Relaxing honeymoon suggestions

TheLordsCanary

Hi all!

We are on an ideal budget of about $2000-3000 and would like a relaxing honeymoon where we don't have to do a ton of planning or major sightseeing. Because of this, we are trying to stay away from big, sights-heavy cities (London, Rome, Paris, etc.).

We are very interested in doing something all-inclusive, becuse then we don't really have to plan much. We would like to be somewhere kind of outdoorsy with adventure-type things to do (kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, etc.), and we don't mind if it doesn't have a beach as long as there's a nice pool. Our wedding is in August so we know it'll probably be hot most everywhere. An example of one place we are looking at:

http://www.travaasa.com/austin/#/travaasa-austin-overview

I know that's kind of specific, but any suggestions?

dazyabbey

Doing a quick search leaving on August 5th (Monday) and coming back on August 11th (Sunday) for a 6 night stay in that location would be over $2500 for the resort alone (Thats the All Inclusive price, not just the room). That doesn't include airfare to get there or any spending money. The reviews on Trip Advisor look decent but it doesn't seem to include a lot of the adventure you are looking for.

So to compare I did a quick search down in Mexico (Riviera Maya/Cancun) and found with Airfare and an extra night (7 nights). Depart: August 05th, 2013 , Returning: August 12th, 2013 it would only be about $1050 per person minimum and that includes airfare and the All Inclusive Resort. And those prices are probably going to drop within the next few months because airfare is usually pretty high this far ahead of time. You would have plenty of extra money to explore the area and visit a few places like eco-parks and XCaret or Xplor. You would also have enough left over to get a passport too! Mexico is very affordable. And even if you didn't want to do anything extra off of the resort they usually have a ton of things going on in the resort like tournaments, games, lessons, catamarans and non-motorized water sport/things. Also those resorts almost always include alcohol too where as the first resort you mentioned Alcohol was seperate.


Is there a reason you want to stay in the US? Or do you even want to stay in the US?
Your budget is a bit tight but if you stay in the US or if you go down into the Caribbean it would be decent. Getting to somewhere in Europe would be practically impossible for only 2-3k as most of the time airfare would eat that up.

The nice thing about All Inclusives is you can be as lazy or active as you want. If you want to have a lazy day you can, if you want to go see a lot of things you can do that too. It is all up to you!

TheLordsCanary

The cost is most of the reason that we wanted to stay in the US, and because we didn't want to go anywhere where we would feel like we should be sightseeing. And yeah, that resort was a little pricier than what we are looking for but I thought it'd give a good example.

ljsquintz

Look into P*nta Cana, Dominican Republic.  Their all-inclusive resorts should be in that range for a 1-week stay.  The beaches are beautiful and it's a very relaxing place.

dazyabbey

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_relaxing-honeymoon-suggestions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:d8dd896e-b30c-439b-baf1-7997d4e5ec70Post:fd9d9029-5b54-4e87-8d88-5e01437faa46">Re: Relaxing honeymoon suggestions</a>:
[QUOTE]The cost is most of the reason that we wanted to stay in the US, and because we didn't want to go anywhere where we would feel like we should be sightseeing.
Posted by TheLordsCanary[/QUOTE]

The cost of an All Inclusive in the United States is substantially higher usually then elsewhere. So if cost is the reason you are staying in the US then I would throw that out the window. You can almost always vacation cheaper in the Caribbean then in the US. Also the US only has a few All Inclusives and they are all very expensive.

That is the nice thing about AI's in the Caribbean, you don't feel the need to go sight seeing if you don't want to. There are things you can see but it isn't like going to Paris where you think "I might not ever get to come here agian so I have to see that Mayan Ruin".

What specifically are you looking for and are there other reasons you want to stay in the US? What types of activities were you looking to do? And is there anywhere specific in the US you have always wanted to go?

TheLordsCanary

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_relaxing-honeymoon-suggestions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:11Discussion:d8dd896e-b30c-439b-baf1-7997d4e5ec70Post:72435dbf-d0f6-4c3d-a4aa-af79f831d5ae">Re: Relaxing honeymoon suggestions</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Relaxing honeymoon suggestions : The cost of an All Inclusive in the United States is substantially higher usually then elsewhere. So if cost is the reason you are staying in the US then I would throw that out the window. You can almost always vacation cheaper in the Caribbean then in the US. Also the US only has a few All Inclusives and they are all very expensive. That is the nice thing about AI's in the Caribbean, you don't feel the need to go sight seeing if you don't want to. There are things you can see but it isn't like going to Paris where you think "I might not ever get to come here agian so I have to see that Mayan Ruin". What specifically are you looking for and are there other reasons you want to stay in the US? What types of activities were you looking to do? And is there anywhere specific in the US you have always wanted to go?
Posted by dazyabbey[/QUOTE]

Consider the idea tossed! I would've expected the states to be cheaper but it seems that's not the case. And you hit the reason exactly that we don't want to do any Paris-type place. Right now we are leaning towards somewhere in the Caribbean, maybe Mexico. I speak some Spanish, but I don't think that will be much of a factor at a place like we are looking for.

We are looking to do maybe some surfing/windsurfing, hiking, kayaking, archery, horseback riding...any combo of the above.

Thanks for all the suggestions! :)

girlinchicago

Another vote for Mexico!  The DR or Jamaica might also be good options.  

We just returned from the Excellence Playa Mujeres and it could be a great match for you.  Gorgeous rooms, nice beach, great pool, excellent service, and very good food/drinks for an all-inclusive.  It's also Adults-Only.  Plenty to do during the day if you want and included in your price- kayaks, hobie cats, beach/pool volleyball, archery, bike riding, cooking demonstrations.  They have live music and dancing nightly at the outdoor bar, nine different restaurants to choose from.  You could also pay to go over to Isla Mujeres and rent a golf cart and drive around and explore.  

Or you can do little at all!  I was perfectly content to read in my beach chair, sipping mojitos for a week!  

We have also really enjoyed the Royal in Cancun but overall, Excellence Playa Mujeres is a better value as the price tends to be lower than the Royal.  Either one is great!  

dazyabbey

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_relaxing-honeymoon-suggestions?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:d8dd896e-b30c-439b-baf1-7997d4e5ec70Post:89f65971-16ab-4a0d-a971-27f65037b52e">Re: Relaxing honeymoon suggestions</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: Relaxing honeymoon suggestions : Consider the idea tossed! I would've expected the states to be cheaper but it seems that's not the case. And you hit the reason exactly that we don't want to do any Paris-type place. Right now we are leaning towards somewhere in the Caribbean, maybe Mexico. I speak some Spanish, but I don't think that will be much of a factor at a place like we are looking for. We are looking to do maybe some surfing/windsurfing, hiking, kayaking, archery, horseback riding...any combo of the above. Thanks for all the suggestions! :)
Posted by TheLordsCanary[/QUOTE]

You can do all of that in the Riviera Maya region of Mexico. It is gorgeous and very affordable. If you book during a sale or far enough ahead of time you should be able to get a great deal in your budget! Plus the nice thing is that it is very cheap to get souveneirs and other add ons. Always negotiate everything. Never pay full price. We went Kayaking and a little bit of hiking, we swam in a cenote and through an underground river/cave. Not sure if they have archrey but I am sure you could ride a horse on a beach and we did parasailing as well. There is so much to do and it is all much more affordable then other places in the world. Then if you feel like being a little more of a tourist one day you can go to Tulum or Chichen Itza. Or one of the many ecological parks like XPlor, Xel-Ha and XCaret. (My favorite was Xel-Ha). Those are all a bit touristy but very adventurous and fun.

Check out AllInclusiveOutlet.com for pricing or talk to a local travel agent. The only thing I don't like about Travel Agents is they tend to push you towards the resorts they have the best kick back from. But we took our resort and pricing to the travel agent and they were able to match the price and give us a few extras. We stayed at the RIU Palace Riviera Maya which is a 5 minute walk away from 5th Avenue in Playa Del Carmen. It was a great resort although it is not Adults Only (we stayed during the school year and only saw 2 kids the entire week we were there). It was gorgeous and it seems that almost all resorts are amazing compared to trips in the United States. You really do get treated like royalty. And it is awesome to be able to order room service and snack and drink all day without having to worry about paying anything extra. Worry free was one of the huge benefits to me.

If you have any other questions let me know. Good luck!