Honeymoon- Florida vs. Hawaii

saraschilling88

HELP!!  My FI and I are trying to decide between these 2 locations for a September 2012 honeymoon!  The reason we are debating is because we are still young enough to enjoy the theme parks (and I've never been to Florida and want to go, he's been there and thinks I'll love it), but we both want to go to Hawaii at some point in our lives.  What we are debating is doing Florida now (while we still enjoy theme parks), and Hawaii for our 5 or 10 year anniversary (that way we may appreciate Hawaii more, and can save up money to make it an even more memorable trip)!!

If we do the Hawaii route we will do Oahu and Maui for islands (we want to see Pearl Harbor, but have heard Maui is GORGEOUS)!!

If we do Florida we are thinking the Universal Studios theme parks, but are unsure what else to do since it is also hurricane season at that time. 

Please feel free to give input on HI vs. FL and input on other attractions near Universal Studios in FL (can be non-theme park related) to help us make our decision!! 

rungirl12

Here's my two cents - if you haven't "outgrown" theme parks by now, you probably won't within the next 20 years.  Are you planning on children (soon)?  If there are children in your future 5-10 years from now it will be more difficult to take a vacation, and you likely wouldn't want to take them to Hawaii, meaning take the Hawaii trip now and save FL for a family trip down the road.  I think you might enjoy FL even more seeing your own children experience the joys of Disneyworld.

I would also consider costs - FL is likely cheaper than Hawaii, so look at where your wedding spending will put you financially speaking.  If you need something less expensive, consider FL and save up to do Hawaii in a year when you're not paying for a wedding (or a house, or a car, etc).  But, if you are ok money-wise, I'd consider again springing for Hawaii now since again, if you have children, you may not have the financial freedom to afford something like Hawaii (and or have a babysitter).

dawnp917

You are never to old for theme parks!  

September is still considered hurricaine season for Florida.

lasheffield

I agree with rungirl12.  If you can afford Hawaii now...go and save Florida for later.  Should children come into play, it's cheaper to take them to FL than HI. 

I live in FL and I've been to Orlando many times.  HI is on my lists of places to see. Go ahead and make me proud...aloha )

eseney82

The only things with Hawaii is that you need, at the very least, 10 days there.  It is basically 2 days traveling time, 1 full day there and 1 full day back.  I went while in High School for only 1 week, and I can tell you it was not nearly enough time.  When we got there it was 6pm in Hawaii, but it was already 11pm back home, so we were ready for bed, 1 day wasted there.  Then the day we left, we had to be at the airport by 4am, which was already 9 back home, and we didnt get home until after 1am.  Just something to think about.  If you are going to do Hawaii, definitely take the extra time.

cshuler

My vote is on Hawaii.

calindi

My vote is Hawaii. 

I agree that as an adult, Disney & Universal are super fun, but I've found myself saying the last few years that it would be so much more fun to bring my own (still hypothetical) children there.  It's also an easier trip you guys can plan for any old vacation - flights to Orlando are generally fairly cheap, and tickets are always the same price (give or take $5-10).  Hawaii is romantic, you'll get some relaxing time together rather than feeling exhausted from running around the parks, and it takes some time commitment and planning, something that's harder from any other vacation, especially once you have kids.

Don't let hurricane season deter you, though.  I live in Florida.  In Miami.  365 days of the year.  And in the past 3 years that I've been here, we've maybe had 5-6 days when it's been serious storms.  We haven't had one hurricane.  Sure, it can happen, but it's not very likely.  You're much more likely to have an hour or two of rain in the mid-afternoon, and then it stops and is sunny and hot and humid again.  I dare say Hawaii will be sunny and hot and humid also with the occasional rain storm.

calindi

As far as other things near Universal, there's a ton!  There are some great hotels in that area, there's Disney World (Epcot is kind of my favorite thing ever - it's like going on a round-the-world drinking and food tour in a day!), there's SeaWorld, and you're a 2 hour drive from Tampa, which has some beautiful beaches as well as Busch Gardens and this place called Aquatica, which is like a waterpark where you can swim with dolphins and stuff.

saraschilling88

Thanks for the input ladies!!  We are trying to make our final decision, although I'm kinda leaning more towards Florida right now.  I'd love to go to Hawaii, but I'm not sure our budget can handle it!  What we plan to do is decide what we would do in Florida vs. Hawaii, then figure out cost and decide from there! 

Also, to those who posted about future children and bringing them to Florida.  My FI and I talked about that possibility (children) because we do want to have them, but at the same time our parents live nearby and we are pretty sure they wouldn't mind babysitting for the time we choose to go to Hawaii (my parents flew to Utah to watch my niece while her parents went to an adult only wedding in Mexico)!!  We are taking that into consideration though, if our budgets bring us to the conclusion that we can afford either destination.

Calindi - Thank you for the reassurance about hurricane season and for the info about other things around Universal Studios!! 

Once we choose for sure, I will post to let you ladies know our decision!!