beach honeymoon during hurricane season

sarahroslansky

So my fiance and I really had our hearts set on a relaxed honeymoon someplace beachy and caribbean (like somewhere you can sit on a beach and drink a fancy cocktail but then maybe go on day trips some days). Unfortunately, we're getting married in early October and most of the places we were considering would be in danger of getting hit by a hurricane then. Hawaii is the other option a lot of people have suggested but I'm worried it would be a little too crowded/touristy/cliche. Thoughts? Ideas?

TheVirginians

You can head more south, below the hurricane belt, to Aruba, for example. There are a couple more islands in that group, as well. The hurricane season ends October 31, so the later you fo, the less chance of bad weather.

Dreamergirl8812

I'm in the same predicament. My wedding is October 24th 2013. This year Jamaica was being by a hurricane about that time. But I booked my honeymoon for the 25th and got traveler's insurance. It's cheaper and less crowded during "hurricane season." So we're just going for it and if we have to postpone it then we will.

Jells2dot0

FYI- Hawaii has a hurricane season, too, and it's at the same time of year. They don't get storms very often, but it does happen. Also, FWIW, this past hurricane season was pretty tame. Obviously, Sandy caused quite a bit of damage (my family was severly impacted, so I'm not trying to take it lightly), but that was one of two major storms this past year. Would you skip somewhere you want to go because a storm might hit? I see you live in Cali- you have the risk of having an earthquake at any given point in time, yet you still live there. Maybe you pay more for insurance because of it, and you can do the same for your trip. I would just purchase a trip insurance plan and go to the Caribbean. If for some reason your trip is impacted, you will be able to reschedule without any additional money out of pocket.

ljsquintz

I think you're ok to book the Caribbean during hurricane season, I've done it numerous times.  However, for your honeymoon I can't stress enough how much I would recommend the travel insurance.  I'm speaking from personal experience.  We were booked to fly to Turks and Caicos the day after Hurricane Sandy and we couldn't get out of NYC for a week.  We didn't have insurance and I was freaking out. Thankfully the hotel was understanding and they let us shift our dates and JetBlue was doing free date changes.  But that was an unprecented storm so everyone was more understanding and flexible than usual. 
Not all AIs are touristy, cliche and crowded as one PP said, especially during hurricane season when it's slower for them.  Just do plenty of research - I find TripAdvisor to be the best source for reviews.

darlingc

I posted almost this exact same question last year when we were deciding where to go. We really wanted to go somewhere "beach-y" but didn't want the long day of travel to hawaii/aruba/etc. We decided to go to Jamaica and bought travel insurance.

I was worried at first because I wanted to go on my honeymoon right away after the wedding, and I wouldn't be able to change the dates I took off of work. We decided as a back-up plan that in the event of a hurricane we would would go somewhere on a beach within driving distance and spend the week there and take our big honeymoon in Jamaica 6 mos later. Once we had a back-up plan I was able to stop worrying.

Well we ended up being in Jamaica for Sandy! We got there 1.5 days before the storm hit. Everyoen there said they hadn't had a storm like this in 5 years or more, so it's not a common occurence there. We had 2 days of bad weather and the rest of the trip was amazing, with perfect weather. It would have been worse if we couldn't get there because of the storm, but again, the airport was only shut down for a day or two.

Don't change your plans because of the possibility of a hurricane!! We were so worried about it for nothing. Not only are the chances of a big storm low, but we had a hurricane and everything was totally fine (and we got a voucher for another free stay because of it!)

alithebride

hawaii's hurricane season ends oct 15.
that being said-if you want to avoid even the chance of one go after dec 1. if not then make your plans, be sure that you know the hotels and airlines procedure if they cancel for hurricane, get yourself trip insurance and dont worry about it.

hz80408

I've been to Riveria Maya twice in October and had gorgeous sunny weather for both trips.
My brother was married Oct 4 201# at Iberostar in RM and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Bad weather can happen anywhere, anyday.  Just get trip insurance that covers inclement weather.

alithebride

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_beach-honeymoon-during-hurricane-season?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:5b16bdaa-d7ea-4b8c-ad26-b9c535fa13fcPost:d08ffd38-8ba5-4680-84b8-5086df24104d">Re: beach honeymoon during hurricane season</a>:
[QUOTE]You can head more south, below the hurricane belt, to Aruba, for example. There are a couple more islands in that group, as well. The hurricane season ends October 31, so the later you fo, the less chance of bad weather.
Posted by va4ryans[/QUOTE]

the caribbean season ends november 30, not oct 31.

cbatt

My wedding is also early October 2013, and we had the same fear- especially because my mom is a travel agent so she had a hard time letting us consider hurricane-prone areas. 

We pondered about Hawaii, but for us, getting there is a 12+ hour flight and so we thought, why not go the other way?? We are heading to Spain! The flights are comprable to going to Hawaii and we will be safe from hurricanes! Just something you could consider!

sarahroslansky

Thanks everyone! We've decided to go caribbean and just get trip insurance. Hopefully everything will be fine!