Itinerary
Ski & Beach - a honeymoon
A week on the ski slopes, followed by a week on a tropical beach. With an amazing city break in the world's most exciting city in the middle. The perfect holiday. And one not possible anywhere else on the planet, as far as we know of (though we once almost achieved the same in Lebanon, though the skiing was very 'average'). Let's break it down;
First you ski (or snowboard) - and take your pick of Japan's many ski resorts. A week in Niseko up on Hokkaido Island? Instead take the bullet-train to the Hakuba Valley or more traditional Nozawa Onsen? Whatever suits you best - all we guarantee is some of the best skiing of your life in peerless deep powder snow.
Second you head back to Tokyo before flying off to the beach. So why not stay for two or three nights and enjoy the frenzy, excitement, and fascination of Tokyo's capital? Michelin-starred restaurants, stylish hotels, world-class shopping, drenched nightlife - a wonderful city break.
Next, you fly from Tokyo to the beach. Now...this could be a sub-tropical Japanese beach, down in the Okinawan archipelago 1,000 miles south of Tokyo and deep in the Pacific ocean. Alternatively, we could use Thai Airlines, Malaysian Airlines or even Philippines Airlines to access some of the best beaches in South East Asia en route home from Tokyo.
This is an itinerary we've put together several times now, more often than not for honeymooners - though there is absolutely no reason why that should always be the case. A perfect holiday is a perfect holiday, whatever the occasion - or lack of occasion.
Day-by-Itinerary
How much would this cost?
This is a difficult one to put a price to - there are so many variables and international flight prices can vary dramatically, depending on where you choose to spend your beach time. The best way of working is for you to give us your target budget for the honeymoon (or holiday) and we will cut our cloth accordingly.
Obviously, cost depends on which accommodation you choose, both in the ski resort and, more importantly, when on the beach. An indicative lead-in price for this 16-day itinerary would be substantially north of £3,000 per person, including on moderate accommodation (mid / low season), transfers, lift passes, and international and domestic flights from the U.K.
We don't have to include international flights. However, by keeping it all within one package, your arrangements are protected by ATOL.
Different Snow strive to offer the most competitive prices in all instances. However, we pride ourselves first and foremost on quality - we are an independent specialist tour operator and, therefore, are not beholden to any supplier. We make our decisions based only on who's best in each and every instance.
Suggestions & Variations
With no set departures or fixed dates this itinerary can be extended, or even curtailed, to suit your available dates or match your budget.
Now we're suggesting this as a honeymoon itinerary simply because it's something we've put together as such several times before and it works well. However, it doesn't have to be - this is an amazing two week holiday for whenever you feel the need. You can't really do ski & beach in Europe or even north America....welcome to Asia!
You may wish to stay in Japan and, instead of heading to South-East Asia, instead visit the Okinawa Islands in Japan for your beach stay. That's no problem and it does make the logistics (and cost) a little better. Whilst our inclination is to always embrace all things Japanese and we do truly like the Okinawa islands, they're amazing, the reason we haven't suggested this as the default choice is because the weather in Okinawa during December - March is not truly optimal. It's a very pleasant temperature, but certainly not 'tropical' at this time of year. So if you mindset is the best skiing in the world, followed by the best beaches in the world - then Japan and Thailand (or the Philippines) it is.
Where you head to and how long you stay in Japan is up for debate. If you have longer, then perhaps stay in two ski resorts. Or, because this is a potentially honeymoon, why don't you head out of the city for a couple of nights in a romantic ryokan, be it in Hakone or in the Kiso mountains? This is what the Japanese do on honeymoons and it's special.
