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Honeymoons Poll!
Honeymoon hunting is so hard!!! Way harder than I thought it would be. Neither of us have ever been off the continental US, so we would like an out of the country experience. His brother is letting us use his timeshare points (I think that's what they are called) as our wedding gift, so... that can go to a lot of places. I have a few in mind, but it can never hurt to ask someone experienced and I'm open to suggestions! Can you please help me? 
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon?
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.)
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else?
Any other helpful tidbits you might have to share?
TIA!
Re: Honeymoons Poll!
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon? Walt Disney World in Florida(We are just two big kids)
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.) Location, somehwere we could get to easily/cheap, somewhere we know well and will have a ton of fun!
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else? Yes, but I know that not everyone is a "Disney" person. You have to pick the place that's right for you. I get bored going to the beach, and I hate the sand, so beach resorts were out for us; DH didn't have a passport and I know all too well the perils and frustrations of traveling out of the country for the first time, so we picked somewhere that we knew inside and out, where we wouldn't have to worry about anything more than getting through airport security (versus places where we'd be more likely to get lost, mugged, etc.), and knew we would have fun (Disney does actually have fun stuff for adults...and not everyone knows about it).
Any other helpful tidbits you might have to share? Unless you are on a super-tight budget, try to splurge a little....it is your honeymoon, after all! Go out for a nicer dinner than you normally would, or do something you wouldn't normally do. Money you can always earn again; memories can only happen once.
Good luck deciding!
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon?
We went to Aruba in mid-September, mainly because that's the only time we could go and Aruba is out of the hurricane belt.
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.
No hurricanes? lol. We were looking for a beach honeymoon with a romantic resort, but also an island that offered some sightseeing activities because DH likes to do stuff and not just sit on the beach all of the time. Although I made him do his fair share of beach bumming.
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else?
Oh my gosh yes! We stayed at Bucuti and Tara Beach resort in a bungalow in the new Tara section. The room was great, the staff was even better, and the beach was to die for. The water in Aruba is so clear and the weather was great! We had a blast!
Any other helpful tidbits you might have to share?
I agree with some of the other posters: splurge if you can afford it at all. I am so glad we chose not to worry too much about money on our honeymoon, because I loved being able to relax with DH and have some delicious food.
Aruba-specific, though, avoid the high-rise section of the island except to do some water sports if that's your thing. The beach there is half the size of the low-rise boutique hotel area and twice as crowded.
I hope you decide on somewhere lovely! Everyone deserves a dream honeymoon.
my read shelf:
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon?
We went to Hawaii. Kauai and Maui. We were married July 16 and left for the HM August 31.
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.)
We wanted a tropical honeymoon as opposed to like a backpacking-through-Europe type thing. We wanted to be able to do a decent amount of beaching & poolside relaxing but also be able to see a bunch of things on the islands. We also wanted Pacific as opposed to Atlantic... we'd been to Cozumel in '08 and felt that anywhere in the Caribbean would be a similar experience. And I had never been anywhere in/on the Pacific before. We also considered Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, San Diego, and a California coast trip (including Napa Valley).
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else?
I know Hawaii doesn't fit into your non-American category, but I would recommend it in a heartbeat. Our trip was AMAZING. We saw so much... I can't even begin to say how much we loved it. We also stayed through my Aunt's timeshare in Kauai (traded from her original location in Puerto Vallarta). Our resort was all 2-bed/2-bath condos with full kitchens... we were able to save a ton of money this way because we cooked almost all of our own meals, shopping at local grocery stores and farmers markets (also they have a Safeway on Kauai and we were able to use our Safeway card from home!). We did tons of fun excursions using the money we saved from not staying in hotels and eating out all the time. In Maui we stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Kaanapali, and it was beautiful. A very different experience from our first resort and we did a lot more laying around at the pool, but that was because we had to spend a lot more on eating out since we were in a hotel. I keep telling DH I want to go back to Hawaii for a month and do a week on each of the bigger islands- The Big Island, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. There are a lot of pics in my married bio and on Facebook.
Good luck making your choice! There are endless possibilities... but you have a lifetime to travel
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon?
We left the Mon. after our wedding and went to the Bahamas.
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.)
We wanted something beachy and tropical, adult only, and couples only. Somewhere with some things to do but also a place to relax.
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else?
Yes, we went to Sandals Cable Beach near Nassau in the Bahamas. We had the best time and the pefect mix of relaxing, adventure, and fun.
Any other helpful tidbits you might have to share?
Look into places on the internet and do your research. I had had friends go to Sandals and recommended it. Go somewhere you both want to go and like I said earlier where there are things to do but also a place where you can relax!!
RIP Dr. Irving Fishman - 10/1/19-7/25/10 - thank you for holding on for me.
You made my wedding day complete.
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon?
We left a week after the wedding and went to Cabo San Lucas.
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.)
We didn't have too many crierita. We wanted to do somewhere that had activites/excursions available if we chose to do them. DH wanted a resort that wasn't super huge and that was more quaint/picturesque/romantic/honeymoon-y
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else?
HIGHLY recommend Cabo San Lucas and would recommend our resort over and over again. We also used a timeshare for our resort (Sirena del Mar). We really lucked out with our resort as it was less than a year old and only had 37 rooms. The staff got to know us and we were able to get to know many of the other guests as well. In fact, 2 girls that we met down there have already come to visit us and we plan to visit them in February! The amenities at the resort were top notch and our room was amazing. We had a full kitchen as well as access to the huge grills that were down by the pools. We cooked dinner almost every night - along with most of the other guests. It was like a big cookout every night at the grills.
Any other helpful tidbits you might have to share?
Since you're using a timeshare, know that you won't be able to do the all-inclusive route. I think some resorts offer meal/all-inclusive plans that you can purchase but it's not already included. Chances are that you'll have some sort of kitchen in your room - take advantage of it and buy some food on your first day - even if it's only stuff for breakfast and lunch. Make a list of the criteria that are most important to you - that will help you narrow down your choices or at least give you more of a targeted search.
I know with timeshares the choices seem endless. I don't know exactly how yours works, but for us - we had a hard time finding openings for when we wanted to go (we also had to wait for someone to exchange weeks). So, I'd come up with your top 3 choices and call those in to the timeshare company. Something may not be available as soon as you call and you might have to wait for a bit.
Good luck!!!
ETA: I lived on Trip Advisor for months before we made our decision. I read a million and one reviews of tons of resorts. And then even after we booked our resort, I was obsessed with reading every new review. It's very helpful and you can find out information beforehand that you normally wouldn't know about (for us we found out how much cab rides into town cost, etc. so we could plan our spending money easier). Little things like that can be so helpful.Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon? - We went to Costa Rica. We stayed at the same all inclusive the entire 8 days but did a lot of day trips to see parts of the country, as well as Nicaragua.
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.) - We definitely wanted the all-inclusive deal. That prevented us from having to bring a ton of cash for eating out. We also were big on having a beach but also plenty of non-beach things to do as we both get bored with just sitting around the shore all day. Beautiful scenery was a must as well!
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else? - Absolutely. There is so much to do in Costa Rica. There really is something for everyone. And how awesome is it to be able to wake up for an early morning walk and get and hear and see monkeys all around you?
Any other helpful tidbits you might have to share? - Have an open mind. Don't be afraid to try new things. Relaxing at the beach may be fun but make sure that you get out and experience the culture. Most resorts offer fun tours to different surrounding areas or offer activities such at ziplining or ATVs. Those sort of things can be the highlight of your trip. Also, do your research of the area you plan to go. See what the resort offers but also look into some local tour companies. We went with the locals and they provided a much more personal tour than the hotel could have offered. It was slightly more expensive but when it is the difference of being on a crowded bus or just you and you hubby in a van, it's so worth it. Don't be picky. Too many people ruin thier vacations by complaining over every little thing. Both DH and I got sick on our HM (sore throat, runny nose, etc...) but we still made the most out of it. I read a ton of reviews from tripadvisor.com (excellent site, btw) before leaving and some of the things people complained about were just ridiculas! These people were completely ruining their vacations by getting upset about things like the weather or not liking the hot sand at the beach. Don't be like that and you should be fine. Since this will be your first time leaving the country, you will probably love where ever you go. It's an amazing experience getting to see a world different from what you know. Good luck!
my read shelf:
Books read in 2011: 32 of 75
Laura- thank you soo much for recommending the tripadvisor! The resort DH thought he really wanted to go in Jamaica is getting some terrible reviews!!! I'm so glad that I looked at that site! Now, I'm looking at one in Mexico.
Sounds like all of you had amazing honeymoon destinations, though! Wow! Thank you everyone for your suggestions and advice. I might look into some of your destinations, since you all recommended them
ETA: The resort in Mexico got really good reviews, except for the beach. So, now, on to looking into Cancun! Phew! Doing all my research like you said- so this better be worth it eventually!
We picked Hawaii. We are going in January! We had thought about Europe and thought about a few other places (central america, caribbean, etc), but we decided we didn't want to feel like we should site-see all the time (like we would if we were in Europe), and we didn't want to only do beach stuff. My brother had gone on a Caribbean cruise a few years ago, and then a month later to Hawaii. He said he has never thought about going to the Caribbean again- but is constantly looking for deals to go back to Hawaii. We are spending 5 days on Maui and 5 days on Oahu. We were supposed to get a time-share on Oahu- but it was completely booked. We are using Hilton points for Maui... and staying at some fancy Waldorf Astoria resort!
Be careful when you read reviews... people do complain about stupid stuff and some people have ridiculously high expectations for average hotels.
jacqui + erik 7.10.10
**Planning Bio**
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon?
Yea, that's something DH and I were actually talking about last night. Some reviews I kind of took with a grain of salt. Others seemed really sincere... I did notice that there was a running theme through many of the posts that the resort needs renovations, though.
Jaqui, i'm taking peeks at your blog at work right now. You take fantastic photos and those cherry blossoms are amazing!
I am also sneaking a peek at the Secret Wild Orchid. Looks gorgeous!!
Where and when did you and your DH go on your honeymoon? We went on a 5 day cruise to the Bahamas. We flew to Miami the day after the wedding and spent two nights there before getting on the ship.
What sort of criteria did you want your honeymoon to meet? (i.e. certain location, romance, activities, adult-only locations, secluded/busy, etc.) I'm not a cold weather person, he's not a stay on the beach all week type of person. I love cruising but he had never been on one. He agreed to a cruise if I agreed to not to make him sit out on the beach every day. We had only one port where the beach was really the only thing to do there so we were able to enjoy the beach one day.
Would you recommend your honeymoon destination to someone else? Yep! I actually want to fly directly to the Atlantis Resort for a future anniversary (we stopped there for a dolphin excursin)
Any other helpful tidbits you might have to share? When you book, let them know you will be on your honeymoon. They sang "Happy Honeymoon" (to the tune of Happy Birthday) one night with a cake for us.