site for weather http://www.weatherunderground.com/global/Region/EU/Temperature.html put in the city or country you want eg Male, maldives and it will give you the current weather. look for a link that says trip planner and who put in your expected travel dates and it will give you deatils of what the weather has been like on those dates for the last 5 years or so. Repeat the process for a coastal town in Mauritius (as these are much warmer than the centre of the Island which is much higher altitude) and you get a diret comparison.

Hope this helps

Tracy

Thanks for your help on this Tracy, which of the islands have you visited. They all sound so lovely?

it's actually only one, but I did so much research and read so many web sites and forums that I feel as if I've been to more!

last September we were due to go to Thudufushi (an Italian AI island which only has 45 beach bungalows) but due to work committments we had to change our departure date and the only other time we could go was Christmas. Thudufushi would have cost us an additional £1500 to go at Xmas which we really couldn't justify so for the same money as our september trip we change our reservation to Lily beach which has 68 rooms.

We had a fabulous time but unfortunately had to come home 5 days early after the Tsunami hit. Because of this we really want to go back to lily beach to finish our holiday so we are going back this Christmas as well.

I'm sure wherever you choose to go it will be magical - it really is as lovely as it looks in the brochure and as long as you can handle not doing much except laying around , snorkelling etc and watching the local wildlife then you'll have a fab time.

Tracy

there are resort reports on this site too - so if you like the look of a particular island you can go and see other opinions

we stayed on paradise island earlier this year...feel free to pm with any specific questions.

i have never been to the maldives but i can thoroughly reccommend mauritius! my hubby and i have stayed on HB at la pirogue and also AI at maritim both were fantastic but maritim had the edge as far as value for money as we ended up spending a fortune on drinks lunches etc at pirogue. both resorts are stunning and the service is exceptional. the best thing about mauritius is the people, its the friendliest place we have ever been. another advantage is there is quite a lot to do and places to visit on the island. both hotels we stayed in were of superior quality and the food etc was to die for i think i put on half a stone each time! it truly is paradise and very romantic, perfect for a honeymoon in my opinion

We have looked at the Maritim in mauritus and it looks really nice, it's in the nw of the island, is that right? AI seems to be the best??? are the drinks expensive there?

the maritm is superb and exellent value for money, i would highly reccommend this hotel and definatley AI. your on honeymoon afterall and you wont want to feel like you have to skimp on anything. the maritim has recently been refurbished and its been done very tastefully and to a high standard but still retains a chilled out relaxed atmosphere. the snorkelling at this hotel is truly wonderful. the service in mauritius is the best we have ever experienced and you will be treated like royalty if your on honeymoon, fresh fruit and flowers in your room everyday and also private transfers from the airport to the hotel. maritim is on the nw of the island and the sunsets took my breath away. La Pirogue on the other hand is at the south but still a wonderful place to stay. the hotel is in need of a bit of updating but the food and servie are outstanding.we did however spend an absoloute fortune when we were there as a gin and tonic is about £7 a small bottle of water £3 a beer about £4 and lunch aprox £25 each so it all soon mounts up over 2 weeks!
we did the blue marlin deep sea fishing and hired our own boat and crew for the day it was £150 we left at 7am spent all day out at sea had lunch and drinks provided by the crew did some snorkelling on the reef and swam with wild dolphins and turtles truly amazing, then sailed back as the sun set, my hubby was over the moon as he caught a 150lb marlin which they weigh measure tag and release and he also caught 3 blue fin tuna, such a great day, i just sat on the sun deck soaking up the sunshine and reading - heaven! you will have the time of your life if you choose mauritius and i can highly reccommend the maritim for exellent servie, wonderful food, lovely friendly people, great snorkelling, pleanty of things to do and top quality accommodation, its a fab choice and i would go back in a heartbeat

Thanks for all the info on mauritus and the maldives, they both sound truely amazing.
What are the flights like to Mauritus and the maldives? Who do you fly with and book with, also can you get up grades at prices that wont cost the same as the Honeymoon? Our local airport is B'ham, but my other half doesn't really care where we fly from. B'ham would be better, but I am worried about the connection from Dubai if we fly with Emirates. He is over 6ft tall, so I would like some extra leg room for him as it is a long flight, but the up-grades can be soooo expensive? Does anyone have any handy tips?

we flew air mauritius both times and they were excellent, good seat pitch about 34" I think, and standard class is so good that I wouldnt bother paying for businnes class upgrade, leg room was an issue with my hubby as he is also tall, I contacted air mauritius direct and requested seats by the exits which we were given at no extra cost. in standard class you get tv in headrest, earphones, a proper menu with 3 or 4 different choices,free bar and plenty of pillows/ blankets, its a long flight aprox 12 hours but very comftable. the other thing to bear in mind is that flights are very rarely full so you can spread out as much as you like. air mauritius only fly from heathrow, but air france fly from b'gham at a supplement of about £20 with a brief stop in paris to pick up more passengers, i have never flown with them though so cant really comment.

The flights sound very good, but who did you book your holiday through? We just want to know that we are getting the right place, its really important as we will be well tired when it's all over, and it needs to be that extra special...

we booked both times with kuoni and i cant fault them, they also offer the best in extra little touches for honeyooners. we have travelled with just about every holiday company there is but if we go away for something special e.g a wedding anniversary or birthday etc then i always book through kuoni, the service they offer is top class and they have always made us feel special, if you want your mind put at ease and to know that 'somebody is dealing with everything' on your behalf then you will have no worries booking with them, they are not the cheapest but in my opinion definatley the best

p.s you can always haggle over the price and see if they will price match for you, i always book with them direct and never through a travel agent as you can then contact the personally if and when you need to

Hi littlebird. I got married in mauritius and it was wonderful. It is pure paradise. We stayed at hotel Les Pavillons, a lovely hotel. Not one of the biggest ones but really lovely. Havn't been to the Maldives yet, but going in November to Lily Beach. That too looks beauitiful. If you email me i can send you some photos. My address is XXXXXXXXX

Julie
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Many thanks
David
Moderator

Hi Englanfan, Please let me know about the Liliy Beach, Tracy has also spoken about this too.

mauritus sounds ace too. You will have to PM me with your e-mail.

Thanks

Little Bird

Its worth shopping around for your honeymoon deal to the likes of Mauritius, A friend just priced up a deal to Mauritius and was getting considerable price differences between operators for what is essentialy the same holiday. Some offering the same holiday for nearly a thousand pound less.

OK, will do, I will look at all the prices, but if anyone is going to the Lilly beach, Paradise Island or the Royal island, please can you let me know what it was like. The one thing I am worried about is the mozies, my better half get's bitten to pieces and they come up in really big horrible lumps, would a water bungalow be better than a beach villa? Anyone got any reccomendations on how he can avoid getting bitten to death?