Starting to Research Honeymoon Destinations

[john_pifer]

We're getting married in mid-April, and we like the beach, but my fiancée, especially, doesn't want to spend the entire honeymoon lying on the beach or just hanging around the resort. We like getting out and exploring and doing things. Hiking, etc.

Neither of us have traveled much. I haven't flown commercially since 2002. She has flown more recently, but neither of us are very savvy on how to get great deals on flights, places to stay, etc.

Hawaii is appealing because there's lots to do other than the beach. We're both connoisseurs of coffee, and we love the idea of getting to tour a Kona coffee plantation. Getting to see some volcanoes also sounds awesome.

A helicopter ride in Hawaii also sounds awesome.

The cons would basically be the cost and the long flight. I personally wouldn't really mind the flight. It would be an experience for me because I'm an aircraft mechanic and all-around aviation enthusiast, and I've never been on a flight longer than a couple of hours, much less a flight over the ocean. So that would actually be fun for me.

We're also considering the Caribbean, Mexico, Bahamas, etc.

We've been told that the all-inclusive resorts are really nice. I would like this trip to be as stress-free as possible, and a resort that has a few restaurants on premises sounds very convenient (not that we wouldn't want to leave the resort and explore other restaurants, coffee shops, etc).

So, I know that a lot of you have been to some of the places I've mentioned. I'd love to hear about some of your experiences.

Did you really enjoy where you went for your honeymoon or vacation? How did you like the resort where you stayed? Did the resort staff go above and beyond to make your stay awesome? If you could go back, what, if anything, would you do differently?

Airline issues?

Thanks a lot, in advance, for any advice you can give!

 

[Donald]

The more things you combine the better the deal (as in airline & hotel). I have used BOOKIT.COM and Expedia.

I would go for an all inclusive resort and plan a trip out of the resort every other day.

Aruba and Barbados along with St John are great places. Cayman. Bermuda.

Mexico in the Maya Riviera area just below Cancun.

A cruise is another option. Especially if you can drive to the port. As soon as you board the boat your vacation has started. No waiting in airport, flying or trip to hotels.

Most major resorts and all the cruise ships have nightly entertainment.

I think there are places as nice as Hawaii in the Caribbean. Getting to Hawaii is a long trip. Honolulu is super touristy. You need to go to some of the smaller islands.

 

[Railrust]

I've been to...

Mexico three times— great ten years ago, now not so much. I'll never go back. Cancun, Playa Del Carmen.

Dominican Republic — Some great resorts in Punta Cana. Not real safe to get out and explore.

Jamaica - loved it...not the best beaches, very rocky. If you like weed you'll love it here.

Barbados — loved it, went this summer. Stayed next to Rihanna's condo. Great beaches, very expensive. Not a ton to do though. Safe drinking water

Aruba twice — loved it. Would go back. Pretty flat, great beaches, great people. Pretty safe. Safe drinking water

Grand Cayman - expense, best diving. Great people. Pretty safe.

Curaçao— great weather, you won't have to worry about hurricanes. Right near Aruba, but totally different. Low key. Some of the best snorkeling I've seen. Just step right in and you're seeing great stuff. Turtles.

Bahamas twice — I'll pass. Not enough to do. Get harassed walking down the street. Water is not as nice as the Caribbean islands. Stayed at Atlantis. Stayed in Freeport. Stayed in Nassau. Won't go back.

 

[callbay]

Napa Valley? North of San Francisco. Lots to do visiting wineries and sights to see. Many good restaurants.

Went there once two years ago and we go back for a destination wedding this year. Air fare for two will be about $800 from central Us to San Fran and then rent a car.

Lots of Air B&B places to stay in towns from Napa, CA north to Healdsburg, CA. Calistoga is where we are staying, Nice. Also.



One of my other favorite places is the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay in Alabama. The Grand Hotel on the water in Point Clear, Al is amazing as is the town off Fairhope very near to Pointe Clear. Gulf Shores and the beaches are about a half hour away and April will be perfect weather. You could reverse it and stay on the beach at Gulf Shores with a couple of side trips to Pt Clear and Fairhope. Pensacola FL about an hour away with the Naval Museum and Mobile, Al, an hour the other way (from Gulf Shores) has the Battleship Museum.

There is a "boardwalk" over a mile long at Point clear right on the shore of the Bay that is one of my favorite places on the planet. Wood decking and sidewalks between beautiful waterfront homes and the Bay. Walk right out to it from the Grand Hotel or drive to it. Bruch at the hotel is the best ever.


https://www.grand1847.com/


https://www.grand1847.com/dining#SundayBrunch



Have fun!!!

 

[Leo99]

Always assume there will be airline issues. Book non-stop if you can. My business travel is curtailing after the past few years of travel. I was actually supposed to go to China a couple weeks ago but someone else wanted to go. My company has them in quarantine now.

Do you already have passports? If not, I'd get on that pronto so you don't have any last minute issues.

The current coronavirus threat might limit your choices to far off exotic places. Besides, I'd recommend you get a little more travel savvy before jetting off to someplace exotic for honeymoon.

A cruise is a great idea. My wife and I are pretty low-key. No adrenaline rush activities for us. But we get bored after 20 minutes laying on the beach. Mid April is decent weather in Vegas. Lots to do there and there is hiking, ATVing, machine gun shooting if you want to get away from the neon lights. Wife and I got married there and didn't even gamble. Lots of stuff to do.

Congrats on the wedding!

 

[Quattro Pete]

I've been to Hawaii once. Maybe we just did not go to the right islands (we were with our 3-year-old), but honestly we were not too impressed, especially given how expensive it is. For someone who's never stepped foot outside of mainland US, maybe Hawaii makes a bigger impact. For us, who have traveled to quite a few countries around the world, not so much.

We went to Cancun at the end of last year, and actually liked it very much, plus it's closer and cheaper than Hawaii, and plenty to do - pyramids, dolphins, water sports, adventure parks, etc. We did not opt for the "all inclusive" as my wife doesn't drink, plus we like to explore local restaurants and didn't want to just eat at the hotel all the time. The super fine sand beaches were fantastic, too.

I'd also recommend Costa Rica - that's where we got married.

 

[WhyMe]

i would go the Vegas. lots more to do than gambling and drinking. lots of outdoor stuff to do. zion is just an hour or so away. great food and shows. weather in April will be awesome

 

[CT8]

Maui no ka oi

 

[Alfred_B]

Venice

 

[Revving2Redline]

Iceland

 

[tcp71]

Wuhan, China?

 

[Job]

I lived on Kauai a few years and built a house there which I sold not long ago. Lots of sun and beaches unless it is raining, and great hiking in Waimea canyon and the North Shore. Hanalei is nice. There is the quaint Kauai coffee place with free samples and a place to sit, talk story, and relax. This is a coffee plantation not a coffee shop. Kapaa is not very pretty but is about half way between both ends of the island. Quite a number of hotels and condos for rent there. There are many beautiful hotels. The fancy one in Princeville with ocean views would be fantastic for a honeymoon. It won't be cheap, but you probably don't want it to be. From any island it is a short hop to any other island even for a day or two trip. Not going to be cheap these days though.

 

[john_pifer]

Thanks guys. Good info.

Neither of us drinks, so alcohol isn't a concern. Great food and coffee are big ones for us.

Las Vegas is out of the question. We don't gamble, and don't care to be around it at all. Yeah, I know there's lots to do there other than gambling, but we're just not considering it as a choice for our honeymoon.

Another thing is, I'm a runner. Having great places to run (both road and trail) would be cool.

So, for those who have been to some of these places - Cancun, Caribbean islands, etc - how is the safety factor? I've heard a lot in the news in the last few years about incidents involving tourists in places like Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

Like I said above, just hanging around the beach and the resort the whole time isn't something we're really interested in, and I don't want to be worrying about our safety when we want to venture out and go to restaurants, attractions, etc.

 

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted by Marco620
Iceland


Are the beaches there nice in mid April?

If they were going in the summer, I'd recommend Atlantic City. But in mid April if your intention is to go to the beach, not so much.

 

[zzyzzx]

How about Key West?

 

[Imp4]

Caymans, US Virgin Islands, ABC Islands.
Boy, these choices sure are nice 1st world problems...

Cheers!!!

 

[dlundblad]

When the wifey and I went on our honeymoon, the destination was the least of our concerns.

The wife and I did a cruise and both had a blast. We are going on the same cruise (ship, destinations etc) with some friends a week after next.

Wish us luck with the corona virus.

 

[14Accent]

I'll throw in this tidbit, with the disclaimer that I am neither married, engaged, nor a world traveler, however travel does fascinate me which is why I'm an avid reader of the Flyertalk.com forums. The amount of knowledge throughout the different sub-topics rivals our own BITOG (plug intended).

If you aren't much into the credit card game, I would suggest reading both the CC forums and the aviation forums to really learn the in's and out's of both airline loyalty programs and CC programs. If you aren't in a hurry to travel, there's a good chance that you could earn enough CC reward points to cover a healthy chunk of your honeymoon with no out of pocket costs. At the very least, you could earn enough points to fly you and your new wife in business class to somewhere MUCH more interesting than Hawaii (say, Monoco?) in the kind of comfort that most of us can only dream of, and you could do it simply by paying every day bills with a CC vs. your bank account. As long as you have the foresight and ability to pay every last dime back on time, every time, you'll essentially fly for free.

Flyertalk Premium Fare Deals

That's just an example of one of their sub-forums. There may not be anything that jumps out right away, but even if you read threads that have no direct interest to you you start to realize that their members truly value every last dollar and reward point/mile. I, personally, don't have any plans to go to somewhere fancy in the near future, but seeing threads about people flying LAX-KUL for $2,500 PP, in busines, with individual suites makes me truly jealous. It's a lot of logistics, but it can be very lucrative. With the miles you can potentially earn, you could even take another domestic "mini-moon" at a later date!

Example: LAX-KUL $2,486.02 QSuite

 

[GSCJR]

Beaches, coffee, food and volcanoes = ITALY

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by GSCJR
Beaches, coffee, food and volcanoes = ITALY

Excellent suggestion.

BTW, Costa Rica has all that, too, to a large extent, but Italy has more history.

This was a view from our hotel room in CR: