St. Lucia, Maui, or Mayan Riviera?

[lilylover]

FI and I are trying to decide where we will go on our honeymoon in June 2010. We want to book it within the next month or so to get the best prices. I have narrowed it down to these 3 locations, but can''t decide for the life of me! They are so different yet similar.

St. Lucia and Maui are the same price, but Mayan Riviera is about 700 dollars cheaper. This is just for flights and hotel, I didn''t factor food and entertainment in...not sure if it differs between each location?

I want to visit somewhere with amazing beaches/land, yet still plenty of things to go do (tours, hiking, snorkeling, etc).

What would you do? Have any of you been to one or more of these places, and what was your experience?

Thanks!

 

[Burberrygirl]

I would go to Maui or St. Lucia. I've never been to either, but my parents have several times. Their honeymoon was two weeks in Maui, and I think for their first anni they went to St. Lucia for two weeks. I know they've been back to each a couple of times. I've been to Mexico (including the Mayan Riviera) three times. Once was enough, Mexico is nice but I'd pick Puerto Rico and definitely, definitely Maui or St. Lucia over Mexico any day. Mexico would be a nice trip down the line, maybe for an anniversary especially since it's not as expensive.

 

[Lilac]

DH and I went to Hawaii (to Oahu and Maui) for our honeymoon and we LOVED every second of it! I''ve never been to St. Lucia or Mayan Riviera, but I know Maui is amazingly beautiful and there''s a LOT to do other than just sit on the gorgeous beaches. I wrote about some of the things in here: http://www.pricescope.com/forum/op-requested/back-from-honeymoon-in-hawaii-t123609.html

I''m not sure where you live, but we live in NY and we felt that we could much more easily go to St. Lucia or islands like that for any vacation, but Hawaii was something that was more of a now or never kind of thing (it''s pretty far from here so we knew if we didn''t go for our honeymoon we probably never would end up going). Of course now that we''ve actually been there we''re trying to figure out how soon we can get back there

!

Like I said, I''ve never been to the other places you''ve mentioned, but I would absolutely recommend Maui (and Hawaii in general) because there''s so much to do and it''s so so beautiful and relaxing at the same time!!!

 

[elle_chris]

I can only comment on St. Lucia as I haven't been to the other two.

For St. Lucia, you'd have to decide if you want to spend time on the north or south side of the island. When we were there last year, we spent one week north and one week south. Totally different feels. The north side had more to do, but wasn't as pretty and the hotels aren't as great either. I think for your honeymoon, I'd splurge on Le Sport as the other places are kinda bleh.

The south side is gorgeous with amazing hotels. It's the perfect place to just relax and the beaches are awesome. We spent a week at Jalousie Plantation house which was just incredible. The food was good, we had our own villa with a plunge pool, and it's a great place to just relax. The only downside was it was dead after dark. Not much goes on in the evenings.

The other thing is getting from point a to point b. they have terrible roads and it takes forever to get anywhere. Other than that, St. Lucia is one of the greenest islands in the caribean, the whole place looks like a tropical forest with beaches. It really is stunning.


eta: if you choose st. lucia, take plenty of bug spray with you or you'll get eaten alive. that and the roads were the only downside.

 

[elle_chris]

BurberryGirl- I''ve also been to Mexico (cancun) and Puerto Rico but would pick Mexico in a heartbeat over Puerto Rico. In fact, you couldn''t pay me to go back to Puerto Rico. Wondering why you''d choose the other?

 

[Burberrygirl]

Date: 8/31/2009 8:05:55 AM
Author: elle_chris
BurberryGirl- I've also been to Mexico (cancun) and Puerto Rico but would pick Mexico in a heartbeat over Puerto Rico. In fact, you couldn't pay me to go back to Puerto Rico. Wondering why you'd choose the other?

i don't know where you went in PR, but some of it reminded me of Europe. The people are extremely nice, it's gorgeous, there is nice shopping (a couple of great family owned jewelry stores), great food (if you know where to go and sometimes if you can afford to spend more money) and there is just a ton to see and do. The mountains are amazing too! In Mexico, I only had for the most part a resort vacation. I prefer to have more of a working vacation, I visit lots of places, sometimes go were the locals go and relax a little. Mexico was all about lets stay at your resort on the beach, only leave maybe once to go see the ruins. I have this need to go out and explore, like it's a waste to just sit on the beach all day with the other tourists, that's just me. You can have a relaxing vacation in PR too, but I think much more people go to Mexico for just that. I think a lot of people give PR a bad wrap because they're expecting Mexico, I loved it both times I went. Maybe thats because my parents had been there two times before and I knew where to go. I can't tell you enough how nice the people were. It's also nice that it's a U.S. territory. Elle, where did you go in PR? Did you have a bad experience?

 

[jcrow]

i''ve been to st. lucia [honeymoon] and maui [last november] and would recommend either of those. maui definitely has more to do. st. lucia is a getaway. secluded. i also think it depends where you stay on st. lucia. we stayed at ladera [loved!!!] and ti kaye [didn''t love].

what i loved about st. lucia was that we didn''t really do much. it was stress free. it was a place we''d probably never go to had it not been our honeymoon.

 

[atroop711]

Date: 8/31/2009 8:05:55 AM
Author: elle_chris
BurberryGirl- I''ve also been to Mexico (cancun) and Puerto Rico but would pick Mexico in a heartbeat over Puerto Rico. In fact, you couldn''t pay me to go back to Puerto Rico. Wondering why you''d choose the other?

Elle sounds like you went to the wrong places in Puerto Rico. Best thing is to go where the rest of the tourist aren''t going. PR is fabulous (SW side of the island...beaches are amazing) and visiting the island of Culebra off of Fajardo is like visiting the island that time hasn''t touched.

 

[atroop711]

I''ve been to Mexico lots of times and it''s beautiful but so accessible for us (we are in NY)...when we visited Maui we were in paradise! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT there...best snorkeling we''ve done was in Maui and the Big Island (Kona area).

 

[jcrow]

here''s our pics from st. lucia
and from maui

 

[bebe]

we''ve been to all 3

Maui - hands down

 

[steph72276]

I''ve only been to Maui, but my hubby and I went there for our honeymoon in 2002 and it was the most fabulous trip we have ever been on. It was PERFECT for a honeymoon, so beautiful, peaceful and romantic. There are tons of things to do, beautiful beaches, and great food. I would go there again in a heartbeat...in fact, we are planning on going back for our 10 year anniversary!

 

[TravelingGal]

I''ve been to the MR (Royal Hideaway resort in PDC) and Maui (Westin - can''t remember the name, but it''s the smaller of the two resorts on Kaanapali). I like the MR for a variety of reasons (mostly because I like going to different countries) but for a honeymoon, hands down Maui - especially if you like to snorkel.

 

[lilylover]

Okay, so St. Lucia or Maui it is. Now, how I am going to decide between those two is beyond me. St. Lucia looks absolutely gorgeous, but Maui seems to have more things to do besides just relax on the beach, am I correct? We will be going for a week, so while we definitely want days to just sit on the beach and do nothing else, we also want to be able to go on day tours, etc. on those days where we are feeling more adventerous.

For those of you that have been to both, what is the cost of food like? Is it more expensive in Maui or St. Lucia?

There is a resort in St. Lucia that is called Cocunut Bay Resort and Spa that is all inclusive. It''s a killer price (2,300 for flight and hotel for a week! and It includes all drinks and meals) It has pretty good reviews, and is located on the north side of the island --- Vieux Fort. I am wondering if we would really use the all inclusive, though. I am not sure we want to be tied to the resort. I''d rather be out and about.

 

[elle_chris]

hey Burberry and atroop- we stayed in Condado Plaza. Rented a car and were escorted out of an area by the police when it started getting dark. We were told that if we insisted on driving, to go through the red lights as carjackings are common there.

I also like to go exploring the area I''m visiting. so when we decided to walk back to Condado from Old San Juan in the middle of the day, we didn''t think anythng of it.
But the streets were dead. There were bars on every other corner with lots of unemployed men hanging around. Lots of cat calls and such. Just didn''t feel safe at all.

Between the car and the walk, we decided to just stay close to the property.

 

[Burberrygirl]

That is soo weird, when did you go? Sorry to thread jack, but I''ve NEVER heard anyone say that. I''ve been twice in the past four years, and my parents have been going there since the early 90s. I don''t know Condado, I''ve never stayed there.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 8/31/2009 11:32:19 AM
Author: lilylover
Okay, so St. Lucia or Maui it is. Now, how I am going to decide between those two is beyond me. St. Lucia looks absolutely gorgeous, but Maui seems to have more things to do besides just relax on the beach, am I correct? We will be going for a week, so while we definitely want days to just sit on the beach and do nothing else, we also want to be able to go on day tours, etc. on those days where we are feeling more adventerous.

For those of you that have been to both, what is the cost of food like? Is it more expensive in Maui or St. Lucia?

There is a resort in St. Lucia that is called Cocunut Bay Resort and Spa that is all inclusive. It''s a killer price (2,300 for flight and hotel for a week! and It includes all drinks and meals) It has pretty good reviews, and is located on the north side of the island --- Vieux Fort. I am wondering if we would really use the all inclusive, though. I am not sure we want to be tied to the resort. I''d rather be out and about.

Lilylover, I''ve been to Maui and the MR, and I definitely prefer Maui. Do you know the name of the resort you''re looking at in Maui? I''ve stayed in Ka''anapaali and Wailea now, and I really loved Wailea because we found some cool restaurants off the beaten path that were wonderful! Plus, the taco stand on the Road to Hana - it''s worth just doing the drive to get one of those pork tacos!

But, should you choose St. Lucia, I would regret not posting a link to this place - http://www.jademountain.com/

It''s definitely a budget buster, but we''ve had some BWWs go on their honeymoons to St. Lucia and stayed a night or two in one of the suites with their own plunge pools, and they''ve raved.

Just wanted to post it since you may not have known about it.

 

[coda72]

For your honeymoon, I''d definitely pick Maui. Hawaii is just beyond gorgeous.

Also, about Puerto Rico, I was not fond of it either and would not go back.

 

[Xedoc]

I''d pick Maui in a heartbeat too.

Amazing beaches, extremely friendly people, less crowded than Oahu/Big Island, a BUNCH of waterfalls, trails to hike, and tropical gardens.. and the best aspect of Maui for those who love the water.. the ancient volcano island: Molokini crater for tropical reef snorkeling/SCUBA diving.

 

[coda72]

Xedoc, I don''t know if you were calling the Big Island/Oahu, the same island, but they are 2 different islands. The Big Island is not one of the more crowded islands, and in fact seems to have less people on it since it is so much larger than the other islands. Sorry to be so emphatic in my correction, but I love the Big Island the most of the Hawaiian Islands. Kauai and Maui actually appear to be much more crowded to me, and Oahu is definitely the most crowded with the largest population of people.

 

[lilylover]

Thanks everyone! I am still torn... but it''s nice knowing that no matter which we choose, we will most likely be happy! Jcrow... thanks for the pictures! You''re so lucky that you''ve been to both places. Is there one that you would recommend over the other for honeymoon purposes?

 

[Xedoc]

Date: 8/31/2009 1:41:49 PM
Author: coda72
Xedoc, I don''t know if you were calling the Big Island/Oahu, the same island, but they are 2 different islands. The Big Island is not one of the more crowded islands, and in fact seems to have less people on it since it is so much larger than the other islands. Sorry to be so emphatic in my correction, but I love the Big Island the most of the Hawaiian Islands. Kauai and Maui actually appear to be much more crowded to me, and Oahu is definitely the most crowded with the largest population of people.

No, I was referring to Hawaii/Big Island as well as Oahu as more crowded than Maui. Oahu is by far the most crowded with both natives & tourists, and I found the population centers of the Big Island much larger than Maui. The Big Island is fantastic - black sand beaches & volcanoes, along with some great waterfalls too, but I prefer Maui - it just felt a bit more isolated & exotic to me. I didn''t visit Kauai, so I can''t comment on that one. Honestly, you really can''t go wrong anywhere in the Hawaiian Islands.

 

[jcrow]

Date: 8/31/2009 5:55:40 PM
Author: lilylover
Thanks everyone! I am still torn... but it''s nice knowing that no matter which we choose, we will most likely be happy! Jcrow... thanks for the pictures! You''re so lucky that you''ve been to both places. Is there one that you would recommend over the other for honeymoon purposes?

you''re welcome! honestly, it really depends on what you are looking for. you mentioned wanting not to be tied to a resort, if that''s the case, i suggest maui. st. lucia really doesn''t have a lot going on. we never left our resort. but, that''s exactly what we were looking for and we loved it.