late august/early september honeymoon destinations?

MKM2014

I am newly engaged and planning a wedding for August 23rd, 2014. We chose that date because the engagement length seemed long enough to plan and save comfortably, because it is a beautiful time of year where we live, and because it is the weekend before labor day weekend (bonus honeymoon day that doesn't come out of your vacation bank!) 

FH wants to honeymoon in Hawaii, which seems like a beautiful destination and it seems the weather is fairly consistent there so no worries about a hurricane season or very bad weather. The only problem is that Hawaii will be a very expensive vacation, and I'm kind of a type a person who needs a backup plan! You never know what expenses might pop up to make the trip more difficult to afford. We would like to go someplace tropical with the possibility of deep sea fishing (passion of FH's) or someplace romantic with history, like a European destination.

Im sure we arent the only ones with this dilemma! /What are you august/september honeymooners doing? 

dalm0m

I'm assuming Hawaii is the top of the budget so as a back up plan you may want to look at:

Florida, Southern California, or a cruise. 

MKM2014

Yep, we are guessing Hawaii will be $6,000-$7,000 (from where we are the flights alone are coming out to $2,000, and deep sea fishing in Hawaii is $600-$700 etc. it adds up quick). We are thinking 10 nights 2 islands.

So yeah I would like a "just in case" option that would be more like $5,000 or less, for at least 7 nights. I think Florida that time of year would be too hot for us. But Southern California might be an option, I've never been out west except to San Francisco.

Jells2dot0

Airfare for your dates are not out yet, so it's really hard to compare. You may be able to find air for $800-$900pp, though. Also, it sounds like your budget might include activities or food and activities. So, that would drop your budget even more for rooms to like $3000. That would be super tough

Jells2dot0

Ugh my post cut off. I'm on my phone I was saying it would be super tough for 10 nights. I recommend checking out Cabo or turks and caicos. Yes, it's hurricane season, but rates are good and insurance covers any hiccups. These places are known for fishing as well.

MKM2014

I figured $5k wouldn't get us far in Europe bummer!

When I searched for flight and hotel packages in Italy for the same time this year, they actually came out lower than packages in Hawaii! But August is one of the worst times to go... apparently everyone leaves for a 2 week holiday in August and a bunch of things close and the weather is very very hot. 

We did look at Alaskan cruises. We are both interested in the area, and it looks like many of them leave from Seattle so I don't think the airfare would be too expensive. I'd definitely like to hear more about the experiences of other people who have been there, we don't personally know anyone who has. 

Jells2dot0

Yeah, august is not a great time to be in europe, especially italy. I HMed in Australia in late August and if you could get a good airfare deal to Brisbane or Cairns and then hop to an outer island, the fishing there is supposed to be great. We did not fish while we were there, but saw a ton of charters go out.

JMalettas

 We're getting married this August, and were also looking for a somewhat budget friendly honeymoon for similar reasons as yours. (Wasn't really sure when we started the planning process how much the wedding was going to cost for sure, cost of anything unexpected etc). So we wanted to stay within a price point that we were comfortable with. Our travel agent recommended Costa Rica & Aruba as 2 all inclusive tropical destinations that were nice for honeymoons, as well as in 'safe zones' during Aug/Sept hurricane season. We went with Costa Rica as it offered more of the excursions we wanted, the resort chain we like etc. Not to mention it was the least expensive of the two! I would recommend either of these for you to look in to, as they both look beautiful & fall in a lower $$ category. I still would recommend travel insurance whether where ever you choose is at risk for hurricanes or not though. Good luck!

 *J

alithebride

HI's hurricane season goes through mid-october.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hawaii_hurricanes

io would not rec Italy in August. It's just too hot and many places are closed for vacation. If you wait until mid-september you will go during a great time of year. it's the shoulder season, prices are less, less tourists etc... i've been 2x during then and it's great.

 

 

TravelingJen

I will also throw out another recommendation for Costa Rica and anywhere else in Central America (Belize, Panama, etc).