Planning a surprise holiday for your other half - have you done it?

[QF WP]

This is something that I need to do, so I love your surreptitious nature

Now could I tell the kids and expect them to not tell her?

 

[TomVexille]

No way I could pull something like this off...

 

[docjames]

I planned and booked our two week honeymoon without telling mrsdoc. She planned virtually the whole wedding (althogh the wedding cars were also a surprise) - so i guess that was a good tradeoff (but that's getting OT)......

I told her she needed clothes for warm weather, beaches and some touristy traipsing about.

As we got closer (a couple of weeks) to departure date, "we're going to a country starting with M". She assumed being a honeymoon it would be Maldives....

When we got to the airport, I asked her to guess which flight we were on - she guessed second guess that we were on the flight to LA. And at that point realised that meant Mexico.

I showed her the full itinerary on the aircraft as I figured it wouldn't have been a good look at US immigration if she replied "I dont know where i'm going". I also gave her the Lonely planet to skim read on the aircraft so she could see where we were going and have some input in to what activities / things to see etc she would like.

Have planned one or two other smaller trips and hidden bits and pieces (such as she knows we are going to Sydney but i'm not telling which hotel we're staying at or what we're doing etc).

I must admit, the guessing and the drip-feed of clues is fun (for both - but that's just us!), but you have to be able to keep a poker face in case your partner guesses correctly!

 

[Natalie_B]

I booked Mr Natalie a trip, different airlines each way. What I neglected to remember was his email address in his FF profile, so I got an email from him one day asking if we were ever coming home as he was sent the itinerary which only included the outbound flight.

I have heard of person who booked a 4 week trip to Europe for her husband and two children. She got his leave approved from his boss in secret and packed all of their bags. The bags were given to another family member who met them at the airport. She tricked them into going to the airport under the guise of picking up said family members so no questions were asked when they saw them with luggage. It was only them she dropped the bomb on them. It's on my bucket list to pull off a stunt like this.

 

[blackcat20]

I've tried once but my request to keep the weekend free was knocked back :shock:

 

[BobbyFlyer]

I'm planning to do it next week.... but on whole family (SWMBO plus the two kids).

Everyone's expecting to fly to Singapore and thereafter Toronto via Tokyo.....but....hoping to spring suprise as we walk to gate in Changi for the SQ flight to Paris, where we have a stopover and sights/tours booked.

We're flying SQ J from PER-SIN-CDG and will be kids first exposure to SQ A380 J product ...looking forward to taking photo of 4 of us squeezed into the two A380 J seats...

Have tricked SWMBO before with suprise upgrades, but found i need to do check-in and hold onto all boarding cards etc.

 

[amaroo]

I've got plans well underway for SWMBO special birthday next year. No secret we'll be enjoying a couple only trip (no kids) to New York .... however, she doesn't know that I've booked 3 nights at William Rockefeller's old lodge on upper Saranac Lake. We booked a stay here 18 years ago, but work issues put an end to that experience.

The icing on the cake will be changing cabin from J > F when hopefully plenty of award seats open up closer to the day. Have set up quite a few EF alerts, ready to pounce if one goes off.

 

[kelvedon]

A good friend of mine decided to surprise his wife on their honeymoon with a trip to Namibia. Got to the Airport where the check in agent spilt the beans, but the new wife still didn't know where Namibia was!

 

[ctrunfree]

If you are the surprise organiser and are paying for everything out of your own pocket, great, hope you get the impact you are looking for. For those who do this sort of thing and pay using a shared bank account-well sorry that's just being selfish. Shouldn't the person who is paying half have some say in where they'd like to go?

 

[shellthom]

My biggest tip is to say the trip is a surprise before handing over any documents (check in, lounge etc) and have your partner stand away. I did it. Not overseas. They announce the destination on the flight, but the guy behind us was talking loudly so my partner didn't hear it. He guessed Sunshine Coast based on what everyone on the plane was wearing and he heard some other guy say it. We were going to the gold coast and theme parks and the Hyatt Regency (as it was then) for some fun and relaxation so he loved that far more than the sunshine coast. He can't read the flight boards unless he stands there for 10 minutes and he still (6 years later) can't work out how to read the destination on the board at the gate - I think he just doesn't see its there, I don't know - but I am lucky in that because if he tried with me, I'd know within minutes.. good luck and have fun

 

[DaveB]

No where near as difficult as what is planned here. Helped my sister and hubby out who having both recently retired were last month able to surprise their middle daughter on her 30th birthday at the Grand Canyon. The daughter, son in law (an American from Charlotte) with their 2 year daughter were halfway into a year long tour around the US. Whilst they also live in Aus, not close to my sister and aren't able to see each other more than half dozen or so times a year.
Plenty of tears of joy all round with the next month all spent together touring mainly along the west coast.
It was the son in law's idea and all involved have said how special the trip has been.

 

[Natalie_B]

If you are the surprise organiser and are paying for everything out of your own pocket, great, hope you get the impact you are looking for. For those who do this sort of thing and pay using a shared bank account-well sorry that's just being selfish. Shouldn't the person who is paying half have some say in where they'd like to go?

I think if anyone doing this was dumb enough to use a joint account they deserve to be caught out.

 

[Tralfaz2013]

Hello AFF. I am planning a holiday for my boyfriend and me but trying to keep the arrangements and destination a surprise for him. Has anyone else done this and how did it work out? Any tips? He knows we are going on holidays but doesn't know where.

I am in the early stages of planning but so far I have booked us business class on SQ to Lombok with an overnight stop in Singapore. We will then stay in Lombok for six nights before flying to Bali for 6 nights in Ubud. He loves Ubud so I have lots of things in mind to book in for him which I know he will really enjoy.

I was going to try and hold out on telling him the plans until we head back to Changi airport for our flight to Lombok so wondering if we will be able to clear customs in Sydney without him knowing the end destination? He will know by then that we are obviously flying to Singapore but I was hoping to have him sign the form and then I will fill in the destination question. Workable? Also, with check in, I will see if the SQ agent can just hand him the Syd-Sin boarding pass and I will take the Sin-Lop boarding pass.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to hear other stories about secret holiday plans and how it worked out

Yes. I too have gone through the agony of a secret destination on a flying holiday with my wife. She knew we were going to Bangkok but she didnt know I'd planned a dude trip to coughet and.on to Phi Phi. I forgot about the details appearing on her FF account as she never goes on line. A few days before departure and I was away on business. Wife wanted to give details to her sister so looked up her booking. So coughet was out of the bag as was the J-class seats. But because the transfer to Phi Phi was by ferry, I was able to keep that hit up my sleeve. I'll never try again as the anxiety was too much.

 

[Bindibuys]

Ohhh I have done this many times. (so much so that hubby now "expects" surprises on our trips)

First time we were traveling to UK, (which he knew) but I booked flights via USA so 1. we could see his favourite band "YES" play at San Francisco, then I had tickets to his football team - Green Bay, had tickets to home game. Then we got to London and did all the things he knew about.
On the way home, he thought we were coming straight back.... No.... detour via Las Vegas, where I had planned renewal of our Wedding Vows with Elvis, had even sent out wedding invites, and had the ceremony live streamed back to our friends. Then a few days in LA.

Next - Trip to USA, he knew nothing about it, other than I was looking at things for our next break. When he walked out of a meeting in Sydney, I handed him his passport and said - we are going now.... Then the 2 kids jumped out and said "we are coming too!! ) What they all did not know, was that I had booked via Shanghai, so when we got to the airport, I told them to find out which gate for flight MU561 - all 3 said "WHAT !! Shangahi !!! Yes, we are having a few days there before heading to USA.

Some times it is easier to plan surprises "while you are already away" While on anther trip to USA, booked helicopter trip out to Grand Canyon, he was wondering why I was in such a hurry to get back to our hotel - well I knew that the limo was waiting for us!

Best of luck with your plans. It can be done.

 

[Natalie_B]

Ohhh I have done this many times. (so much so that hubby now "expects" surprises on our trips)

First time we were traveling to UK, (which he knew) but I booked flights via USA so 1. we could see his favourite band "YES" play at San Francisco, then I had tickets to his football team - Green Bay, had tickets to home game. Then we got to London and did all the things he knew about.
On the way home, he thought we were coming straight back.... No.... detour via Las Vegas, where I had planned renewal of our Wedding Vows with Elvis, had even sent out wedding invites, and had the ceremony live streamed back to our friends. Then a few days in LA.

Next - Trip to USA, he knew nothing about it, other than I was looking at things for our next break. When he walked out of a meeting in Sydney, I handed him his passport and said - we are going now.... Then the 2 kids jumped out and said "we are coming too!! ) What they all did not know, was that I had booked via Shanghai, so when we got to the airport, I told them to find out which gate for flight MU561 - all 3 said "WHAT !! Shangahi !!! Yes, we are having a few days there before heading to USA.

Some times it is easier to plan surprises "while you are already away" While on anther trip to USA, booked helicopter trip out to Grand Canyon, he was wondering why I was in such a hurry to get back to our hotel - well I knew that the limo was waiting for us!

Best of luck with your plans. It can be done.

I want to be you when I grow up.

 

[Bindibuys]

I want to be you when I grow up.

Ha ha, you would be better off being at the receiving end.

When we did 6 weeks in South America, I surprised him with our daughter jumping out from behind a rock at Machu Picchu (she had flown in from London, where she had been on gap-year) she spent the last 2 weeks with us before heading home.

When we arrived home he commented - "in 6 weeks I did not open my wallet once (I had paid for everything) - can all holidays be like that? "

 

[Mattg]

When we did 6 weeks in South America, I surprised him with our daughter jumping out from behind a rock at Machu Picchu (she had flown in from London, where she had been on gap-year) she spent the last 2 weeks with us before heading home.

That. Is. Incredible. Well done for pulling that off!

 

[Pushka]

MrP planned a surprise trip to Hayman Island for our 25th. Right down to babysitters.

 

[Bindibuys]

MrP planned a surprise trip to Hayman Island for our 25th. Right down to babysitters.

Mine does manage to pull of the occasional surprise. One of his best was at our combined 40th birthday party.
All of our guests had just started to arrive, the band was setting up, and he says - get in the car.
Drove into Newcastle where he had arranged for helicopter joy flight, which ended in our back yard. Great entrance to your own party.

 

[pagingjoan]

Hello AFF. I am planning a holiday for my boyfriend and me but trying to keep the arrangements and destination a surprise for him. Has anyone else done this and how did it work out? Any tips? He knows we are going on holidays but doesn't know where.

I am in the early stages of planning but so far I have booked us business class on SQ to Lombok with an overnight stop in Singapore. We will then stay in Lombok for six nights before flying to Bali for 6 nights in Ubud. He loves Ubud so I have lots of things in mind to book in for him which I know he will really enjoy.

I was going to try and hold out on telling him the plans until we head back to Changi airport for our flight to Lombok so wondering if we will be able to clear customs in Sydney without him knowing the end destination? He will know by then that we are obviously flying to Singapore but I was hoping to have him sign the form and then I will fill in the destination question. Workable? Also, with check in, I will see if the SQ agent can just hand him the Syd-Sin boarding pass and I will take the Sin-Lop boarding pass.

Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to hear other stories about secret holiday plans and how it worked out

Yes. I too have gone through the agony of a secret destination on a flying holiday with my wife. She knew we were going to Bangkok but she didnt know I'd planned a dude trip to coughet and.on to Phi Phi. I forgot about the details appearing on her FF account as she never goes on line. A few days before departure and I was away on business. Wife wanted to give details to her sister so looked up her booking. So coughet was out of the bag as was the J-class seats. But because the transfer to Phi Phi was by ferry, I was able to keep that hit up my sleeve. I'll never try again as the anxiety was too much.

Phew! I didn't know where the quote finished, so thought your post was even more interesting......