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OT: Planning a honeymoon

NWADog

NWADog

Junior
Aug 16, 2014
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Hey guys I've been looking into some places to stay for my honeymoon coming up in October. Considering the fact that I'm gonna be coming right out of college in May and clearly wont have the deepest pockets I'm trying to find a reasonable place I can stay. I've been looking mostly in the St. Lucia, Barbados type areas and places and wanted to see if anyone had any advice or tips. Thanks in advance!
 
57stratdawg

57stratdawg

Heisman
Dec 1, 2004
148,507
24,291
113
This should go well.

We did St. Lucia for about $5 or $6K, and enjoyed it. There are three Sandal resorts there and you can bounce back and forth. One has a golf course. Two of the resorts and nicer than the middle one. Wouldn't want to stay at the middle one.

They're about a 2 hour bus ride from the air port though. Something to consider i guess.
 
H

Hammer Down

Redshirt
Jul 19, 2014
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Just my opinion, but if you want heat/beaches/drinks without huge costs, just go to Destin or something. I see no reason to pay gobs of money for an all-inclusive deal and flight out of the country. It is almost like the honeymoon in the Caribbean is more status that practicality.

In saying that, I did Costa Rica, and it was fun, but nothing special outside a few things that were not exactly 'once-in-a-lifetime'. Definitely not worth the money.
 
missouridawg

missouridawg

Junior
Oct 6, 2009
9,398
304
83
Be prepared for the dolphin manuever

when you attempt the first southern trespass. You'll need a swift action plan to remedy the situation.
 
J

johnson86-1

All-American
Aug 22, 2012
14,866
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Hammer Down said:
Just my opinion, but if you want heat/beaches/drinks without huge costs, just go to Destin or something. I see no reason to pay gobs of money for an all-inclusive deal and flight out of the country. It is almost like the honeymoon in the Caribbean is more status that practicality.

In saying that, I did Costa Rica, and it was fun, but nothing special outside a few things that were not exactly 'once-in-a-lifetime'. Definitely not worth the money.
Click to expand...

It's not just status. It's a huge deal to be able to not think about money once you cut that one check. Also the Destin beach will be more packed than anything at the all inclusive resorts (at least in the summer, which is their off-season; not sure about October).
 
J

johnson86-1

All-American
Aug 22, 2012
14,866
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If money is an issue, I'd stay away from Sandal's. They are nice because they pretty much guarantee a minimum quality, but they are a little expensive. If you do your homework, you can get close in quality for much less (like 1/2 the nightly rate price).

The cheapest options I've seen have all been on the eastern shore of Mexico. Haven't actually done those because the reviews of those places were all hit or miss. Out of the islands, the cheapest place I've been able to do is Punta Cana. If you mainly want to lie around the beach and drink, it's a great option. Not much else to do though if you're looking for excursions or to do good scuba or snorkeling.

Since it's your honey moon though, if you can afford Sandals and you can't get a good recommendation for a cheaper route from somebody you trust (that has been there in the last 12-18 months), I'd go with a Sandals.
 
57stratdawg

57stratdawg

Heisman
Dec 1, 2004
148,507
24,291
113
Oh yeah? We stayed at The Grande. I think the one with the golf course was La Toc.
 
mstateglfr

mstateglfr

All-American
Feb 24, 2008
16,456
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Hammer Down said:
Just my opinion, but if you want heat/beaches/drinks without huge costs, just go to Destin or something. I see no reason to pay gobs of money for an all-inclusive deal and flight out of the country. It is almost like the honeymoon in the Caribbean is more status that practicality.

In saying that, I did Costa Rica, and it was fun, but nothing special outside a few things that were not exactly 'once-in-a-lifetime'. Definitely not worth the money.
Click to expand...

...because Destin is often times called the Caribbean of the US.

Pick a Caribbean island. Any of them. You could spend days there learning about the history, culture, and customs of the island.
- depending on where it is located- did Tainos or Caribs occupy it?
- what Euro country colonized it?
- explore ecology
- explore original colony location
- snorkel reefs
- kayak/canoe to uninhabited cayes
- try local cuisine and learn about its history



...or go to Destin because its America's Caribbean.
 
L

LiterallyPolice

Redshirt
Dec 15, 2011
376
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The fiancee and I went to Curacao last year (it's an island in the south Caribbean, just off of Venezuela, near Aruba) for a decent price. Plane tickets were ~$800 each and we rented a nice house from VRBO/flipkey in a private subdivision on the coast for about $200 a night. And it was ALOT of house for the money. We rented a car and hit up a different beach each day (ranging from super-popular tourist beaches to very secluded). Good diving/snorkeling. You can go the all-inclusive route or do as we did and "build your own vacation". It's a great place with great culture... heavy Dutch influence. We never felt unsafe or even sketched out... we definitely want to go back.
 
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AHSDawg

Redshirt
Sep 18, 2012
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All depend on what you want to spend. Been pricing all kinds of things for our anniversary trip. You can do Jamaica all inclusive for about $2000-2500 for 5 nights. St. Lucia and the French islands are nicer but more expensive. Usually $5k+. You can do the Yucatan or Dominican Republic for less than $2000

And, to me, you can go to Destin and spend $1500 or you can go to the Caribbean and spend $2000. I would definitely do Caribbean.

If you want some details, send me a PM and I will share my research with you.
 
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LawDawg97

Redshirt
Sep 7, 2012
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If you're trying to save money I would not be looking at Barbados/St. Lucia. It is true you can find some good resorts there for reasonable prices, but you can find the same quality resort in cheaper places. My best advice is consider flight times too. It's your honeymoon and you don't want to waste a whole day flying. St. Lucia and Barbados almost take a full day to get to, while the Bahamas and Jamaica are hours closer. If you can get out of Atlanta or Miami in the morning you can be at the resort for lunch. The water looks pretty much the same in most all of the islands. I've been to a few Caribbean resorts and I'll have to say Jamaica was my favorite and the best value. Jamaica gets a bad rap because of Kingston and some of the slums, but it is a great island with a lot of excursions that can be done safely through the resort without even getting into the rough areas.

Destin/30A is great in October and there is plenty of good food and fun to be had, but I'd splurge a little if you can and get out of country.

The site www.cheapcaribbean.com has great deals and you can set the filters to what you are looking for. Good luck.
 
dawgstudent

dawgstudent

Heisman
Apr 15, 2003
39,868
20,289
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Research has shown those that marry from September through November are 10 times more likely to end in divorce b/c the anniversary trip will eventually coincide with a big football weekend.
 
coach66

coach66

Junior
Mar 5, 2009
12,699
326
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Marriage is hard enough son, it's harder when you get married during football

season* and hunting season*
 
msugrad2003

msugrad2003

Senior
Aug 27, 2013
594
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Hammer down: I love when you reply to a thread b/c I can never watch Dak law down the smack enough. We could be talking about brands of toilet paper and I would enjoying watching that in your posts. Kudos
 
Uncle Ruckus

Uncle Ruckus

All-American
Apr 1, 2011
15,094
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I'm getting married the first weekend in August and booked our honeymoon to the Bahamas last week. The only decisions that I put my foot down on was the date. If we had it during football season most of my guests wouldn't come, including my parents.
 
aTotal360

aTotal360

Heisman
Nov 12, 2009
22,213
15,519
113
We did Cannes, France for our honeymoon. I would not have changed a thing. Best food in the world. Best drink in the world. And good beaches (though it might be cold Oct). We went to the farmers market in the morning and cooked our own lunches. My rental vehicle was a Mini Cooper, which sucked. I felt like Shaq in a Buick.
 
C

cowbell88

All-Conference
Jan 11, 2009
3,330
1,044
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Went to Jamaca, but had our eyes on Ladera Resprt in St. Lucia. Rooms actually built with 3 walls and completely open to ocean on other side with your on private infinity pool on the deck. Found out quickly that it was out of price range. I still have the brochure that I look at from time to time.

Have you thought about a cruise? Pretty dang cheap these days. Probably find one for 7 days for under a grand.
 
L

LawDawg97

Redshirt
Sep 7, 2012
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Not always bad. I got married on an open Saturday in and was in the Caribbean

Rog said:
Getting married during football season? Dick move.
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the next week when South Carolina's backup burned us for the game winner on 4th down in 2000. Was never so glad I was in a tropical setting with plenty of alcohol to ease the pain. The wife and I came back and watched us destroy Florida the next week in Starkville. Good times.
 
R

randystewart

Junior
Jan 14, 2009
1,197
339
83
Second for El Dorado. We did El Dorado Royale (8 years ago though) for our honeymoon and it was fantastic. All inclusive is the way to go. Just take about $200 in ones with you and tip like a king. Get a Casita and you'll be secluded from the main resort.
 
M

Mafiadawg

Redshirt
Nov 5, 2013
421
5
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You can get more bang for your buck in Central America (Belize, Costa Rica) than you can in the Caribbean islands (Turks, St Lucia)
 
A

Amadden0408

Redshirt
Mar 13, 2014
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Wife and I were looking at St. Lucia in 2011, but decided to just go to Jamaica due to hurricane damage in St. Lucia when we booked.

Ended up at a resort in Montego Bay called Secrets. It's actually 2 resorts in 1 and it's only a 20 minute ride from the airport. We paid right around 3000?? I believe, and we went for 6 nights out of NOlA. Would definitely go back. We've had friends who went to sandals who didn't have great experiences and its not cheap. In our case we had a really good time, for about 2/3rds of the money.
 
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AHSDawg

Redshirt
Sep 18, 2012
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^^THIS is a great website^^ within a couple hundred of the cheapest rates I have found so it gives you a great jumping off point to then try to find cheaper. I would definitely say that Negril seems to be a great place for honeymoons. Also, you want to be sure you get ADULTS ONLY. Nothing worse than hearing kids on the beach. But maybe that is just because when we go, we haven't had our kids and the sound of other peoples defeats the point.
 
R

rem101

Sophomore
Jan 22, 2008
3,193
153
63
We did honeymoon last March in punta cana - about 4500. 6 nights.

Stayed at nicer resort in nicer room.

Doing Costa Rica in June - about 3500. 5 nights. Doing Mexico in September for bachelor party - between 1000-1200/person depending on which resort we pick. Point is, you have a lot of options to fit your budget. You can get as expensive or cheap as you want and still be at relatively nice places. You'll spend just as much in Destin to rent a place for a week and go to dinner as you will in Mexico or Caribbean.

PM me if you want and i'll give you my travel agent contact info. Give her what you want to do and approx. budget and she'll put it together for you.
 
NWADog

NWADog

Junior
Aug 16, 2014
757
228
43
Thanks for all the help! The websites are great. I'm trying to not spend more than 3000$ because we are trying to save for a down payment on a house and all that crap too... Pretty stressful for a first time home buyer. And yeaaa the whole wedding in October is pretty terrible for football season but I got it on our bye week! It's unfortunate for all of my razorback buddies up here though. She's kind of a diva and has wanted a fall wedding her whole life so we made a compromise with the bye week date luckily. And I don't want to do a cruise because she's going on one for her bachelorette party and I've never been on a cruise and don't wanna risk me getting sick the whole honeymoon because sadly I do have some motion sickness haha.
 
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