Can you offer suggestions for Honeymoon locations?

[Daniel S.]

My Fiance and I are planning two honeymoons, something small and short right after our wedding this July and something longer in the wintertime. We live in the Chicago. Both of our jobs won't allow us to take a large amount of time off in the summer. Does anybody have any suggestions for a short honeymoon right after the wedding?

 

[mrscushion]

Can you fly, or does it have to be a driveable destination?

What about a weekend going hiking and spa-ing in a mountain lodge?

 

[paisleyandpearls]

I used to live in Chicago and the beauty of the city (aside from all of the summer festivals) is that there are 2 airports and you can get a direct flight to almost anywhere in the continental US!

For a long weekend honeymoon I'd recommend going to Napa/Sonoma for 3-4 nights. You can fly direct to Sacramento, rent a car for next to nothing, and in an hour you'll be in the heart of wine country! Stay at a cozy B&B, sample all of the delicious food & wines, and be sure to take a hot air balloon ride over the valley. Napa is so romantic!

I think the 2 honeymoon idea is a great one! My fiance and I are doing something similar - we're getting married on Martha's Vineyard, taking a few days to enjoy Nantucket (mini honeymoon), and heading out to Italy (for the long honeymoon) 4 days after we actually tie the knot.

Good luck deciding! Lots of great options from being so centrally located in Chicago!

 

[sillyberry]

If you want to do something quickly and close by, the Michigan wine country is actually quite lovely. I've stayed at the Harbor Grand, visited some wonderful wineries, eaten great food. We just went right around New Buffalo over a weekend, but if you have a bit more time, you could explore some more up the coast!

 

[Haven]

Do you live in the city or in a surrounding suburb? If you don't live in the city, I think it would be wonderful to spend your minimoon right in downtown Chicago, and then save whatever you would have spent traveling somewhere for your big honeymoon in the winter.

If you want to get away, Michigan wine country is a great idea. If you want to hole up in an isolated area, there are some great locations you could drive to up in Wisconsin, too.

I know you didn't ask about your big honeymoon, but DH and I went to St. John in the USVI and it was AMAZING.

 

[vc10um]

I'm going to have to "third" the suggestion for Michigan wine country. There are wineries all along the West Coast of Michigan (some, admittedly, better than others!) and all the way up to Traverse City. If you have a bit more time and don't mind a decent drive, I recommend heading up to Mackinac Island for a romantic and relaxing getaway. But that's a bit of a drive for you, plus the ferry ride on top of it. West Michigan would be much more accessible. You can see a map of Michigan wineries and tasting rooms here.

 

[paperumbrella]

If you want a drivable mini-moon, Lake Geneva in Southwestern WI is cute. Door County is also really beautiful, but a bit further drive north.

 

[wannaBMrsH]

We also did two honeymoons! Our first was a "mini-moon" the weekend after the wedding to New York City. There is always so much you can do and we did all the touristy stuff that we hadn't done when traveling for work or even other events.

We went to the MET, Statue of Liberty, The New York Stock Exchange, Ground Zero. We watched a Shakespeare in the Park production and went Salsa dancing around the corner from our hotel! We flew from Texas to NYC Friday morning and were back by Sunday night. Also, we didn't even rent a car. We took the bus from JFK to town and got off at the corner where there was a subway station. Then we took the subway to our hotel (we only packed a carryon for both of us!) and the hotel was on the same block as a subway station across from Central Park. It was so great! We walked and took the train everywhere we wanted to go.

Like, Haven, I know you didn't ask, but we did our official honeymoon on our first wedding anniversary and if you have time and some extra money, I will definitely recommend the Maldives! We went to India and the Maldives, but India is definitely not for everyone and I would have been just as delighted to stay in the Maldives for the entire trip! We even saw a baby shark while we were snorkeling! Secluded, Romantic and unabashedly UNFORGETTABLE!