Alright, lovely readers. Now I need some wedding help. While we are moving along with our wedding plans (we sent our save the dates and just made an appointment to meet a DJ company) one thing we’ve barely had time to think about is our honeymoon!
We do know a few things. We would definitely like to leave right away, as in later in the day of Sept. 9 or anytime Sept. 10 (our wedding is on Sept. 8). We also know that we would like to go somewhere tropical, since I doubt we’ll win the lottery and head to Italy any time soon. So, we’re thinking somewhere in the Caribbean. Brian is pretty much set on St. Maartin, since you can apparently “surf” in the jet stream of huge planes next to the airport. Typical boy, although it does sound pretty cool!
This is where you come in! Have any of you been on a trip/vacation/honeymoon somewhere in the Caribbean/Central America (or other tropical place) that you would recommend? Here are our other requirements:
- Fairly inexpensive- we’re funding the wedding ourselves so we want to keep a budget in mind!
- Preferably kid free. We love kids, and want them. Someday. But we’d prefer to not have to fight a bunch of 10-year-olds for beach access.
- As “inclusive” as possible. We’ve heard a good way to save money is to look for places where drinks/outings/etc are included.
- Plenty of outings/adventures! While we definitely want some lazy beach time, we are big on adventure and are looking for anything that will involve us in local community, hiking, snorkeling, wild life, etc. And Brian has zip lining on his must do list!
Whew. Hopefully that doesn’t make us too picky! Some things are definitely negotiable- the first and the last items on the list are the most important. We’re willing to try anything- unless someone has an Italian villa they would be willing to donate?
If not, please leave a comment on anywhere in the Caribbean you’ve been and would recommend. I’d love to get as much detail as possible- what’s included, costs (if you don’t mind sharing, or you can email me at thecrazylifeofj[at]gmail.com with those details) if a travel agency was used or where you went to book everything, etc. What was your favorite and least favorite? Any advice is completely appreciated, as we want to get moving on planning this- I can’t believe it’s almost six months away!
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Europe… and have a Philofaxy meet up at the same time! Just a suggestion… honest!!
But seriously… that place Kanalt went to on her holidays last year looked just perfect….
Haha! I would TOTALLY be all for that! Not sure how Brian would feel though…
And I'm definitely checking out Turks- I think it looks amazing! Brian still has his heart set on fence riding behind jets in St. Maartin, so we'll see!
I would watch out for those all-inclusive places as they are usually in places where it's not really safe to leave the resort…and where's the fun in that? Also, they are usually huge resorts with tons of people.
Check out budget travel magazine's website, they usually have a lot of good travel ideas and know a lot of smaller, more private hotels. And you can search for places in the Caribbean and they even have a list of places that you can get to in one flight.
Ha ha – you knew I would say Turks & Caicos!
We stayed at Club Med (the only adult-only Club Med left and [I believe] the only adult-only all-inclusive on Provo). It's the oldest resort there so the rooms are a little outdated but nice all the same. We didn't mind though since we hardly spent any time in the room. Plus, our view totally made up for whatever might have lacked in the room. Yes, it's all-inclusive – meals, beach, drinks, and some activities (snorkeling, etc.). There are other off-site activities that are an extra cost – our sunset sail and the two parasailing adventures were extra because they were not sponsored by Club Med, though they will set it up/book it for you. They also offer entertainment in the evening, though it's not "exciting" entertainment – the staff puts on dance shows and the like (it's pretty bad as entertainment goes, but it's something), but there's also a DJ most nights for dancing and hanging out. But there are other things too – a trapeze show, a beach party, etc. We didn't lift a finger while we were there. The most we had to do was walk to the bar. 😉
The thing we loved most about Turks is that it's not a college-crowd. At Club Med, many couples and singles, but definitely an "older" crowd (but by no means elderly). At other resorts, you'll find families. You can walk the beach, even beyond Club Med. The entire beach is public. Plus, you can walk to the town (Grace Bay), though I don't know if there's much to do there.
I can't say whether or not there's a zip line – we didn't hear of one, but since there are other islands, you can island-hop. You might find one elsewhere. We didn't go much beyond Club Med – island hopping requires another short flight and we didn't want to deal with that.
We used a travel agent to book (three weeks prior) – we told her what we wanted, how much we wanted to spend, etc. She found exactly what we wanted. She did all the work, we just paid for it. If you want to know how much we spent, just email me. She stayed pretty close to our budget. We ended up going a little over because we flew direct from NYC (a 3 1/2 hour flight) which is a little more than switching in Miami. Plus, we paid for a car service to and from the airport (we booked that separately from the travel agent).
Overall, we absolutely LOVED it and would go again in a heartbeat. DH is trying to talk me into going for New Years – we'll see. But it would be totally do-able. (FYI – we stayed for a full week.)
We met a couple who married at Atlantis in the Bahamas and honeymooned in Turks – they liked both but said it's a very different feel – Bahamas (at least at Atlantis Resort) was way more party-going, whereas Turks was much more laid back.
Let me know if you want any more info. But I would say definitely check out T&C's website!
BTW – Just to respond to whit's comment – I think I read that T&C has one of the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean (but don't quote me). We didn't feel endangered in any way when we left the resort. We felt that everyone we came in contact with (both the club staff and the locals) were very nice.
The official language is French but many speak English (most are bilingual). They're under British rule but use American currency (another bonus for us, as some places won't take American dollars – we wanted things to be as easy as possible, as that was the purpose for our vacation).
I know you mentioned traveling the day after your Big Day. We did, and I wish we hadn't. We were soooo exhausted, and the day after was packed with breakfast-ing with relatives, packing all of our junk up, and saying goodbyes. It would have smarter for us to have one night to recoup but we didn't.
As far as where, I say Europe!
Yeah, we definitely want to leave the resort! I've been researching and am veering away from all inclusive for a number of reasons… we'll see.
But I'll definitely check out that magazine- it sounds perfect!
Thanks, Kanalt! I've definitely been checking out Turks- your photos are pretty darn convincing. We just have to make sure that it has plenty of adventure- I think Brian would be crushed if there wasn't a zip line… soooo much to think about!!!
Oops, I guess I wasn't clear. We wouldn't be leaving on Sunday (wedding is Saturday) but instead we'd leave on Monday. That way, we can do brunch Sunday with family, lounge around most of the day Sunday, and leave Monday morning.
We are both taking several days off before the wedding, so we hope to be packed and set to go so we don't have to deal with any of the last minute insanity before jetting off!
And I'd totally go to Europe… maybe I should start buying lottery tickets now!