TroutHockey

My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for this coming August. I know its hurricane season so northern Carribean is out. Budget is about $4000 max and we'll be traveling from the Philadelphia area. We are very laid back and wouldn't mind just hanging around the resort most of the time and doing some sightseeing every now and then. We would almost prefer all inclusive just so we could relax as much as possible (can you tell we both work stressful jobs!) Nightlife and shopping arent necessary.

We are pretty much open to anywhere but she gave me the following "requirements":

- by a beach
- either right on the water (think overwater bungalow) or somewhere with a private plunge pool
- also looking for the villa feel. Not too keen on big hotel/condo type places.

Any help would be awesome, thanks!

virginia

there are very few places with over water bungalows except in south pacific.
your price range probably eliminates most with private plunge pools.
i have a few small ai's to suggest though
- http://www.karismahotels.com/resort/...-hotel-karisma
- http://www.mangobaybarbados.com/en/welcome.php
- http://www.cocobayresort.com/antigua_hotel_home.php
^^ this resort does offer plunge pools
- this resort in bvi (on very small island) is somewhat dive oriented but has tiny villas available - http://www.cooperislandbeachclub.com/
- this resort is on the san blas islands off the east coast of panama, but has over water bungalows - http://www.corallodge.com/
- and i have to mention http://www.mezzaninetulum.com/ on the beach in tulum mex. we stumbled upon it a couple yrs ago & i immediately thought it would make a super honeymoon resort. has only 9 rooms, not ai but has good restaurant, you do have to walk down a short hill to the beach but the view makes that worth while.

ljv

Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are considered to be out of the hurricane belt.

Aruba is the most "americanized"
Curacao has a distinct Dutch flair,sightseeing opportunities, decent scuba and snorkelling and romantic boutique style hotels.
Bonair is very laid back...not really much to do except dive, snorkel and tour island.

Could also look at St. Lucia...somewhat out of hurricane zone. Very lush and mountainous.Plenty to see and do, if you so choose. many beautiful hotels and some AI resorts.

In August, you should be able to get pretty good deals.

Happy planning and congrats!

A final note...my husband and I got married in August and we always travel for our anniversary...many times to the Caribbean. We never restricted where we went, and have been lucky so far. There's always trip insurance!!

TroutHockey

Thanks for the replies! St. Lucia is our number one choice, with Jade Mountain being our dream spot and Ladera being 2nd. Jade Mountain is way out of our price range, and we just missed a great deal on Ladera through jetsetter. I'm a bit upset about that.

Virginia, have you been to Cocobay? Their waterfront rooms with plunge pool look pretty awesome. And they give a 10% discount for honeymooners too!

allisonjames

Check out La Luna on Grenada. On St. Lucia you might look at Ti Kaye Village or Rendezvous.

virginia

i have not been to cocobay, but have heard good things - here's a link to trip advisor reviews for what it's worth: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...d_Barbuda.html

there is a site called luxurylink.com it requires bidding on lodging but has some darned good deals.

buying trip insurance is a very good idea for an august vacation.

TnTWalter

May I suggest Tulum, MX? So romantic...cabana ON THE OCEAN...we stayed in a different unit here but I would pick this one.
http://cabanaslaluna.com/cabana1.html

This is another highly recommended unit at another good property. I again would pick this unit for honeymoon.
http://www.tulumnv.com/en/bungalow-hechizo-de-luna.html

Here's a link to our trip in 2008. We also went to Playa del Carmen for 2 nights.
http://www.tulum.info/showthread.php...ya-trip-report

It's very affordable too. There are ruins to tour, cenotes to snorkel, or just relax and celebrate the marriage.

Congrats.

TroutHockey

I've been looking at luxurylink.com for the past few weeks and there are a couple on there that look promising. They have a pretty good deal for Rendezvous on St. Lucia.

TnTWalter, any idea what the weather is like in Mexico in August? I'd assume its pretty hot?

Any sites similar to luxurylink.com or jetsetter.com that are worth looking at?

spungecake

I use skyauction.com occasionally....I was looking at Royal Hideaway in Playa del carmen for our upcoming August anniversary (24th)...I know Mexico may not be as luxurious sounding as some of the places you are mentioning but there are some really great deals out there now due to the horrible press Mexico has received--not sure if that would stop you from wanting to go there, but personally, I feel the resort areas would be fine. I've also been looking at Banyan Tree Mayakoba & Rosewood Mayakoba, 1 or both of which have plunge pools (can't recall which) & look awesome...Maroma is also on my short list.

Have you looked at Negril at all? There are some awesome resorts there that might be appealing...& in your budget...Catcha Falling Star is one, Tensing Pen....while I'm not a huge fan of Jamaica, these resorts are really making me give it a second look.

Over the water bungalows can be found in Panama, Bocas del Toro, I believe. Have not been there yet, but its on the list. Check out koko resort on Tripadvisor... there may be others similar, but this is one I had in my "favorites" file...

There's a whole list on tripadvisor of Most romantic hotels...might be worth a look...best of luck! P.S. we spent our August honeymoon in Barbados!

qwovadis

jademountain.com best plunge pools etc.

other options there also in St. Lucia very nice

luxurylink.com

ABC "Blue Sky" isles out of the storm belt also a nice

choice good article recently on cntraveler.com.

Might find somethiing that meets your needs there.

insuremytrip.com always wise.

Congrats!