10 Year Anniversary ideas

[nayrb3]

Hey everyone,

Wife and I will have been married 10 years next summer and I'm trying to plan something special for us. I would love to hear ideas on where to go and what to do. I'd say the destination is more important the flight seat, but we've never flown business or first (shriek!) and wouldn't mind trying it out if it makes sense. I (obviously) have a ton of miles, and have been using most of them for domestic travel with the kids. We will be kidless on this trip, would like to be gone about a week(ish), since the grandparents will have the kids. We are west coasters and are pretty flexible with dates.

A few notes:

1. Most of our trips (just the two of us) have been domestic since we have little ones - Seattle, Portland, Charleston, Nashville, Dallas, Hawaii, etc

2. My wife doesn't like flying far (5+ hours) - we've never been out of the country (shriek!), sans Mexico. We have talked about doing a domestic flight to the east coast, overnighting, then flying the rest of the way to Europe. I think for this trip if I can get her in a comfy seat, she would be willing to try something longer.

3. We love the beach (and go to Hawaii every year with the kids).

4. We are early mid 30's and are very easy going.

5. Things we've very briefly talked about - Quebec, Europe, Australia (more my idea), Tahiti (though seems kinda boring).

6. We've never been to Europe (more shrieks!)

Most of our travel has been for / about the kids, with some long weekends built in for us. Now that they are getting older, we'd like to take a great trip for us. I would love to hear any and all of your suggestions to help me, and maybe others who might be in my situation soon. If there's already a thread on this, feel free to move.

PS - Miles aren't an issue...

 

[ashishsg]

Around the world will be a good option but may need 2 weeks. Any island in the mediterranean would be a good romantic vacation.

 

[Burgertm]

We did Tahiti for our 10th anniversary. We stayed in an overwater bungalow for 3 days in Bora Bora (my avatar pic is from there) and then went to Moorea for another 3 or so days. Bora Bora was a little boring, but staying in an overwater bungalow and the amazing water there was awesome. Moorea has a lot more to do and is a very beautiful island.

If you could find availability at the Intercontinental Thalasso for the OWB, it would be a great option.

 

[smittytabb]

I second @Burgertm 100%. It is just a wonderful place to do something like that. It can be hard to get business class there, but if you don't mind coach, you can break up the trip with a night in Cali. My daughter and her husband (at my suggestion) did their honeymoon there and it was epic. They are roughly your age and loved it more than I can tell you. Of course it depends on what you want to do. They both love the beach and wanted an escape and so it was perfect.

 

[italdesign]

I third Tahiti for this special occasion. Our stay in Bora Bora was pure paradise. I'm not sure how much was due to the specific hotel (Hilton Bora Bora Nui, now Conrad), which is on a private island with a massive, impeccably manicured grounds and impossibly beautiful turquoise water. The days go by more quickly than you think with all the activities. I wasn't bored after 4 days. BTW, if we hadn't splurged on a OWB, it wouldn't have taken much away from the paradise, so I don't think it was a must.

The grounds, water, and snorkeling remain the best / most beautiful I've seen anywhere, by a long shot.

The downside is you won't be easily impressed by beach resorts after this.

Here is an article from a few years ago comparing the 3 aspirational Hilton properties (Bora Bora, Maldives, Koh Samui). Another advantage of Bora Bora is that you can enjoy cheap local food on the main island.

https://theselfishyears.com/2014/01/11/hilton-deathmatch-conrad-rangali-vs-hilton-bora-bora-vs-conrad-koh-samui/

I do think weather can have a big impact on the enjoyment. Our last day was a bit cloudy and gloomy, and I thought to myself that if all our days were like this, it wouldn't have been anywhere near as enjoyable. So I recommend going in the dry / high season.

 

[nayrb3]

Hey everyone,

Really appreciate your responses! I told my wife about your suggestions about Bora Bora. She said she'd rather not do the beach since we go to Hawaii every year (although we'd like to go someday). She wants to go to Europe, fly in a lay flat, and stay in nice hotels. So...any suggestions.

I have almost 1MM AA miles and am looking at the new 770 business class for both ways. LAX-LHR flies that route and we are only an hour flight from LAX. It seems cheaper tax wise to come back from CDG, but that route isn't serviced by the new AA flagship. Is it worth it? Pay the extra $250 in taxes to fly home from LHR or save the money and come back from CDG.

Other must do's with flights and hotels? Other flights that I missed that have better business class to LHR / CDG. Just typing off the top of my head with relatively little research...

Thanks for the help!

 

[italdesign]

You might find that AA miles aren't as useful for Europe as DL and UA miles, due to very limited availability on lie flat, surcharge-free options. Having said that, you might have more luck booking far out.

I would also recommend against reverse herringbone (RH) configuration if you want to enjoy the flight together (which you do for this occasion). My opinion is that RH is great for solo travel but not so much when you have an intimate travel companion. Whenever I travel with someone in RH, we hardly interact and just keep to ourselves due to the well-partitioned space. On the other hand, we really enjoyed the 2 forward-facing, non-partitioned seats together in UA J (the sentiment applies to any such configuration). It felt surprisingly good, and I'm glad I was able to enjoy the flight with my travel companion.

Having said that, perhaps try RH in one direction and a 2-seater in the other.

 

[CoreyH]

An even better idea.
You can fly lie flat to Rome for a couple days. Then do a Mediterranean cruise (balcony or suite) and see a lot of Europe since you have never been.

 

[dwpinkston]

Corey is right, do Rome. So many things to see there and you can always take the train to see the rest of the country.

 

[James from BNA]

We did UK/Ireland/France for our 10th anniversary a couple years back.

We really enjoyed these free hotels-

IC Park Lane London-free upgrade to suite with only Plat status/IHG cc free night
IC Dublin-upgrade to suite with only Plat status/IHG cc free night
Powerscourt hotel south of Dublin-Marriott/SPG points
Plaza on the River-Club Carlson points (since devalued)

 

[Hanoi IG]

Paris is always a great option. If you have a way of flying AF, make sure to get a 777 as I hear the A-380s are NOT lie flat. Stay in the 6iem near St. Germain des Pres. You can get anywhere on the Metro and it's one of the best walking cities. One day go up to Montmartre and then wend your way down on foot, easier than scaling the hills. Canal St. Martin is a great place to spend an afternoon.

Food is great, just never eat where they have menus in many languages. Eat later if you wish to avoid Americans.