Wandering Spud: H O N E Y M O O N A D V E N T U R E S
Honeymoon Series- 1 of 5
HONEYMOON
Our honeymoon was an absolute dream come true; we went to Australia for two weeks and Bali for a third week. We did so much on, it was the BEST trip and we have such amazing memories that its far too much for one blog post so this is my first series of blog posts all about our very first Andrew Adventure!
DECISIONS DECISIONS
So with the whole world to pick from how did we choose Australia and Bali? Australia has always No. 1 on my bucket list (tied with New York) and Mark saved so hard to make sure that my dream became a reality. Mark loves vacations and I love to travel so we wanted to make sure we combined the two with our honeymoon.
We had originally thought a week in Australia, a week in Bora Bora and a final week in Fiji would be feasible but then we realised that we actually hadn't won the lottery so three locations was out of the question, especially Bora Bora. Silly spud. We then started to think about exploring Australia more and spending some time there and then a few days in Fiji (Fiji because of the WSL Fiji Pro Surf Competition) but during our research we learned that there was apparently political unrest in Fiji so we then decided to look at the Cook Islands or Bali and it was so difficult to choose between them. French Polynesian v Indonesian culture, both beautiful and both would lead to totally different experiences. There was one outstanding feature that made us pick Bali and that was the elephant sanctuary; as soon as I learned that there was a haven for elephants on Bali, our decision was made.
Our Travel Agent was Briege from Travel Counsellors; I cannot tell you how amazing she was during the wedding planning stage when everything was so stressful that she had everything sorted. You told her what you wanted and didn't want and she sorted it and took all the stress away. We also used her for our first anniversary trip to Rome! With the stress of the wedding by the time May 2015 came around we were desperate to get on a flight to the other side of the world and disappear. If you are getting married, or simply don't want the hassle of planning a trip (although that is one of my favourite things to do) then having someone there to hand things over to is a God send.
ROUTE
We were engaged for nearly three years as we were saving up for not only the wedding and the honeymoon, but also for a house, so we had lots of time to plan and budget. However, flights generally only come online about eleven months before you want to fly, so by June 2014 we had made all of our decisions and we were ready to book everything.
Getting over to the other side of the world was some mission. This was our travel route for the three weeks:
Belfast- London- Singapore- Melbourne- Sydney- Cairns- Brisbane- Bali- Singapore- London- Belfast
By the end of it we never wanted to get on a plane again, I remember sitting in Heathrow nearly in tears telling Mark I couldn't do it and that we would have to live in London now but overall it was completely worth it, we had the most amazing adventure.
So what will this honeymoon series of blogs include? More of the below highlights, do's and don'ts, hints and tips and if you have any travel questions, don't hesitate to ask.
AUSTRALIA HIGHLIGHTS
MELBOURNE
The Coffee
Neighbours Tour and meeting 'Libby'
A Walking Tour of the whole city
Cumulus Cafe
SYDNEY
Boat Tours
Featherdale Wildlife Park
The Blue Mountains
CAIRNS
Cairns Zoo
Aboriginal Park
The Low Isles
BALI HIGHLIGHTS
The Legian Hotel
The Elephant Sanctuary
The Fat Turtle
GENERAL TRAVEL TIPS
Take picture of your passport, insurance details, itinerary etc... on your phone that way if you lose anything you still have digital copies.
Pack an extension cord, then you wont need as many plug adaptors.
Coffee coffee coffee - drink all of the coffee you can especially in Melbourne
We went away in May/June; in Melbourne & Sydney it was Autumnal and chilly and in Cairns & Bali is was roasting so we were trying to pack for two opposite seasons which was hard enough when we were going way for three weeks. The key - light layers. That, and I kept all of my shoes in my carry on.
Be careful of time zone; on the way back home we nearly missed our connecting flight to London and ended up running through Singapore airport because our flights were too close together.
I spoke with our travel agent the most but what I didn't realise was that everything was being booked in my Maiden name so when we arrived at each hotel, we were welcomed with bubbles and a note to 'Mr. & Mrs. Crossey' which was funny at first but I had changed my name and I am now Mrs. Andrew. The Legian in Bali go it spot on though with a chocolate cake and a bottle of Louis Roederer waiting for us for Mr. and Mrs. Andrew. When you are booking your trips (and if you decide to change your name) make sure its booked in your new exciting married name!
Next in the Honeymoon Series...
MELBOURNE
