Has anyone bought a Groupon Getaway?

holliglow

I am considering buying a Groupon Getaway beacuse we don't really have a lot of money for a honeymoon but see it as our one chance to go on a nice vacation outside of the country. I browse through them and think some of the deals could work for us, depending on the date we must use it by. Has anyone ever bought one for regular vacation or honeymoon? Worth it, and no gimmicks or hidden fees?

Xstatic3333

I bought one for a twoday Bahamas cruise. Though I wouldn't necessarily recommend the cruise, I was happy with the voucher and the deal we got. Nothing was hidden or sneaky, but read the fine print...it will tell you if you still owe taxes, what the blackout dates are, and all that. I would definitely buy through Groupon again. Happy bargain hunting!

monkeysip

Travelzoo has some great stuff too!  I'd sign up for both of those and just wait for your perfect deal!

dazyabbey

I know some ladies on here have used Groupon Getaways but I have not heard of someone using them for a honeymoon. Personally I hear there are a lot of black out dates and other things that could get in the way.

Like a PP said, I would go with TravelZoo. They have amazing deals year round and always post their 'Top 20'. You can also get really good last minute deals through there as well.

And last but not least, let us know your budget and your wish list and we can try and help you. Some of the ladies on here have done amazing honeymoon for small budgets and we can usually help you with what destinations and requirements fall within your budget.

RWolff

I used one for a vacation last October and we were generally happy. Keep in mind that resorts and such usually offer Groupons to boost their numbers, and they might not be the best or most luxurious places. We went with the mentality of warm weather, included food, lots of drinks at the swimup bar, and relaxing will be enough. If we had expected lots of extras and pampering, I think we would have ben disappointed.

dem068

I used a Groupon Getaway for a trip to Costa Rica and it was great!  I would caution though that some things looks like great deals (will tell you that it worth 2x what you are paying for it), but make sure you do your research and that is true.  I often look on hotels.com or agoda.com and prices for the same hotels are equal to groupon getaway prices or less.  Plus then there aren't blackout dates, etc.  I think the best deals are often ones that have other things included that generally would not be in just a hotel reservation (dinner for two, tours, airport transfers, etc).  Just make sure it is somewhere you really want to go, and you are not just buying it because it seems like a good deal

Cryssteen

I bought a groupon getaway for my honeymoon - which is booked for June/July.  My advise is to contact the seller about dates before you buy it.  With the getaways, you can't return it once you've opened the voucher.  So, just be careful. The place I bought for was really responsive in email and worked with me to schedule my trip. 

jemmini6

If you are interested in a particular Groupon vacation, they have a forum section on the deal's page where a representative from the resort offering the voucher will answer questions.  The date range is usually posted on the Groupon, but you can ask the representative if the specific dates you have in mind are still available.  You can also ask if there are any resort fees or taxes not included in the Groupon price, if it's not already noted in the fine print.

To answer your question though, yes, my H and I have used the Groupon Getaway deals twice.  The first was a general voucher from a company that has resorts in several locations and they set up a website particularly for the Groupon vouchers that we could book a specific resort through, which we used last year to go to Kauai.  We also purchased a more standard Groupon (where we used the forums to ask about dates to try to coordinate cheaper flights with the resort availability) to go to Roatan, Honduras.  We were pleased with both our experiences and found everything to be pretty straightforward.  In fact, many of the people we encountered at the resort in Roatan were there using their Groupon voucher too.

They can be a great deal if you are flexible with your travel dates, but might be a little difficult for a HM if you want to go specific days.  It can still be done, but just takes a little more coordination between you and the resort offering the deal.

MoonlightSilver

I have not; however, there was a Groupon deal for the resort we took our honeymoon at. The price of the Groupon was actually higher than the price for the resort on CheapCaribbean.com.

holliglow

Thank you all - so helpful! We don't have a specific place in mind, just thought a good deal could guide us. But, I will definately do my research and will not buy anything until I feel confident about it. Checking out TravelZoo, thank you!!

mvance3

I bought a cruise through them for our honeymoon...haven't gone yet, but so far, so good.  The only fees I paid in addition to the cost of the groupon were the gratuity that I chose to prepay and taxes...all of which were clearly stated in the groupon.  If you find one you are interested in, check out the 'ask a question' section because a lot of people ask about fees and they always answer.

FutureMrsCrystalBrown

My husband and I used a Groupon for a mini-honeymoon until we go for the actual honeymoon in the spring. It was for a stay at a villa around Mt. Hood, OR. I would suggest doing your homework before you purchase. We were supposed to get 6 complimentary wine tastings with the groupon...it was a voucher and it limited us to two places a day. The limitation wasn't a problem with us but in our research before we purchased, we noticed that almost all the wineries were closed for tastings. We ended up finding a few tasting rooms that were open in downtown Hood River but if people hadn't done their research and only went for the wine - they would have been disappointment. We went for the snow, so we didn't really care. Other than that, the villa was nothing short of spectacular but I'm sure that's not the case for every deal on Groupon.