Honeymoon Advice PLEASE!!
 

Greetings and thank you for the wonder forum. I spent a day reading through the most insightful and comprehensive reviews about the Caribbean. I am getting married in late September and planning my honeymoon in the Caribbean and want to reach out to you guys for advice as to where and when to go. Here is my wish list, in the order of importance:

1. White sandy beach is a must and resort has to be on the beach front.
2. Luxury and service is also important but most of all I am looking for clean modern rooms. We are also looking forward to good spa treatment.
3. We love seafood so good restaurants are also a must
4. We do not care about exciting night life or shopping. The less the people/tourist, the better
5. We are also not too keen on any water sports - snorkling diving etc. A nice short cruise would be good.
6. Budget wise we are hoping to stay under $700 a night.
7. In addition, we would like to go somewhere that isn't terribly far. I am willing to do multiple stops to get to the most exotic places but less traveling the better. I live in the Chicago area.

I am most concerned with our timing given that end of September is very much hurricane season. I welcome everyone's input and thank you in advance!

There is a place in the Bahamas .... Parrot Quay ... something like that .

One thing to think about...it is hurricane season for many islands in the Caribbean.

Sorry to be negative, but better to know! I went on a trip in October to the Bahamas one year and it rained the whole time!

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! There are lots of nice places in the Caribbean that fit your criteria. However, September is at the height of the hurricane season, and this eliminates many of the places I would recommend. (Why take chances with something so important?) Your best bet is to look at something in the southern Caribbean, which is pretty much out of the hurricane zone. Normally, I'd recommend Aruba, but you said, "the less people/tourists, the better," so that's out. Check out Harbour Village Beach Resort in Bonaire. It has a pretty, white sand beach, lovely accomodations, good food, and a spectacular spa. In fact, my wife and I went there on a spa package a few years ago and loved it.

Anguilla has luxurious properties such as Cap Jaluca that would fit your bill of quiet beautiful beaches with good food and luxury.
The only problem is of course the season.
Aruba would be the option for being down low enough in the caribbean that would have less hurricane issues. There is an area called Eagle beach which has a quieter feel. The hotel Bucuti has the Tara Suites which are supposedly very nice.
No matter where you decide to go, you could get bad weather or wind up with great weather. It is the luck of the draw.

I second Anguilla and I believe CuisanArt would fit all of those items on your wish list.

(FYI - I also honeymooned in late September early October and we went to Barbados. But had I known then what I know now about Anguilla, I may have taken a chance with the weather. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip Barbados nonetheless.)

I agree Anguilla would be ideal based on your criteria.

Again, you guys are a wonderful group. Thank you so much for the feedback. Indeed hurricane has put a damper on my flexibility but I will certain heed everyone's advice and look south. Perhaps there is a section for the Pacific islands ;)

Another quick question - is Anguilla and Aruba outside of the hurricane path/ring? How is the weather there in late Sept? Thanks again

How about Turks and Caicos, it fits your list and it seems to miss the Hurricane action. Its your honeymoon you can't go wrong.. Congradulations!!!

None of the Caribbean islands are outside the hurricane belt but Aruba and Curacao, because of their very southerly location, have been much less impacted over the years than other islands (although even they may get a brush of the stormy weather if a hurricane hits a more northerly island).

Anguilla and Turks & Caicos are closer to the Caribbean center so they are more likely to be impacted by hurricanes.

The farther south you go in the Caribbean, the less likely are hurricanes. This means Barbados, Grenadines, Grenada, T&T, ABC. Nowhere are hurricanes impossible, though. Grenada got hit in 2004. Coral Reef Clug on Barbados is a class act. See www.coralreefbarbados.com and www.barbados.org.
Hurricanes are very very rare in Hawaii, particularly Maui, where the approach of a rare hurricane would be buffered by the big island. The Wailea area of Maui has fine resorts like Grand Wailea and Four Seasons and some fine restaurants like Roy's and Tommy Bahama, Sansei, plus I'o in Lahaina.

Aruba is mostly out of the hurricane belt but Anguilla is certainly not. If you weren't traveling in September I would say Anguilla would fit your wish list to a "t" but personally I'm not sure I would chance it given the hurricane activity of the last couple of years.

If you DO decide to chance Anguilla, however, I would recommend either CuisinArt or Cap Juluca. Cap Juluca has a better beach and a bit better food but it is also more expensive. CuisinArt has an excellent spa and an adequate health club. Can't comment on Cap's spa or fitness facilities.

If you're more comfortable with being out of the hurricane belt you might consider Aruba (although it's quite populated), Bonaire or Curacao. Or perhaps even Barbados or someplace in the Grenadines like Palm Island Resort.

We went to Aruba in June which is also the 'off season' and stayed at Bucuti Beach - the Tara suites are VERY nice :-) and the resort was very quiet.

They don't encourage children anyway but since most schools will be back in by late September you will find the Island quieter overall.

You might want to look at The Cotton House Hotel on Mustique. see www.cottonhouse.net

Mustique is almost as far south in the Caribbean as you can get. While there are no guarantees it has missed the worst of the weather so far.

With respect to your cryteria:
1. Mustique has some of the best beaches anywhere
2.Cotton House is a member of the Leading Small Hotels of the World and prides itself on Luxury. It also has a great spa
3. While Mustique has only 4 restaurants they are all good.
4.As the Cotton House has less than 20 rooms no worry about people, although there is the World Famous Basil's bar on the other side of the island if you want to go out.
5. While there is diving, tennis and horse back riding, no need to do any of it.
6. You are going at low season so deals should be available.
7. This is the biggest issue. The farther away the less people. From Chicago you will need to fly to either St Lucia of Barbados and hop from there.

Nearly everything in Anguilla, including Cap & CuisinArt closes in early September for 6-8 weeks. In 2005, Cuisi re-opened on November 1; Cap opened the last weekend in October. The retaurants start opening in late October but many re-open 7-10 days into November.

Aruba is NOT outside the hurricane belt as commonly believed. That is something Aruba Tourism promoted to bring tourism to the island because Aruba depends heavily on tourism as it has to import almost everything and is a desert like island. Here is a report from the Meterological Society of the Netherlands Antilles & Aruba that states this.
http://www.meteo.an/meteo2/eng/repor...tm#climleeward

In 2004 there was a hurricane warning out for Aruba and although at the last moment it luckily just missed Aruba, but there was major flooding, beach errosion and damage to some hotels.

Anywhere in the Caribbean could have a hurricane, but the islands from St. Lucia and southward are less likely to get one, but it is still a gamble.

Barbados hasn't had a major storm in years. Sandy Lane, Coral Reef Club, both luxe!

I also got married in September and we honeymooned in Curacao. It rained two nights out of 14 for about 3 minutes each. I would recommend Curacao. It was beautiful, not alot of tourists, and the people were awesome. We stayed at the Sea Aquarium Resort which was great. Our room looked out to the ocean and the resort is next to the aquarium and we were also next to the dolphin pool so every morning we had coffee out on the balcony to the sounds of dolphins! Actually on the 4th day a pod of wild dolphin swam right by our room. It was unbelievable. The resort has a lagoon and also a pool to swim. There's a little beach bar where you can get breakfast, lunch and early dinner. Across the lagoon are a couple of restaurants that you can walk to. I would highly recommend Curacao and the Sea Aquarium resort

I forgot you can also check out hurricane progress/reports on www.stormcarib.com. They have people who live on the islands post how things are going on their island

I think the place Faithie was talking about is Parrot Cay in the Turks & Caicos not Bahamas. But I could be wrong...
I'd say Anguilla- Cap Juluca, if the season was right. I have a friend who had a late September wedding, but really wanted a Caribbean honeymoon, so the weekend of her wedding she and her husband went away to a beautiful inn nearby and honeymooned at Cap in early November. They actually renewed their vows on the trip. Cap offers these "Carats of Commitment ceremony". She said it was incredible and worth the wait. Just a thought!

I've been to many Caribbean Islands and hands down, Canouan Island is by far the best place I've ever stayed. It's part of St. Vincent and The Grenadines. We stayed at the new Raffles Resort in late November 2005. The beaches are phenomenal, the best being Goddahl Beach. You can't ask for more picturesque waters or a more lush environment. Our room was exquisite--something out of an HGTV special--the wood-beamed ceiling, tile floors, large bathroom w/ double sinks and sunken tub, private patio with ocean view, etc. The food was not so hot but you can find items on the menu that you'll like. The spa was like something out of a storybook--perched in the hills with an expansive view of the ocean. I didn't want to leave my treatment room that had a private patio facing the ocean. It was gorgeous.

If you want to go somewhere and feel like you are truly alone, Canouan is it. We arrived on a Monday and even by Thursday, when a large group from Europe arrived, we still felt like the place was ours. The beach and restaurants were often empty and it was as if we had our own private island. If you would like to see pictures, let me know and I'll send you a few photos.

I do agree with other posters that Curacao and Aruba are two islands that manage somewhat to escape the brunt of hurricane season. You'll have more activities in Aruba but more privacy--and excellent snorkeling--in Curacao. You can travel between the two very quickly. Even take a day trip.

I would vote for Anguilla, as well. Nay on Aruba, unless you like Dunkin' Donuts, Sbarro pizza, and McDonald's everywhere you turn. It is also further than Anguilla. Don't get me wrong, I had fun there, too, but just know what to expect if you do Aruba. Definitely lacking in lots of good seafood options - much of the cuisine (other than the numerous fast food options) is definitely Dutch in its inspiration.

As for timing, most people wouldn't even consider this, but what about taking a long weekend immediately after your wedding and doing something near where you live? Drive to a lovely little spa and unwind, then do it up right in November when the weather is getting cold at home and you want to enjoy the beach and really do your honeymoon up right? I actually planned on doing that for my honeymoon (long weekend in Maine, then big trip later), but chickened out two weeks before our wedding and booked a trip to Spain. Anyway, just a thought . . . .

I would suggest Bermuda (close, and lovely), but food can be spotty and it's definitely not outside of the hurricane belt.

It's also definitely not the Caribbean, but what about Cabo? Don't know much about it, but really want to go and it may be worth your looking into it.

We just returned from 5 nights at Caneel Bay and ADORED it. Very quiet, basically deserted white sand beaches, gorgeous water, excellent (but pricy) restaurants. The rooms are more rustic-elegant, I suppose, but we had a fabulous, very large courtside room for $395 per night.

Littlesalty,
Are you going to do a trip report and did you make it to JVD?

I wrote down everything in my journal and I will get around to writing a report! We got to JVD and went to the Soggy Dollar and Foxy's. White Bay was AMAZING!! :)