Honeymoon Discussions

Honeymoon for $1,000 and under?

Soooo like most people, my FI and i are working with a pretty strict budget for our honeymoon.  We want to take a big trip to Europe later on, but we will be going through so much transition (moving, graduation from med school, new jobs/school, etc.) at the time of our wedding that we're thinking now that we should say in the US and do something kind of low key but still fun and exciting for like 4-5 nights...maybe California?  Maybe FL keys? Any suggestions of where to go, or general tips?  Thanks in advance!!

Re: Honeymoon for $1,000 and under?

  • BTW....we are getting married on May 1 of next year (so we'd like to take a trip right after), and we love to be active (not necessarily the kind of people that veg on the beach all day and drink all day...NOT that that's a bad thing, we can certainly do that when needed!!)
  • If I had a $1k for my HM, I'd stay closer to home in order to make the most of it (rather than having to pay for airfare, etc.).  But I have seen some pretty good deals lately, especially to places like Vegas.  If you sign up for travelzoo.com's email newsletter, they'll send you their top 20 travel deals every week which might help you out. 
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  • The flights for California alone will probably be at least $300 per person unless you can book it when the airlines have their specials(some times JetBlue has the $99 each way deal). FL might be a better option for you. FI and I were in Key West this past summer(one of the stops for our Bahamas cruise) and we loved it!
  • I would try to avoid airfare if you can - that will eat up half of your budget; even cheap flights to FL w/ be about $200 pp after taxes. You're in VA? We went out to the Shenandoah mountains for our HM. Stayed in a hotel and went canoeing/hiking/Luray Caverns. It was only about a 2 hour drive for us, and it was nice not to worry about messing with airports. If you want beaches, Ocean City and the Outer Banks of NC are both within driving distance. Another option is to catch a cruise out of Baltimore. There are several lines that sail out of the port - Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises. If you or FI are retired or active military, make sure to ask for a military discount. I know Carnival has excellent military rates. GL!
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  • What about Myrtle Beach, SC? It won't be super warm in May, but it should still be nice. When we went we stayed in North Myrtle beach; we had a two bedroom, two bathroom ocean front condo that was $1,300 for seven nights, so looking for one room for maybe two less nights it would be under $1,000 and it's certainly within driving distance. We went out to the beach every morning and were out and about every afternoon and night. There's tons of stuff to do in the Myrtle Beach area.
  • You could drive up to NYC and do some sightseeing, or go to the Jersey Shore. There are also cruises that leave out of NYC and New Jersey. In NY State there are a lot of nice wineries. Cape May has some cute B&Bs. Washington and Baltimore are fun places go walk around in and do sightseeing.
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  • Not for my honeymoon but I've travelled to Dominican quite a few times at 4-5 plus hotels for less that 1000.00.(Can funds) You have to keep checking out websites and you will be surprised what you can find. The last trip I made was to a 5 1/2 star resort for 900, including taxes (did not like the place) but that is my opinion.I check out EXIT.CA alot...........keep looking.
  • I would keep checking for deals on travel sites and maybe talk with a TA and see what they could put together for you. If you're interested in Mexico or the Caribbean there are a ton of AI's that would fall within your budget. You said you guys aren't necessarily "sit on the beach all day" people, but there's a lot more to do than just sit on the beach at a lot of the resorts. FI and I went to Cancun last January for $998 for 5 nights + airfare at a 4 star resort. I would check out AI's in Mexico, Dominican, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. You should be able to stay within your budget on those islands. If you guys decide to cut out the airfare costs, as pp mentioned some great ideas would be Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, or taking a cruise out of Richmond, VA or New Jersey or NYC. HTH! :0)
  • What about Charleston or Savannah? From VA, you can probably drive or get a cheap flight, and they both will have warm weather, nearby beaches, and plenty of things to do. The Keys are awesome, but I don't think you can get a room for less than 150/night. Nicer places would be closer to 200. With a flight, your whole budget would be totally gone.
  • thanks for all the great feedback!we were both raised on the coasts of NC and VA, so i think the beach scene might be out since it's not very new to us.  we've been to charleston together 4-5 times, so i don't think we'd want to honeymoon there although we obviously LOVE the city!  we've been to NYC and also new orleans which were both great.  so, we've seen a lot domestically.i think we might investigate going on a cruise??  it's something we've never done before, and that's kind of what we're looking for in a trip.  i have been reseraching over the past few days, and i really think we can do it for 1200 or under, without going on too many pricey excursions.  we don't mind road-tripping down to ft. lauderdale or miami..actually sounds kinda fun (and we can stop in charleston or savannah on the way!)any thoughts on cruising for a honeymoon??
  • I think you will love a cruise!  Everything is included other then drinks.  Also it is something new everyday.  However if you do excursions and they are not part of the cruise, they can be a little shady.  I would recommend an inside room to save money because you will hardly spend any time in there.  Hope that helps.  Good luck!
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  • FYI - if you go on a "closed loop" cruise (one that starts and ends in the same port), you don't need a passport. A Driver's license and a birth certificate is still ok - that'll save you $200 if you don't already have passports. The cruises that leave out of Baltimore vary between 5, 7, and 9 day cruises. Most go to Bermuda or the Bahamas. Food, and lodging is covered in the cost, as well as ship-board entertainment. Shore excursions, if you choose to do them, are extra, as is alcohol on the ship. (two expenses that can add up if you don't budget for them). I've cruised 2x before and love it, because I'm the type of person that stresses about everything on a vacation - where will we stay, what will we do, where will we eat... it's all taken care of on a cruise :)
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  • Hi! My FI and I are doing the same thing as you- we're taking a small trip right after the wedding in July and taking a longer trip to Italy in September when the prices come down after tourist season. We live in Ohio and there is a hilly, wooded region of the state filled with cabins. That's where we're going for our small honeymoon. It will be rather cheap because we only have to pay for the cabin rental and the food to make while we're there (since it has a kitchen). There's plenty to do such as hiking and canoeing, if we want to go out ;-) Is there anything like that near you? I've never been on a cruise. Good Luck with that if that's what you choose to do!
  • What about west Virginia? My Fi and I are looking at the Buckley/ New River Gorge area. We are looking at more outdoorsy/ adventurous and this area offers whitewater rafting, ATV tours, rock climbing and Zip lining. Not sure what your looking for other than "not beach" but this is our current not beach plan.
  • My FI and I are planning a bed and breakfast at Cape May, NJ for 5 nights. (Coming to about $1,200 not including food and gas).
  • If you are getting married 5/1/10  and plan on going to the Fl keys, be sure to go right away.  June 1st is the start of Hurricane season. Even if there are no major storms, the Keys are usually affected by tropical storms etc. "Native Floridian"    
  • I live in western NY, which is where our wedding is going to be. However, my fiance lives in western NC, so a lot of people from his area won't be able to come to the wedding, so we are having a second reception there a week after our wedding. Then we are coming back to WNY for my sister's HS grad the next weekend. So our honeymoon will be traveling through WNY/western PA/WV/western VA/western NC. Sounds pretty boring but there are lots of beautiful places in between here and there and we are looking forward to it...I feel like as long as you get to be alone together and do things you enjoy, it doesn't really matter where you go. :-)
  • I don't know if you could go somewhere for a whole week,  but my fiance and I went to San Francisco for four days and four nights for my birthday and we spent about $700.  The key is to fly out of a hub airport and really search travelocity for deals on tickets and hotels.  I also highly recommend staying in a hotel with a continental breakfast as food there is relatively expensive.  You can also look on coupon websites to help out with those expenses also.  We loved San Francisco and would recommend it to anyone.  If you decide you would rather go to the Keys, you may want to look into a cruise, although it may be a little more than a thousand, but meals would be included.   You can do it!
  • I vote for the cruise. They are budget friendly as long as you are careful and you could easily find a 4 day one for well under 1000. The things that will eat your money are airfares and booze. With a cruise you are usually allowed to bring one bottle each (depending which line) so that can save you a ton. Also, just skip the extras and enjoy yourselves. Either that or go to a bed and breakfast and just enjoy a nice small town.
  • I am all for cruising! Like someone else said, everything exlcuding alcohol is included. They are so much fun! I just got back from a mother daughter cruise with my mom and sister and we had a blast! There is always something to do on the boat whether it's a pool party on the lido deck or trivia in the lounge, there is something for everyone and every lifestyle. I've cruised on both Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Carnival was my favorite because there was a little bit yonger crowd and IMO, the food was much better. Something to consider, especially on your first cruise, it's better to stay in the middle of the ship, and the higher up the better, if you're worried about moton sickness. There is another great board you can check out for some great cruising info www.cruisecritic.com Lots of great cruise information!
  • we are going on a road trip, since we live in Southern California we will be going up north to San Fran, Napa, Lake Tahoe. You should see what cool places you have around you and take advantage of them.
  • Becca, I think going on a cruise is an excellent idea for a honeymoon, and definitely do-able on your budget. I grew up in Florida and I've been on many, many cruises and I can't say enough great things about them. For the past several cruises, I have used vacationstogo.com and I've found that they've saved me a whole lot of money so you should definitely check them out!
  • Let me tell you, i live in Florida and i've only been to the Keys once. But i think it would be a great honeymoon! The thing is, you have to go to Key West. Not just any key. In my opinion it's the best, and has the most to do. Downtown next to Duval St. there are plenty of cute little bed and breakfasts/hotels, and if you're not into that there are a few pretty large resorts as well. I see you are going at the beginning of May and that's when i went. It was def. warm and we had a great time snorkeling/swimming/shopping, etc. Did i mention the food down there is awesome? Anyway, good luck to you! :)
  • wow...y'all are the best!! i think we're more beachy folks.... we've gone to school and have lived in the mountainy areas of VA for a while, so we want a change in scenery for our trip, although this area is certainly beautiful (especially this time of year!) and i feel lucky to live here. the cruise idea is looking great so far, and hopefully we'll get a little chunk of cash from the wedding and we can use some of that for excursions. we're not huge drinkers so i don't anticipate that eating up too much $$, but the excursions do sound fun. we had originally wanted to go to Europe, but I think that might be an anniversary trip or maybe a 5-yr anniversary trip... :-) this is very do-able! thanks for all of the tips and advice. we really appreciate it!
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