For those who know how to travel on the cheap...

[alli_esq]

...do you have any idea if it''s possible to go on a 7 to 9 day tropical honeymoon in November on $4,000 (soup to nuts)?

 

[meresal]

Go look at travelzoo.com (Top 20) and shermanstravel.com (Top 25). You can see their lists online at any time. Alos, be sure to get on their mailing lists. They send out the top 20 travel deals every tuesday, and they have some amazing rates.

 

[Deelight]

Is that spending money or everything?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Probably. Check out some of the all-inclusives in the Dominican Republic. Also check out cruises. All-inclusives, while removing the element of control, really cover the basic big-ticket expenditures for vacations, which are food and alcohol.

 

[elrohwen]

Last November FI and I rent a house in the Bahamas with some friends. We were there for 10 days and it cost around $5000 I think (that was total, with food, alcohol, boat rental, etc). 7 days would've been doable for $4000 I think; we did splurge on a nicer house than we had to. We planned everything ourselves and didn't use an agent or an all inclusive, so I can't really comment on those.

ETA: Late October/early November was the perfect time to go and had the cheapest rates. Hurricane season was almost totally over (though we still got trip insurance, just in case) but the winter crowds hadn't arrived. Going on the off season definitely helped to keep our costs down.

 

[Izzy03]

I would think so.....

My fiance and I will be going to the Riu Palace in Cancun (we consider Cancun to be tropical). It is all inclusive and with the flight we are paying $2100 for 6 nights. Our honeymoon is in April, and I really can''t imagine November being more expensive than that!

 

[galvana]

thats easy.
go to
www.applevacations.com

cancun
DR
Jamaica
all very reasonably priced.

 

[neatfreak]

Totally doable for basic level accommodations and meals. I second the idea of all inclusives, you pay for everything up front so you know what you are getting into.

On the flip side if you DIY you can save some cash, but it''s a lot more stressful if you aren''t a seasoned traveller.

 

[kama_s]

Totally do-able! Some places to consider: Mexico, Dominican, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos...and even Aruba (cheaper in Nov, but it might be towards the higher end of your budget).

We were in Punta Canada at an all-exclusive 5 star for a week in Jan...and it costed us under 3K. You can definitely even finder cheaper deals.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

TOTALLY possible, especially if you don''t require a honeymoon/presidential suite at a 5-star property.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 3/19/2009 6:23:28 PM
Author: fleur-de-lis
TOTALLY possible, especially if you don''t require a honeymoon/presidential suite at a 5-star property.

Even then! The room we stayed at (mentioned in my above post) was the honeymoon suite..I think just one under their most expensive suite....and we still paid around 3K for the week. Maybe we got lucky, but if I did...then I''m hoping Alli can too

 

[alli_esq]

thanks, ladies...

yeah, I assumed that we would have to do an all-inclusive for that kind of budget, but FI wants no part of that. he claims that he will do the research and find things for us to do...see, he likes to do a lot of activities while on vacation, and though I like some of that stuff (snorkeling, jetskiing, things like that), I will do some of the things he likes (for instance--we went on this bike ride in jamaica--I am shocked I lived to tell the tale) just because he wants to so much, not because I find them enjoyable. Truth be told, I''d be happy to stay on the beach or near a pool for the better part of a vacation, and just drink and eat great food at night--stuff like that.

anyway, FI is totally opposed to a cruise (we did one last winter that was fine, but not amazing) because he likes to set his own schedule, and he''s opposed to an all-inclusive resort because when he goes somewhere, he wants to get a taste of the culture (rather than just be in a tropical bubble that could be anywhere in the world)...

He insists that because he is making this more difficult, he will do the research...ha. I don''t know how realistic he is being, and although we have a while to plan it, he is the BIGGEST procrastinator I''ve ever met, and I have the distinct feeling that I will end up doing the planning...

so thanks for your ideas

 

[Deelight]

You could fly to Australia, there are lovely tropical beaches here and with the exchange rate your at an extreme advantedge .

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 3/20/2009 9:45:41 AM
Author: alli_esq
thanks, ladies...


yeah, I assumed that we would have to do an all-inclusive for that kind of budget, but FI wants no part of that. he claims that he will do the research and find things for us to do...see, he likes to do a lot of activities while on vacation, and though I like some of that stuff (snorkeling, jetskiing, things like that), I will do some of the things he likes (for instance--we went on this bike ride in jamaica--I am shocked I lived to tell the tale) just because he wants to so much, not because I find them enjoyable. Truth be told, I''d be happy to stay on the beach or near a pool for the better part of a vacation, and just drink and eat great food at night--stuff like that.


anyway, FI is totally opposed to a cruise (we did one last winter that was fine, but not amazing) because he likes to set his own schedule, and he''s opposed to an all-inclusive resort because when he goes somewhere, he wants to get a taste of the culture (rather than just be in a tropical bubble that could be anywhere in the world)...


He insists that because he is making this more difficult, he will do the research...ha. I don''t know how realistic he is being, and although we have a while to plan it, he is the BIGGEST procrastinator I''ve ever met, and I have the distinct feeling that I will end up doing the planning...


so thanks for your ideas

word of caution. If you like the get a "taste" of the culture and commune with the locals, consider a more worldly country. Many islands in the Carribbean while gorgeous and popular for tourists, are third-world countries in reality and can be very dangerous. I remember while in both the DR and Jamaica we were told NOT to leave the resort or beach area unless on a sponsored tour because of crime and violence that was a pretty regular occurance.

 

[honey22]

Date: 3/20/2009 10:01:14 AM
Author: Deelight
You could fly to Australia, there are lovely tropical beaches here and with the exchange rate your at an extreme advantedge .

Ditto. Australia has some of the most incredible beaches in the world.

Check out this link to a famous beach in the Whitsundays, called Whitehaven Beach, it really looks as good as in these pics!

http://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/rtn2/index.cfm?57924CF2-DB00-B5B2-E732-58D62DE48101

 

[alli_esq]

Deelight: I would love to go to Australia!! I am actually sort of holding out hope that the fares go down so that might be in the realm of possibility--but considering neither of us (especially me) can take off that much time from work, and the flights are SO long, time might be an issue too...

Hudson: I totally understand--we were thinking initially that we''d go to Mexico because it''s so inexpensive, but with all the crime going on there now, we just decided against it...

 

[CellarDoor]

I think that November is the very end of the low season, so accommodations should be considerably less expensive. I would recommend staying at a condo or apartment style hotel. They have kitchens in them, so you can go to a grocery store and stock up on stuff for breakfasts and lunches.

We''re doing two weeks in the British Virgin Islands and have a budget of 5,000, and I really don''t think that we are going to go over. We each signed up for the Delta Airlines American Express and they give a 20,000 mile signing bonus, and I am putting all honeymoon related charges on the card, so our flights are going to end up being free or very close to being free.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Alli_Esq, what are your top 3 ideal destinations? (Caribbean, Hawaiian, South Pacific, Central American, Indian Ocean, SE Asian....) Maybe with that added info, some knowledgeable people could weigh in with more specific info based on personal experience.

 

[NuggetBrain]

Try Costa Rica. Its high season so a bit more expensive, but the hotel below (which looks gorgeous - its going to be part of our honeymoon) is pricing at around 1,500 for 7 nights in November. I think the place also includes breakfast each morning. The exchange rate is very favorable there as well, and there seems to be a lot of low priced, beautiful hotels and resorts there. Plus, lots to do - zip lining, river tours, volcano tours, hot springs, etc.

http://www.arenalnayara.com/index.php

However, its not near a beach so if "tropical" to you means "by a beach" you might want to look somewhere else in the country.

 

[Mediterranean]

Costa Rica is really beautiful, and affordable...

If your future husband wants to do the trip a la carte style and skip the all inclusives, there are two good travel review sites: tripadvisor.com and Lonely Planet''s "thorn tree" forums. Those two are good because of the posts from people who''ve actually done it; they can help you avoid common pitfalls. Also, trip advisor (ugh. I''m not misspelling it, that''s how THEY spell it, I know it''s jacked up) allows travelers to post their own pics so you get to see what the place really looks like.

 

[katamari]

Date: 3/20/2009 10:07:58 AM
Author: Hudson_Hawk

Date: 3/20/2009 9:45:41 AM

Author: alli_esq

thanks, ladies...



yeah, I assumed that we would have to do an all-inclusive for that kind of budget, but FI wants no part of that. he claims that he will do the research and find things for us to do...see, he likes to do a lot of activities while on vacation, and though I like some of that stuff (snorkeling, jetskiing, things like that), I will do some of the things he likes (for instance--we went on this bike ride in jamaica--I am shocked I lived to tell the tale) just because he wants to so much, not because I find them enjoyable. Truth be told, I''d be happy to stay on the beach or near a pool for the better part of a vacation, and just drink and eat great food at night--stuff like that.



anyway, FI is totally opposed to a cruise (we did one last winter that was fine, but not amazing) because he likes to set his own schedule, and he''s opposed to an all-inclusive resort because when he goes somewhere, he wants to get a taste of the culture (rather than just be in a tropical bubble that could be anywhere in the world)...



He insists that because he is making this more difficult, he will do the research...ha. I don''t know how realistic he is being, and although we have a while to plan it, he is the BIGGEST procrastinator I''ve ever met, and I have the distinct feeling that I will end up doing the planning...



so thanks for your ideas

word of caution. If you like the get a ''taste'' of the culture and commune with the locals, consider a more worldly country. Many islands in the Carribbean while gorgeous and popular for tourists, are third-world countries in reality and can be very dangerous. I remember while in both the DR and Jamaica we were told NOT to leave the resort or beach area unless on a sponsored tour because of crime and violence that was a pretty regular occurance.

I second going to a more worldly country. I also think that all-inclusive vacations are the worst, so I would at lest give your FI the opportunity to see what he can come up with.

What about South America? We are going to Ecuador for our wedding, and it is cheap and amazing! Plus, there are four distinct regions, so if you wanted to travel around at all, it could be like several vacations in one with the rainforests, the mountains, the coast, and the Galapagos. It isn''t totally tropical, though, and might be more difficult than more resort-y areas, if easy is an appeal for you. Brazil could be another option.

Also, not sure how you feel about other US locations, but the Keys are amazing. I have had some terrible vacations in the rest of Florida, but never in the Keys. Might be harder for $4K, though.