Can you recommend me a Honeymoon Provider?

Loughc

Hey guys,

I'm getting married in 2017, I'm looking at getting a rough quote for my honeymoon so I can build it into my budget. I'm hoping to do it through an agency/provider as we're planning on a multi-trip break away for our honeymoon.

Can someone recommend me a good Honeymoon provider/Travel Agent? I'm living in Dublin, so Dublin region preferred.

Thanks

fits

trailfinders?

Loughc

fits wrote: »

trailfinders?

Have you used them yourself? Did you find them any good/competitive pricing?

Liam McPoyle

Loughc wrote: »

Have you used them yourself? Did you find them any good/competitive pricing?

We tried Trailfinders. Excellent staff but their pricing was very expensive.

We booked through American Holidays on Dawson St. Based on the exact same destinations we got a better Hotel in Cancun with 1 extra night for €1000 cheaper than TF.

Loughc

Business Cat wrote: »

We tried Trailfinders. Excellent staff but their pricing was very expensive.

We booked through American Holidays on Dawson St. Based on the exact same destinations we got a better Hotel in Cancun with 1 extra night for €1000 cheaper than TF.

Fantastic! Thanks for the headsup Business Cat!

kitten_k

Click and go, ask for Will.

fits

Loughc wrote: »

Have you used them yourself? Did you find them any good/competitive pricing?

I think their service is excellent. We booked the flights with them and the hotels ourselves.

Liam McPoyle

Loughc wrote: »

Fantastic! Thanks for the headsup Business Cat!

Id also point out, AH have a price guarantee that they will beat any other provider on a like for like basis. Dont be afraid to ask for more money off as they have the power to reduce as they see fit, within reason of course.

mickjohnlong

Booked mine thru tour america great service and we're cheaper at the time then others

Loughc

mickjohnlong wrote: »

Booked mine thru tour america great service and we're cheaper at the time then others

I used them last year for Orlando, they were cheap wasn't blown away with their service.

chocfan

We booked our honeymoon through Trailfinders and found them fantastic

We went to Singapore and Bali for three weeks-after our first appointment there, we went off and researched all the flights and hotels etc they recommended to see if we could get it cheaper booking it ourselves and we couldn't come anywhere near their prices-don't know how they got them!

We also included getting transfers done through them so from airports to hotel and different resorts in Bali-so handy

I saw other people thought American Holidays were cheaper so maybe it depends where you're going but for Asia, I couldn't recommend them more

Loughc

The current plan is America/Hawaii mix of both so I will certainly shop around. Thanks so much for everyone who have replied so far I really appreciate the input!

Liam McPoyle

Loughc wrote: »

The current plan is America/Hawaii mix of both so I will certainly shop around. Thanks so much for everyone who have replied so far I really appreciate the input!

Hawaii we were interested in but at this time of year it was massively expensive so we had to knock it on the head.

We got 4 nights in the Aria in Vegas, 3 nights in the Handerly Union Square (San Fran Hotels are ridiculously expensive) in San Fran and 8 nights in the Secrets Maroma resort in Cancun for I think €6400.

Loughc

Business Cat wrote: »

Hawaii we were interested in but at this time of year it was massively expensive so we had to knock it on the head.

We got 4 nights in the Aria in Vegas, 3 nights in the Handerly Union Square (San Fran Hotels are ridiculously expensive) in San Fran and 8 nights in the Secrets Maroma resort in Cancun for I think €6400.

Hey Business Cat thanks for the reply, looks like we have similar taste, if Hawaii proves to be too expensive we were considering Cancun. We'll be travelling in June so Hawaii maybe too pricey. I was also thinking of doing Vegas for 3 nights and LA for 4 nights, so not too far different from yourself.

Faith

Business Cat wrote: »

Hawaii we were interested in but at this time of year it was massively expensive so we had to knock it on the head.

We planned for Hawaii as well, until we found out there's no such thing as "all-inclusive" in Hawaii . We live on the west coast of Canada so we might still try to get there for a week some time, but for a honeymoon, it's crazy money.

When I searched Expedia (or similar), I genuinely got this result:



We decided to go to Mexico instead. All-inclusive for two weeks, plus flights, in a 5* hotel, was about half of what board alone would be in Hawaii.

spottybananas

We used Travel Counsellors and booked a fantastic very complicated honeymoon at a great price.

theoldbreed

I'll second Travel Counsellors. They organised our wedding in Mexico and the USA afterwards for a really good price. We didn't have to do a thing!

CaraMay

The only think I'll say about those multi city destinations is that you waste a lot of time getting to and from the airport every few days. You are wasting a hell of a lots of your days traveling. I would do two destination max.

racersedge

How have people found going to actual providers as opposed to just doing it online? Been doing research online to gauge prices, using the 'popular' services out there. Is there a better experience to be had from dealing with specific providers (in this case, say the American ones as that is the place I'm aiming to go) as opposed to just booking something online as you might any other holiday?

Any input is most welcome from those who have gone through this already....

kippy

Loughc wrote: »

The current plan is America/Hawaii mix of both so I will certainly shop around. Thanks so much for everyone who have replied so far I really appreciate the input!

We used Tour America back in 2009 for same regions. I put together a rough itinery, got a few quotes ant they were cheapest. Also very flexible and good to deal with. You will do well to get a quote as far ahead of time as you are planning especially as there are serious currency issues etc. We managed to save a bit of money between original quote and final payment as the currency improved.

kippy

racersedge wrote: »

How have people found going to actual providers as opposed to just doing it online? Been doing research online to gauge prices, using the 'popular' services out there. Is there a better experience to be had from dealing with specific providers (in this case, say the American ones as that is the place I'm aiming to go) as opposed to just booking something online as you might any other holiday?

Any input is most welcome from those who have gone through this already....

If you have multi stop/connections there are defo benefits of booking through an agent.

Loughc

kippy wrote: »

We used Tour America back in 2009 for same regions. I put together a rough itinery, got a few quotes ant they were cheapest. Also very flexible and good to deal with. You will do well to get a quote as far ahead of time as you are planning especially as there are serious currency issues etc. We managed to save a bit of money between original quote and final payment as the currency improved.

I'm just looking to get a rough price range so I can build it into my budget.

michellie

We are getting married late next July 16. We can't book our honeymoon or get prices until mid September this year? The airlines only release flights 11 months before so they cannot give prices or rough prices even as they vary so much.

Loughc

Thanks that's good to know :-)

kippy

Loughc wrote: »

Thanks that's good to know :-)

Thats the thing, you will need to wait closer the time and again the currency fluctuation can make a big difference between initial quote and amount to pay.
Loved Hawaii by the way, I would recommend it highly - while it may be a tad more expensive it is the kind of place that you'd be unlikely to have the chance, excuse or money to go to again.

Best of luck, exciting times.

fits

We are in malaysia for 2 and a 1/2 weeks. Trailfinders were best option for flights and flexibilty. We booked hotel for first seven nights but are going to wing it after that.

Callanutd

+1 Travel Counsellors. Martina was great. She organised everything for us and made some great suggestions. Only thing we have to do is pay for it and then go and enjoy it!

annoyedgal

We ended up booking our vietnam honeymoon ourselves, priced gohop, trailfinders, tropical sky and travel counsellers. Priced three different multitrip destinations with each and gohop was best value on them all and found them great to deal with. Found trailfinders most expensive and downright pushy on one occasion!

racersedge

Callanutd wrote: »

+1 Travel Counsellors. Martina was great. She organised everything for us and made some great suggestions. Only thing we have to do is pay for it and then go and enjoy it!

Have to add that over the past week, based on recommendations here of the group, to give them a go. Had great dealings so far, with an e-mail response within an hour of my initial contact and had an impressive itinerary compiled just over 24 hours later. Won over after initial skepticism, that is for sure.

Ginny

We did an island off Cancun (Isla Mujeres) and New York. I looked around and everyone could only provide doing NY first then Mexico but we wanted it the other way around, no agent could get us a hotel on that island never mind the all inclusive one we wanted. Even at that the agents prices were thousands more than what I priced. I booked through American airlines and booking.com. Spent 12 nights in Mexico and then I think 5 in NY.

Loughc

I can't believe I set this thread up a year ago, eager much? :P

I'm still faced with the same problem I was a year ago, I really would love to get a ballpark figure to work into my budget but it's too early to get quotes. I'm planning on going on honeymoon next June.

How far in advance have ye booked/priced yer honeymoon?

Bored_lad

Loughc wrote: »

I can't believe I set this thread up a year ago, eager much? :P

I'm still faced with the same problem I was a year ago, I really would love to get a ballpark figure to work into my budget but it's too early to get quotes. I'm planning on going on honeymoon next June.

How far in advance have ye booked/priced yer honeymoon?

I'd say you'd struggle to get quote for prices next June as most hotels won't have released their pricing and same with airlines. If you wait a few months you should have no problem getting quotes. Some travel agents might give you a ball park figure going off average costings for this year plus a few percent but I doubt it.

Pistachios & cream

Do you know what kind of honeymoon you want? It might be best to see what others paid for similar type honeymoons so you can get an idea of budget. A 2 week all inclusive in 1 place will be quite different price wise to a multi city honeymoon.

Loughc

ahayes84 wrote: »

Do you know what kind of honeymoon you want? It might be best to see what others paid for similar type honeymoons so you can get an idea of budget. A 2 week all inclusive in 1 place will be quite different price wise to a multi city honeymoon.

We know the exact honeymoon we want. Not sure where I'd go about finding out what others paid tho.

Pistachios & cream

Sure pop it up here, if people are happy to share they will. No harm no foul.

Even if you got an indicative price it could help with budget. Less than 3k, 3-5k etc

cooperguy

Loughc wrote: »

Have you used them yourself? Did you find them any good/competitive pricing?

Your going to struggle to get good pricing with any of those guys compared to booking by yourself

cocker5

By far the best is http://www.tropicalsky.ie/

My contact a girl called Romy... ive booked around 8 times with them now.

Trick is get the exact itinerary you want... get matching quotes, take teh cheapest one and go back to Romy and they will price match.

NEVER go by one quote you need at least 3 of the exact holiday

cocker5

Bored_lad wrote: »

I'd say you'd struggle to get quote for prices next June as most hotels won't have released their pricing and same with airlines. If you wait a few months you should have no problem getting quotes. Some travel agents might give you a ball park figure going off average costings for this year plus a few percent but I doubt it.

we always book one year in advance and have never had any issues...

Loughc

cocker5 wrote: »

By far the best is http://www.tropicalsky.ie/

My contact a girl called Romy... ive booked around 8 times with them now.

Trick is get the exact itinerary you want... get matching quotes, take teh cheapest one and go back to Romy and they will price match.

NEVER go by one quote you need at least 3 of the exact holiday

Good Advice, thanks!

Bored_lad

I've never once had a good experience trying to only get a quote from Tropical Sky, I would bot trust them to book my holiday and my advice would be to stay away.

cocker5

Bored_lad wrote: »

I've never once had a good experience trying to only get a quote from Tropical Sky, I would bot trust them to book my holiday and my advice would be to stay away.

Well I'm headibg away next Friday for 2.5 weeks on my 7th holiday with them .. Cuba also booked for xnas I've never had any issues ..

You mentioned a quote so you've never actually booked a holiday with them.