Tell me about your honeymoon!

dazyabbey

I haven't seen a post like this in a while and I was wondering about everyones honeymoons.

1. Where did you go? How long? 
2. What is/was your budget?
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)?
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?
6. Where do you want to go next?




For me!
1. Where did you go? We went to London and Paris. 5 nights in each place. That was the perfect amount of time!

2. What is/was your budget? Our budget was around 6k.

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? We ended up spending around $4400 on Airfare and Hotels and probably about 2kish on spending money.

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? My favorite part of our trip was London. Everyone was so friendly and not over the top pushy. It was great to just wander around and see buildings that were so old and unique and finding out about history.

5. What was something you didn't realize/know about where you went? I kept expecting the prices to be ridiculous. Like spend $20 on a cheeseburger type prices. They were higher but in London they weren't to ridiculous. But then when we went to Paris there was sticker shock. The same hoodie I could have got in London for $25 was like $45. And I shopped around. Food wasn't terrible but anything else you wanted to do or buy was just so expensive. Also all of the tourist attractions especially in Paris were ridiculously crowded. Like good luck getting through anyone and you are packed in.


6. Where do you want to go next? Lots of places! But our next big trip will probably be to Tokyo. I want to go there in 2014.


We had an amazing time and I really do want to go back one day. But there are lots of other places I want to go to first!

Summer2011Bride

1. Where did you go? How long?  Oahu, HI for 9 days
2. What is/was your budget? We kept it around $8000
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? I think airfare and hotel was around $6000 (oceanfront room--we flew first class but FIL let us use his miles so we didn't have to pay for it)
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? Driving up to the North shore was wonderful, floating in the infinity pool drinking Pina Coladas was also wonderful
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?  I always do a ton of research before trips, so I wasn't really "surprised" by anything there. It was just even more beautiful in person than in pictures.
6. Where do you want to go next? We just did our California trip that I had always wanted to take. Just bought a house, so no big trips for awhile, but our next "big" trip will either be return to Hawaii (Maui and Kauai) or Italy.

Maggie0829

1. Where did you go? How long? 
Key West and Miami Beach (5 days in Key West/2 days in Miami)

2. What is/was your budget?
$3500

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)?
Eek, I can't remember.  But airfare was pretty inexpensive.

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?
We loved Key West (we wish we would have just stayed there instead of spending 2 days in Miami)!  Our favorite part was the snorkeling/dolphin watch tour.  We saw about 20 dolphins (with a few baby ones in the mix).  They were adorable and jumping all around.

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?
We didn't realize that roosters roamed free around the square.

6. Where do you want to go next?
A lot of places...England and Ireland, Hawaii, St Lucia, Italy, Bora Bora, etc.

jemmini6

1. Where did you go? How long? Cabo San Lucas/San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico for a week

2. What is/was your budget? We didn't really set a specific budget.  We knew we didn't want to spend a ton, but as far as food/activities, we didn't really limit ourselves.

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? Hotel was part of a 'trial' timeshare, so my best guess at the actual cost was maybe about $1K for the week, which is a lot less than that hotel normally costs.  Airfare was about $1200 for both of us.  Then we probably spent another several hundred on food & activities.

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?  I really loved the hotel, it was amazing, just laying out by the pool was great.  We got massages on the beach that were fantastic.  It was definitely what I pictured for a "honeymoon" hotel.

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going? We did our research before we went, so we weren't really surprised by anything.  The only thing I could say I was 'surprised' by was how good everyone's English was, I went to school with people who were less fluent.

6. Where do you want to go next?  Well, we're going to Roatan in a few weeks.  Then we are starting to plan our trip to Europe next summer.  We may or may not go to Hawaii again next year as well.

AdeleDazeem

1. Where did you go? How long? Bermuda.  We married there so we were there ten days total, but only five of those were honeymoon days.

2. What is/was your budget? Um, high.  We stayed somewhere eye-wateringly expensive.

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)?  We don't really think that way about any vacation.  We've planned lots of trips - not just a honeymoon.  We buy plane tickets several months in advance with monthly spending money, then plan a hotel + spending money around what we have to spend the month we go.

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? The views. The relaxation!

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? What an odd mixture of Britian and America Bermuda really is.

6. Where do you want to go next? We did Bermuda for the wedding last year, we did Puerto Rico for a friend's wedding this year.  We're hoping to move to London within this coming year.  We're big on traveling.

Katred08

1. Where did you go? How long? Haven't gone yet, but we're headed to Cabo for 5 nights, then flying to LA and driving to Palm Springs for 2 nights and then finishing off in Vegas for 3 nights.
2. What is/was your budget? When all is said and done, we'll probably have spent about $8000-$9000
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? We used miles for all flights, so just a few hundred there on taxes for the Mexico flights.  Biggest budget buster is the Cabo hotel (Capella Pedregal--OMG)
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? Personal infinity plung pool in Cabo, relaxing, swim-up bar.  Then looking forward to road tripping out to Vegas.  We love road trips, and Vegas!
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?  Vegas was a priority, but so was beach/relaxation, so we wanted to go somewhere west (vs. Caribbean--we live in CT), so we could easily incorporate Vegas into the trip.  FI nixed Thailand, and most Fiji resorts don't have televisions (ridiculous, I know, but we don't have cable at home and love to watch TV on vacation!), so we ended up with Cabo. 
6. Where do you want to go next? Everywhere!  We have a tentative trip to Bermuda planned for this time next year for mine and my best friend's 30th birthdays.  I'm thinking a 1st anniversary trip to Europe (probably Netherlands and Paris), or Antigua (two very different trips, I know!)

hz80408

Nice post Abbey; great idea!

1. Where did you go? How long? Secrets Maroma Beach, 8days/7 nights in October 2010

2. What is/was your budget? We didn't really set a specific budget. We knew we wanted a tropical AI and direct flight.  H actually paid for all of the HM and set the cap at $6K

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? We spend a little of $4K for 7 nights which included travel insurance.  We actually got back $500 after booking bc the rates dropped and part of our insurance covered price reduction refunds.  The only spending money we had was $220 we spent on Xplor excursions

4. What was your favorite part about where you went?  It was our first "real" trip together (and first time flying together).  I enjoyed truly relaxing and forcing myself to do nothing but enjoy the bliss of being married.

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? There only thing I was slightly surprised by is that girls who heels to dinner; lol. 

6. Where do you want to go next? We did our first major trip to Europe in Spring and then surprisingly decided to book a trip to Ireland for this fall.  In 2013 we're going to do only continental trips to save up our money and vacation.  We're going to do a big 2-week Italy trip in 2014.

ElleB87

1. Where did you go? How long?
We spent 2 weeks in Ireland - 8 days in Galway, 2 days in Cong, 3 days in Dublin
We got married during our stay in Cong at Ashford Castly

2. What is/was your budget?
Including the whole trip, airfare, the wedding, rings, etc we spent just under 15K (canadian)

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)?
I can't remember the full breakdown. I think we spent about 6K (canadian) on the wedding day itself and related expenses and 8Kish (canadian) on airfare, accomodations, sightseeing, food, souvenirs, etc for the "honeymoon" part of the trip

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?
Getting married :P The castle really was breath taking. We also did Falconry the day before the wedding (at the castle) for my birthday and that was amazing. I birds of prey

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?
How good the food would be. I know potatoes sound as dry as toast but Irish Stew is one of my new favourite foods. I also didn't realize it would rain so much in one place

6. Where do you want to go next?
H and I are going to Namibia and South Africa next summer for 4ish weeks

acaponi87

I love hearing about everyone's HMs!

1. Where did you go? How long?
We went to Antigua and stayed at Cocos Hotel for 8 days, 7 nights.

2. What is/was your budget?
We were aiming for around $5000.

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)?
Right around $5000, maybe a hundred or 2 over. Hotel was around $2800 (all-inclusive), flights we got screwed on a little and were about $1800. And then we had excurions, outside drinks/food, taxis etc.

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?
The water/view at our hotel was GORGEOUS. We went on a circum-nav tour on a speedboat that I loved. I also loved swimming at night with H under the stars and seeing shooting stars.

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?
While it is a British island and everyone speaks English the locals version of English is almost unrecognizable. Also there were a ton of Italians at our hotel, we were 1 of like 3 American couples there like all week.  I didn't realize it was such a popular vactation spot for Europeans..it was cool.

6. Where do you want to go next?
As far as "big trips" go we are talking about going to St. Lucia as an anniversary trip next summer. We also want to go out West this winter for a ski trip.

dazyabbey

I love reading all of these posts! I love hearing about where people went but hearing about trips in the future is great!

One thing that surprised me in Mexico was the fact that everyone was so friendly. I expected people on the resorts and at excursions to be like that but the random people we met and ran into were so friendly and they spoke english so well.

Also one thing that was surprising in Paris is that it isn't as romantic glamorous as I was expecting. It is pretty dirty and dingy.

My husband likes to travel but not nearly as much as I do. I always am planning our next trip or next years trips. I keep telling him that I want to go to South America (Costa Rica or Peru or something like that) next year and he keeps telling me to calm down. If we want to do Tokyo in 2014 we might just stay stateside next year and save money up to make the trip better. But right now we are going to Washington DC in October and Las Vegas in April. Neither of which we have been. And I want to go on a Safari for our 5 year anniversary too. And Italy at some point too. Too many places to go, not enough vacation time or funds. :-)

fallbride1109

1. Where did you go? How long? Maui, 8 nights.
2. What is/was your budget?  $10k
3. What did you spend? $7K
How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? 
I can't remember but we did splurge on extras like a couple's massage, excursions, food, etc.  I want to say $5k for hotel and air and $2K for the rest.
4. What was your favorite part about where you went?
It was always my dream to go to Hawaii.  I loved the beaches.
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? 
It is almost 100% honeymooners or people celebrating a big anniversary. 
6. Where do you want to go next?
The next big trip we have planned is back to Maui for our 5-year in 2014.

[Deleted User]

1. Where did you go? How long?  Sandals Antigua for 7 nights
2. What is/was your budget? Just under $6,000
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? No idea. We didn't really spend anything while we were there. We never left the resort.
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?I loved that we never had to leave the resort and didn't have to carry any money with us. Everyone was so accomodating too. People were super nice and everything was really clean. The swim-up bar didn't hurt either.
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?  For our HM we wanted to do nothing. That was honestly our plan. We were too burnt out from the wedding and house renovations that took over the last 5 months before the wedding. Antigua was perfect for that.
6. Where do you want to go next? We are going on a cruise in November. We are really excited to do more activities this time and see all the different islands.

GoBucksOH

1. Where did you go? How long?  Secrets Maroma Beach, Riviera Maya, Mexico for 1 week.

2. What is/was your budget? $5,000

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? I dont really remember how it broke down, but I think we just barely went over budget, like maybe $5,200.

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? I truly loved everything about the resort. Amazing beach, excellent food, lots of restaurants to choose from, ROOM SERVICE INCLUDED!, beautiful resort, great service, can you tell I loved it?

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?  We wanted to visit Playa del Carmen while we were there. So on our 2nd day, we took a taxi into town. It was so busy, crowded, hustle and bustle, in your face sales, we were sooo ready to go back to the resort! We didnt go outside the resort after that!

6. Where do you want to go next? We are going to Cabo in October for 7 days. I have never been on the west coast of Mexico so I am looking forward to it!

hz80408

Abbey- Ha! We are pretty much on the same page! Our list is Italy and a safari before kids; in the meantime it's saving up for it!

Katred- Paris and Amsterdam is a perfect trip; it's a 3 hour train ride.  We did it in April and loved it! (check out my blog if you're interested)

[Deleted User]

1. Where did you go? How long?
The Florida Keys - Islamorada 2 days, Key Largo 1 day, Key West 3 days

2. What is/was your budget?
Hopefully under $3k!

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)?
Hotels: $850
Airfare: $950
Spending: $350 for a car for the week, plus I don't know how much dinner and activities will cost yet, but we've paid off all the above so plan on spending our wedding $ for all this fun stuff

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?
Really looking forward to parasailing, dinner sunset cruises, hopefully seeing some marine life and flying with FI for the first time.  Plus I just did the math, we haven't been on a vacation together since 2010!!  We are long over due.

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?
We actually chose where we're going because we have friends getting married there 1 month after our wedding and I didn't want to leave for the HM immediately anyway so we're making it a combo trip!

6. Where do you want to go next?
New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Las Vegas, Napa Valley, New York City -- etc., etc.!

Side Note: I am suprised reading through the comments by how long everyone's honeymoon was!  I'm worried about being gone just 6 days!  What will happen at work? What about my pet at home? Not to mention if I had to agree to pay for two nights at a cost that's approximately what we pay for our morgage in a MONTH I was going to be sick.  Travelling is awesome, but gahhh so expensive!

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

1. Where did you go? How long? - We went to Napa for 5 days.
2. What is/was your budget? - I think it was $4000.
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? - We drove there from our home (we live in SoCal), so we spent money on about 3-4 tanks of gas overall. We spent $1000 on the bed and breakfast. Our two major splurges were 1 really nice dinner ($800)and 1 private, day long limo tour ($600). The rest of the money was for meals, tasting fees and bottles of wine to take home.
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? - the awesome food, the great room with a private hot tub, and just spending time together.
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going? - Napa isn't as quiet as you might think - I think it's about 40,000 people. I kind of knew that, but the contrast with the surrounding areas can be kind of major. Not necessarily a bad thing, though.
6. Where do you want to go next? - We are going to Denver in October, we are going on an Alaskan Cruise next August, and we hope to go to Paris in spring 2014.

JordieJ

 1. Where did you go? How long?  Costa Rica.  7 days (should have been 8, but we got stuck in Miami due to snow in MN on our way down there...)
2. What is/was your budget? around 5k
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? Spent around $5500 probably...I never actually totalled everything up, but I was fine with going over budget for once!
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? Loved the rainforest in CR.  We spent a few nights out on the coast, and a few nights in the rainforest.  The rainforest was cool because it was different from just a beach resort.
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going? We LOVED costa rica.  The people were great, our resorts were awesome.  So fun.
6. Where do you want to go next? California, Oregon, Barbados, Europe....the list is endless!

MrsGandthebeag

1. Where did you go? How long? We did a mediteranean cruise out of Rome to Sicily, Athens, Turkey and Crete.  It was 7 days and then we stayed 4 nights in Rome after.

2. What is/was your budget? 10k

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? The airfare was $3k, the cruise was $5k, the other $2k was the hotel, food, and excursions in Rome.  

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?  Our favorite part of the cruise was Turkey.  We had low expectations and it was awesome.  I'd definitely go back.  Rome was amazing too.

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going? I guess that Turkey would be so cool and we'd actually get to touch the ancient ruins (unlike athens and rome).

6. Where do you want to go next? We love to travel.  We would love to go back to Sicily so we could see more of it and also check out Naples and Pompei.  We're going to Texas this month and we'll probably do another trip somewhere in the spring.  I think the Italy trip will have to wait until 2014. 

TravelingJen

1. Where did you go? How long?  We are going to St. Martin for 8 nights and then spending 3 nights in Miami at the end of March.

2. What is/was your budget? Uncertain; I assume we will spend around $5-$6k.

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? Unknown at the moment, but airfare is going to cost us about $1600 to $1700 alone.

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? The food on St. Martin; I have read that it is some of the best food in the Caribbean. I am also looking forward to the amazing house we are renting and the beautiful beaches!

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going? We were originally supposed to be going to Thailand for three weeks, but my fiance recently went back to school so we only have 11 days between his winter and spring quarter to go somewhere. St. Martin had been on my list for quite awhile and after showing my fiance pictures of the island he was sold! Additionally, we decided to stop off in Miami for a few days as it only costs a little bit more in terms of airfare and my fiance has never been but really wants to go!

6. Where do you want to go next? We already have multiple trips planned; we are going to WA DC next month for one week, then to Playa del Carmen for 10 days for our destination wedding in mid-November, then the honeymoon in March, and then we are planning on going to Croatia for two weeks next September.

Katred08

HZ--I'd love to check out your blog regarding the Amsterdam/Paris trip, but the link doesn't seem to be working for me?? Thanks!

BeachLover2885

1. Where did you go? How long?  We went to Turks and Caicos for 10 days.

2. What is/was your budget? We wanted to keep the trip under $5K

3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? We spent about $4K. We got a great deal on hotel/airfare through Expedia (about $2K for both of us) and then we spent about $2K when we there on food, drinks and activities. We didn't do an AI 

4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? The beach by far! Grace Bay is gorgeous... picture perfect turquoise water and white sand. 

5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going? We didn't realize there was a protected coral reef area on the beach. We ended up snorkeling there one day. 

6. Where do you want to go next?  We are thinking of going to Napa Valley and Yellowstone for an anniversary trip! 

dazyabbey

Love reading these! Thanks everyone and maybe this will help some people plan their honeymoons.

Santorini2011

Great post idea!

1. Where did you go?  How long?  Fiji, 23 days (well worth the long honeymoon)
2. What is/was your budget? didn't set one
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)? It ended up around $10k.  The flights were $3500 total, can't remember the other breakdowns.  We stayed at 5 resorts/hotels on 3 islands.  We also had boat transfers and car rental expenses along with excursions and food/drink.
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to? We loved how primitive most of the tri was.  We explored like crazy.  It was also nice to be cut off from the world.
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going? I really don't like Indian food and didn't realize 50% of the popultion is Indian.  This really limited my diet. I was surprised at how dirty the cities were. On a positive note, it was the best snorkeling ever.  Loved eating fresh fish all of the time.
6. Where do you want to go next? Wishlist...Safari.  Already planned is Bahamas for 1st anniversary.

jemali_2003

1. Where did you go? My husband and I went to Tahiti and Moorea.  How long? We were in Tahiti for 2 nights and Moorea for 4.   
2. What is/was your budget?  We didn't have a budget, but aren't huge spenders.  
3. What did you spend? How did it break down (Hotel/Airfare and Spending Money)?We spent a total of 4500.  Airfare was 2000, Hotel was 1900 (Huge AAA discount for an overwater bungalow at Moorea Pearl Resort), and 600 on food/transportation/excursion. We only did an island tour. 
4. What was your favorite part about where you went? If you haven't gone yet, what are you most looking forward to?My favorite part was that there was nothing to do.  We relaxed the whole time, snorkeled around our overwater bungalow, went on walks to the main town, and ate. 
5. What was something you didn't realize about where you went? Or if you haven't gone yet why did you choose where you are going?  I knew that Tahiti and Moorea are owned by France, but I did not expect it to feel like France with an island feel.  The locals were very friendly and so laid back.  
6. Where do you want to go next? I would love to take my husband to Italy since he has never been.  Since getting married we have been to London, Paris, Orlando, Maui, and Disneyland.  Staring a family is next on our list.  

hz80408

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_tell-me-about-your-honeymoon?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:aee9d10b-6a8b-457b-8f79-2777a5fae0cfPost:bcd6dc27-6f9c-4046-869f-6d120ea913e9">Re: Tell me about your honeymoon!</a>:
[QUOTE]HZ--I'd love to check out your blog regarding the Amsterdam/Paris trip, but the link doesn't seem to be working for me?? Thanks!
Posted by Katred08[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I recently had to change my blog; here are the new links:
Paris: <a href="http://shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/search/label/Paris" rel="nofollow">http://shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/search/label/Paris</a>
Amsterdam: <a href="http://shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/search/label/Amsterdam" rel="nofollow">http://shineisntalwaysshimmer.blogspot.com/search/label/Amsterdam</a>