Hawaii or the Caribbean in November!

KBlovesBG · January 2014

I am looking for any suggestions you may have...FI and I are contemplating our honeymoon in November in either Hawaii or somewhere in the Caribbean. Thanks!

OliveOilsMom · January 2014

I have read that November is a very "affordable" month to go to Hawaii. I haven't been to the Caribbean, but have been to Hawaii a few times and I absolutely love it! H's first trip to Hawaii was for our honeymoon and he didn't want to return! Currently, our plan is to retire to Hawaii, although with the polar vortex hovering over us, it is sounding very appealing now!

My favorite islands are Kauai and Maui. We stayed in Princeville, Kauai for our honeymoon and I stayed previously in Lahaina on Maui. We also went to Oahu to see Pearl Harbor, H is a history buff, but it is the most populated island and just too much hustle and bustle after flying all that way!

delujm0 · January 2014

I'm not completely sure, but i believe that at least the beginning of November is still hurricane season for the Caribbean...so keep that in mind.

I've been to both, and if you can swing the extra money and vacation time, do Hawaii. Try to hit at least two islands; they're all different. We did Kauai and Oahu last time. WOuld love to go back to the Big Island and hike the volcano national park some day. FI would return to Kauai in a heartbeat.

If you decide to go Caribbean, we just got back from St. Lucia, and FI kept saying that the landscape there reminded him of Kauai. :-)

KBlovesBG · January 2014

OliveOilsMom Since you have experience on different islands, what is your view on costs per each island? I hear that many of the islands are a bit expensive for meals. What do you think? Thanks.

jzarco · January 2014

Hello!! Im planning to go for my honeymoon in jun, which itinerary would you recommend? and where should we stay? are there all-inclusive hotels?

CMGragain · January 2014

I just returned from Hawaii. Cost of everything is very high, since most food is imported. There is nothing budget friendly about Hawaii, and there are no all-inclusives. The McDonalds dollar menu is the dollar-fifty menu on Hawaii.
Cruise ships are a cost efficient way to see Hawaii, but the only one that operates a one week schedule is Norwegian.

OliveOilsMom · January 2014

CMG is right, all of the islands are expensive. There really is no "cheaper" island. The best way to save money if you go with Hawaii is to go stay somewhere that has a kitchen. Then you can cook some meals in. We have a timeshare and always eat breakfast in before we leave for the day. Also, the area you stay in will effect cost. For example, in Princeville the cost of gas and groceries was higher than when you were in the more central area of Kapaa. My H is lactose intolerant so the cost to purchase a half gallon of lactose free milk was $5, when in NJ the same container would cost around $3.50.

tcnoble · January 2014

@delujm0 where did you stay in st lucia??

mlg78 · January 2014

Would you consider a cruise? It tends to be a bit less expensive unless you're a huge drinker. You can add on an alcohol package which increases the price but can still make it worthwhile, if that's important to you. We did the Southern Caribbean in October for our honeymoon and went to 5 ports. This November we're doing the Western Caribbean with 3 ports. I think it was $1,600 last year and $1,325 this year for both of us (plus air and other expenses, of course)...

delujm0 · January 2014

We stayed at Sandas La Toc- we were there for a wedding. We visited the other Sandals properties while we were there - if we went again, and wanted to do te all-inclusive thing, i think we would have chosen Sandals Grande, it had a better beach set up. Though I do think I liked the restaurant selection better at La Toc, as long as you stay at one of teh Sandals you can take the shuttle to any of the other ones and eat at any of their restaurants as well.

When we were booking the vacation, we considered spending half of it at a non-AI and the other half at the Sandals for the wedding, and there were a lot of really beautiful resorts on the island; some on the beach and some in the mountains. We would have loved to stay at one of those, but we wound up only having enough time for 4 nighs so we just stuck to Sandals. You can find a lot of stuff on Trip Advisor if you want to not go the Sandals route.

KBlovesBG · January 2014

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think we are leaning towards the Caribbean, because I feel if we go to Hawaii there will be a lot I want to see and I would like more of a relaxed vacation after all of the wedding stuff. We are considering the Dominican Republic, any suggestions on this? FI's parents offered us to use their timeshare and there are a lot of AI resorts in the DR!

kla728 · January 2014

I know you said you're focusing on the Caribbean now, but I forgot to post this before. We did the Pride of America cruise around Hawaii in July last year (when we got engaged!) and it was really great. I remember talking to a few couples who were honeymooning, and they actually did a week of seeing the islands and then did the cruise so that they had a balance of sightseeing and relaxing. Not sure how much vacation time you will be able to use, but it seemed like a great way to do it all! You might be able to pick one island to spend your first few days on, and then use the cruise as a way to see all of the others. Another poster just asked about this cruise in particular if you're interested -- http://forums.theknot.com/discussion/comment/7099426/#Comment_7099426.

Hawaii or the Caribbean in November!

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