Honeymoon Ideas

We’re always interested to see what people think makes a great honeymoon. Whether is trekking in the Andes, taking a safari in Africa, sitting in paradise on a white sandy beach, skiing in the Alps, or simply taking a few days away in the Lake District, there is something for everyone to enjoy no matter what your tastes or budget.

We’d like to share with you our belated honeymoon in the hope that it inspired you to do something special after your wedding and take some time to relax together as a newly married couple.

After a few years of waiting we finally managed to take our honeymoon, and boy was it worth the wait. We spent a week (not long enough!) in the Maldives on the Paradise Island Resort in Kuredu. Having been to the Caribbean before we assumed it would be something similar, but it wasn’t… it was somewhere quite special and without trying to be to stereotypical, it was ‘paradise’. The crystal clear waters, white sandy beaches, the palm trees and the tropical fish certainly live up to the expectations painted in the holiday brochures and TV programmes.

We arrived in Malé, the main island in the Maldives, and were escorted to the Kuredu Islands private lounge where we were refreshed by ice-cold towels and drinks while we watched the sea planes around us landing and taking off. After a short flight by sea plane, with spectacular views of the Maldivian Islands we landed on Kuredu. First impressions of the island were beyond our expectations with the unspoilt white sands and crystal blue waters. We couldn’t wait for our holiday to begin.

We spent our days sitting on the beach in the 30+ degree heat, interrupted by an hour of snorkelling in the lagoon every so often, which is amazing by the way. On one snorkelling session, swimming out from the beach I was greeted by a 5ft green turtle and had the pleasure of being able to swim alone, side by side this magnificent animal for 20 minutes or so, the turtle occasionally rising to the surface to take a breath of air before it swam off into the distance again and out of sight – this alone made the holiday.

For anyone who is a “foody”, the food in the buffet restaurant is great and for anyone who isn’t much of a food connoisseur, you’ll be happy with the vast selection of hot and cold food available. Every breakfast, lunch and dinner there is a selection of hot and cold buffet food, as well as various stations cooking fresh food to order and to a high standard. There are also 3 a la carte restaurants available at an extra cost if you fancy dinner on the beach.

There are various trips available there at an additional cost for those who want to explore more of the Maldives, ranging from a romantic sunset cruise to scuba-diving in the cleaning station for the black-tip reef sharks and manta-rays. We went out on a ½ day snorkelling trip and it was worth every penny to see even better marine life than there is on Kuredu.

If you’re after somewhere to take you completely away from it all, then the Maldives is definitely the place to relax and unwind. We’re desperate to go back again already!

Kuredu Tips:
- The best snorkelling is in the “house reef” – This is where the turtles come to eat and bathe in the sun.
- Everyone staying on Kuredu as ‘all inclusive’ gets a free ‘Sunset Cruise’ trip, so don’t pay extra if the travel agent offers it to you.
- Currency: US Dollars , although the island doesn’t take any money throughout your stay as they charge it to the room and you settle the bill at the end of the stay. You’ll only need a few dollars for tips
- Plugs: Standard UK 3-pin 220v plug
- Flight time: From the UK 10h45m
- When booking , shop around for the best price online and then see if your local travel agent will match the price for you if you don’t want to book online. Most agents will match the online price if you ask.
- If you do book online make sure your holiday is ATOL protected – We booked ours online at first and then the online travel agent went into administration and we lost the holiday. Luckily as it was ATOL protected, we got the money back.
- Towels: Don’t both taking any as you’re provided with bath and beach towels
- Luggage: Take as little as possible…you wont need it, especially shoes! The islands policy is “No news & no shoes”. They encourage everyone to walk around 24-7 in bare feet, or in just flip flops, even at dinner in the evening so don’t bother with the shoes ladies.
-Weather: The temperature remains fairly consistent throughout the year, but if you want to avoid the rainy season, go between October & April. Having said that we went in June and we didn’t see a drop of rain all week. Lucky I guess.
- 1 week just isn’t enough. If you can afford it, take 2 weeks there to really unwind and relax.
- Take a camera with you, and also an underwater camera too if you can get one
- There are various types of rooms available ranging from the garden bungalow through to the water bungalows. All of them are great, and you get what you pay for really. We stayed in a garden bungalow, and it was beautiful. If we went back again we wouldn’t upgrade. We’d rather spend the upgrade money on a few extra nights there in paradise!

For more details about Kuredu, visit their website by clicking here.