Couples planning their honeymoon may be tempted to ‘go it alone’ from their own research, skirting a prestigious tour operator to save money, time and ‘the middle man’. Trouble is, if your honeymoon is doomed to flight complications, room disappointment, weather shifts and tourist traps, you’ve no one to lean on for support and alternative options – and no one to blame, ultimately, but yourself. What’s more, expert luxury tour operators like Turquoise Holidays have savvy teams on the ground to dodge those honey-pot destinations, steer you away from restaurants with superb online reviews yet below-average-food, and ensure you’re getting the best room, with the best sunset views, in the best side of the hotel. They’re full of warmth, personality and, as Turquoise’s Marketing Director, Lizzie Jones asserts: ‘We are very proud to be a travel company that specialises in honeymoons… it’s the little details of honeymoons that matter to us and set us apart.’
Indeed, Turquoise trade in details – the sort of nuanced knowledge that only those frequently testing out these hotels and their surrounding experiences and locations can offer up. Their relationships run deep (which helps for special guest treatment), their flight and connection knowledge ensures breezy transfers (often with luxury perks), and their honesty is invaluable in our age of abundant online opinion and amid an overwhelming deluge of information. Just as you’d commission an experienced architect for structural planning, or a professional photographer for your wedding day, forgoing a well-seasoned tour operator can result in a botched honeymoon with disappointing hotels, or just one that doesn’t feel elevated enough to warrant the honeymoon tag. If there was ever a holiday to leave to the experts…
Here are 5 key reasons to book your honeymoon with a tour operator like Turquoise Holidays.
Highly personalised
‘Each couple that come to us are going to be delivered a very personalised service’
Turquoise Holidays’ team takes time to get to know every couple and figure out what makes them tick, ‘what makes them smile’. They want to know what style of hotel they love, what landscape they want to immerse themselves in, what atmosphere they’re looking for in the evening, and, if they have conflicting ideas of the ultimate honeymoon, how to reconcile these with combined destinations such as South African safari then Mauritius, or LA’s cool, easy-going energy then Tahiti’s surreal colours and toes-in-the-sand suppers. Once the destination is agreed on, the honeymoon gift team will get in touch to tease out passions, dream experiences and affinities – maybe an upgrade on a flight, a spa treatment, a diving course – all of which can be added to a wedding list for family and friends to gift the couple. Consider it an elevated concierge, sprinkling honeymoons with memorable, tried-and-tested experiences and adding those ‘wow’ moments to make newlyweds feel incredibly special.
22 years’ experience
‘We’ve been specialising in honeymoons from day one, for 22 years.’
Not only is Turquoise Holidays a tour operator, but from the get go, founders, James and Sue, have specialised in crafting exceptional honeymoons. They wanted to inject some romance and glamour back into travel by getting out there and forging good relationships with the hotels they loved, the airlines, and those insider folk able to craft authentic experiences for couples. Their 22 years’ experience is not to be underestimated, with well over a thousand honeymoons under their belt, and they’ve built a team around them of experts for various destinations and regions. The team are well-versed in flight cancellations, researching the safety guidelines around various destinations, the political temperature and how any shifts may affect travel. And should the weather fail to deliver or a travel hiccup occur, they’re adept at finding speedy alternatives. Ultimately, there’s great comfort in the knowledge that there’s a service there to rely on, both before and during your honeymoon.
On-the-ground knowledge
‘We have been there, we have seen it, we can recommend first-hand the room to book, the hotel to choose, the time of year to go to that destination. We get that from the relationships we work tirelessly to create around the world.’
Turquoise’s knowledge of the destinations, hotels and experiences on their books is unrivalled. It elevates them into the very top tier of luxury tour operators, with their tireless effort to stay in-the-know and an ear firmly to the ground of various sun-drenched destinations. For instance, a couple with safari and beach ambitions may think they have their hotels nailed down, but one of them will involve a lengthy transfer – Turquoise have one that has just refurbished its spa (they’re both into wellness) much closer to the airport. Once the team knows a couple’s affinities, they can do the geographical arithmetic, adding in an epic deep sea fishing trip from a particular island in the Seychelles, or an afternoon paragliding in New Zealand to break up a long drive and boost adrenaline levels. They’ll know how best to combine an intrepid trip into the Thai jungle with downtime along the South East Asian country’s maddeningly beautiful beaches. Here, they’ll clock that one couple will want to hunker down with wellness days while another will be after more of a gourmet scene, with a Michelin-starred restaurant and famous swim-up bar. They know it all, from the most luxurious transfer options (avoiding tourist pitfalls) to that one room with the al-fresco bathtub and knockout views of the bay.
Family-run and human
Founders James and Sue are still involved in the everyday, every booking, and every client experience. ‘That’s what makes Turquoise special.’
Turquoise Holidays pride themselves on being family-run (not owned by a large, swoop-in corporation). With this comes personality. There’s no AI-optimised process, each couple will be welcomed and looked after by a human with energy, emotion, sympathy and charm. It’s refreshing in our era of anonymous online forms and robotic assistants over the phone. Turquoise’s team will chat to couples, drawing out their likes and dislikes through warm, travel-filled conversations. Only once they’ve let their guard down and really connected with a team member do couples tend to reveal their proclivities and preferences, helping the team craft bespoke honeymoons that surpass all expectations.
Value for money
‘With wide access to travel information now, it’s easy to think you’re an expert…’
It’s a false economy to assume that by forgoing a tour operator for your honeymoon, you’ll be saving thousands of pounds. Wrong. In fact, Turquoise Holidays’ little black book helps them secure eye-popping deals and discounts on luxury honeymoons and flights, the sort you can’t scramble around for online. What’s more, Turquoise’s 360 approach means there’ll be fewer ‘surprises’ along the way – a $400 here, a $900 catamaran and beach lunch experience there. Turquoise have the relationships and industry cachet to pull multi-faceted trips together, (such as cinematic road trips through Canada or an immersive cultural trip in Sri Lanka with a Maldivian finalé), with panache to smooth out the booking kinks, and, crucially, a kinder overall price tag.
Craving an escape to the world’s most enchanting tropical hideaways? Discover your dream Turquoise honeymoon by chatting to one of the team on 0207 147 7087 or go online to find out more: turquoiseholidays.co.uk
Top honeymoon offers: https://www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk/special-offers/honeymoon/
Enquire now: https://www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk/enquire/
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