Help with Honeymoon

[Lilac]

So DH and I got married in February and weren''t able to go on our honeymoon then (because of school/work schedules). At the end of May over Memorial Day weekend we were able to go on a short vacation to California, which was so much fun. Now we''re trying to plan our official honeymoon for August, but we''re having a lot of trouble figuring out where to go!

We have been spending a LOT of time trying to figure this out and we finally decided we knew EXACTLY what we wanted to do! We only have one week go go away though - DH can really only take off 5 days from work, so we can go away from Sunday-Sunday (so we only have a week). We decided we wanted to go to Atlantis for 4 days and then another part of the Bahamas for the last 3 - so we could have tons of activities and fun/exciting things to do in Atlantis (pools, water park, casino, shopping, swimming with dolphins, comedy club, movies, etc), but then still have 3 days at the end to just chill out and relax in a beautiful resort on a beach and by the pool.

Just our luck, we looked at the dates on the Atlantis calendar to make sure nothing conflicted there, and the Miss Universe Pageant is being held there and they''re expecting the whole place to be "filled to capacity" during the first 3 weeks of August (and we can''t go the last week)! I don''t want to go on my honeymoon just to spend 4 days with thousands and thousands of other people! I know I wouldn''t have been totally alone anyway, but knowing Atlantis will be SO full when we wanted to go, DH and I decided it just isn''t worth spending so much money just to be unhappy when the place was totally full and we couldn''t enjoy everything there.

So our dream honeymoon isn''t going to happen - or that one isn''t going to anyway. So now we need a new one!

We''re looking for a gorgeous resort/hotel and stunning beach, but also fun and exciting things to do. We want to spend maybe half the time relaxing but the other half doing FUN and exciting things! We would get bored with no activities, but we also want to go somewhere we can relax. And somewhere that isn''t too far away (we don''t want to fly more than 5 or 6 hours and we''re in New York).

I can''t seem to find anywhere like this - all the gorgeous islands seem to be all about relaxation - which is only half of what we want! Any suggestions?? Has anyone gone to any of the islands and had fun trips/things to do during the day and at night other than just sitting on beautiful beaches??

Thanks for the help!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Have you thought about going to orlando or one of the beaches nearby? There are some hotels that super romantic and then you have seaworld and all that stuff nearby

Personally fi and I are gonna get a hotel inside of disneyworld so if we have too much wine we dont have to worry about driving or hailing a cab haha

 

[meresal]

I'm sorry to hear about the Bahamas Lilac. I don't think I woudl enjoy that either.

We are going on our honeymoon the second week of August, and to avoid any possible hurricanes in the Caribbean, we are doing the Southern Caribbean. Leaves Sunday afternoon, and ends the following Sunday morning. Aruba, Curacao, Dominica, and St Thomas. There are gorgeous beaches at each stop with exciting things to do (4 wheelers, doon-buggies, scuba diving, hiking, etc)... and there are 2 "At sea" days mixed in the middle for just relaxing on the boat. It leaves out of San Juan. I think that would only be a 5 or 6 hour flight from you, right?

Have you ever done a cruise?

 

[Lilac]

Smurfy - thanks for the suggestion, but both DH and I have been to Florida many times (I used to go with my family every year and I''ve been to Disney World multiple times as well) and DH and I just went to Disneyland on our California trip in May. We''re looking to go somewhere we''ve never been before and really want to go to an island.

If we had more time we would have LOVED to go to Hawaii, but to fly there from New York and back takes up 2 days of our 7 day honeymoon, so unfortunately we don''t think we have enough time for that.

Meresal - your honeymoon sounds like so much fun! Everyone keeps telling us to go on a cruise and its sooo tempting because it includes all the things we want (fun things as well as relaxation) but neither of us have ever been on a cruise and we''re both worried about feeling sick on the boat. I don''t usually get seasick and neither does he, but neither of us have been on a cruise so I don''t know if it''s worth the risk on our honeymoon..... So tempting though. So I''m really torn.

 

[meresal]

Date: 6/16/2009 3:45:47 PM
Author: Lilac
Meresal - your honeymoon sounds like so much fun! Everyone keeps telling us to go on a cruise and its sooo tempting because it includes all the things we want (fun things as well as relaxation) but neither of us have ever been on a cruise and we're both worried about feeling sick on the boat. I don't usually get seasick and neither does he, but neither of us have been on a cruise so I don't know if it's worth the risk on our honeymoon..... So tempting though. So I'm really torn.

I don't get sea sick and neither does FI. Even on fishing boats out in the middle of the ocean. I've been on two cruises in the Western Caribbean, never leave the gulf area, and was perfectly fine. FI was a little worried before ours in March of 07, but ended up just fine. We went on a Eastern Caribbean cruise that went thru the Atlantic, going from St Maarten to the Bahamas. That is the only real significant rocking I have ever felt in the 4 cruises I have been on. There are people that get sick, but it has never effected either of us.

The Southern Caribbean cruise doesn't go out into the Atlantic, so I think this one should be quite smooth sailing as well.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

What''s your budget? FI and I are doing 7 days in Belize. 3.5 days at a resort in the rainforest where we get to do things like go cave tubing, zip lining, visiting Mayan ruins, etc. and then 3.5 days on Ambergris Caye where we plan to vegetate on the beach.

 

[teapot]

My friend went on one of the Disney cruise and loved it. Her husband surprised her for their 10 year anniversary. I don''t know if they have a 3 day cruise or not, but it''s something to look into. Also have you considered leaving Friday night after work and getting back on Sunday, so you get a few more days? If cost is an issue, you could also consider leaving in the the middle of the week, it will be cheaper.

 

[Lilac]

meresal - I wish there was a way I could know if I would get sick or not! Maybe tonight I''ll look at some cruises with DH. It seems like everyone loves them, I just can''t escape the feeling that one of us might feel sick the whole time.

Hudson Hawk - we haven''t figured out a set budget, but we would very much like to keep it between $4,000 and $5,000. Preferably less, but $5,000 max.

teapot - thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately we can''t leave Friday night. It definitely would be the smart thing to do to make the most of our time, but DH and I are Jewish (and Sabbath observers) so we can''t fly anywhere Friday night or Saturday. Earliest we can fly out is Saturday night and as far as I can tell, there don''t seem to be too many flights Saturday night that we would be able to make after the Sabbath is over. But thanks for the suggestion, if I could do it I would!

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Ours is coming in at $4500, so it''s definitely around your budget.

 

[lala2332]

I''ve heard costa rica has a lot of activities for you to do.

Also, what about Hawaii? I can''t sit on a beach for a week...I would go stir crazy. I was kind of anti-Hawaii when FI and I first started talking about honeymoon. (No idea why.) but after researching I''ve really gotten excited about it as a potential honeymoon location, because there are so many activities and you can do two islands, a busier one and then a more relaxed one.

THe British Virgin Islands are amazing as well. If you or FI has any sailing experience, sailing around them is amazing. You may be able to charter something as well and island hop during the day, scuba, snorkel.

Scuba is another way to liven up a beach vacation. Because it def. gives you ana amazing activity to plan and participate in.

 

[Lilac]

It''s funny - at first I was also very against going to Hawaii for our honeymoon (also not sure why - I guess I felt like it was very "typical") but the more we think about it, the more DH and I realize it has everything we''re looking for. Fun and exciting things to do, beautiful beaches, relaxation. And it''s also the kind of trip we would never go on if it wasn''t our honeymoon - all of the Caribbean islands are places we could go to on a cruise one day if we decided to try the cruise, or even just fly to for 3 or 4 days to relax for a regular vacation. Hawaii is the type of place we would never be able to go to again if we don''t go now (or at least not for another 10 or 15 years!)

So now we''re leaning towards Hawaii. I still feel kind of anxious though about spending so much money (it would definitely cost more than any of the other places we were thinking of). DH said he might be able to take off an extra day and we could go to Hawaii on a Thursday night after work and he would take off Friday and we could stay until the following Sunday - so it would be 10 days in Hawaii.

Am I crazy?? On one hand I feel like I don''t want to spend so much money and Hawaii is very far and expensive, but on the other hand I feel like this is our once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon and we should just enjoy it!

 

[Munchkin]

Do it! I LOVE Hawaii. It is definitely worth taking an extra day off work to give you more relaxation time. The flight is long, but it is worth it.

People tend to love or hate cruises. If you are on one and discover you don''t like it - you''re stuck. Meanwhile if you dislike a resort, you have more freedom to arrange your schedule more to your liking. To me it is different discovering you don''t like cruising on a regular vacation than making that discovery on your honeymoon. Conversely, you might love cruises. Who knows?

I also really like Aruba for its proximity to the eastern US and fantastic weather. I like Bermuda, but it can get pricey.

Still, if you have a chance to do Hawaii, do it.