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Honeymoon Discussions
Knottie1440263207
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$3000 budget honeymoon
Hi! My fiancé and I are getting married mid June and are planning to honeymoon the week following. He is still a student, so we don't have much to spend. $3000 is really the max we would be comfortable with, maybe a bit more if it were really worth it. We started looking at groupon getaways, many of which sound great (Europe, Caribbean), but most are too expensive, particularly in June. A few of the Jamaica or Dominican Republic all inclusive deals we could probably manage, but we want to explore all options before making a decision. While we would love to do Europe, I don't think that will happen on our budget.
We've discussed possibly going to California. We would love to spend some time at a beach, and my fiancé is a wine connoisseur and, so I thought maybe somewhere in Ca would be a great fit for us. I don't really know much about California though, (we're in NC) so are there any locations in California you would recommend for a couple on a budget who wants beach, vineyards, and relaxation? We'd be willing to travel around a bit too (i.e. Different cities, different accommodations). We also love good food and cultural attractions.
We're open to ideas other than California as well, if anyone has recommendations.
Thanks!
We've discussed possibly going to California. We would love to spend some time at a beach, and my fiancé is a wine connoisseur and, so I thought maybe somewhere in Ca would be a great fit for us. I don't really know much about California though, (we're in NC) so are there any locations in California you would recommend for a couple on a budget who wants beach, vineyards, and relaxation? We'd be willing to travel around a bit too (i.e. Different cities, different accommodations). We also love good food and cultural attractions.
We're open to ideas other than California as well, if anyone has recommendations.
Thanks!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: $3000 budget honeymoon
http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=11079
http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=16617 (Nice! 6days!)
http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=33704
http://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=20080
Read the sticky at the top of this board that I wrote about cruising tips to save money. I recommend the ocean view cabins for a good price with a view.
PS. DH has family in Hammondsport from 4 generations ago. Their Greek revival home still exists.
We actually ended up doing eleven nights, which cost $3500, and then we used miles from our credit card for flights. Granted, we live in the northwest, so flights to Cancun can be pretty expensive, but I have heard they are cheaper from the southeast.
I also had friends tell us they booked their honeymoons through Costco at really good prices.
It may take some work, but if you do your due diligence, you should be able to plan an awesome honeymoon with $3000!
ETA clarifications
But I vote for trying to make Europe work. For $3000, you're going to need to focus on finding cheap airfare. Lisbon, for example, is a short flight and you can often get it for $600 per person. Then when you're there, look for an air BnB for under $100 a night, definitely doable. Then you're left with roughly $1000 spending money for the week the exchange rate is pretty good right now which helps. It's not enough for luxury travel, but it will buy you entrance fees to the best sites, train tickets to the beach towns, lots of picnics, casual food, and one fancy meal. Student style travel.
My friends drove there from Vancouver, of course making a couple overnight stops along the way. They used Air BnB for all their lodgings, even in CA.
We went to Arizona on our HM- though that was in Oct, June might be too hot to be enjoyable. We stayed at a high end resort in Phoenix, visited the cities around Phoenix, lounged by the pool, traveled to Sedona for an overnight where we went horseback riding and on a wine tour, then went on a day trip to the Grand Canyon. I think we spent around $3K (maybe a bit more), but it definitely could have been done cheaper.
I have only limited knowledge of CA...but if you're wanting to go to the beach and wine country, i think those areas are fairly far apart. If i was going to the beach i'd want to go to San Diego (way south) and wine country is north, by San Francisco. So I think you'd either have to build in a road trip or an additional flight to do both of those things (Southwest has inexpensive flights within CA usually though).
This is going to sound nutty, so stay with me here - how about South Africa? Their currency is kind of in the toilet right now, so though your flights would probably be about $1k/each, hotels, food, and entertainment are very affordable. Cape Town has a ton of stuff to do, is beautiful, and is close to several regions that produce wine. If you were able to pull together a bit extra - $500 even - you could really have a great time there. Do note that June is winter though - we went in June and had a few rainy days. Too cool for the beach in Cape Town (we tacked on time in Mauritius to do the beach, but that would probably not fit your budget), but we still had just an awesome time.
We were there before the currency was REALLY low - and we were still shocked at how cheap the hotel and food and drinks were. it is a long flight though - i probably wouldn't want to do a flight of that lengh with less than a 10 day trip. Depending on the cost of intra-country flights, you might even be able to go up to Kruger for a safari for part of your visit. Fortunately, June is the "low season" so you'd have the cheapest hotel rates available to you.
It would still be tough on $3k. but i'm trying to think positive. i've been dying to go back now that the exchange rate is so good, but we have a 6 month old, and i can't even imagine dragging her on those flights. Kids, man. If you really want to travel, do it before you have them!
Napa and Sonoma (north of San Francisco) are obviously known for their wine, and they are 30 minutes from some really stunning beaches as well (look up Bolinas and Point Reyes). Depending on the time of year, the weather at these beaches can be either excellent and sunny, or completely socked in with fog.
A third option is Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz mountains are up and coming in the world of wine, and there are a number of incredible vineyards. And Santa Cruz itself has some of the best beaches in Northern California.
Basically, there are a ton of options in CA where you can go to excellent wineries as well as beaches without having to book multiple flights, and I always advise people to consider wine regions other than Napa/Sonoma.
(First, I am NOT A VENDOR, LOL)
We have used VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) for several trips over the years. Both Family and as a couple. They have locations world wide, and you can actually "shop" for locations based on budget. The best part is all the properties ARE truly managed by the Owner, hence the name)
Best Wishes!!!