Caribbean honeymoon

[jstarfireb]

Hey all! FI and I are a bit late getting on our honeymoon planning, but we''re looking for suggestions for all-inclusives in the Caribbean. This will be in mid-late May (so no worries about hurricane season). Suggestions we''ve gotten from friends are Negril (Jamaica) and St. Lucia, but we''re open to others. We''re on a budget but will be setting up a honeymoon registry (so we''re looking at maybe $2000 counting airfare from Pittsburgh for 3-4 nights).

We''re Costco members and saw some attractive deals through Costco travel (there was a nice one in Aruba in particular). Have any of you gone that route? Do we save any significant money that way?

We were also looking at Sandals resorts...anyone been there? Any reviews of particular Sandals resorts, good or bad, would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cleopatra]

I''ve heard great things about Sandals Whitehouse in Negril, Jamaica. Also, a friend of mine went to a Couples resort in Negril and loved it!

St. Lucia might knock you out of your budget if including airfare.

 

[cbs102]

i have been doing a ton of research on this because i am getting married in jamaica. i would recommend Sandals Ocho Rios. its the biggest sandals that they have so its the cheapest... its right near Dunns River falls.

check it out. trip advisor is a good place to research. also, Luckystar had her wedding in Negril.

 

[Sabine]

Most people that I''ve talked to were disappointed in Sandals, mostly because they are getting run down as the resorts get older, and you can stay somewhere just as nice for a lot cheaper!

We went to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and stayed at Excellence (an all-inclusive). We stayed for 8 days, and the cost was roughly double what you want to pay (and we flew out of Pittsburgh too! I think the greatest part was there was a direct flight!)

Definitely check out tripadvisor.com to look into reviews of different resorts.

 

[marchswallowbird]

Keep in mind that Aruba isn''t the tropical island you usually think of when you go to the Caribbean. It is more arid, since it is only 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela. Wikipedia describes it as a "cactus-strewn landscape."

 

[jstarfireb]

Thanks for the suggestions, ladies - keep ''em coming!

March, I didn''t know that about Aruba. I''m looking for "tropical paradise" so I guess I''ll cross that off the list.

 

[bootsiekin]

Date: 2/4/2009 8:36:42 PM
Author: jstarfireb
Thanks for the suggestions, ladies - keep ''em coming!


March, I didn''t know that about Aruba. I''m looking for ''tropical paradise'' so I guess I''ll cross that off the list.

We went to Aruba for our honeymoon and I have to disagree with it not being tropical. The inner part of the island does seem kind of like a desert, and there are cacti, but all along the shoreline its definitely tropical, sandy beaches, palm trees, bars and restaurants on the beach, etc. I can provide some pictures if you don''t believe me!

I actually thought it was neat that there was such different landscapes all one one small island. We did a jeep tour and got to see some of the rough terrain which I thought was just as unique and beautiful as the beaches and bath-water like ocean.

We didn''t stay at an all-inclusive, but there was one right across the street that was connected to our resort. It is called the Tamarijn. A friend of mine from high school stayed there for his honeymoon and had nothing but good things to say.

I can''t speak for the other islands like St. Lucia, but Aruba had tons of activities to do like scuba diving to shipwrecks and sunset sail boat rides, horseback riding on the beach and everything else. Also the people were all extremely friendly and helpful. The only negative thing I can say is to make sure you bring phone cards that you can use from your resort - our resort didn''t allow phone cards which we didn''t know ahead of time.

 

[shimmer]

Check this place out, it''s over budget but

PSVR

 

[cbs102]

i know that you are set on the caribbean but i have heard amazing things about Mexico..and they have killer prices.

 

[CellarDoor]

I would recommend Tortola. Very tropical, incredibly friendly locals, and things like cows and goats and chickens just walking down the road. There are also four other islands that are a quick ferry ride away that all have a totally different feel. I don''t know about any all-inclusive resorts because every time I''ve gone, we''ve stayed at this apartment place which is only $140 a night in the off-season, but has a full kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom and we just go the grocery store the first day and stock the kitchen for breakfast and lunches and then go out for dinner every night. We do rent a car, but my FI likes to drive around and explore so we usually drive to a different beach every day.