Short Honeymoon Ideas??

juliachih

Hello! My fiancee and I are getting married in mid may. We're going to thailand in November for our honeymoon,  but we want to take a mini honeymoon right after the wedding since we're so tired from all the planning!
We want to take a short 4-5 day vacation, but we don't know where.

We're looking for a romantic, relaxing spa get away, and we enjoy hiking and outdoor activities. No vegas, no florida. We're in chicago, so due to the limited time, we don't want to travel too far.

Any ideas?
Thank you!!

LaFemmeRousse

Hi, I'm in Chicago too   We are also delaying our big honeymoon by about six months and taking a local minimoon right after the wedding. 

Around Chicago... Door County, WI; Mackinac Island, MI; Starved Rock State Park for hiking and stay at a nearby B and B; there are a couple of spas in the Wisconsin Dells.

A plane ride away: New England might be getting too far but it has a lot of activities that you would like- especially Newport, RI; Burlington, VT; or the Berkshires in western Mass.  Denver is only about two hours away and will be beautiful in May.  Nashville/Gatlinburg, TN would be good too.

Sue-n-Kevin

The prior poster's suggestions are great ones. If you've never been to Mackinac Island, it's just lovely! It will probably still be cold in mid May, but since there are no cars there, you can only walk around!

The drive from Chicago, around Lake Michigan, up to Mackinac will take you through some very cute little towns. Personally, I like a driving vacation, because it's relaxing for my fiance and me, and we get to talk a lot. Up along the west coast of Michigan there is Saugatuck, which is like a New England town with artsy stores, Holland, the tulip festival is early May, but it's still lovely there afterward. There's Traverse CIty, Petoskey, lots of cute towns. If you wanted to stop somewhere and stay on the way, then continue up the next day, you could find a great B&B, resort, or inn in any of those towns. The entire drive would be about 12 hrs if you take the lake route, and taking I-75 back, to I-94 would be about 8 hrs.

The prior poster's recommendations about places to fly would be also good, shorter trips, not "beachy". I loved Nashville, and I'm not even a big country music fan. I lived in Massachusetts for 6 years and have gone back often since then. Lots of B&B, spas, mountainous areas all over New England.

California & Arizona are only about a 4 hr flight from Chicago. Both have outdoor activities, and nicer weather than the midwest in May.

Good luck.

JessLovesTravel

Have you thought about Mexico for your mini honeymoon? I would definitely look into it. I would especially check out Secrets Resorts, in particular Secrets Silversands. Secrets Silversands is an adult’s only all inclusive resort located in the Riviera Maya. The resort has an extremely modern feel and an absolutely amazing spa right on site. They also have numerous activities ranging from kayaking and windsurfing to cocktail making classes. I honestly think a trip to Secrets would create the perfect mix of romance and fun! Congratulations!