Our Wonderful Honeymoon-Fiji

My dream location had always been Bora Bora, you know, the place with the over water bungalows. As we started to look into Tahiti I realized the total cost would be way over our budget. I started looking at other locations in the South Pacific and loved Fiji. The best part about Fiji was the exchange rate, $1=FJ $ .57. Which means, it's a great deal and our dollars would go much further in Fiji. After contacting many Travel Agents most of them told us we couldn't g to Fiji for less than 8k a week. I knew there had to be a better way so I started getting quotes directly with the resorts and airlines. I knew January was their low season and I thought the resorts would be willing to offer a low season special.

We considered the possibility of rain in their low season and compared it to the high season in the Caribbean. For the same budget we could have gone to either the Caribbean or Fiji. Fiji won out!
After much searching and looking at all the honeymoon resorts I decided to give Trip Advisor a try. I looked at their travel guides and trip ideas and found the resort we were looking for: Wananavu Beach Resort.

I contacted them for a quote, gave them a deposit and made our air travel reservations on Air Pacific and forgot about it. As we approached the wedding date the more excited we became. We were right to be excited, while it was 20 degrees and snowing at home, Fiji had a nice and humid 80 degrees.

 We stayed on the beachfront honeymoon "bure "

 

We had our own private pool

 

This was the view from our front porch

 

The Diving pick up point

 

The inlet where they perform wedding ceremonies

We had such a wonderful time and we enjoyed the people, the food, the views. In two years I had never seen Mr. E read anything and he read 2 books while there. It was so relaxing we almost felt guilty of doing nothing all day. We hope to go back for a special anniversary one day. The food was excellent, I took pictures of most dishes and will share on the next post. Where did you go on your honeymoon? Would you go back?

Dreaming of Thailand

Another resort I've had bookmarked on my favorites for a very long time is the X2 Kui Buri Resort in Thailand. It is 3 hours south of Bangkok, located on a desolated beach in a farming village. The design and architecture of the place is wonderful and your room is open to the ocean. See for yourself!

As you can see the beds are facing the ocean, I could lounge here all day! 

Has any one been to Thailand before? How was your experience?

Fiji on My Mind

In order to get through the long hot days around here (the high today was around 117°), my mind has been wondering to far away places. Romantic and exotic places where we could just sit back and have a drink. One of those places is Fiji; I found this resort on an article titled, Take the Plunge! on the latest Destination, Weddings and Honeymoon Magazine, I LOVE it. It's the Royal Davui Island Resort.

There's nothing else on this tiny island but you and 31 other guests, max!

Look at this awesome plunge pool!

The canopy over the bed is so romantic.

Finally, we can get married here as well. There would be no stress, just a long flight to Fiji where we can relax, get married and enjoy our honeymoon before we return to the "real world".

Have you ever been to Fiji? Are there any other resorts you recommend?

The Encores are away...

As you may know, we're in the midst of enjoying our vacation in PR, posting will resume next week but I will share one more inspiration board on the next post. See you soon!

The Encore Honeymoon-Puerto Rico

I must admit, I will be a little bias here since I am from Puerto Rico. That's where I grew up and my family still lives in the "Isla Encantada" or Enchanted island as the natives call it.

Source

San Juan has one of the largest cruise ports in the world is therefore many tourist limit themselves to visiting the "Old San Juan". It is a very romantic city with cobblestone streets, one of the oldest churches in the Americas, many museums, restaurants, shopping and bars.

Photo: Hotel El Convento

There are plenty of things to do and see in the San Juan area but there are many hotels in other parts of the island that are ideal for a honeymoon as well. Here are a few of the most romantic (and exclusive hotels) around the island.

Top left is the San Juan Ritz Carlton, although not technically in Old San Juan it is very close to the airport and provides a private beach and beautiful pool and gardens.

Next is "El Conquistador" (the conqueror), it is located in the northeastern tip of the island in the town of "Fajardo" the resort has it's own small island of the coast and water park to boast.

Bottom right is a smaller hotel in "Rincon" (the west coast) called "Horned Dorset Primavera Hotel" it is very exclusive, private and on a beautiful west coast town called "Rincon" (corner). In fact this is the town where we vacation when I go home. The town attracts award winning surfers that catch the waves during the spring every year.

On the bottom left corner is "El Hotel Convento", located in Old San Juan it is a restored 350 year old Carmelite convent, it is the only hotel on the island in the "Small Luxury Hotel" category. Although not on a beach it does have a rooftop pool and excellent views of all the historic sites around Old San Juan. It is also a favorite to host weddings as it has a lovely interior courtyard.

Puerto Rico is a versatile island, relatively affordable, easy to navigate as most people speak English and no passports are required. The island is also home to some of the finest rum factories. You can top your tour of the Bacardi rum factory with free samples given on site.

Please feel free to ask if you have any questions about the island. Here are a few links to help you learn more about the island and all it has to offer:

Go to Puerto Rico-Official Tourism Page

Welcome to PR-More information about the island and towns

Meet Puerto Rico-PR Convention Bureau

Visiting Puerto Rico-Trip Advisor PR Page

Enjoy!

The Encore Bride Goes Home

Well, well, well....it's finally that time of the year to go on vacation! We have had so much going on that I am really looking forward to relaxing for a week at home in Puerto Rico. We have friends from Texas meeting us there, my family will come over and spend some time with us so it will be great.

Although we will be on vacation we have an agenda packed, from visiting "El Yunque"-"The only tropical forest in the US National Forest System".

Photo: George Oze via Art.com

We also plan on visiting one of the third largest cavern systems in the world and it's in PR, "Camuy Caves".

Photo: Stefano Paganelli via TrekEarth.com

And of course we have to go to Old San Juan, "the second oldest European City founded in the Americas"

Photo: Virtual Tourist

Of course there are many beaches to visit, more to follow on those. PR would also be great for a destination wedding as it requires no passports to visit (they are a Commonwealth to the US), use dollar as the currency and everyone speaks English (for the most part). More to follow on excellent places to host your destination wedding. Stay tuned!

The Encore Honeymoon

With Mr. Encore headed to the other end of the world (not sure if that's geographically accurate but it feels like it) this fall, we've shifted our wedding conversations to the trips we will take once he returns, more specifically: the honeymoon. My only request: an overwater bungalow. In my mind I equate overwater bungalow with Bora Bora but after investigating the prices I realized that they are not the only ones with the charming "casitas" over the water. Apparently Bermuda, Fiji and Panama, Belize and Mexico have them! Oh Joy! We can stay in a cute overwater bungalow without having to fly over 13 hours to get there, success! I'm only in the preliminary research stages though and it looks promising. Has anyone vacationed in an overwater bungalow before? Did you like it? Any pros, cons? Please share!

Credits: Clockwise from top left: Le Meridien Resort, Bora Bora, Likuliku Lagoon Resort, Fiji, Punta Caracol Acqua Lodge, Panama, 9 Beaches Rosrt, Bermuda