*updated 12/26* The great honeymoon debate...

tcnoble

So I posted another time about a honeymoon with a heavy emphasis on great food. Well, after further discussion the criteria have changed slightly.

FH wants good food and excursions. He has never done a beach vacation and really doesn't want a honeymoon where there's nothing to do but lay out for a week. Me? I'm totally fine with doing nothing but laying on a beach. So FH wants food and things to do, I want a great beach. We don't need a location where there's something to do every hour of every day, but one where he can feel active enough and not super restless. And the food should be good, but I know we can't expect 5 star with our budget.

Some details that effect things... We will fly out of Las Vegas so factoring that in to flights. Europe is not an option as that's a trip we want more than a week to do. Mexico is off the table, so is Hawaii unless there's some really convincing hotel recommendations. Adults only is a must, all inclusive is okay. Looking to stay around 5k, if that's even possible without all inclusive. 6 nights. His parents COULD end up pitching in but I prefer to plan as if we are paying for it all ourselves.

I have been leaning towards the Iberostar Grand in Punta Cana but having been to PC before am not sure about the availability of great excursions... So looking for other locations too.

(I haven't said it yet but I absolutely LOVE this forum and am finding it so useful as we forge ahead in planning. You are all awesome!!)

abrewer5

I absolutely loved Punta Cana, I stayed at Ocean Blue Beach and Golf Resort. We only did one excursion while we were there, but it was a really fun one! It was a half day excursion and we went snorkling, swimming with sting rays and nursing sharks, massages, and kyaking. I know others at the resort did a lot more. If you go thru Apple you can book the excursions right thru them, or even just check out their website to find out what is available. I know there are a ton of others as well that aren't booked thru the travel group.  

As far as price goes, you should be able to find a very nice all inclusive in that price range, our trip was $1300/person and we only spent about $300 on tips, our excursion and random gifts. For a total of about $2900 for two of us. This wasn't our honeymoon just a family trip, I would probably upgrade the room for the honeymoon.

tcnoble

I'm very happy to hear that you had good experiences regarding excursions in Punta Cana!! Makes my choice look like it could work

KatWAG

Belize!

AprilH81

We are going to Punta Cana and I'm looking into doing 2-3 off resort excursions.  There is zip lining, snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, caves to explore and if you are up for a long day there are trips to Samana for waterfalls and whale watching (seasonal availability).

The only one I'm going to pre-book will be the whale watching everything else we are going to play by ear.  When my sister got married she said that they slept through the first few days of their honeymoon (a cruise over New Year's Eve) because they were so tired and they felt like they were wasting money.  I'm allowing us to take it easy for a day or two and then we can book excursions if we feel like it or lay on the beach if we would rather do that.

delujm0

Belize or Costa Rica could work...alternatively, have you considered a caribbean cruise?  that would give you a chance to see several different places and would offer daily excursions based on the ports that the ship visits - there would also be beach options as well as non-beach options for the excursions so you could have a good mix. 

 

I remember having good food options in Cabo San Lucas, as well as cultural and nature based excurions, but it's been 10 years since I was there, so I can't really offer anything specific.  The Mayan Riviera might also be a good place to look into (lots of AI's there).

tcnoble

I have been looking online and Punta Cana seems more minimal in regards to excursions... there are several but seem to generally do the same thing. BUT it is more affordable and the resort has great reviews.

I have also looked in to St.Lucia and it looks promising, albeit a little more expensive. Any insight on the Sandals resorts in St. Lucia?

@delujm0 We aren't interested in a cruise, I have seen Titanic one too many times haha! I have been to Mexico many times so looking to expand my traveling resume for the honeymoon

delujm0

@tcnoble I'm going to Sandals La Toc in St. Lucia in mid-December for a wedding...we're planning to also "resort hop" to the Grande for a day...if you still have specific questions about St. Lucia in late December, shoot me a message and I'll let you know how it went. :-)

[Deleted User]

We've been twice to the Grande. Reviews and pics in link above my siggy pic.

CamiSelene

I've been to St. Lucia before and would definitely recommend it @tcnoble. I stayed at a small adults only all-inclusive called the Rendezvous. All-in-all I think we spent 5k total and that was after excursions. I would love to go back and see the Pitons again!!!

CamiSelene

For my FH and I, we'll be going to Punta Cana (Excellence resort) because it is a place he and I both haven't been and our budget was about 3-4k so it fit right in!

climbingsingle

I've been to a few Sandals resorts in the Caribbean and the food, honestly, is just OK. In fact, most of the island resorts I've been to, I was underwhelmed by the food. 

tcnoble

@climbingbrideny Thank you for the insight on Sandals - I had been leaning away from them and that's all the confirmation I needed!

@Camiselene - I have done Punta Cana before on a family vaca and it is truly a beautiful location. I'm sure you and your FH will love it!! St. Lucia is high on my list but our budget seems to be shrinking

Since we live in Vegas we are now thinking of just doing a quick 4 night trip down to Cabo (it's an easy flight and cheap for us) after the wedding, and saving up to do a "big" trip to Thailand or Greece... we are getting a new puppy this coming summer and also a house so LOTS of expenses, and it seems like it is more and more common to postpone a honeymoon, so we will see what happens!

Miclan88

I am a beach person like yourself, but I still think there were plenty of activities in Punta Cana. We stayed at the Occidental Grand Punta Cana. Its not adult only, but they all seemed to offer the same things. When I was there we took advantage of the free water activities like kayaking and catamaraning. We also went scuba diving, parasailing, and horseback riding on the beach. The resort also had a volleyball court so we played that as well. They have nightly shows and a club right outside. the club was a little sketchy though, so just be aware.

As far as food goes, the regular dining hall buffets were not good. I pretty much ate mangos (which were AMAZING) for every meal. BUT the restaurants and the taco place they have were all delicious! so if you go make sure you make reservations right when you arrive so they don't book up. Plus drinks are included, and pretty good, which is nice.

We also met a lot of people there which made things fun.

 

With all that said, I know you said you didn't want Hawaii, but my husband and I went to the big island for our hm and had a blast. There are TONS of activities to choose from. Airfare shouldn't be awful since you are already on the west coast. We stayed a little outside kona at the Holua resort at mauna loa village. I can't speak for the prices since we stayed in his parents time share, but it was a nice quiet little resort. Again, it wasn't adult only, but during our 10 day stay we felt like we were the youngest people there at 25 & 27. From what everyone says we thought it would be a lot more expensive, but we found it to be pretty reasonable. And you have a lot of food options too.

robinwinegirl

Couples in Jamaica is awesome! EVERYTHING is included and the food is amazing. We went for $4000 including airfare.

Peace Love Cupcakes

Robinwinegirl- Which couples did you go to? We're considering Jamaica. 

tcnoble

***bumping this back up with a few changes*** We will be honeymooning the first week of April 2015, so we want to avoid big spring break locations. FH wants good food and excursions. He has never done a beach vacation and really doesn't want a honeymoon where there's nothing to do but lay out for a week. Me? I'm totally fine with doing nothing but laying on a beach. So FH wants food and things to do, I want a great beach. We don't need a location where there's something to do every hour of every day, but one where he can feel active enough and not super restless. And the food should be good, but I know we can't expect 5 star with our budget. Some details that effect things... Europe has been ruled out as that's a trip we want more than a week to do, and we are using my spring break time off (I'm a teacher) so only have 6-7 days. Mexico is off the table, I've been countless times, same with Hawaii. Bora Bora has been discussed but we decided that's a trip we want to save for a bugger budget. Adults only is a must, all inclusive is okay. Looking to stay around 5-6k. Currently in the running - Galley Bay Antigua, Cap Jaluca Anguilla (high end of the budget), And Grand Cayman. We looked at Belize but I read a lot of reviews where bugs were a big concern. I have also read many reviews on Sandals resorts and we haven't been impressed. Never been interested in Costa Rica, or Jamaica, but could be swayed on Jamaica because I have heard the beaches are amazing. Thanks in advance for any insight/advice!!

CMGragain

Have you thought about a Caribbean cruise?  The food is good and plentiful on cruise ships like Royal Caribbean or Princess.  The ship usually travels at night while you are sleeping.  Each morning you wake up at a new island.  Plenty of beaches for you and plenty of excursions for him.  Lots of variety.  The cruises can be very economical, too, since your cruise fare covers your room, food and on board entertainment.  You pay extra for tips (a must!), excursions, and alcohol.  I am a cruise addict, and will be going on another cruise (Hawaii) soon.  My daughter chose an Alaska cruise for her honeymoon, and they both loved it!
You should talk to a travel agent about this if you are interested.  They can get you the best deals, and they have great advice about choosing ships.

tcnoble

We have friends who just returned from a cruise and loved it too. However we are really hoping to find adults only for the honeymoon and I don't believe there are cruises with that option?? I also admittedly worry about being sea sick! And I've watched titanic too many times lol

pinkcow13

tcnoble - I would suggest 2 places that I think will work for you both. Cabarete in the Dominican Republic has something for both. It is a small beach town located next to Puerto Plata. The water is gorgeous, so you can lay out all day, and it is one of the top kite surfing locations. Your FI can take up kite surfing from certified instructors, while you lay on the beach. There are also a lot of beach side restaurants/bars so the nightlife is fun. And you can go kite surfing, scuba diving, etc nearby as well. 

The second location is Costa Rica. Arenal is located right by all the volcanoes, and there is a lot to do - zip lining, waterfall rappelling, hike up a volcano, amongst other things. At night you can cool off in some natural hot springs, or at the hotel pools which are typically very nice. I am not sure if it is beachy, but you can spend a few days there, and then travel to the coast. I would suggest Guanacaste, which is all beach, and you can spend those last few days laying out, so you both get what you want

tcnoble

@delujm0 I would love to hear about your experience in st lucia!!

delujm0

@tcnoble it was really fun!  I didn't like the travel there (i'm a little spoiled in that i can usually get direct flights anywhere, but we were going at a off-season time of year so the direct flights were only available once a week and we had to connect).  Sandals was nice because when you got to the airport you went to their lounge and they put you on a shuttle to the hotel.  The hotels are all about an hour from the airport.

 

I really liked the restaurants at La Toc - i think they were better than the Grande (i was only there 4 days so i didn't make it to Halcyon, but some friends went there for dinner one night and liked it).  But i liked the beach at the Grande much better.  The water was too rough at La Toc, and all of the water sports were only available at the Grande, so if you wanted to do any of that you had to go there anyway.  You could snorkle from La Toc - they put you on a bus to get to the boat for that activity anywa (that was fun).

 

I didn't have the time to go off-resort other than for snorkeling, but a few friends took a boat tour over by the Pitons and loved it.  Some other people we knew went on an ATV tour and also loved that.  You can book tours at the hotel.  They're usually $100-150/person.

 

The wedding was really well done, so that was nice.  I only saw two kinds of rooms at La Toc - the regular cheap one (which we had, and which was more than sufficient) and one of the butler suites (which was where the bride and groom stayed).  The room was nice, but the butler suites and several of the other suites at La Toc are up on top of a hill that is a strenuous walk or a van ride to get to the main pool and restaurant area.