Honeymoon Help, Please

Stacie1224

Hello Everyone,

I had an amazing wedding this September, but my husband and I decided to put off the honeymoon for a bit.  We are looking to go the weeks of Christmas and New Year's which I know will drive up the price, but it makes the most sense since DH is off work anyway.  I really have no idea where I want to go.  Our price is about $6000 total, but I was hoping to spend less.  Other details:  We want to get out of the U.S., but we don't want to go to Europe.  We want to go somewhere warm with a beach.  Although, it would be nice to relax on the beach, I'm not sure I could do it for days on end, so I would like other activites besides water-based snorkeling and such; some sort of culture would be nice.  We can do all-inclusive, but it's not mandatory and easy travel off the resort would be nice.  We do enjoy going out to the bar and sometimes dancing, but we're not huge partiers.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-Stacie

dalm0m

How about a cruise?

KatWAG

How about Belize? You could take a day trip to Guatamala and go see Tikal.

alithebride

i agree with san juan/old san juan and a cruise.
there are other options as well though-and you might be able to get a great last minute price. costa rica, mexico, st kitts, barbados, curacao, belize, panama.
lots to do in each place plus some beach time.

Stacie1224

Hi Ladies,

Thanks so much for the suggestions.  San Juan has really piqued my curiosity and I'm going to do some more research.  I have a question though- something I read said that it is often a stop on cruises; does that mean it is overrun with people certain days and times? 

Unfortunately, DH is not interested in a cruise and I'm not sure that it would be the ideal for me at this point either, but it's a great idea to keep in mind for the future.

Also, can anyone tell me anything about the Grand Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Nassau in the Bahams, Costa Rica, St Kitts, Barbados, Curacao, Belize, and Riveria Maya in Mexico?  Might any of those fit?  I love travel, but I've usually planned US, Canadian, or European trips before, so I'm a little out of my league here.  I really have no clue how to distinguish between all of these places.

Thanks again for the great advice,
-Stacie

WVgalinNYC

We always go away in January and our travel agent has always recommended to go further south during that time because of the weather. Bermuda would prob be pretty chilly and the Bahamas might be iffy as well. Hope that helps.

ljsquintz

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-help-please-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:ac50bd7f-76d9-4b5b-9126-9aea2d483b2ePost:8069acb6-ee02-4138-8e09-3bc30a2aa6e1">Re: Honeymoon Help, Please</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>San Juan in Puerto Rico might fit the bill.</strong> The beaches are really gorgeous, the city has an interesting history and culture, and there are lots of restaurants and nightlife. I am really into hiking and birding, so we did a hike in El Yunque and I did a private bird tour. I would go again.
Posted by Liatris2010[/QUOTE]
This is exactly what I was going to suggest when I read OP's post!  Puerto Rico is a great mix of culture, beautiful beaches, fabulous snorkeling, rainforest, restuarants and nightlife.  You can stay in or near San Juan and then travel (I think to Fajardo) for snorkeling and the rainforest is right near there too.

hoffse

We were planning on going to costa rica and then our budget fell through a couple weeks ago.  Costa rica looks incredible - check out the arenal region with the volcano.  Tons of activities to do, or you can just chill at the resort if you want.  Even though we aren't going for our honeymoon, it is on our bucket list and we will be going at some point (probably for an anniversary) when our budget isn't so tight with wedding stuff.

We booked (yesterday - eek!) our honeymoon to jamaica.  Prices are very good, and we narrowed it down to the couples' resort chain and sandals.  We ultimately chose sandals whitehouse because we got a great deal, but couples looks great also.  We settled on Jamaica because I'm like you - I love the beach but can't do it for days upon days on end.  Jamaica has the excursions that interest us and some watersports that are included, which usually aren't at other AIs in various parts of the caribbean.... live diving, for instance.  There is enough to give us an activity (even if it's a small one) to do each day, and then I won't get bored.  When all is said and done, I'm expecting that we'll walk out the door having paid around $4500, and I'm including our excursions and spa treatments in that.  There are a couple activities we are eyeing which we will book if our budget loosens a bit between now and then but our current plan will still give us a great vacation regardless.  Our absolute top budget was $6000 also, but with some things that came up a couple weeks ago we decided we'd really love to keep it closer to $5000 if at all possible, and bonus points if we could get the vacation we wanted under that.

If you have ever wanted to go to a sandals resort, now is the time to do it - we were able to afford it because they are running black friday deals through tuesday.  I'm not sure if the holidays are blackout dates for those deals, but you might want to investigate.

dtbluv

I went to PR with friends Dec 26-Jan 4 two years ago, and had a lot of fun.  A warning, NYE there is more a family holiday, the resorts have parties but the bars in San Juan are all shut down.  I'd suggest going to Vieques a few days for beach/snorkelling/relaxing (they have phosphorescent bays!  So cool!), El Yunque one day for hiking, and San Juan for culture-y, city stuff.

iluvmytxrgr

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_honeymoon-help-please-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:ac50bd7f-76d9-4b5b-9126-9aea2d483b2ePost:6f2998c2-33e7-430b-8fd2-bf1c11479266">Re: Honeymoon Help, Please</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Honeymoon Help, Please : This makes me think a cruise might not be for you. CMGr is a fan, I am not. I love boats and spent a lot of time on them growing up, but on a cruise I felt like we were spending more time going to do things than actually doing them. I need to be able to do a fair bit of exploring on vacation, and on the ship I mostly explored the bar. It was the most relaxing vacation I ever took, but that's because we didn't really do much for three days. If you get bored quickly, I would recommend something else. Not trying to be contrary CMGr, I like you, just giving another perspective.
Posted by Liatris2010[/QUOTE]<div>I get bored very easily but I actually love cruising.  There are constantly things to do when on board.  I like that I can visit several different places and only unpack once.  

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Stacie1224

Hello Ladies,

Thanks again for all of your help.  After much research, it looks like we're going with your suggestion of San Juan.    When I read the descriptions, it sounded perfect and I fell in love with the idea.  None of the other islands have been able to compare.

Now for the fun part- Any suggestions on where to stay and what to do?  Also any thoughts for New Year's Eve if you're familiar with the area?

Thanks again,
-Stacie

km1204

Have you considered the DR? Depending on where you are flying from it can be super affordable. We stayed at an all-inclusive called Lifestyles. Had an awsome vacation. Great because it had quiet areas as well as bars and clubs. We even went waterfalling. This is the site we went through. They were great.
http://www.lifestyleholidaysvacation.com/
Tell them Kathleen sent you. They should remember us since our trip was not that long ago. Good luck!