Honeymoon (Thread 3)

[Chili1113]

Hello! Here is where we came from: http://www.femalenetwork.com/girltalk/index.php/topic,275593.0.html

Currently obsessing over my honeymoon plans and neglecting my wedding preps even if my wedding is in 3 months and my late honeymoon will still be 7 months from now! =)

[aGuyInAgirlsForum]

Any comment po sa planned itinerary namin para sa honeymoon. We have approx 14.5 days. can comment kung ok lang yung  time na ni allot namin per city. 

Paris - 5 days
Venice - 2.5 days
Rome - 3.5
Santorini - 3 days

day 1  Sat      Paris                   Arrive Paris 7AM
2  Sun      Paris   
3  Mon      Paris                   Visit Versailles
4  Tues      Paris   
5  Wed      Paris                   Leave Paris  8PM
6  Thurs           Venice           Reach Venice 9AM
7  Fri              Venice   
8  Sat      Venice/Rome   "Leave Venice 1PM.Reach Rome 4PM"
9  Sun      Rome   
10 Mon      Rome           Visit Vatican
11 Tues      Rome   
12 Wed      Rome/Santorini   "Leave Rome 9AM.Reach Santorini before noon"
13 Thurs           Santorini   
14 Fri      Santorini   
15 Sat      Santorini           Leave Santorini 3PM

[skela96c]

^^5days in Paris, nice! Although personally, i'd prefer to spend more time in Santorini. But that's just me. Hehe. Tama si chilli  book hotel early. Be aware too if there are any conferences happening at that time. That usually spikes up hotel prices too.

You may want to consider Le Marais area when booking your hotel. Ü

[Missus O]

^^^ tama sila.    Mas maganda kung mas matagal kyo sa Greece.  You can shorten your stay either in Venice or in Rome Personally, 3-4 days was enough for us in Rome. Unless you and your wife love to shop around .

[aGuyInAgirlsForum]

actually matagal pa honeymoon namin.. April 2017 is the planned date Kasi december 30 this year yung big day namin.

We are planning in advance because I will use my miles to para magbook ng flight.

anyway, regarding sa hotel booking. Yes noted yun. Anywhere we go we always book hotel/apartment well in advance.  i believe april is considered as shoulder season in santorini, so we may get a better rate.

I am thinking to adjust our stay in Paris (Probably 4 whole days na lang) and add it to santorini. Will that be enough? Anyway we are the type of person who enjoy just walking around the street and having coffee/wine in cafes/resturant (plus people watching). I think versailles lang yung plan namin puntahan outside ng city. And most of the time we will just walk around, visit some gardens. Louvre, maybe 2hrs lang for the sake na mapasok lang namin.

In rome 3.5 days enough? Colosseum and vatican lang yung talagang target namin mapuntahan dun. then ikot ikot lang uli plus mag hunt ng masarap na gelato. Any recommendation sa gelato?

Santorini, dream place ng fiancee ko yun kaya punta kami. Any particular things to do/visit in santorini? @Chili, i am planning to book a place in Oia. Though most people recommend Fira kasi mas cheaper ng konti pati yung mga restaurants , naisip ko lang na we might ending going to Oia everyday para mg wine/coffe sa mga cafes dun.. So might as well stay there.

1.5 days in venice ok lang? then i will add yung ma save na time nmin sa santorini. We will be taking night train from paris to venice so we will arrive early in the morning. Then siguro kinabukasan ng hapon, around 4pm, punta na Rome. Gusto ko lang kasi makita Venice less the crowd. Kaya gusto ko sana kahit 1 night lang. Kasi most of the tourist will be there in the afternoon.

mahaba na.. salamat.. kung my suggestions pa kayo pa sabi na lang..

[sparklingjewel]

Joining in the Oia and Italy discussion.. we're going in May. Hopefully early May so i can hopefully spend my birthday there. Chili, can I get your itinerary for Italy and Santorini? Squeezing these in after Spain and France

[aGuyInAgirlsForum]

Yes yes Chili, planning is fun and exciting. I usually read blogs and travel guides to prepare for the trip. Kaya minsan when we reach our destination, feeling ko i've been there na kasi ganun ganun on how i picture the place in my mind during planning.. hehe.. Some say I am taking out the surprise pero for me di naman.

Thanks Chili sa offer sa itinerary pero i have listed and mapped out the interesting places for both paris and rome. Pero we will not visit all places kasi short trip lang yung vacation namin. Samin kasi kahit konti lang mapuntahan as long as we really explore yung place na yun ok lang. kaya we are not fond of tour packages. So far yung sa Paris, plan lang namin maglakadlakad lang talaga at tambay sa restaurant. And yes shopping kasi ngyon pa lang nag aalocate na si fiancee para sa shopping budget nya.

Any feedback sa tomb/necropolis tour sa vatican? I've read na need mag pa reserve months in advances kasi 150 lang ata per day yung pwede pumasok.

I think Oia talaga yung maganda place to stay for a short trip. And yes, a big chunk of our accommodation we reserve for santorni. Kasi we might just lazy around in the room. I am planning to have the "Cave" room with sea view sa santorini.

Salamat sa tip sa venice. So siguro overnight na lang kami. I try lang namin yung gondola ride (though tourist trap) we still want to try.

Isa pala tanong, more or less how much we should budget sa food sa paris in a day?  Sa rome kasi namin ni allocate yung bigger budget sa food. Kasi we love italian cuisine. So sa paris budgeted lang.

sparkling, lapit na. nakaka excite na yan.

[rowan]

This thread is so nakakainggit! I'd like to suggest these restos in Paris and Rome:

Paris-L'avant Comptoir. Be here early. It's a typical wine bar that has no seats and just high tables/nooks.

Rome- For some reason, any food in the Rome city center was so bland to me! Mas masarap pa Gino's here. We really thought something was wrong with our palate until 2 of our friends(separate trip) also didn't like the food they had in Rome. Buti na lang we made the quite long commute to the Trastevere area. It's like their Kapitolyo/Maginhawa here. We tried Da Enzo but I think any resto there is fine:)

[aGuyInAgirlsForum]

Hi Rowan, I will check Paris-L'avant Comptoir. Salamat.. Oohhh, transtevere is far from the city center? I thought it's only few stops/stations away lang.. Kasi i also read na ok yung mga resto.

Really?? So-so lang mga food sa Rome? that i didn't expect.. We have set the bar so high sa food nila kasi we love italian food. Mukang madissapoint lang pala kami.. Venice I already expect na hindi masarap. Pero yung rome....

isa pa pala, around how much yung decent wine in Paris? Well, prices will vary kung san bibilin. Will it be correct to have this expectation na ok na yung wine if ganto yung price?

supermarket - 8+ euro
cafe - 15+
restaurant - 45+
Fancy restaurant - 80+

I just assuming na super mura wine sa paris. Tama nga ba?

sa rome din siguro. kaso mahhirapan kami mamili dun.. kasi personally gusto ko kahit anung wine basta from north italy region.

[Chili1113]

^8 Euro is good wine already in a supermarket =) Actually meron pa nga mga 3-5 Euro in Italy heheh I don't order an entire bottle of wine in restaurants cafe because we always just buy in a supermarket and like drinking this in our hotel room almost every night as a nightcap along with cheeses and local cold cuts =) A glass of wine in a regular restaurant will cost about 3-5 Euro which costs as much as a glass of soda anyways hehe

In Rome they have wines available from all regions you won't have a problem buying there.

So funny. For my honeymoon, I am targetting booking hotels with a supermarket nearby especially in Santorini and Iceland. Santorini--because there is no way I will pay 70 Eur for a bottle of wine from the hotel when I can buy it for less that 10 Eur even in a touristy convenience store. My friend told me to avoid Santorini during peak season because it is ridiculously expensive. 1 Bottle of champagne in a nice restaurant can cost up to 200 Euros a bottle!

[rowan]

^^Aguyinagirlsforum,

Well we stayed in a bnb near Roma Termini and Trastevere is a 30 minute commute from our place. Also note that the bus system in Rome is horrible. Its not on time, can get caught in traffic (Rome has Manila like streets), and most bus stops are hidden from plain view. Worth it siya so go,  please go there coz food in the city is disappointing, even the ones our host recommended were disappointing. Youd rather eat in Sbarro here haha.

^Chili1113,

OMG the burrata in Da Enzo is heaven! They have their own dairy farm kasi! So fresh!

[papemelroti]

nice itinerary chili! I love bergen. best way is to fly there and head up north via a cruise. Do check out zupperia and pingvinen, these two restaurants are quite a steal in expensive Bergen. Norway is the only country I have been to that gave me wallet anxiety lol.

I am currently starting to plan our itinerary but our places are all set. My husband and I are mixing old and new places.

Amsterdam - 5 days. we need to go here since we promised a friend we are doing a short road trip with him on our honeymoon.
Reykjavik - 6 to 7 days - people thought I was joking when I said this lol.So much fun discussing this with you. I think i am experiencing wallet anxiety on this one too hahaha
Scotland/ Inverness etc - 6 days
York- 2 days
London -  4 to 5 days -  I really do not get tired of london. one of my favorite cities in the world.

[shygirlme]

^^I love Bergen but too expensive. I just went to Fløen to eat ice cream nakakapagod mag hike! expensive kasi mag tram. Isama namin Norway sa IT for Aurora Borealis. Sa tromso nakakita yung friend ko this week. is it true after 2016 wala na daw aurora borealis? 15years daw bago magkano?

ok kaya na to and from Amsterdam balang book ko? mas makakatipid kaya? eto plan namin:

London
Paris
Italy (Rome and Venice)
Austria
Switzerland
Norway
Amsterdam

kung hindi kakayanin ng sched we might skip Austria and Switzerland.

[Chili1113]

Hi Papemelroti and shygirlme!!

I want sana to take the train from Oslo to Flam via Myrdal, then from Flam take Ferry to Bergen. But it will be winter and I read somewhere I wont see anything since the Ferry leaves at 330 pm and it will be dark already =(

I would appreciate tips on Bergen. How many nights do we spend there? And how did you get to Bergen. I am thinking if I should just fly there and just get on the ferry to cruise the fjords? Whaaaaa hearing how much you love Bergen is making me excited to go there. I am glad we decided to lessen our days in Germany to add more days in Norway.

Papemelroti: I am having so much anxiety over Reykjavik! We decided to stay in a serviced apartment beside a big supermarket so we can save money by preparing our own meals! =) Still researching too if we should get a car and have a few days on our own and do the Golden Circle by ourselves.

Shygrlme: Your trip sounds great!! If you're gonna do Austria I suggest you pass by Salzburg even for a night. It is worth it!!

[shygirlme]

^thank you for your suggestion about Austria! much better siguro fly to Bergen ka nalang sis. hmm. Fløen lang napuntahan ko tsaka Bryggen (old houses).

[Chili1113]

Thanks sis!! Ill look into the flights. Thanks so so much!!! =) Thanks for the tip na Bergen is expensive. Perhaps better if I book a Clarion hotel that serves both breakfast and Dinner. Thank you!!

[papemelroti]

^^I love Bergen but too expensive. I just went to Fløen to eat ice cream nakakapagod mag hike! expensive kasi mag tram. Isama namin Norway sa IT for Aurora Borealis. Sa tromso nakakita yung friend ko this week. is it true after 2016 wala na daw aurora borealis? 15years daw bago magkano?

Hello! It is NOT TRUE that you would not see the auroras after 2016 and will only see them 15 years later.  the peak was 2013, edit 2016 is 3 year after the peak. Less occurrence maybe but unless you stay in the place more than 2 weeks during winter time, i think viewing the northern lights is really a hit and miss. it depends on mother nature.

Hi Papemelroti and shygirlme!!

I want sana to take the train from Oslo to Flam via Myrdal, then from Flam take Ferry to Bergen. But it will be winter and I read somewhere I wont see anything since the Ferry leaves at 330 pm and it will be dark already =(

I would appreciate tips on Bergen. How many nights do we spend there? And how did you get to Bergen. I am thinking if I should just fly there and just get on the ferry to cruise the fjords? Whaaaaa hearing how much you love Bergen is making me excited to go there. I am glad we decided to lessen our days in Germany to add more days in Norway.

Papemelroti: I am having so much anxiety over Reykjavik! We decided to stay in a serviced apartment beside a big supermarket so we can save money by preparing our own meals! =) Still researching too if we should get a car and have a few days on our own and do the Golden Circle by ourselves.

Shygrlme: Your trip sounds great!! If you're gonna do Austria I suggest you pass by Salzburg even for a night. It is worth it!!

Sis chilli, I will pm you re: bergen. need to look for my file. I flew sas going to bergen. Others might just give it 1 day but my traveling style is staying for days. just find your middle ground and go for it!

[Chili1113]

papemelroti: Yes please please share your Bergen itinerary!! =) =) we have 5 nights to spare in Norway, and I think I prefer spending time in Bergen vs Oslo. Will really appreciate the tips! =)

[luliluli]

Mga sis sa travel fair which is now 2x a year may mga rate na sulit and mura

[sparklingjewel]

Successfully got my Schengen visa, now i have just 5 weeks to plan my real 3-4 week itinerary. I'm insisting on a tour, but since we're still on a budget and don't want to go all-out first class my husband has concerns on the quality of tours. He said he's read bad reviews online about  tours from Contiki (who i assume is the most budget of them all?) wherein the hotels are so far away from the city center and lunches are always disappointing and eaten in-transit... sayang because i liked one of their tour itineraries pa naman and it fit our travel dates. I still want to do a tour to save us the hassle of thinking of everything pa, but without good feedback my husband's insisting we just do DIY all the way.

Does anyone know any alternatives we can consider, that won't break the bank? I've heard about Cosmos, Trafalgar, Globus but the latter is expensive na ata. Costsaver doesnt fit our travel dates.

TIA!