If money were no object, what island vaca would you do?

shadowboxerkd · January 2013

Within in reason (not like 30k/night rooms) what island vacation would you choose to take?

alithebride · January 2013

Wait so is there a budget or isn't there? I can imagine quite a bit but I'm not sure that's what you're asking.

Jells2dot0 · January 2013

Yeah, so it sounds like there is a budget rather than just spouting out some dream vacation. My bucket list vacation is the Maldives. For one reason or another, something always comes up and we can't make it there. So, we're looking at heading there, Abu Dhabi, and back to the Seychelles for our 5th anniversary. I've also been to Mauritius, French Polynesia, Fiji, Lizard Island (along the Great Barrier Reef), all of which are considered expensive and hard to get to and all of which I'd return to again. I'm actually looking at scrapping my Puerto Rico trip in April and looking at going back to Bora Bora or possibly the Cooks and we're aiming to head back to Lizard Island again next year.

mckenzie915 · January 2013

An over-the-water bungalow on Bora Bora!

annek · January 2013

Maldives.

ChristyD6 · January 2013

mckenzie915:
An over-the-water bungalow on Bora Bora!

Ditto! My husband's name is Bora so besides just being a beautiful place we want to go to "his island". The goal is going in about 2 years when my hefty student loans are paid off.

Jells2dot0 · January 2013

Definitely worth the trip. And, with money being no object for the OP, I'd recommend an OWB that has a direct view of the main island. So, either at the Thalasso, St. Regis, or Four Seasons. The first time I went to Bora Bora, none of those resorts were open, so I stayed at the Hilton Nui. The OWBs face out toward the lagoon. Then, the second time I went back, I had a direct view of the main island and it was gorgeous! It's worth the extra money to have that view, IMHO.

EDIT- for some reason it didn't quote the Bora Bora post. I was referring to Bora Bora above

shadowboxerkd · January 2013

Oooh thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to google around and see what I can find on them. We immediately thought of Bora Bora, but I think we're going to be more realistic with time and go somewhere that's not as long of a flight, so probably somewhere in the carribean. DH hadn't realized that Bora Bora was about 23 hours of flying to get there. My parents will probably take the kids for a week, so we don't want to spend 3 days travelling (I imagine from start to finish and layovers and all that). We don't have a budget but it's gotta be somewhat reasonable (which is why no 30k a night room). We want it to be something super special to celebrate 10 years together this year.

Jells2dot0 · January 2013

If you are thinking Caribbean, check out Jumby Bay, Rosewood Mayakoba, St. Regis Bahia, Jade Mountain or Cayo Espanto. The flight to Bora Bora is 8 hours from LAX, and then of course, 5 hours to get to LAX from the East Coast. When you say "reasonably priced", you have to take into account that different people have different ideas of reasonable. So, that is why some of us questioned it. I am very fortunate and have been on many trips that fall in the $15K-$20K+ range. But, to some, spending $500/night on a room would be a total splurge, once in a lifetime and a "money is no object" trip.

GilliC · January 2013

Seychelles.

I don't even know of a place that's 30K/night, but if I had ?3000/nt, then maybe http://www.north-island.com/

For ?1000/nt... http://www.denisisland.com/en/isl-welcome.php

For ?400/nt, maybe
http://www.birdislandseychelles.com/Beaches/Bird-Island.php

MrsLee04 · January 2013

mckenzie915:
An over-the-water bungalow on Bora Bora!

This! I've always wanted to do this.

I've been to Kauai and Maui, and would like to go back to Kauai for longer (5 days last time), and if money were truly no object I'd like to make it a multi-island trip, adding Big Island, Lanai, and Molokai.

More local and less exotic and including kids, I'd like another trip to Captiva Island, FL. We've been to the South Seas Resort there twice and it's a family favorite of ours. We typically get a cheaper suite, but if money were no object we'd get one of the nicer rental homes. And stay longer!

anssett · January 2013

Papua New Guinea. The flight costs are insane but I really want to go. It's a ...large island. Possibly not what you had in mind but I'd prefer it over the Caribbean or Hawaii, again.

shadowboxerkd · January 2013

Jells2dot0:
If you are thinking Caribbean, check out Jumby Bay, Rosewood Mayakoba, St. Regis Bahia, Jade Mountain or Cayo Espanto. The flight to Bora Bora is 8 hours from LAX, and then of course, 5 hours to get to LAX from the East Coast. When you say "reasonably priced", you have to take into account that different people have different ideas of reasonable. So, that is why some of us questioned it. I am very fortunate and have been on many trips that fall in the $15K-$20K+ range. But, to some, spending $500/night on a room would be a total splurge, once in a lifetime and a "money is no object" trip.

Um, I just looked up Cayo Espanto...This may be perfect. Probably more than DH was thinking of spending (but he has not been clear, so maybe not), but totally up his alley. Activities yet very private and exclusive. I think he'll be excite when I show him! Thanks!!

Jells2dot0 · January 2013

If you go, you MUST report back! I have been wanting to go there for some time, but always tend to venture off farther from home.

shadowboxerkd · January 2013

I showed him pics of cayo espanto and he doesn't like that it's not very rocky. :headdesk: Maybe St. Lucia then. My mom has also suggested we wait until next year for a big trip when DS will be 2, instead of 1. So maybe it'll just be a long weekend somewhere nice this year and do the big thing next year. Will keep you posted on what we decide!

lasposa425 · January 2013

Hawaii or Bora Bora

hutchsl · February 2013

This past Thanksgiving, DH and I chartered a 53 ft sailboat in the Virgin Islands complete with captain and his wife who did the cooking. We island hopped - moored at varios islands. Went snorkeling every day. They had kayaks on board, snorkel gear, paddle board, hammock. It was about $900 per night. We charted it through visailing.com. We want to go back. Trips are normally 7 nights but one of the nights we wanted was booked so they shortened it to 6 nights.