4000 budget. Young couple. Help!

FutureMrsDavis89

So, we're getting married next year Oct-4-2014. We're fairly young, early 20s. And have yet to really travel together. We have a $4000 HM budget (gifted from grandparents) and we have no clue what to do! Ideally we want flights, meals, transportation. We adore the thought of of a Tropical island. A cruise sounds awesome but I really don't want to be surrounded by children! (Yet, lol)

So, a honeymoon with a $4000 budget, directly after wedding...in October...any idea where we start??

Olivia

itzMS

FutureMrsDavis89 said:

So, we're getting married next year Oct-4-2014. We're fairly young, early 20s. And have yet to really travel together. We have a $4000 HM budget (gifted from grandparents) and we have no clue what to do! Ideally we want flights, meals, transportation. We adore the thought of of a Tropical island. A cruise sounds awesome but I really don't want to be surrounded by children! (Yet, lol) So, a honeymoon with a $4000 budget, directly after wedding...in October...any idea where we start?? Olivia

Cruises in fall don't have many kids...but on the flip side, October is also Hurricane season in the Caribbean...so you'd want to skip a cruise, anyways. We just missed a tropical storm cruising to Bermuda in September of last year, and our friends were affected by a tropical storm in Jamaica in October.

$4,000 won't get you very far in Hawaii...but it's doable. Flights alone would cost you around $1,000 apiece after fees. Cheaper if you live near the West Coast.

 

What about Aruba? It's far enough south to avoid most storms...

 

 

Maggie0829

You can still go to the tropics even during Hurricane season.  Just make sure to purchase trip insurance so that you are covered if you have to cancel due to a storm.  

With cruises, ships will adjust their routes to different areas if a storm were to be passing through a certain port.  Also with cruises if you don't want to be surrounded by kids then don't choose a Disney cruise  Cruise critic is a great website to find out more information about all the different cruise lines and cruises to choose from.  Here is an article talking about the top 10 cruise lines for couples only...http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=182

ElcaB

If you're an inexperienced traveler, I'd suggest speaking with a travel agent. They'll be able to hook you up! 

As far as cruises go, children are best avoided by picking a good time of year. Also, pay attention to the price of the cruise and whether or not they are running specials --- often times, lower prices mean more kids will be on board. (I worked for a cruise line as a daycare supervisor, and the weeks there were deep discounts we saw a huge spike in the number of children.) Don't forget, many cruise lines also have "Adult Only" areas of the ship. 

AprilH81

October is actually a pretty good time to cruise.  The costs are lower because of hurricane season (just make sure you get trip insurance!!!!) and there won't be a ton of kids because they are in school for the most part.  Just remember that drink's are not included in cruise pricing so that can be a hefty part of the bill if you aren't prepared.

The key to this route is you need to be flexible on the routing.  If you book a western itinerary you may end up with an eastern itinerary if there is a hurricane in your path. 

October will probably be low season for most of the AI's too...

Pepper6

Where are you coming from?  In Oct from the west coast, you could probably easily do Hawaii for that budget.  Not sure what flights would run from the east coast, but you'd have to look.  

Jean0715

I just started looking into honeymoon places too. (Our wedding is October 2014). I plan to meet with a travel agent after I do some of my own research. Ironically, our budget is also 4000

I have found that all inclusive places are in your budget. I have looked into Secrets Resorts and Dreams Resorts are deff within the budget. Couples and Sandals will be pretty tight. 

Airfare plays a big roll too. Where are you from? Are you close to any large airports? I have been looking at pricing online for flights in July 2014 (thats as far out as you can plan at this point) to get a general idea of what it would cost to fly. 

MoonlightSilver

It wasn't October, but we went to Valentin Imperial Maya in Rivieria Maya, Mexico for less than $4k.

pumpkinsandturkeys

We're going to book at Couples Barbados -- a lot of the Couples resorts have deals on right now for a $300 resort credit for travel through 2014, which ended up saving us about $3000! They're all-inclusive and their website deal was cheaper than any other website I've been on (Expedia, etc). You can also book flights through them. Including all meals, drinks, airport transfers, flights, taxes, and travel insurance (travelling from Toronto, Canada), it's costing us just under $4000.

hz80408

Riveria Maya, we HMed at Secrets Maroma Beach in Oct for less than your budget and loved every minute.

We had no weather issues. Buy trip insurance that covers changes due to weather and hope for the best.

kbhun85

We're getting married and HM'ing in Oct 2014 too.  To avoid hurricane season we are looking at west Mexico (Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta.  The Caribbean options to consider are Aruba, Curacao, Barbados and maybe St. Lucia which are all below the hurricane belt.  I feel you though, I found the perfect resort in DR and worry about the weather so will probably go somewhere else. 

Jells2dot0

kbhun85 said:

We're getting married and HM'ing in Oct 2014 too.  To avoid hurricane season we are looking at west Mexico (Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta.  The Caribbean options to consider are Aruba, Curacao, Barbados and maybe St. Lucia which are all below the hurricane belt.  I feel you though, I found the perfect resort in DR and worry about the weather so will probably go somewhere else. 

Sorry to inform you of this, but it's hurricane season there as well. In fact, this year the hurricane season has been more active there than it has in the Caribbean, at least as of today.

annathy03

We went to Jamiaca in September (cusp of hurricane season), and since you are looking at off season there are a number of AIs there within in your budget depending where you're flying from. Definately get trip insurance just in case, but Jamaica is pretty sheltered by the other islands in that area so it's pretty rare for them to get hit there.

Sgreen19

4000 is an extremely do able budget we were gonna go to costa rica and it cost less then that accept we got a house lol. go talk with a travel agent give them a list of things you want to do and your budget they will help.

lizandmark2014

Henderson Park inn is an adults only hotel in FL. I would also google adult only hotels or vacations. Good Luck!

brittleigh13

We did 5 nights just a few weeks ago (Sept) in Mexico-- Secrets Silversands Riviera Cancun (all inclusive) for $2100 and this included our flights and transportation and a couples massage.  Silversands is a blast-- you can't be bored at this resort.  The area has tons of stuff to do as well and you would have plenty of money left over.  Tip: if your going all inclusive-- don't pay extra for a "view" you will not be in your room enough to care about the view and they often upgrade you once you arrive anyways. 

Best of luck!