Affordable Island Honeymoon?
 

Hi all, first post for me here.
I am getting married June of 2008 and as a wedding gift, my mother has given us her timeshare credits for the year for our honeymoon. The company is Interval International, and we can go pretty much anywhere, but my bride would love to go to the Caribbean. What we'd really like is a place that has a decent amount to do, but some privacy as well. We're not really casino or nightclub people, but we love nature, watersports, beaches, culture, and good food. The thing is, while we can choose any of these great resorts (24 on 11 different islands) and stay for free, we don't have a ton of money to spend on food and activities. (She's in law school and I work for a public university, so we're not raking it in.) I was wondering if anyone here could give feedback on what destinations are relatively easy to get by on groceries and semi-low-cost and fun things to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Barbados might suit you. Eating out can be very expensive but also very cheap - had fresh local fish with rice and veg and a drink today for US$5. There are loads of restaurants from fast food to very elegant and expensive. Self catering is also easy as you can buy frozen meals for the microwave or oven. Lots of beaches to choose from, museums and historical sites that aren't too expensive, a bird sanctuary. Check out www.destinationcaribbean.net for more info on the island.

OK, so I really should have put up a list the first time to clarify. Here are the islands I have as choices with this timeshare:
Antigua (1 resort)
Aruba (9 resorts)
Bahamas (2 resorts)
Grand Cayman (2 resorts)
Curacao (1 resort)
Dominican Republic (1 resort)
Jamaica (2 resorts)
Puerto Rico (1 resort)
Sint Maarten (4 resorts)
Turks & Caicos (1 resort)
USVI: St. John (1 resort)

Thanks!

Generally speaking, of the islands on your list the least expensive are: Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Antigua and Curacao. You'll get the most "bang for your buck" on these islands.

The most expensive islands are going to be: Grand Cayman, St. John and the Turks & Caicos. While it is possible to do these on a budget you will find it somewhat difficult.

Aruba and St. Martin are mid-priced islands with plenty of activities, watersports and loads of restaurants. While some can be pricy there are a lot of local places where you can dine for fairly moderate prices.

As for Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, it depends on the location of the resort. Parts of Puerto Rico can be a bargain hunters paradise but many places (especially around San Juan cater to the more well healed traveler. The bahamas consists of over 800 islands and cays so you have to be more specific as to the location of the resorts in order for anyone to give you meaning direction.

Here is some general information for saving money if you are traveling conservatively . The Caribbean countries do not care what you bring in and the USA does not care what you take out- in the way of food items. Therefore you can easily pack the following ahead of time
salt and pepper
small baggie of sugar
small baggie of flour
boullion - chicken and beef
coffee
tea
iced tea mix
instant rice in a cooking bag ( just easier to transport )
2 cans of canned chicken
dried onions
microwave popcorn
munchies
After you arrive - find a store for the following
some potatoes
some mayo
butter
loaf of bread
eggs
cheese
pasta
cereal
bag of frozen veggies
lunch meat ( depending on the island)
bottle of rum or wine or local beer
With this you have breakfast
lunches with soup ( from boullion and some of veggies and the chicken and sandwiches
Rice and chicken casserole - include some cheese and some onions and some veggies
another day you can use more chicken and mayo for chicken salad
or
add pasta for a pasta salad

This is a general list of what we always do when we go to the islands - we also like to have something to eat when we first arive instad of hunting for a place to eat. Below are some suggestions for some of the islands. We own numerou time shares and have stayed several different places in the Caribbean although we prefer St Thomas Antigua and St Martin. If you want specific information on any of these island proplerties I can probably help you
Antigua - would it be Jolly Harbour? We stayed there last year and it was great fun -the units are quite large and near the beach - the time shares are very nice. If this is it - I will get you the name of the gal who is in charge of client checkin - awesome lady and before we went I emailed her numerous times with questions.

St Martin
Oyster Bay
Flamingo Beach
Royal Palm Beach
Pelican Bay
I can answer most questions about thes above. St Martin is a great island - very user friendly great beaches and cheap cr rentals ( use carrentals.com for quick rates ) take sandwiches to the beach in a bag and some bottles of water and you are good for the day. There are many cool places to go which are not espensive - Pinel island has great snorkeling - think it costs $5 to get there - looks close enough to wade to but it is not. Low Lows in Grand Case are cheap and have fresh good food - it's where the locals eat. You can also eat lunch out for less than dinner and then light dinner in .

Let me know how else I can help. Oh yeah there is yummy little French bakery near the bridge in Simpson Bay - we would get fresh bread there - cheap . The gorcery stores on this island is better than the others.

consider exuma. search here, and on trip advisor. its really nice there, and you will be safe, and mostly alone

I feel like after looking at your list, Curacao would be my choice. Nice beaches, great food, some free tours like the Curacao Liqueur distillery which is a good place for buying souveniers of Curacao liquor. They give free samples. Also the Amstel brewery. There are also things like the Atlantis which is a semi-submarine. You can explore Curacao's spectacular coral reefs this way if you don't dive or snorkel. It's a unique narrated excursion. They also have Christoffel Park. On request you can get a guided tour, iguana presentation and a jeep tour. This is a BIG park with beautiful flora and fauna, but also rich in culture and history.