If you’re going to fly away from Ireland on your honeymoon, you may as well go far, far away, to a land that’s completely different! We present: a real honeymoon in Hawaii and New York – the perfect destination for just such a trip! Our couple give a full lowdown, including places to eat, and the temperatures! We hope you’re tempted to book the flights. Yvonne Diggins and James Mannion decided to explore America from the east coast to the furthest western point of Hawaii.
Date of honeymoon: August 2009
Where did you go? Oahu, Hawaii and New York
Average temperature when you were there: Hawaii: 23-31°C; New York: 16-25°C
Price range (high, medium, low): Medium
Why did you choose this location? First of all, a real honeymoon in Hawaii and New York was something we always dreamt about. Especially Hawaii – it always looked so amazing in movies and magazines, especially the beaches and landscape and also the amount of activities that you could do, like sea cruises, sea kayaking, ranches, luau parties and snorkeling. In contrast, we both always wanted to go to New York also, especially for shopping and sightseeing.
Travel time from Ireland: First, we went to Hawaii, which took us 16 hours.
Airport you flew to: Newark and Honolulu
Where did you stay? And would you recommend it? In Hawaii, we stayed at the Outrigger Reef on the beach. It was an amazing hotel, right on Waikiki beach, with fantastic facilities, room and staff. We even got a bottle of champagne on arrival, for the reason that we were on our honeymoon.
In New York, we were at the Embassy Suites, Manhattan. Again it was a fantastic hotel, had its own cinema, fabulous and spacious rooms, very central to everything in New York.
What kind of holiday was it? (ie beach holiday, skiing, hiking, etc) Hawaii was a beach/activity holiday and New York was a sightseeing/shopping holiday.
Was it all inclusive? We only chose to get the breakfast included, which was tasty in both places, fantastic variety and options.
What were the main attractions?
Hawaii: Kualoa Ranch, Paradise Cove, Hamuama Bay, Navatek 1 Sea Cruise, Diamond Head, Pearl Harbour, sea kayaking, surfing, beach!
Seems like we could have filled a month in New York, there’s so much to do! Statue of Liberty, Broadway show (Shrek the Musical), Central Park, Empire State Building, Yankee Stadium, Brooklyn Bridge, Madison Square Park, Rockefeller Centre, Ellis Island Immigration Museum, Woodbury Common (for shopping), Irish Hunger Memorial Garden.
What was the best part?
In Hawaii it was Kualoa Ranch, we had a ball. You can go to a ranch for the day, they also do weddings there! There was unreal scenery and you can do a range of activities. We did horse riding, ATV’s, Jungle tour and the ocean voyage. I would certainly recommend this, it was paradise there!
In New York the most noteworthy part was the Broadway show, Shrek the Musical. It was fantastic!
Best place to eat?
Almost too hard to answer. In Hawaii, a notable memory is a diner called Cheese Burger, fabulous burgers and chips! In New York: The Cheesecake Factory – scrumptious!
Any downsides to the location:
Absolutely nothing. Our real honeymoon in Hawaii and New York was honestly completely perfect from start to finish.
Would you recommend this honeymoon location?
Hawaii is genuinely like paradise, words could not describe how beautiful every aspect of it was. New York has fantastic atmosphere and so much to do, something for everyone!
Tips for travelling to that destination:
Above all, bring your own pillow and a blanket for the plane journey. They give you these on the plane, but they are not so comfy! Also rent a car in Hawaii, gives you so much more freedom to travel around the island.
