Honeymoon

rdurik

I need some advice on the best way to go about finding a great place to go on our honeymoon.  We almost went with Sandals but I'm not completely sold on it.  I think we can get more for our money somewhere else.  We are thinking of going somewhere in the Caribbean and would like to spend no more than $3,000 for everything.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!

sspino

I would check out the honeymoon board and tripadvisor.com. On tripadvisor.com you can look at other people's comments and pictures they've taken.

abbeylynne06

Look into Mexico... 3k was our top budget too. I researched alot about the Cancun/Riviera Maya area and alot of the resorts fit into that budget. We're doing a week at the Royal Playa Del Carmen with flights and transfers for 2500. If you're interested in Mexico, Royal Cancun, some of the Palace Resorts, Secrets Capri, Excellence Riviera Cancun, Riu Palace Las Americas, Valentin Imperial Maya should fit in your budget, espeically if they are having sales. I think Sandals Inn or Sandals Ochos Rios in Jamaica falls in that budget too. tripadvisor.com was my best friend when I was researching. travelocity.com has a feature where you can search vacation packages with flights for a certain area. They had really good prices and it was easy to compare one resort's price to another that way. Also, think about talking to a travel agent. They have so much knowledge and (most) are free to use. They can at least point you in the right direction. Whoa that got long. Sorry.

sgstraub

We stayed at Barcelo Maya a few years ago and it was an amazing trip! There's 4 price levels there, Beach, Tropical, Colonial, and something else... we were in the third level. The food was great, grounds were beautiful, and the rooms were very nice.Have you thought about a Caribbean cruise? A seven-night cruise would fall within your budget. We went on a cruise two years ago and it was so much fun -- we like to stay busy on vacations, so if you'd rather just stay in your room (completely understandable for honeymoon) cruise probably isn't the way to go. Good luck!

RockThisB!tch

We went to Excellence Playa Mujeres this past May - it was an AMAZING deal and they're still having a great sale.We booked everything through Expedia and got an awesome deal.  I posted a full review in my "happy life" bio (link in siggy).  Tripadvisor.com is great for more reviews, too.

KendraS8199

You stayed at the Barcelo? We are going there in June and staying at the Barcelo Colonial. No complaints about it? A question for you. My fiance is worried about this. Are you able to order any single kind of drink you want? The all inclusive plan says all domestic drinks included. My fiance seems to think that is just tequila..I know..but if you could let me know! Thanks:) Also what excursions did you do?

RockThisB!tch

Oh, and it's just outside Cancun - very secluded but without being too far away from the city.

sgstraub

Kendra,I have absolutely no complaints, it was the best vacation I've gone on. We were greeted with a yummy frozen tropical drink when we arrived, the room was super clean, the beach is HUGE, the specialty restaurants were really good (particularly the Spanish one), and the regular dining room had amazing peking duck! Domestic isn't just tequila, I had rum drinks also. I think "domestic" means they use brands of tequila, rum, vodka, beer, etc that are made in Mexico. So you won't really notice a difference with the hard liquor, but you'll have to stick with Corona and Dos Equis (XX) for beer.For excursions we went on the Xel-Ha/Tulum combo trip. If we had more money, we would've swam with the dolphins at Xel-Ha, but it was still very fun and nice to leave the resort. We also went jetskiing (which was $50 for half an hour).My one recommendation is to make your reservations for your specialty restaurants and excursions as soon as you get there! Our trip included two dinners at the specialty restaurants but since we waited too long the others were all booked up and we had to eat at the Steak House which was not very good :-/Have fun!