affordable honeymoon

[davis454]

Hi-
My FH and I are searching for a great honeymoon destination that won't leave us with maxed out credit cards! My FH just made a career change about which we are both incredibly excited, but he will be taking a huge pay cut. Our initial honeymoon that we had planned/started booking was costing upwards of 8K. We're looking for something closer to 3K, if possible. Preferably Caribbean or Mexico (we'll be traveling in July and know that this is the off season, therefore will probably get the best deal there.) Thanks for any advice!!

[kyshel]

First--Congrats!!
Second--what's your gateway city? FYI--July is traditionally not off-season for Carib Islands/Mexican Coasts--huge family vacation month.
Third--How many days do you want to spend--all-inclusive or adventure or beach/spa, etc? What's your preference--total getaway or in the middle of the action? sights or "only-have-eyes-for-you" destination
There are lots of contributors who will share ideas if you offer more details.

[davis454]

Thanks Kyshel!
-Our gateway city is Boston (Logan Airport)
-We'd like to spend as many days as we can afford. Because my FH is starting his new job, we will probably only be able to take about a week (6 or 7 nights)
-We tend to shy away from all inclusives, mostly because we're very into great food and wine. We really do like to explore the community we are staying in
-Typically we're happy being in the middle of the action, though I'm thinking for our honeymoon I'd prefer a total getaway to someplace beautiful, just enjoying the scenery and each other's company
Any suggestions would be immensely helpful!

[jashermd]

Hello,

For an affordable honeymoon which offers maximum bang for your buck, I'd recommend considering South Africa -- it will be a bit more expensive to get to, but July is low season and the rand/dollar exchange rate (currently 10 to 1) means you'll get amazing value for money. If you stay in boutique hotels in places like Cape Town and the Winelands you may be able to splash out for a few nights at a really luxurious safari lodge. The food and wine are superb, and for fine dining the value for money is hard to beat -- a meal at Le Quartier Francais, one of the top 50 restaurants ithe world, is about $108 for an eight-course tasting menu with wine (compared to over $200 at French Laundry or Per Se, without wine). Being on safari is an amazing experience, and definitely doesn't mean roughing it -- many safari lodges have spas, gyms, private plunge pools, and amazing rooms. Safari camps love to pull out all the stops for honeymooners and will go to great lengths to make your stay a memorable one.

With a week, I'd recommend flying into Cape Town (there are flights out of IAD and JFK) and spending 3-4 nights there and then going on safari for 3-4 nights in the Sabi Sands, the top game-viewing area in South Africa. There is a flight direct from Cape Town to Nelspruit outside the Sabi Sands, so you can leave Cape Town in the morning and be in camp in time for a late lunch.

LL sometimes features some great auctions in South Africa, including Le Quartier Francais. If you look at the safari packages, make sure that the one you choose has a stay of at least three nights in one lodge and doesn't bump you from place to place after only two nights -- two nights in a camp makes for a rather rushed experience which si the last thing you'd want on your honeymoon. There have been auctions for Lion Sands, which is a superb lodge with excellent game viewing. Some lodges are also offering specials which can compete quite well with the LL auctions so it's worth looking outside as well.

There's more information on South Africa on the Africa board. If you can provide an idea of your budget, I could make some more specific recommendations.

Cheers,
Julian

[davis454]

Thanks Julian, that sounds amazing. Unfortunately our honeymoon budget would just about get us to Cape Town (we're trying to make it work around 2-3K, flights appear to be about 2K). But we're both excited about that as a future trip

[bonniejoy03]

Hi Davis. Lots of ideas for you. First, St. Barths is a pretty cool place and there is a LL auction for a villa within your budget. The island itself might be a little expensive, however, with the villa, you could do some of the cooking in your villa. Second, Young Island. There is an auction to YI. It includes your breakfast, lunch, and dinner but is not your typically all inclusive. It is very private and quaint. The only negative for you is that there is not a lot to do. Turks & Caicos Islands are a great opportunity with more people and action than the two I named. You have it pretty easy flying from Boston. You have a lot of great flights on AA, USAir, Continental, etc. What do you think????

[davis454]

The villa in St. Barths looks amazing and right up our alley. It looks as if the island itself has lots of great restaurants and some things to do, while also offering the opportunity to do nothing and relax. My only concern is the flights seem quite expensive. Do you think better deals will come up if I wait a little longer? Turks and Caicos looks beautiful and the flights are about half the price of flights to St. Barths. Any suggestions on places to stay? At this point Boston only really offers nonstop flights to Cancun, Punta Cana, and Puerto Rico. Never been to any of those places either...

[bonniejoy03]

The villa does look lovely. Yes, there are a lot of restaurants in St. Barths. Be aware that the island CAN be expensive. Yes, there are ways to avoid the super high costs. For flights, look at flying into St. Maarten. From there, you can fly or take the ferry (check this out....it might not be worth it because it COULD be rough.) In Turks and Caicos, we have stayed a few times at Ocean Club West and East. We really enjoy the property and they have been having many deals! You can get a kitchen unit so you can save some money cooking. I don't know about waiting though.....a lot of properties seem to be having deals now. I think the properties will have occupancy; the concern would be air....many flights have been cut and I have heard more will be cut. If the air is available and semi-decent price, I would jump on it now. I am not an expert on Cancun, Punta Cana or Puerto Rico. I think those options would be less expensive, however they would be larger areas/.

[jashermd]

Sorry, I didn't realise your budget was meant to include flights!

You could look at Turkey as an option, though I'm not sure about flights -- Istanbul combined with Bhodrun or one of the other beach resorts would work, and the country is relatively inexpensive since it's not part of the Eurozone. It won't be low season though.

There are a couple of good auction options in the Dominican Republic and Belize. I've not been to either place, but some of them seem to combine some time in the rainforest with some time on the beach which might be nice. If you post on the South America board you may get some more specailist advice.

Cheers,
Julian

[paularec]

HI!Read your link......and I just posted a trip I boughtto Mexico. Shouldn't have done it b/c my husband and I agreed to NO long dis travel in '09. We are east coast based. So if interested, let me know. I paid $891 total but am lookking to get out. 4 nites, suite, dinner, tequila, massage, horseback riding, looks really cool. Hacienda Sepulveda Hotel & Spa.Good luck! paularec oh, pkg good til 8/31/09