Best HM location for novice travelers

[princessplease]

I posted this in BWW too, but figured it''d get better exposure over here.

So, FI and I thought we had the HM figured out, but nope. Our original thought was Punta Cana. That''s still an option, but I''m wondering if there are better options out there.

FI and I don''t travel. Honestly, we really can''t afford it, so we want the HM to be amazing. He''s never been out of the country, and I have only 1 time (on a cruise). We want to do an all inclusive anywhere, as long as there is amazingly clear blue water (sounds odd, but I''ve always wanted to swim in an ocean where I can see my feet. Our ocean here in NJ is brown, lol!). The budget is ~$3,000, but we''re willing to go up to $3,500 for an amazing location. The HM will be 8/2-8/9. We''ll be traveling out of Philadelphia Int''l Airport.

So, I''m enlisting the help of the lovely PSers for suggestions. You ladies rock at everything else, so I know you''ll have some great suggestions.

Thankies!

 

[TravelingGal]

Do you have a passport?

I recommend skyauction.com

For instance, I visited the Royal Hideway in PlayaDelCarmen. Skyauction has one that is about to expire in a few minutes which is currently at 102 per night per person. http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/1642524 That is a huge savings.

Check into this to see if it''s still the case, but once you win, you can call in and choose the date you want. If it is not available, you don''t have to honor your bid.

 

[princessplease]

Date: 10/20/2009 2:17:20 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Do you have a passport?

I recommend skyauction.com

For instance, I visited the Royal Hideway in PlayaDelCarmen. Skyauction has one that is about to expire in a few minutes which is currently at 102 per night per person. http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/1642524 That is a huge savings.

Check into this to see if it''s still the case, but once you win, you can call in and choose the date you want. If it is not available, you don''t have to honor your bid.

Very interesting!!!!!! I''m definitely going to bookmark that. We''re going to wait until after Christmas to book, though.
FI and I have our applications in for our passports.

 

[TravelingGal]

Yeah, just check out the resort you want and see if skyauction has it. Please do your research on it though as it has been 5 years since I''ve used the site. I used it with no problems whatsoever and the Royal Hideaway back then was an excellent all inclusive resort.

For resorts, check out reviews on www.tripadvisor.com. I also do recommend checking out the resorts in Playa Del Carmen. For instance, in the auction that just went off, it''s 102 a night, plus 49 in taxes and fees. That''s around 300 bucks a night for both of you. For a 7 night stay, that''s 2100 bucks, and that includes all your food and booze (of which Royal Hideaway had when we went top shelf instead of the horrible stuff a lot of the other all inclusive stuff had). The food was excellent back than for all AI resort. For 900, you could probably get flights for two of you to Cancun if you really shopped around. Then add transfers as it is a drive from Cancun to PDC. That makes your budget.

 

[VRBeauty]

I'd second the Playa del Carmen (Playacar) recommendation (especially if you can do it at those prices!). It's a friendly area overall, beautiful, and with all-inclusives available at lots of pricepoints. The whole area was developed fairly recently, so you don't have to worry about ending up in a fleabag resort. Last time I was there I stayed in the Riu Tequilla, which is somewhat family oriented in spite of the name. It's about a block walk to the beach, but the tradeoff is very reasonable prices. The on-site amenities were very good, and you do get to use beach and bar facilities at the more expensive Riu resorts that have beachfront access.


I haven't stayed in Cancun, but that might be a better option if you and your FI like the (public) nightlife.

There are a lot of PS threads that discuss Playacar options that you might want to check out.

 

[TravelingGal]

For your honeymoon, I highly recommend an adults only resort. Royal Hideaway was one when I went, and there are a few others. It''s is NOT relaxing to sit by the pool when kids are cannonballing into it!

 

[princessplease]

Thanks, VR. I''m going to check it out with FI tonight.
Tgal, I forgot to add adults only. While I love kiddies, I don''t want to see any running past our window at 8:00 am, lol!