honeymoon depression..

TeebagyAndNorth · April 2010

Ugh. So my FH and I had been planning on Greece but really.. its going to be too expensive to get the kind of quality we want. To fit it in our very good price range.. because its high season... we need to stay at kinda crappy hotels.

So we decided to refocus and try an island. The problem is we dont want aruba...and everything else in August is basically in the line of hurricanes!

We would LOVE cabo san luca- but again- hurricanes! we are both feeling really down because we offically DONT know where in the heck to go....

sorry to vent guys..

FutureMrsJRoberts · April 2010

Ahhhh, don't worry - you'll find something. What about the West Coast? Palm Beach? We went to Napa last year in late July and it was BEAUTIFUL - so romantic and pretty and awesome weather.

TeebagyAndNorth · April 2010

its a thought but neither of us have been out of the country and we really really want the chance to experience something new.

eouellet · April 2010

We also wanted to go to Greece for our honeymoon but didn't end up having enough time to do the trip the way we wanted to. So we went to the Virgin Islands for our honeymoon in August, and are now planning our 1-year anniversary trip to Greece & Turkey. Don't worry, you two have plenty of time to take dream vacations in the future...I think you're making the right choice by choosing a trip you can really afford to do luxuriously now for your honeymoon.

TeebagyAndNorth · April 2010

were you worried about hurricanes though?! we keep reading terrible warnings about the islands in august... other than aruba which we just dont want to go to!

eouellet · April 2010

No, we really didn't give it too much thought (although we ended up throwing our trip together at the VERY last minute and we could already see in the 10-day forecast that the weather was fine)...and we had absolutely PERFECT weather the entire time. Obviously that doesn't at all guarantee you wouldn't get a storm, but it was great for us. We had worse weather in that area when we vacationed there in October a few years ago.

If you are dead set against Aruba and really want to be outside the hurricane belt, you could also look into Barbados and Trinidad & Tobego. Of course, your idea of the West Coast of Mexico is good too - another idea over there besides Cabo is Manzanillo.

And just to throw it out there in case you guys really can't find anything you like around here - have you considered maybe doing condo rentals instead of resorts? You can save quite a bit of money that way, still stay in nice accommodations, save money by being able to prepare some food at home, and still stay in nice areas. Maybe that would be a way that you could afford Greece? Or Hawaii perhaps?

TeebagyAndNorth · April 2010

we are looking into it. I've been to hawaii so we are trying to find something else. We actually have a decent budget- $6,000-$8,000 (with everything).... and we are still struggling.

I am in LOVE with the cabo idea but I am SO afraid we will end up with NO honeymoon....

eouellet · April 2010

Wow, that's a great honeymoon budget! I'm kind of surprised you can't find nice hotels in Greece in that price range, although I guess it is peak tourist season there in August. A Mediterranean cruise would be amazing too! But don't worry, if you guys are happy with Cabo, I'm SURE you will find a place you love, and have plenty of extra money to make the trip really luxurious.

AlexaGrant · April 2010

I have been to Turks & Caicos in July and August and haven't had any problems with the weather. We are going again in Aug this year, too. A lot of places down there have policies that allow you to come back for a free vacation if you are hit by a hurricane during your stay, if that helps.

dovesweet07 · April 2010

I think you can definitely do Greece on that budget. Petros from Helenic Holidays qouted us a price for athens, mykanos and santorini that was definitely in that price range. I also talked to some coworkers who have been to Greece and there are many hotels that may not have the "star" rating you may be looking for, but are still pretty nice. Trip Advisor has really great information and reviews. It is kinda stressful planning something so involved yourself, so a travel agent might be helpful... but i wouldnt give up on Greece if you really wanna go there :-)

Moneypenny424 · April 2010

Definitely check out Barbados (farther East and doesn't get hit by as many hurricanes) and Puerto Rico (also doesn't get hit as much). We stayed at the Horned Dorset in PR for our honeymoon and it was amazing! It was supposed to be our mini-moon, but we never got around to taking our 2 week honeymoon afterwards

.

Shazzie116 · April 2010

Don't be sad! The girls here have some great advice. It'll probably take a lot more research and planning, but you'll have a great honeymoon. And like eoulette said, you have your whole life ahead of you for dream vacations. I think what's more important than where you go is having the time together after the wedding. Several girls on my month board are teachers or their husbands are in grad school and can't go on their honeymoons until the summer, or even for another year or so. So look at the silver lining. You have a very workable budget, you just need to figure it out. Hang in there!

blinkeysgirl · April 2010

I'm also planning on going to Greece for my HM. However, that won't be for awhile. We're going to China for two months starting in August which has been planned way before we even got engaged.

i was thinking of doing some sort of mediterranean cruise. I dont know if that is something you're interested in. You could look into it and see if they have a sort of honey moon cruise.

killian09 · April 2010

I have to say I'm really surprised that you say you can't do Greece on that budget! We did a Italy for a 2 week, 5 city trip and stayed comfortably within the lower end of that budget. Our hotels were not 5-stars, but they were all clean, bright, friendly, comfortable, and well-located. We splurged in a few places and went simpler in others, but I definitely do NOT think we would have had a better experience on our honeymoon if we had spent more on hotels.

I'm guessing airline fare will eat $2-3k, and that should leave you $3000-6000 for all your expenses once you get there. I feel like that is plenty to have a lovely two week trip. If you have $5000 after paying for flights, that leaves you with $357 per day. At current exchange rates, that is around 264 Euros. Keep your hotels around 120-160 Euros. Breakfast is usually included with the room in Europe, and keep lunch simple. Enjoy your dinners out, and you should still have space in that budget for travelling within Greece, museum entrances, etc.

Take the opportunity and go see Greece if that is your dream! Make your budget work, and you will be rewarded. I have been to Athens, Crete, and Santorini. They are stunning. You don't have to stay at a super fancy hotel to appreciate them. There are plenty of jaw-dropping, gorgeous public beaches. The historical sights don't cost a fortune to see. The islands are beautiful just to walk around in and be in. Think about what amenities are really worth paying for. For example--sometimes an ocean view costs a lot more. You will have lots of time to see the stunning ocean on your trip--you may not need a view from your room, etc.

Start with the Lonely Planet guide and tripadvisor.com, and I feel like you should be able to make it work.

(And if you are still not believing me on the budget thing, here is my trip bio:
http://sites.google.com/site/killian0517/home/honeymoon
...not Greece, but just to show you that Europe can be done, during the high season, on that budget--no problem.)

I've also been to Puerto Rico. It's gorgeous, but it's not the same as Greece, and doesn't feel as exotic (to me, anyway). You definitely don't need that big a budget to do Puerto Rico in style. My husband and I stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Puerto Rico for $150 a night a few months ago, and flights are cheap. We were in the off-season, admittedly, (early December), but even still, it just isn't that expensive. Since you have the time, and the budget now, go to Greece!

killian09 · April 2010

to be more specific, and because I would like to go back to Santorini some day, and had fun looking up some trip ideas, here are some hotels that might fall within your budget:
http://www.oiasunset.com/rates.php
http://www.oldoiahouses.gr/
http://www.ariscaves.gr/?lang=english&pageID=2
http://www.chelidonia.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=62
http://www.loucashotel.gr/rates.php?lang=1

...the top 4 would fit in my guess about your daily budget if you are planning a 2 week stay. the last would work if you spend a couple nights there and switched to a less expensive spot like Old Oia Houses.

All of them get good reviews on tripadvisor, and are right in Oia (the last is in Fira), which are considered desirable places to stay on the island. There are buses that connect the different points on the island--I have taken the bus between Oia and Fira, so that is something to keep in mind.

You don't get the lap of luxury for that budget, but I think you could be very comfortable.

TeebagyAndNorth · April 2010

omg you are all AMAZING! I am sending all this to FH so he can start looking at it all. We actually spoke with Hellenic Honeymoons and TWO other travel agents and they told us we could NOT do the islands this august for less than 8,000 and that didn't include activities and food. We weren't looking for 5 star resorts either. We are looking at 3 stars mostly and even then they all told us no way. One agent did mention that prices have gone up over the last couple of months in the island and that August is the most expensive month to travel there.

I think we will keep exploring this option- you are all incredible! If we definitely can't make Greece work the way we want it to, we will probably try Cabo. I found a deal last night at a GORGEOUS resort for 10 days, $6,600 with $1,600 in credits for activites and food at the resort... not bad! Flights were another $1,500.

THANK YOU!!!

jquirke9881 · April 2010

Hawaii could definitely be done on that budget... technically in the country but still a beautiful island.

killian09 · April 2010

good luck! for a 10 day trip, your budget will (obviously) stretch even further. Consider taking overnight ferry from Athens to your first island destination. This way you save on a hotel for the night, and you get your transportation taken care of.

I've never used a travel agent for European travel. I think travel agents tend miss the small hotels that can offer great values. Sometimes they also assume that you will need things like expensive private car transfers to the hotel, when there are public transportation options that would work without too much hassle. A good guidebook should queue you in to when you need to splurge on the taxi or rental car, and when you can save your cash and take a bus or subway.

If you want to do it yourself, make a detailed budget. Get a good and recently updated guidebook, make an excel spreadsheet with a section for each day. Plan out roughly each day's activities and their associated costs. Include ferry trips, hotels, museums, beach chair rental, public transportation or taxis. Make a budget for meals and leave a bit of a buffer for smaller incidentals. This is how I budgeted out our Italy trip. Do the Euro-to-dollar conversion at the end for the final amount. We played with different options (splurging here, saving there), until we had the trip planned that was within our budget and suited our interests. The other nice thing about the approach is that you will have a really detailed plan for yoru trip at the end of it.

It can be a lot of work, but it can also be fun, and at the end of the day, you will know that you did your homework and planned the best trip possible for yourself.

ANd sounds like you have found a great Plan B in Cabo, so either way you will have an amazing trip! good luck!

LyssaBella · April 2010

Just a curious question...why are you dead set against aruba???

TeebagyAndNorth · April 2010

Killian- I actually agree with you about travel agents. Unfortunately.. I am in law school and with exams coming up I just don't have the time to plan it. So.. we are definitely stuck with an agent. :-/ it'll work out.

Lyssa- Aruba is GORGEOUS.. however we want an island where we can experience a little more "local flavor".. like in the accomodations and the food. For the last 3 years every single one of our friends have married and gone to aruba and LOVED it, but all said the food and accomodations were a bit more mainstream. We picked Greece because we love experiencing new cultures. So if we have to turn to an island, we want to go non mainstream if possible.

EKobrenski · April 2010

Hey! Our budget for airfare and lodging is close to the lower end of your budget, and we are doing Spain and Morocco 2.5 weeks for that amount, during peak season as well. Most of the money we are spending is airfare. We used homeaway.com and rented a beach house. I'll send you it in a PM. it's pretty luxurious, they do a food shopping for you, and the owner is giving us cava and chocolate covered strawberries when we arrive bc we are honeymooners. We're about a 5 minute walk from the beach and have a place to park the car. We're a short walk from a little Spanish town. The hotels in Morocco were insanely cheap.

I think it depends on your taste, but FI and I like to be independent and have a lot of room, so neither of us is a huge resort person. plus, it's a big cost savings that we can have a light dinner and lunch we prepare ourselves, then go big on dinner. Maybe you can find something like that in Greece?

EKobrenski · April 2010

ok it won't let me PM you, but this is it: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p421512

Nomer · April 2010

I honestly don't know if this will help cuz I have no idea about pricing, but the Amalfi coast in Italy is amazing and is very similar in weather and appearances to Greece. If you stayed outside of Amalfi but someplace close, like Pompeii it might be cheaper and you can travel through and explore on a motorcycle. Plus, the ruins are a really cool place to explore that's a little different, though maybe a bit morbid for a honeymoon (your call). I know there are lots of amazing places to stay around Amalfi and if you are looking to stay within your budget maybe you could choose a couple places that are more expensive and then some that are less expensive to even out the costs and still get some time in some high class places. Just some ideas....
good luck

Wishin986 · April 2010

We went on a cruise August 08 to Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallerta - beginning of August - but had no problem at all in Cabo or Mazatlan just a little left over rain in Puerto Vallerta. I don't think Cabo gets hit very much at all.

emilyinboston · April 2010

don't rule out a cruise to the caribbean...you get to go to several destinations, and if there's a hurricane in the forecast they just re-route the ship to avoid the storms! cruises are our favorite way to travel.

engagedprincess06 · April 2010

Oh Man that a really good wedding budget. May I suggest an overwater bungalow in Bora Bora! That is what we were going to do before we lost all our money to the Georgetown Club bankrupcy fiasco. Good Luck!

honeymoon depression..

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