$5,000 Caribbean honeymoon
 

We are trying to plan our honeymoon for May 2011 and are getting frustrated. We want to go to the Caribbean. We want an ocean view, meals not included (except breakfast would be nice), really romantic, and at an island that has a bit of culture (not a place where we feel we can't/don't want to leave the resort). We have a $5,000 budget. We are overwhelmed there are just sooooooo many islands and resorts. Any suggestions?

First Congrats!

Second $2500 per person is not a lot but doable

www.usvitourism.vi/stjohn/homepage beautiful safe

my fav www.vrbo.com best great lodging deals

www.magenspoint.com is nice St Thomas

Good connections on www.spiritair.com others

www.cheapcaribbean.com lots of Sales now

for other more exotic options.

Martinique French romantic lots of good food culture

Pretty but not as pretty as St. John though...

Happy Hunting,

May is low season so you should be able to have a very nice honeymoon for that price, however, you don't say where you are flying from and airfare can eat up a lot of the cost . . . most islands are pretty expensive but I am going to recommend two places I have been that I thought were a good value (even in high season) and that also have the culture you are seeking -- Curacao and Playa Del Carmen, Mexico (on the Caribbean coast). Curacao has a great mix of cultures (think "Little Amsterdam in the Caribbean") lots of wonderful restaurants and beaches. We stayed at the Marriott which was a good value but you might also check out Kura Hulanda Lodge and Beach Club and the new Hyatt Curacao. Playa Del Carmen is about a 45 minute car ride from Cancun so one advantage to this destination is that flights are usually less expensive than other places. The beaches are beautiful, lots of interesting ruins to tour, and downtown PDC is fun. There are lots of all-inclusives in the area, but we stayed at Shangri-La Caribe (now Mahekal) north of town, I thought the beach was nicer there than in the AI zone (also stayed at Royal Hideaway which was wonderful but might be out of the price range). Mahekal includes breakfast and dinner but the rates are so reasonable you won't feel like you are wasting money having dinner in town instead. Finally, for an absolutely wonderful, charming, romantic and historic honeymoon that might end up in your price range depending on specials, check out Nisbet Plantation Beach Club on Nevis. One of our top two all-time favorite Caribbean resorts. The rates include breakfast, dinner and afternoon tea but I think in the off-season they may have rates without those if you choose, but the food is great and the service wonderful. Hope this helps!

anguilla would be my choice...safe...gorgeous beaches and fantastic restaurant..pricey but I think you should be able to swing it with your budget..look at cusinart or cap juluca (pricier). Another option to consider would be harbour island off of eleuthera in the bahama out islands.

This place is rustic-luxury so may or may not fit your desires. www.tensingpen.com in Negril Jamaica. A nice continental breakfast is included, rooms are individual cabins, open air, with ocean views, set on the Cliffs. There is an on-site restaurant that is good, but it is not AI.

First of all, I'd skip the resorts piece all together. (look instead at paradores there - http://www.parador.info/ Not sure where you are coming from but a direct flight can save you time & $$. I' take a look @ Puerto Rico & consider splitting time between Old San Juan (a day ot two coming ot going) & either Rincon or Vieques (although the latter will add to the cost).

There is a better parador site but I can't put my fingers on it - http://seepuertorico.com/

Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! We will fly out of Jacksonville, FL or Atlanta, GA.

We are going to increase our budget to $7,000 after reviewing all of the lovely hotels you suggested. You only have one honeymoon!

We fell in love with http://www.caneelbay.com/, but realized that would be more like $9,000. So we are staring fresh with this $7,000 budget. There must be something out there for $7K!!!!

Okay, if you are increasing your budget definitely check out Galley Bay, Antigua. A wonderful place for a honeymoon and our all-time favorite resort. Don't be put off by the rack rates -- there are sales of about 30% off and the rate includes everything so you can be sure of sticking to your budget.

Try the Hyatt Curacao

you can easily rent a small flat in St. Barths for a week for $2500 or less. check out vrbo.com (excellent!). any spot on the island is fine really, but you must rent a car. i spent $400US for a whole week at Budget car rental for a small jeep. make sure the house has a bbq and air conditioning and just shop for food. i thought st. barths was absolutely the freest, visually most inspiring and enchanting and gastronomically the most exquisite carib vacation ever. you can go to a different beach every day. eat in or eat at a shack and it's still fabulous. the French are très chic...even the corner store sells camembert. you can eat a baguette on the beach, and then dress up and go to Eden Rock for dinner... i honestly can't imagine a better honeymoon. food is VERY expensive, but you don't have to eat out every day. It's Paris meets beach meets romance.

i think i'll push my boyfriend to marry me after writing this message!

oh...and stock up on a few bottles of vino. what is more amazing than sitting on your own private veranda and sipping Chablis while watching the sun set (with your new husband)? not much if you ask me.

best wishes...bisous

Hi If you want luxury and flexibility then consider St Lucia in particular this villa - Akasha www.stlucia.cc

Here you can just rent the villa and add on what you want. Prices at that time of year start at 1600US$ per night for a couple. If you take a few friends along it becomes more economical

Enjoy where ever you decide