Honeymoon Help

[tcpurple]

My fiance and I first talked about Hawaii and now we are looking at the Caribbean. Our priority is a great beach with awesome waters. We want the crystal clear gorgeous waters! I need help deciding on where to go and when to go. No date is set and we are open to whenever.

I hear Maui would be the place to go in Hawaii. As for the Caribbean, I know that I don''t want Jamaica. All else is open and there are way too many choices!!

 

[kimberlina13]

If you''re looking at the Carribbean, just keep in mind hurricane season! I''ve heard too many horror stories about couples getting hit by hurricanes while on their honeymoon.

 

[codex57]

When are you going?

Hurricane Wilma hit right before my wedding (on a Sat). Let''s just say it was stress I did NOT need. Shut down the whole city I was to leave out of. Airport didn''t open until Wed. Port didn''t open until Thursday. Once down there, one stop was cancelled cuz the hurricane had destroyed the port. Damage was pretty obvious in all the other stops.

Plus, Hawaii is MUCH nicer than the Caribbean. It''s waters are just as nice. However, the condition of the cities is in far more pristine condition. I picked the Caribbean cuz me and my wife had just taken a trip to Oahu (awesome place) about 4 years ago. Afterwards, while we had a ton of fun, we still think we shoulda gone to Maui.

 

[jcrow]

we are going to the carribean staying at ladera & ti kaye. we researched plenty places before deciding. i would suggest also the palms & petite st. vincent.

 

[Tybee]

We''re getting married and staying in the USVI next week!
Wahoooooo!
I think St. John is the most beautiful place in the world.

 

[Gypsy]

Peter Island... or if you are foodie... cuisinart resort. Go to tripadvisor for reviews... we are heavily leaning toward Peter Island b/c their romance package is just right for us. But if you love 5 star cuisine cuisinart is supposed to be fabulous. As for Hawaii... I''ve been. Go to a smaller island-- the big ones are too... commercial.

 

[tcpurple]

We don''t know when we are going. We are open and flexible to when. When is hurricane season? I believe I''ve heard till November? Is that correct? When does it start?

Does Maui have the black rock on the beaches?

Thanks for all the replies! Keep them coming, I love hearing all the thoughts.

 

[flutterby]

I''ve been to Maui twice. We stayed at a friends parents place (insane penthouse condo in Kanapali) and then we stayed at Maui Prince in Makena. I love Maui, yes it is commercial, tourism is their primary income now that the sugar subsidies are ending. But it is beautiful and i think a much better choice than the carribean. I would stay at the Maui Prince again. It has one of the best beaches, great snorkling, tons of turtles, quiet and laid back. It is more reasonable than the Fairmont and Four Seasons so you can stay a little longer! Definately check it out.

If you choose Maui definately do the biking down haleakala. They pick you up at your hotel before sunrise and drive you to the top of the mountain, you watch the sunset from there and then ride a bike down to sea level. Its AMAZING.

Yes, there are black rock beaches, but not all of the beaches (obviously)

 

[JCJD]

I''ve only been to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, but Grand Cayman has the most amazing beaches! Gently sloping beach, white sands, crystal clear waters, it was gorgeous! The island was hit pretty badly with a hurricane during 2004, but if it hasn''t been hit since everything should be back up and running. If Mexico is an option, Cozumel is famous for its water''s deep visibility and the portion of the island that''s open to tourists is facing the mainland, so hurricanes would hit the opposite side.

 

[codex57]

Date: 7/6/2006 12:35:12 PM
Author: JCJD
I''ve only been to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, but Grand Cayman has the most amazing beaches! Gently sloping beach, white sands, crystal clear waters, it was gorgeous! The island was hit pretty badly with a hurricane during 2004, but if it hasn''t been hit since everything should be back up and running. If Mexico is an option, Cozumel is famous for its water''s deep visibility and the portion of the island that''s open to tourists is facing the mainland, so hurricanes would hit the opposite side.

I was in Western Caribbean for my honeymoon from Oct. 30 - Nov. 5th or so. Cozumel was hit hard. The port was completely destroyed. The city is open now, but I think the port is still out of commission so it''s more of a pain for cruise visitors to go in. We skipped it completely (well, the ship claimed to have made a humanitary stop, but we were there for so short a time, I think they just dropped off like one pallet of supplies). Grand Cayman definitely showed effects of the hurricane. Trees were overblown, etc. Structures were ok, but the greenery looked hard hit. Still a gorgeous place and my favorite stop there. Jamaica survived Wilma ok, but this season might hit it hard.

That''s the thing with the Caribbean. It may have survived one season''s hurricanes alright, but you never know about the next season. The season starts June 1 and goes til Nov. 30. Don''t count on missing hurricanes, even if you are at either end of the season. I thought I was fine at the end of October, but nope. Plus, even if you are outside of the season, your location may have been hit so hard during the season, it hasn''t fully recovered yet so it may still affect your honeymoon.

For a regular vacation, I think it can be worth the risk. However, if you''re going right after your wedding, I don''t think it''s worth the additional stress. I really did not need that stress in addition to the regular wedding stresses. Plus, seeing all the destruction around you while you''re there is a bit of a downer. That''s why I recommend Hawaii instead.

 

[JCJD]

Date: 7/6/2006 2:26:42 PM
Author: codex57
That''s the thing with the Caribbean. It may have survived one season''s hurricanes alright, but you never know about the next season. The season starts June 1 and goes til Nov. 30. Don''t count on missing hurricanes, even if you are at either end of the season. I thought I was fine at the end of October, but nope. Plus, even if you are outside of the season, your location may have been hit so hard during the season, it hasn''t fully recovered yet so it may still affect your honeymoon.

This is so true. Our honeymoon cruise was from June 26 - July 2, right in the middle of the season, and we totally missed all the hurricanes.

 

[njc]

One thing that may help you decide is where you live (or will be leaving from) and how long you plan on going for.

We spent two weeks on 3 islands in Hawaii and would go again in a heartbeart! Here is a thread about our trip. We came from the east coast (DC Area) and it was only worth it for us to go if we spent 2 weeks... was the perfect amount of time. Had plenty of lazy beach days along with cool things like hiking, exploring and star gazing.

 

[jcrow]

Date: 7/6/2006 4:59:36 PM
Author: njc
One thing that may help you decide is where you live (or will be leaving from) and how long you plan on going for.

this is very true njc. for instance we wanted to go to hawaii, but that would be a VERY long flight to and from Louisiana. For us, the carribean is much closer.

 

[codex57]

Actually, the flight didn''t bother me at all. I''m in California and when it''s a big vacation, let alone your honeymoon, a few more hours is totally worth it. If you can only afford a short honeymoon, then distance can come into play. But, if you''re gonna take a whole week off, a few more hours in the air shouldn''t affect your decision too much.

I went from California to Florida to the Caribbeans. The flight was fine. I was enjoying the company of my new bride. It was having to skip a destination and seeing destruction on the islands that made it kind of a downer. That and worrying right before my wedding whether I''d have a honeymoon to go to. Actual time in the air from NY to Hawaii should only be a bit more than a work day right? I was all excited to start our honeymoon that I barely noticed the flight there. Well, that and the wedding was so tiring, I didn''t have problems sleeping on the plane either.

 

[njc]

I agree that your honeymoon is worth a little extra travel/trouble, but as jcrow mentioned, I just know your departure city can be a determining factor in where you go and thought I would throw it out there.

The flights alone for us from DC took 10 hours... 2 hours to Dallas/Ft Worth and then 8 hours to Maui. That doesnt included all the extras like driving to the airport and getting there early, 1-2 hour layovers, rental cars, luggage, etc. plus the jetlag! It took us 2 full days to get on track to being 6 hours behind.

Perhaps the trip east was easier for you because you moved ahead in time versus back. I can just remember STRUGGLING to stay awake past 6pm the first night because my body was saying its Midnight and you've been up since 4am!

 

[tcpurple]

I had thought about the distance and traveling time. I''d be departing from Nashville,TN. The Caribbean is closer. I had not thought about the time change and how that may affect us.

Gesh!! There are way too many things to consider! I''m thinking I may talk to a travel agency and see if they can help.

 

[codex57]

Maybe look into Greece and the Mediterranean? How long a flight is that?

 

[flutterby]

i went to maui from chicago and it didnt bother me at all. Actually since my timing was all screwed up I did the bike ride down the morning at the crack of down the day after we got there.

I would never choose a vacation spot based on travel time. (unless I really hated flying) I want to go to thailand and i think it will be well worth the long flight and layover in tokyo