Honeymoon travelling
Where did we go you may ask? We did a week in Dubai and then 6 days in the Maldives. We flew from Newcastle Airport, UK directly to Dubai. It was my first time flying with Emirates and it was a lovely experience. We stayed at the 5* Dukes The Palm which is on Palm Jumeirah Dubai. The 5-star hotel was better than expected. The room was lovely and we were greeted with rose petals, balloons and towel decorations. A few days later we even got personalised chocolates and cakes to the room which was a lovely touch.
Things To Do In Dubai
There really is so much to do in Dubai! Before we went we watched plenty of vlogs to make sure we were making the most of our week. So here’s our list of things we did and what I’d recommend.
For things to do, I’d start with going to the Atlantis Waterpark. We wish we could have stayed there but the waterpark was brilliant for the full day and fairly reasonable. We didn’t do any queue jumps but didn’t really feel the need to. The queues for each slide were fairly reasonable. The couple of slides with the inflatables were definitely the best! If I was to go to Dubai again I’d love to stay at the Atlantis and experience all the fine dining. Oh and the hot air balloon too!
Another experience I’d highly suggest is visiting Dubai Marina we did it twice as it was so good. Just look at those views behind me! The first night we went to Pier 7 which has lots of great bars and restaurants.
Bob then surprised me at the Marina again with a private yacht for two hours. We took our own alcohol and they had a meal for us onboard. They took around all the hot spots such as the Atlantis, Burj Al Arab and just to take in the sunset. We felt like millionaires and didn’t want to get off! There are lots of private boats you can hire online and they aren’t as expensive as you may think!
I definitely recommend spending the day at the Dubai Mall. You can certainly tell it’s the biggest shopping mall in the world. It had absolutely everything. On the day we paid to go into the aquarium too which was better than expected. Worth doing especially if you have time to kill. Outside you can then see the fountains and of course the world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa.
The fountains are spectacular and worth watching before or after you visit the tallest building. We went on a Friday night to the Burj Khalifa and made the mistake of not paying for a queue jump. I would 100% recommend that as you get a 1.30hr booking and we spent most of that queuing which wasn’t ideal. So definitely pay more for the queue jump.
If you fancy a beach/pool party then head over to Zero Gravity. We went on a Thursday and it’s unlimited cocktails between 12-4 pm. It was quiet when we went so they actually give us a poolside bed for free which was a nice upgrade! It was nice laidback music and the drinks were delicious.
We also went to Bla Bla which has a nightclub and beach bar. We watched the entertainment outside with the views of the Dubai Ferris Wheel as you can see before we went inside the nightclub. The wheel was shut when we went (2023) but hopefully, it’s back open soon. It was very different! Each bar was a different theme. You had a prosecco bar, a bar serving marvel cocktails, a tikki bar and so on. We couldn’t resist getting the Hulk and Deadpool cocktails – they were really nice. It’s a very instagramamble nightclub!
Places to Eat In Dubai
Pier 7 in the Marina has a few nice restaurants but we went to Cargo and got a great table outside to take in all the views at night. The Asian food was delicious and fairly priced! We had a few cocktails too and couldn’t fault the place.
Inside the Dubai Mall its lots of food chains and restaurants. If you fancy something sweet I’d definitely recommend having a quick sit down from all the walking and visiting the world-famous Cheesecake Factory. It certainly lived up to the hype!
For a beautiful view of the fountains and the Burj Khalifa I definitely suggest an outside table at the Karma Kafe. We did this on our last night and it was a beautiful end to our Dubai trip. We paid around ￡150 each for a three-course meal and a bottle of champagne. This package is called the Romantic Table package and I definitely suggest it as a couple. Look at the dessert they brought out as they knew we were on our honeymoon! Still can’t believe how lovely the view was.
Another restaurant we went to was Pai Thai. It’s based inside a hotel resort where you arrive by boat. which sold it for us straight away! We got a delicious meal each and they also surprised us with a free dessert saying happy honeymoon. If you love Thai food I’d suggest there too for somewhere a little quieter and romantic.
Other than that the food and drinks places in Dubai are endless!
The Maldives Honeymoon
After our week in Dubai, we got our flight to Male. We then waited in an all-inclusive lounge before our next flight to Kooddoo Island. It was only another hour domestic flight and we were greeted by the hotel staff. We stayed at the 4* Mercure Kooddoo all-inclusive resort.
From the moment we arrived until we left was pure bliss. The Maldives truly is a once-in-a-lifetime paradise holiday. We treated ourselves to an overwater villa and actually got upgraded to a sunset villa on arrival. This meant we could watch the amazing sunset every night from our balcony. They also decorated our room with ‘happy honeymoon‘ and also a bottle of prosecco on ice.
The overwater villa had its own private balcony with steps down to a ladder into the sea. It came with an outside bathroom as well as a luxury indoor bathroom suite and a kingsize bedroom. The mini fridge was stocked up daily with your favourite snacks and drinks. When I say they did every type of cocktail and beer – they really did! The choice of international drinks was great considering we were on an island.
Things To Do In The Maldives
Aside from working our way through the food and drinks menu, we did a few complimentary excursions. The hotel offered a great variety of activities so there was plenty to do throughout our short stay. We did snorkelling just outside our villa and also out at sea. The guide took us far out so we could actually see the amazing coral away from the villa. We saw sharks, sea turtles and so many varieties of fish. That was an experience seeing sharks just below you!
We then did a jet ski ride and also the dolphin cruise. I was so happy to see dolphins out in the wild! There was more to do as well but those ones stood out to us. We went in monsoon season so it did rain once at night and a little through the day. It literally lasted a few minutes and then it was as if nothing happened.
You can save so much going in monsoon season. Obviously, it’s a gamble with the weather but it worked out perfectly for us. We sunbathed each day and the weather was lovely and warm. We honestly couldn’t thank the staff enough for being so welcoming and helpful. It was a lovely end to the trip and we’re glad we did it this way round to relax after a hectic week in Dubai.
