Help me find a honeymoon destination please?

[RedPandaFluff]

Hello lovely Mumsnetters,

Married DH in October last year and, since I'd just started a new job and he'd recently been promoted, we decided to just have a couple of days off and plan a proper honeymoon for the following year.

We're currently undergoing IVF treatment, which is obviously influencing our choice of destination - if I get pregnant, we won't be able to go anywhere that requires certain vaccines etc. Planning this is also helping me through the 2WW I'm stumped as to where we could go so I'm hoping for suggestions! Here's our criteria:

1 - We want to go in October 2018
2 - Don't mind short haul or long haul
3 - Budget is £2-3k per person for 2 weeks
4 - A mixture of beach and adventure would be good - both of us would be bored just sitting on a beach for two weeks so things to do (snorkelling, tours to see beautiful natural sites would be best)
5 - Possibilities so far are Hawaii, Japan, New Zealand . . .
6 - Our ideal honeymoon would have been African safari but not sure how compatible that is with pregnancy!

Your recommendations would be appreciated - thanks in advance!

Aww c'mon! Anyone . . . ?

Cyprus!! Dh and I went in October 2008 and it was lovely, still really hot and not too far away. Congratulations on your wedding and good luck with the ivf!

Thailand - Bangkok and then an island Koh Samui or similar. Perfect mix of relaxing and city break.

If there's a chance that you'll be pregnant then that rules out quite a lot of countries due to Zika - so Thailand, most of Africa etc would be a no go. I would also rule out Japan as I'd be really sad not being able to eat any sushi or sashimi, but that might not be a top priority for you!

South Africa? longish flight but no jet lag ... beautiful beaches/landscapes ... easy to get round ...great healthcare (as you will have insurance) no language barrier, whale watching
good food , luxury accommodation, safari (there is a zone that is non malarial if thats an issue, blue train, gorgeous hotels
really easy to organise yourself to keep you occupied :)
can do for a range of prices low cost and luxury...
lots of good tour operators like Audley do it if you dont want to organise ror get ideas of itineraries

no zika either....

Or more whale watching...base round Vancouver cool city as well and could do the rockies train sort of thing :)

The Maldives.

How about the Galapagos Islands with perhaps a bit of mainland Ecuador and Peru thrown in?

Maybe 1 week on the islands and another visiting Quito, Cusco and Machu Picchu?

Califonia then a trip inland to the grand canyon.

Mauritius! No Zika, no malaria, no dengue. Sadly safari is out because nearly all locations are malarial. Plus being in a bumpy van and needing to per lots would be awful. South Africa would also be fab.

Sri Lanka!

Congratulations on your wedding and good luck with IVF

New Zealand or Hawaii

We have been to both and we love them both

You could do a week in each so you get flavour of both so you can plan longer trips to your favourite once you have your DC

Seychelles
Marrakech

Oh and Oman, that would have been a lovely holiday if I wasn't suffering from terrible pregnancy sickness!

Zika will rule out many options unfortunately. New Zealand would be amazing. Or a west coast (USA) road trip?

Are you set on that timing? Many people I know had tricky early pregnancies after ivf. I had heavy bleeding and four first tri scans. I have also had an ivf miscarriage from an earlier round. My bestie lost a twin in an ivf pregnancy. I don't want to be all doom and gloom but it's worth bearing in mind.

Oh wow, great suggestions, thanks everyone! And I hadn't considered ruling areas out due to vaccinations/zika etc. so that's really helpful.

I think South Africa could be a top contender, Averythinline - I hadn't thought of there! My perception is that crime against tourists is very prevalent - is that my ignorance or it is really a problem? I'll do some research. It wouldn't put me off, necessarily, I'd just be super-careful and take more precautions.

NetballHoop I love your suggestion - DH is wildlife-mad and the Galapagos would be his dream destination.

Actually, so many good ones on here, I think I have a lot of research to do!

Sadly the IVF cycle failed - I only found out yesterday. We're going to have another go as soon as we can so I guess I need to plan for as if I were supposed pregnant, just in case.

Eurochick I feel like if I account for being pregnant then it will never happen (I know, that sounds stupid and superstitious). And if we don't have kids then I want us to have a great life anyway, so I don't want to put too many good things on hold.

RedPanda, so sorry the IVF didn't work this time. It took us two tries so hopefully it will work for you next time.

The Galapagos are very special and for us it was a choice between there or Madagascar. In the end South America won and we had a great time. Madagascar will have to wait for the kids to leave home.

Sorry to hear about the Ivf but holiday planning still good...it is hard not to feel dominated by the process/risks/planning

Re South Africa I think there is crime but not enough to put me off and have friends there who say its not too bad- they often take people on the garden route or a bit of it, if you use local agencies probably better although- we totally sorted ourselves and stayed in a couple of hostels although moved hotel at one point as just didnt like the feel of the area and lucked on a great deal in a fab hotel.... the wildlife was amazing...as was the food & wine & hotels

Other trips pre dc - Antartica /Galapogos. Costa Rica - not been but heard amazng things esp if like wildlife