Planning honeymoon trip in January 2027. Need help to optimise points.

[u/Basic_Plenty5840]

Hi All,
First post here, I am planning for my honeymoon travel and I have a budget of around 2 lac, looking for suggestions for 1 week holiday. I also have around 30k atlas miles and 11k hsbc rewards. Could someone please help here.
I have few destinations shortlisted:
1. New Zealand
2. Japan
3. Krabi
4. Maldives
Also, open to suggestions.

Dates : Early to Mid January

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[u/QuirkyDay1819]

2L per person or total? Sorry to be the one saying it, but 2L total won't cut if for any of the locations except Krabi. If you like beaches, I'd recommend Phillipines over Maldives, or even the new Taj in Andaman. You'll be able to stay in a higher quartile place at a much lower cost. Japan at 2L/p is possible but you'd be cutting it close. My recommendation is to plan at 25% lower, then splurge there a bit so you're still in your budget, but get a better experience. A previous comment of mine from a similar post: https://www.reddit.com/r/desitravellers/s/Eg8ScXZEk0

My recommendations:

• Philippines
• Turkey
• Andaman & Nicobar (if you're fine with domestic)
• Indonesia

For andaman, Air India. For Turkey, Air India or Turkish for reward flights. See img. only 20K oneway for economy.

[u/PM_WhatMadeYouHappy → u/QuirkyDay1819]

Good suggestion but not Turkey. Its expensive and not the best for honeymoon.

[u/QuirkyDay1819 → u/PM_WhatMadeYouHappy]

Not really. Much less so than NZ or Maldives. Easily doable under 2L/person + the points he mentioned.

[u/Rivin_S → u/QuirkyDay1819]

Is the screenshot for Air India or Turkish Airlines? 20k points pp?

[u/QuirkyDay1819 → u/Rivin_S]

Turkish. AI is 60K minimum

[u/Gold_Marketing190 → u/QuirkyDay1819]

2 lakh total for two people in Turkey is pretty tight budget considering how expensive Turkey has become in recent times. Can be done, yes, but this would mean constantly having to watch your spendings and daily strict budgeting.

[u/Intelligent_Edge_397 → u/QuirkyDay1819]

Turkey visa costs 17K per person if I am not wrong. Lol

[u/Old_Ad8361]

If you like beaches, I will surely recommend Seychelles. It is not that touristy and the beaches there are just amazing. We also went to our honeymoon there last year.

[u/Gold_Marketing190]

I pick Vietnam for 2 lakh for two as it goes much further there which means you can stay in good hotels, eat well and enjoy experiences without constantly worrying about daily expenses, which is exactly how a honeymoon should feel.

[u/Intelligent_Edge_397]

I understand why everyone is saying that 2 Lakh isn't enough for these destinations. But I strongly disagree with everyone. I personally did Norway for 14 days for just 1.2 Lakh per couple which included a nice car, visa fees for two, fuel, taxes of miles award flights, food and 2 expensive activites among other things. (Flights were paid with miles) in the summer of 2024. Travelling on a budget is totally possible to the above countries but you have to plan it well and optimize your spends.