honeymoon question

travhannah

quick question for you all... FI and I are getting married march 20th, leaving the 22nd for our honeymoon to hawaii. i was thinking we should have booked at the 8 month mark- just what i had heard, but FI insisted we wait.... what do you all think? when would be the best time to book? when would the prices be the lowest? we have never done a big vacation like this before, so i'm not really sure what would be best. thanks for your help=)

mocha beans

My MOH used to work for Orbitz, she said Tuesdays are some times cheaper to buy on, and flying on days that aren't a weekend or Monday or Friday are cheaper to fly too.  I find cheapest flights with NorthWest, probably because MSP is the hub.

A-D

We booked in May for our November honeymoon. Two weeks ago the travel agent called - the company we went with no longer offered flights to Jamaica on the days we wanted, so our options were to cancel or to fly out on Friday the 13th. Neither of those options worked, so I encouraged her to give us another option - where we could still go during our vacation time off work (and not f*ck around with schedules even more). We ended up at a better resort (the one I originally wanted), on a better airline, for a better price (4 months later). I'd say wait - but I understand why you want to book.

travhannah

ok, thanks. i am surprised that monday is not a cheap day to travel... what about how many months in advance to book?

mmm_080809

When DH went into a travel agent's office 9 months before our wedding, they acted like we were way behind on booking our honeymoon and we needed to do it ASAP. We didn't end up actually booking ours until 4 months before we left and we got 2 nights free at our resort as part of a "last minute" discount. IMO, it kind of depends on how set you are on where you want to stay. If your mind's made up on a certain hotel or resort it might make sense to go ahead and book now. But if you're open to a few different options, you might be better off checking prices for awhile and searching for the best deal.

travhannah

A-D: that is terrible! im glad it all worked out for you!

mrsLesGrossman

It depends on where you are traveling to.  Where do you want to go?  You'll find prices dropping in late September and October, promos for next year. 

travhannah

mmm- that is awesome! im surprised that 4 months is considered last minute, good to know=) where did you guys stay? (location wise, not hotel wise=)

mmm_080809

We went to Costa Rica

mocha beans

We're doing a DW in Hawaii, so the honeymoon will be there too.  We're staying at an estate on the North Shore, but we'll make a few trips to Waikiki I'm sure.  The girls on the Hawaii board are really helpful with local hotels and things to do and all that jazz.

mrsLesGrossman

If you mention the area you are planning, I can give you specific and solid info.  We travel a lot and I know seasonal info. 

travhannah

thank you! we are planning maui, dont really know a specific area since we have never been there. what would you recommend?

mrsLesGrossman

Give me a few minutes.  I am going to pull some things for you.  Maui is great, with a lot of options.  You'll find hit or miss with very honeymoon oriented places, when it comes to pricing. 

travhannah

ok, i will wait! thank you so much

mrsLesGrossman

I checked Lahaina quicky because we stayed there before.  We rented from Hale Mahina Beach Resort because they have a kitchen and we like to make our own breakfast.  I saw a few honeymooners there but it isn't the place for it.  I like Lahaina because there are a lot of hotels, competition.  Start looking like I said, end of September.  I checked Spring Break, the holidays are a little later this year so you are lucky.  Check hotels in Lahaina, especially the Ritz Carlton, they sent me an email for free additional nights.  You can talk to them on the phone and they'll help you as much as possible. 

travhannah

thank you! i will look into that=)

futuremrsdawes

We booked our honeymoon through expedia about 3 mths ago and they have already changed our flights on us about 8 times - it's very annoying.  I wish we would have waited - not to mention I think prices have went down