Honeymoon Questions

sarilynnep

Ok, so we have a ton of Marriott and Delta points, so we have to stay at a Marriott and fly Delta, which really isn't a problem. It does limit our options somewhat (not many all inclusives in the Caribbean, Delta doesn't fly to some places, etc), but its almost a free honeymoon, so we aren't complaining :-)

We definitely wanted to go to the beach to relax. My FI isn't big on just beach vacations as he bores easily, however we have already done many big sightseeing trips- Paris, London, Berlin, all over Italy, San Fran, Chicago, etc. So we do want a typically beach honeymoon vacation where we can relax, but also have some fun activites.

I think the Caribbean is out, as I have been many times and I know that the Marriott resorts aren't the best all inclusives resorts. I know it's awful, but I'm a snob when it comes to Caribbean. And sincewe will go at some point since we have 2 free nights in the Domican Republic, we would both rather go somewhere else for our honeymoon. However, if any of you guys have been to a Marriott in the Caribbean, please let me know what your experience was. I still haven't ruled it out completely yet as the Caribbean is really easy to get too.

I also thought about Costa Rica, but the hotel would be hard to get to, we would have to rent a car, and while the rain forests are beautiful the beaches are a hit or miss there from what I've read.

Which leaves me at our number one choice for now- Hawaii. The resort is amazing, there are plenty of things to visit, different activities, and the beaches are beautiful. I only have two concerns- it doesn't get much warmer than 80 degrees in March/April. That is cold to me for a beach vacation. My other concern is travel time. We would have to leave at 7 am the day after our wedding (which we both veto) or leave that early the following Monday, which cuts into our vacation time.

So my FI suggested going a month after our wedding, in April. April has better weather than March in Hawaii, and we would still take a 3-4 day small mini-moon right after the wedding. April is also a better time frame for our jobs. However, I am really not sold on waiting a month for my real honeymoon.

Ok so here are my questions- Are any of you guys doing a 'mini-moon' then taking a honeymoon later? Thoughts on the 'mini-moon' in general? Any suggestions on minin-moon locations? How much time off of work are you guys taking for your honeymoon?

aaashley314

I was in Maui in March a few years ago for two weeks and everyday it was hot.  So I think you should consider that option more closely.  It was a beautiful time of year to go!  As for other options so your FI doesn't get bored, me and my FI are planning on going to Las Vegas for the few first few days of our honeymoon then fly to an all-inclusive somewhere.  He also bores easily with too much just beach time.  I hope you solve your problems!  And seriously, I would not rule out Hawaii at all, its sooooo beautiful and perfect!

cgyvhu

We're likely doing a mini-moon for 2-3 days and then waiting 2-3 months til our honeymoon.  Summer is an easier time for me to be away.  We're thinking 2-2.5 weeks for the honeymoon.

The mini-moon might be in Vegas or Disney, something in the US but fun.  And then the honeymoon will be Hawaii or abroad, I think.

sarilynnep

ashley- good to know it was warm! The island and the hotel looks amazing!

Md- Ok, I feel relieved to know I won't be the only one doing this. As you know, traveling is important to us and we want to get the most out of it. I just don't think we can go where we want and have a relaxing long vacation right after the wedding. My FI vetoed Vegas since his buddy lives out there and he has been there to see him a lot. I love Disney. I mean love it. I don't think I can convince him to do Disney though. He's not a fan lol. We were thinking along the linea of Tampa, where we would have the beach and the city. I was also looking into some winter resorts in Canada by Lake Louise (Canadian Rockies) but that may be too hard to get to for a short mini-moon.

amy727

We are waiting 3 weeks to go on our honeymoon.  We have another wedding to attend 2 weeks after so we wanted to plan around that. 

cgyvhu

sari - I really like disney too, and I took FI 2 years ago and he loved it...i'm really hoping thats where we do it.  FI told me wonderful things about lake louise.  You could also og to a ski resort if you wanted!

sarilynnep

Ok so I spent the better part of the day looking at places for my mini-moon. I found one I love! (Lake Louise was too far, booo). I would love to go to this resort in Orlando:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/mcojw-jw-marriott-orlando-grande-lakes/

It has a huge lazy rizer and lagoon pool, and the rooms and resort is beautiful! Plus its right by Universal Studios, but far away enough that its more relaxing then being right beside the parks. I might not be able to convince my FI to go to Disney, but I think he would do a day at Universal (he loves old movies- ET, Jurrassic Park, etc) so he may enjoy the rides. So we could spend a day at the spa and hotel pools, then do a day at Universal. He even mentioned going to Downtown Disney, so I might get a little Disney in there :-) 

Here is the Hawaiian resort as well:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lihhi-kauai-marriott-resort/

I love both places so I think this may be a final decision! Just need to talk to the FI :-)

SAHM711

If it helps, my DH and I said if we had to do it over again, we'd wait to take our HM.  We got married on a Sunday, and our HM package was from Monday to Monday.  We feel like we lost the whole first day sleeping since we only got 3 hours of sleep the night of the wedding (unfortunately because we had to be up at 5:00 to get to the airport rather than for fun reasons), and I was wiped from the whole week before.  We feel like if we would have waited we would have been more relaxed, and we would have been able to visit with lots of family who came in from way out of town and who we barely got to see.  Just my 2 cents.  GL with your decision!

Pirata13

We didn't take a mini-moon, and waited 3 weeks to take our HM. We got married in mid-August, our HM was Vegas and California, so we thought waiting a few weeks would A) potentially give us a *little* bit of a break as far as temperature (i.e. not as hot) and let the kids all get back to school.

H cannot tell enough people that the best thing we did was wait. We were SO relaxed when we left. I was way more relaxed the week of the wedding as well since I didn't have to worry about packing.

We had a few weeks to regroup after the wedding, get the old stuff thrown out and the new items put away, and just BREATHE a little. He has told all his friends and recommends to anyone getting married to wait a bit. Totally worth it!