Affordable honeymoon-All inclusive???

thenextmrswelch

Sigh, so we are still looking for honeymoon ideas. FI and I were so disappointed with what we could afford immediately following the wedding so we are thinking of putting it off a bit and we are looking for ideas. I am really concerned we won't be able to afford anything even after putting it off (you know how it goes.. in 6 months we will have tons of money! And then its 6 months later are you are worse off than before)  or we will get busy with work (asking for a week of for the wedding was hard enough) so help us out please!
Honeymoon locations- more bang for your buck locations. FI and I have champagne taste with a beer budget and we have done a fair amount of traveling. We aren't outdoorsy but we love a good beach, food and local flavor. I think we are happiest on vacation when have a drink in our hand, our feet in the pool and a great dinner reservation to look forward to. Location wise-I am not a huge fan of Mexico but we are pretty much open, we would traveling from LA. Time wise-We are getting married in Jan, hoping to honeymoon by July. Our budget is up to $3000 MAX for everything
Budget Ideas- We are on a limited income and paying off the wedding primarily on our own sooo any ideas on how to cut costs, save money on travel would be super helpful!
Thanks ladies! As one burnt out honeymoon searching bride I really appreciate it. 

Jells2dot0

thenextmrswelch said:

Sigh, so we are still looking for honeymoon ideas. FI and I were so disappointed with what we could afford immediately following the wedding so we are thinking of putting it off a bit and we are looking for ideas. I am really concerned we won't be able to afford anything even after putting it off (you know how it goes.. in 6 months we will have tons of money! And then its 6 months later are you are worse off than before)  or we will get busy with work (asking for a week of for the wedding was hard enough) so help us out please!
Honeymoon locations- more bang for your buck locations. FI and I have champagne taste with a beer budget and we have done a fair amount of traveling. We aren't outdoorsy but we love a good beach, food and local flavor. I think we are happiest on vacation when have a drink in our hand, our feet in the pool and a great dinner reservation to look forward to. Location wise-I am not a huge fan of Mexico but we are pretty much open, we would traveling from LA. Time wise-We are getting married in Jan, hoping to honeymoon by July. Our budget is up to $3000 MAX for everything
Budget Ideas- We are on a limited income and paying off the wedding primarily on our own sooo any ideas on how to cut costs, save money on travel would be super helpful!
Thanks ladies! As one burnt out honeymoon searching bride I really appreciate it. 

I know you don't like the idea of Mexico, but being in Los Angeles and wanting AI, I think your absolute cheapest option would be Cabo. They have a few AIs there.  However, it sounds like you went into debt for your wedding. If that is the case, DO NOT take a HM until you have your debts paid off. Going into debt for a wedding is not a good idea, but going into further debt for a HM is even worse. Focus on paying off your wedding, save for a bit, and then think about taking an anniversary trip.

dalm0m

It's not exactly AI but what about a cruise out of Long Beach?  Your food, room & travel are included.  You just have to be careful about how much you drink. 

thenextmrswelch

I really don't appreciate the condescending comment about going to in to debt because we aren't. I think its fair enough to say that honestly we can't afford what would be equivalent to more than 3 months rent to spend on a honeymoon without being considered in debt. I don't think its super unrealistic to expect to be able to have an okay honeymoon for under $3000.

That being said,I am hesitant to go to Mexico mostly BECAUSE we live in LA. That's basically our backyard, and we've both done a couple spring break trips down there so its just not appealing... to each their own. Mexico and Vegas are two of the uber cheap vacation locations for Californians and we aren't interested in either because we don't think it would be unique but if that's all we afford I guess that's okay. Is there anywhere in Cabo you recommend?
Honestly we've never done all inclusive we just figure it could help us save. Is there a resort you could recommend in Cabo?

jewely24

I know Mexico isn't your first choice, but we just paid $2800 total for 10 days AI in Riviera Maya and thats flying out of Detroit, Cali would probably be a little cheaper.  We're staying at the Hotel Marina El Cid Spa & Beach Resort, but there were lots of others for under $3000 as well.  We also looked at Punta Cana which had a few options, just not quite as many.  Good luck and let me know if you have any questions, I feel like I've been researching for months now!!

Pepper6

Another option to consider, especially out of LA is Hawaii.  If you watch for prices, fares to Oahu are pretty cheap.  From Phoenix, I've seen quite a bit recently in the $320RT price range, which is about HALF of what we paid to fly to Cabo for our HM.  There are no AIs in Hawaii, so you'd have to be a little more careful about budgeting, but it can be done, especially if you want to spend most of your time lounging by the pool or beach (our Hawaii trips add up when you start doing an excursion every day).

Doesntplaynice82

My fiance and I went to Punta Cana Dominican Republic for $2400 total, that included air fair, all inclusive resort (Rui resort) The only thing we spent money on is tips (you don't HAVE to tip because its built into the cost BUT the drinks come faster if you tip) we also bought an excursion for about $200. So total we spent about $2800 for 5 days 4 nights.

ddvirts

Try Dominican Republic or Jamaica. Both can be done for less than 3k and both have great AI resorts. My fiance and I took out vacation a few months ago in Riviera Maya at Sian Kaan Bahia Principe. I recommend it, but you said Mexico isn't your first choice. To be honest, it's not my first choice either, simply because we just went there this summer. Don't go there if you don't want. I wouldn't settle too much for a honeymoon. Jamaica and DR are great choice. Check out cheapcaribbean.com We booked our last vacation with them. Good luck!

Jells2dot0

thenextmrswelch said:

I really don't appreciate the condescending comment about going to in to debt because we aren't. I think its fair enough to say that honestly we can't afford what would be equivalent to more than 3 months rent to spend on a honeymoon without being considered in debt. I don't think its super unrealistic to expect to be able to have an okay honeymoon for under $3000.

That being said,I am hesitant to go to Mexico mostly BECAUSE we live in LA. That's basically our backyard, and we've both done a couple spring break trips down there so its just not appealing... to each their own. Mexico and Vegas are two of the uber cheap vacation locations for Californians and we aren't interested in either because we don't think it would be unique but if that's all we afford I guess that's okay. Is there anywhere in Cabo you recommend?
Honestly we've never done all inclusive we just figure it could help us save. Is there a resort you could recommend in Cabo?

I'm sorry if my comment was offensive, but you mentioned something about "paying off" your wedding. To me, paying off means you had to take out a loan or charge it to a credit card and pay down the balance over time. Most girls on this board would advise a bride to not go into debt for their wedding, let alone a HM. So, it's always advised that if funds are tight, to take a small trip or wait a few months until finances are in better shape.

I live in Phoenix, so I too have Mexico as a backyard. Maybe it's not ideal, but when coming from the West Coast, you are limited by airfare costs to get to the Caribbean and limited by all-inclusive options, as most of them are in the Caribbean area. If you can find decent airfare down to Jamaica or The DR, they are other good options. Cabo airfare from Phoenix is expensive, but i've seen flights from LA for less than $300pp round trip. Some resorts are Dreams, Secrets, Melia, Pueblo Bonita and Sandos.

tabathafaye

dalm0m said:

It's not exactly AI but what about a cruise out of Long Beach?  Your food, room & travel are included.  You just have to be careful about how much you drink. 

Have you considered a cruise?