alicia1010

Hi all,
I'm in need of some advice.. we are planning our honeymoon for mid-October and are torn b/t Hawaii (which is a little pricey) and somewhere like St. Lucia which is all-inclusive but during hurricane season. Any advice or other suggestions? Thanks very much!

KarenM

Hawaii is delightful in October. I was married November 9th in Maui. Maybe it's just me but I wouldn't want to risk a hurricane in the Caribbean for such an important time in my life.

If you would be flying from the east coast, it's early to find cheaper airfares for Hawaii. October is a slow time in Hawaii as well and they will be having sales to entice people to come probably starting in August.

Flgirl

I also got married in Hawaii in early Nov.it was great!I would suggest either Kaui or Maui the road to Hana is alot of fun and the waterfalls were awesome we parked our jeep a couple of times and went hiking through bamboo forrests etc,It was very fun !!

cousin

October is the tail end of hurricane season. I'd look for one of the Southern islands which are out of the weather belt. We live on the west coast and have been to both venues several times. We prefer the Caribbean because of the diversity each island has to offer. Hawaii has become too Americanized for our taste. It's the 50th state, so we shouldn't be surprised, I know. I'd look to somewhere like Aruba or Grenada, which would take any hurricane possibility out of the picture.

alicia1010

thanks so much for all the replies! can anyone tell me some more about grenada and/or Aruba?

SSypniewski

I wouldn't rule out St. Lucia completely. There is always the threat of a hurricane but it is farther south then the other islands in the caribbean. I went to St. Lucia for my honeymoon (3 years ago this October - great month to get married!) Anyway, the thing that intrigued me about this island was their 2 gorgeous Pitons and how lush and tropical this island looked. Sort of reminded me of Hawaii. However, being that this island is a tropical/lush island the beaches themselves do not have that soft/powdery sand. I didn't mind the darker sand (sort of golden) you still had the beautiful blue waters, more blues then greens. The only thing I would do differently is A.) Not travel the day right after getting married - (had to leave hotel at 3:30am to arrive at the airport 3 hours before our flight because it was right after sept. 11) and B.) Not stay at a Sandals Resort. If you really want to look into St. Lucia look into the Jalousie Hilton, Ladera and/or Anse Chastenet (sp.?). When we were there a tropical storm did pass by the 2nd night but it was far enough to the north that we only got some showers that night and it was fine by the next morning. The locals even mentioned how the majority of hurricanes pass well north of this island because of its location. So give this St. Lucia a try it is a truely unique and romantic island. Congratulations and good luck - Susan

TedTurner

That's an interesting comment from 'cousin': Hawaii is too Americanized, try Aruba.
Aruba is by far the most Americanized of the Caribbean islands.
Look what you find in Aruba: KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, Wendy's, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, Domino's, Tony Roma's--even a Harley Davidson dealership....I don't think you can find all those on most of the Hawaiian islands! Aruba is like the Florida Keys South.

caribtraveler

alicia..my advice to you is to go to hawaii if that's what both of you really want to do. it is your honeymoon after all. if the caribbean is more affordable to you, then maybe you want to save that for your anniversary trips or other vacations. because once you get married, there will be the mortgage, then the kids etc...(assuming that's the route you're going..my apologies if it's not).
as my screen name hints, i LOVE the caribbean but one of our biggest regrets (the hubby and i) is that we didn't do something more exotic for our honeymoon (we go to the caribbean quite a bit now-easier for us to do with a little one since we live on the east coast). by the way, we went to maui for one of our anniversaries and enjoyed it very much.
however, if you decide to do the caribbean, please be aware that there are no islands outside of the hurricane belt. there are 3 southern islands that have the lowest chances of getting hit by a hurricane and those are aruba, curacao and bonaire.
we usually go to the caribbean in october (for our wedding anniversary) and have never been hit by hurricane (knock on wood). we just made a decision that we'd chance it. so it's really up to you to decide what you want to do.
i don't know how adventurous you are, but aruba, in my opinion, is very safe for americans who don't like to go out of their comfort zone...meaning very similar to u.s. in many ways and geared towards the american tourist (the shopping, lots of restaurants, casinos,...). there's nothing wrong with that. we've been there and had a good time, but its' not on the top of our list of islands to go back to.
st. lucia is a beautiful caribbean island..lush, picturesque fishing villages..enjoyed it very much but we were disappointed with the beaches/water because we like crystal-clear blue waters (that's just our preference).
we haven't been to grenada so can't comment on that.
congrats on the upcoming wedding. and good luck with whatever you decide.

sailor

Hi alicia,

I have to agree with Ssypniewski's post here.

Hawaii, verses St.Lucia in my opinion, depends totally on the type of honeymoon you are looking for.

I do love Maui and Kauai, as they are beautiful islands. With that being said, it does take time and effort to get out and explore and see the beauty of these islands. This maybe what you are looking to do on your honeymoon, being active and getting out and exploring.

One of the reasons we picked St.Lucia for our 25th anniversary, was the fact that St.Lucia is a very small island. When we go to islands I like to get out to see everything that there is to see, I don't seem to want to miss anything. I felt that other then the Rain Forest and (scuba diving) in St.Lucia that there was not a whole lot of other stuff that I would feel compelled to HAVE to get out and see. We wanted relaxed, and romantic getaway with not a whole lot of touring to do.

With staying at Ladera and the Jalousie Hilton, right smack dab in the middle of the Pitons, on its beautiful beach, left us in such a peace of tranquility that we had no desire to leave this small piece of paradise. It is trully a peaceful stunning location that you would have to go in search of on other islands and most will fall short of this location, that you can actually STAY in the middle of. You can find beautiful spots on other islands and in Hawaii, but to STAY right in the middle of this location, is a once in a life time experience.

Both options are great ones. Have much fun deciding.

Donna