OT: Honeymoon Destination Advice

[Requiem For A Dawg]

I'm getting married in May, and I am starting to look around for honeymoon spots. We would both like a beach destination. A few friends in my hometown have suggested the Punta Canta Excellence resort in the Dominican Repuic.

I'm leaning toward an all inclusive resort, but I'm open to suggestions.

ETA: I would like to keep the trip, flight included, under $5,000 if possible.

 

[civildawg88]

All inclusive is the way to go on the honeymoon for sure. We went to sandals st Lucia for ours and loved it. I've heard really good things about the excellence resort in Cancun. The one in DR isn't the best one from a couple of people that I know have been.

 

[LawDawg97]

Civildawg is right, the Excellence north of Cancun beats the DR, but you'll

I'm getting married in May, and I am starting to look around for honeymoon spots. We would both like a beach destination. A few friends in my hometown have suggested the Punta Canta Excellence resort in the Dominican Repuic.

I'm leaning toward an all inclusive resort, but I'm open to suggestions.

ETA: I would like to keep the trip, flight included, under $5,000 if possible.

enjoy either one. St. Lucia is fantastic, but keep in mind your flight is a little farther. I would not only do all-inclusive, but also do one that doesn't allow kids. You'd be surprised at how many do. Check out cheapcaribbean.com and you shouldn't have trouble finding anything under $5,000 for even an entire week trip. Reputable site and you can search for what fits your needs.

Good luck

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

Any of the Couples resorts in Jamaica. Short flight, not terribly expensive, and beautiful beaches.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I recommend a cruise

On one of the less kid friendly cruises, celebrity or princess or even higher end. Lots of onboard activities so you can do as much or little out of your room as you want, and the service and food will be better than an all-inclusive.

If you do an all-inclusive resort, pick a higher end (Sandals or better). I've been to a terrible one, the Royal at Playa del Carmen, and it kinda ruined me on trying another. I have heard good things about the Sandals chain, though.

Congrats

 

[missouridawg]

We did the Divi all inclusive in Aruba for ours. It was great.

Ive done the Atlantis in the Bahamas a few times too and have never seen another resort that has absolutely everything on campus like it does.

 

[EngDawg]

Look no further than beautiful Lake Tiak-O'Khata in Louisville, MS.*****

 

[diggidydog]

Turks and Caicos...awesome place. Not a bad flight from Jackson (just for reference) 6-8 hour travel time. I will go there again. Small place so night life was lacking but you don't want much of a nightlife on a honeymoon anyway.

 

[rem101]

Don't do it.

 

[DerHntr]

All inclusive. No kids. Everything else that you can do or where you will be are just details. Miss out on those first two points and in my opinion you'll regret it.

No prices on the menus. Just order whatever you want. It's liberating.

ETA: forgot to say we didn't Sandals In the Bahamas. Easily doable for under $5k.

 

[Roentgen]

I went to Excellence Punta Cana for my honeymoon 7 years ago. It was ok. Don't think I would go back. There was lots to drink and pretty good service but the food was very disappointing. Breakfast was good but it went downhill from there.

I'll second Atlantis although it is completely different. Tons more people and not all inclusive but the restaurants there were awesome. There is Nobu, Mesa Grill, and several other good ones. If you're not staying for a week you could probably do it under $5k. Whatever you decide, I would consult a travel agent. They can usually get a you better deal and will get paid a commission from wherever you go so it won't cost you to use one.

 

[MarkDallas]

I really enjoy all inclusive because money is a stress point for me. Lets me relax and enjoy.

 

[PBRME]

Did all inclusive to Cancun for my honeymoon in 06. I believe all in it was around 2500-3000 for Sunday to Saturday. We got our money's worth in alcohol.

 

[Bulldog from Birth]

I second the Couples in Jamaica recommendation.

 

[GTAdawg]

I'll be going on my honeymoon next week in Cancun. We elected for all-inclusive and no kids. It was important to me that once we arrived at our destination that money was the last thing I had to worry about. Our total came in at around $3k for 5 days. Flights included.

 

[Requiem For A Dawg]

Let me know how y'all like it.

 

[notoriousD_O_G]

We did all inclusive in Cancun. Locked my wallet in the safe when we arrived and didn't touch it for a week. Truly the most relaxing thing ever especially after getting 17ed by all the wedding expenses. The place we went was called the Imperial Valentin and everything was top notch.

 

[fishwater99]

Bora Bora, but not for under $5k.

I went to Italy for mine and it was Awesome. Rome, Sorrento, and San Gimignano. If you can a deal on flights your cost to Europe won't be too bad.

Other option would be Kauai.
One of the most beautiful places on earth. Stay on the North Shore west of Hanalei Bay.

 

[Lawdawg.sixpack]

^^ another vote for Couples in Jamaica. Specifically Sweptaway. No kids and good price.

 

[aTotal360]

Branson...

 

[VillagepeopleDogs]

Where ever you go be sure to stay at the 'Y' as much as possible.

 

[FreeDawg]

I see that going out of country is the only thing to do but we did Key West and it was great. Stayed at a resort with a private beach. 2nd largest living reef in the world so water activities galore, great food everywhere, and plenty of nightlife. Never had to worry about anything that you would traveling to a foreign country. I've been to Cancun and like the Keys better.

 

[Hoover Dawg]

^^ What he said. Unless you can go to one of those areas with rooms over the water. I bet that would be pretty awesome.

I have never understood the fascination with going overseas. Of course I have never understood engagement rings either.

 

[GhostOfJackie]

If you have 5K I would go with an all inclusive resort like Sandals. The resort is great but the food is not. Actually I thought the food was horrible but don't let that ruin your trip.

Make sure to leave the resort and go explore the local area as much as you can. They try to keep you glued to the resort property so you will buy excursions and spend your money there. Make sure to buy excursions from vendor's not associated with the resort to save money. They make you think you need to book all of your excursions before you arrive because they might be full, but that was not the case at all when we went.

Sit at the pool during the day and pound fruity adult beverages while scoping out the scenery (glasses of course).

 

[1msucub]

http://www.sandals.com/main/plantation/rp-home/

Went here several years ago, and it was just amazing.

 

[notoriousD_O_G]

^^ What he said. Unless you can go to one of those areas with rooms over the water. I bet that would be pretty awesome.

I have never understood the fascination with going overseas. Of course I have never understood engagement rings either.

It's just so much cheaper. You can go to Mexico and get an incredible room on the beach, all your drinks, all your food (including very nice restaurants for dinner), flights, and entertainment for a few thousand dollars. I can blow 3 grand on a trip to Florida in no time.

 

[sandwolf.sixpack]

All inclusive. No kids. Everything else that you can do or where you will be are just details. Miss out on those first two points and in my opinion you'll regret it..

This is really good advice. After the month leading up to the wedding, most people are pretty exhausted and just want to chill on the honeymoon.....that was the case for me and I was really glad I didn't have to deal with young kids, college spring breakers and that we didn't have to plan for meals aside from choosing a restaurant at the resort.

I went to Excellence Punta Cana for my honeymoon 7 years ago. It was ok. Don't think I would go back. There was lots to drink and pretty good service but the food was very disappointing. Breakfast was good but it went downhill from there.

This is where we went too, and I pretty much agree with all of this. The resort was nice and there was no shortage of booze, but the food definitely wasn't anything special. And I wouldn't go back either, but we had a great time and it was budget friendly.

 

[MaroonNation]

Hedonism. Your welcome.

 

[sipDawg98]

https://www.beachbumvacation.com

You can thank me later. They can get some stupid crazy deals with upgrades to rooms and usually good airfare. Used them last year to go to an all inclusive in Cancun and couldn't say enough good things about them.

 

[aTotal360]

Rippin' and a tearin'.

 

[mcdawg22]

^^ What he said. Unless you can go to one of those areas with rooms over the water. I bet that would be pretty awesome.

I have never understood the fascination with going overseas. Of course I have never understood engagement rings either.

You sound like a man that has never run up a $1100 tab with five people.

 

[coach66]

Freedawg, where did you stay?

nm

 

[FreeDawg]

There are only a few places with a private beach and the Reach Resort is one. That's where I stayed. Good property and good proximity to Duval. During the day they do small stuff thats cool like pass out frozen rosemary mint towels and popsicles at the pool/beach. The place I'm staying next is also a Waldo Estoria place right next door called Casa Marina. The Reach gets my stamp of approval but I'm doing the Casa next. Fun side note: the people we met over the week were pretty eclectic. Another honeymoon couple was from Norway and I'm pretty sure the folks we were around the most at the pool/beach was a Russian gangster. Small poolside talk over a beer with the russian Tony Soprano was interesting.

 

[DowntownFrazier]

All inclusive. No kids. Everything else that you can do or where you will be are just details. Miss out on those first two points and in my opinion you'll regret it.

No prices on the menus. Just order whatever you want. It's liberating.

ETA: forgot to say we didn't Sandals In the Bahamas. Easily doable for under $5k.

I agree and disagree. We went to the Dreams Resort at La Romana (Dominican Republic). We stayed on the "preferred adults" side of the resort. Honestly, we enjoyed going over to the side where the families were, from time to time. The family side had batting cages, pool tables, ping pong tables, and some pretty cool events at random times. My wife got a kick out of me trying to hit a 95mph pitch out of a pitching machine.

 

[VillagepeopleDogs]

Work up a #6 on her.

 

[CEO2044]

Getting married in April.

I went to a wedding at the Excellence resort in Cancun about 2 years ago- absolutely loved it, thinking about going back. I think all inclusive is the way to go, especially if you've never been to one. That was my first one and it made me wonder why my other vacations cost so much.

 

[johnson86-1]

I have never understood the fascination with going overseas.

People aren't going just to go out of the country. Most of the time, people spend a lot of effort to basically land and not see anything outside of the bubble of the resort.

If you're wanting to do a beach type honeymoon and you have to fly, it doesn't cost much more, if any, to fly to the caribbean and get much cheaper rooms/service and also much less crowded beaches. There is also the freedom of not thinking about how much that extra drink and/or extra appetizer etc. will cost even though it would obviously be cheaper for most people to pay a la carte.

 

[johnson86-1]

I'm getting married in May, and I am starting to look around for honeymoon spots. We would both like a beach destination. A few friends in my hometown have suggested the Punta Canta Excellence resort in the Dominican Repuic.

I'm leaning toward an all inclusive resort, but I'm open to suggestions.

ETA: I would like to keep the trip, flight included, under $5,000 if possible.

I would do one of the sandals or do a place where you get a recommendation from somebody you trust that went around the same time. Sandals are not the best value, but there is a minimum quality there that will ensure you won't have a terrible time on your honeymoon. And in May, you should be able to do one for under $5k for the week.

If you can get a recommendation from somebody at a cheaper place, there are much better deals out there. The only thing I would caution is that at some of the cheaper resorts, it can make a big difference what time of year you go. July/August is the down time for a lot of resorts. We went to an all inclusive during that time and the buffet was pretty bad, but the reserved restaurants were pretty good. Since we were there during the slow time, it didn't matter that we were only guaranteed two meals at the reserved restaurants. We got to eat there whenever we wanted. But had friends go back during the busy season, and they paid twice as much per night for their room, and were stuck with terrible food, and even their guaranteed nights in one of the good restaurants they had to either eat at like 5:30 or 9:30, with everything in normal eating hours already booked up.

 

[SyonaraStanz]

It's been almost 9 years, but the wife and I went to Royal Hideaway at Playa del Carmen. It was all inclusive and no kiddos. We loved it, and others who have gone loved it as well. Really nice with great food. I don't remember the cost, but it's worth looking into.

We plan on going back in 2018 for the 10 year reunion.

 

[Xenomorph]

That's ah-whompin and ah-whumpin[FONT=Roboto, arial, sans-serif]. The ripin' and the tearin' is decidedly different. ...at least that's what my friends say.[/FONT]