I'm getting married August 4, 2006 and I'm having trouble deciding on where to go for my honeymoon. We really like the Four Seasons in Nevis and would love to go there. But i'm very hesitant because of the threat of hurricanes especially because of this past year. We really like it and would love to be in the caribbean for our trip but is it worth the risk? Should we just wait and go another time of the year. Is the first week of August really a threat?
My travel agent strongly reccomends staying clear of that area in August. What happens if you do go there and a hurricane hits? Does the US coast guard evacuate US citizens or are you on your own?
The other choice we have to go to is the One & Only Palmilla in Los Cabos, Mexico. Anyones thoughts on that place? It does seem a safer bet with the weather. I really like it as well. Are there more things to do at night in Cabo then on Nevis? I would think that there is but i haven't been to both.
Please Help Me! I need to book this trip soon. I just don't want any issues when we leave NJ for our trip. Thanks for your Help

You are right to be concerned about Hurricanes in August. Normally early August is not very active for storms but as this past season showed August is not "storm proof" and there's no way to predict now when and whewre a storm will hit. With that in mind I'll try to answer your questions.

Whether or not it's worth the risk is spomething only you can decide. If a storm isn't brewing the weather is likely to be quite nice. Of course if a storm does form your in for a day or two of heavy winds, rains, power outages, and all the aftermath that comes with a natural disaster.

If a hurricane hits it will be up to you to decide if you want to stay or leave. The neither the US Coast Guard nor anyone else will evacuate you. Your only hope would be to get a seat on the "next flight out". Trouble is there are only so many seats on the plane and most will already have been "reserved" months in advance and there's always a chance the airline will cancel all flights in/out of Nevis because of poor weather.

If you do decide to travel to Nevis (or anywhere in that Caribbean) in August you'd be wise to condider purchasing Trip Insurance which covers cancellations due to hurricanes unless, of course, if you don't mind the potential financial loss.

Quite honestly, a honeymoon is something that will creat a lifetime of memories and those memories are better if they are good ones. If you have your heart set on going to Nevis you'd be better off postponing the trip until after hurricane season. If you must go in August and still want to visit the Caribbean consider Aruba, Curacao or Bonaire. These islands are fairly far south and the chances of encountering a hurricane on either of them in August are very very slim. Your third alternative is to go somewhere other than the Caribbean. Sorry, I can't help you with Los Cabos as I've not been there.

Best Wishes on your upcomming wedding and I hope you fine your special place.

If you really want to go to the 4S in Nevis then I would go. Make sure you get trip insurance. Many people travel to the Caribbean during hurricane season because it is much less expensive.

I know this is only antecdotal evidence, but I've had 2 friends go on honeymoons to the caribbean in august without problem.

Early August is the hurricane season, although most hurricanes tend to come a bit later in the summer (late August through late September). But still, if it's going to cause you concern, I wouldn't go to Nevis then. Who needs this worry before your wedding? Los Cabos and Baja California are beautiful. Save your Nevis trip for another vacation. Enjoy your honeymoon!

I have a home on Nevis and have to disagree with mah1980. Nevis is a beautiful island and if there are no storms the weather can be great in August. But, like A_Traveller and Laby said, this your honeymoon. Why take the risk? Planning a wedding and a honeymoon is stressful enough without worring about the possiblity of hurricanes.

I know that I'm in the minority, but I know of many people going on their honeymoons to the caribbean during hurricane season, and 2 in august in particular.

I guess you need to do whatever makes you feel comfortable. If it were me I would go, knowing that the wedding would have me engaged enough that I wouldn't be worried about the honeymoon weather. But that's just me.

While there is a huge chance that you won't be hit by a hurricane in early August, I personally wouldn't take the chance. One and Only Palmilla looks absolutely gorgeous. My friends went there on their honeymoon and loved it. I'd rather not take a chance on bad weather. Perhaps you could just head to Nevis for another special occasion.

Aruba is outside of the hurricane belt. There may be others as well.

Well, it really does come down to how comfortable you are assessing risk and playing with statistics for your honeymoon. Some would go, others would not. Although chances are against a hurricane striking Nevis while you are there or just prior to arriving, a tropical storm or depression in the area can create lots of rain, which might not be a lot of fun for you, either.

Having traveled many times to the Caribbean in August, I personally would probably opt to go. The one trip to the region where rain dominated my vacation (first and last days of a 10 day trip had sun) happened to be in late November and it happened to be in Nevis.

While you won't get much sunning done in that kind of rain, you can still do lots of island exploration. Nevis has many fine restaurants, a quaint downtown, other cultural interests, hiking trails, etc to keep one occupied for several rainy days. If it's still raining, one could schedule a day or two in the spa at 4S. And if it's STILL raining after that, one could hop on over to St. Kitts and see their town, cultural attractions, plantation inns, etc.

There's no question that it's more fun in the Caribbean when the weather is good, but there are plenty of ways to have a good time even when the weather isn't as sunny as one hopes. No matter what you decide for your honeymoon, I hope you have a wonderful time!

How may hurricanes do you think have hit Nevis in the past 10 years? Hurricans are certainly a threat, but also are tornadoes, winter storms, floods, earthquakes, etc. It's not like Hurricans hit all of the caribbean islands all of the time, and when they do come - the chance of a hurricane specifically hitting Nevis in one specific week in August just isn't that great. Hurricans that would hit Nevis form off of the coast of Africa, and take a while to reach the leeward islands. You simply check before departing if anything is brewing. Remember, unlike many natural disasters that hit the US, hurricans give you a number of days warning to get out of the way. And, every hurrican isn't a major killer, even though they're becoming more frequent. I'm not selling my house and moving simply because I live in a hurricane area. I certainly wouldn't give up a trip to one of the nicest islands in the Caribbean because of a hurriane that hasn't even formed yet!

Dave - your missing the point. While it is true the odds of crimchr having a hurricane free honeymoon in August are in her favor it is still her honeymoon and not just another trip to the Caribbean. That's why it doesn't make sense for her to go at that time.

Also, the suggestion that she check a few days before is impractical. If a storm is brewing she will incur cancelation penalties on her airline tickets (inless she bought full fare tickets and hardly anyone does that) as well as from the resort. She also may not be able to book alternate accomodations on such short notice.

I travel to the Caribbean several times a year (August among them) and like you don't worry too much about hurricanes but it's not my honeymoon. Like I and others have said it's her honeymoon and there's no reason to add the stree of worring about the possibility of a storm when she can just as easily plan a trip to a destination just as nice where there isd no threat.

A_Traveller, I don't think Dave was missing the point necessarily. It was just a different point from the one you and others here have made. The OP will just have to assess the risks involved with his/her honeymoon and decide whether traveling to Nevis in August is worth the risk, or whether s/he would rather have relatively total peace of mind regarding the destination.

To answer A-Traveler, I'm assuming anyone traveling out of the country would have trip insurance. If need be, the trip could be postponed, and tickets refunded, including penalties. You are missing the point(I'm not sure what you meant by "your missing the point&quot . They are more likely to have an accident on the way to the airport than a hurricane hitting the exact location of Nevis during that exact week. There could be a tornado at a honeymoon location in the US, they could be kidnapped on Aruba, they could be in an earthquake in California, a tsumani in Hawaii, etc. What a waste to spoil a great honeymoon out of an over-blown fear. People have honeymoons in Florida all the time, and hurricanes are probably more likely in August here, since they come from the Atlantic, caribbean, and the gulf. I can't think of a hurricane that turned-around and travelled east to hit Nevis like Wilma or Charley did to us. Frankly, it's probably safer in Nevis in August that anywhere along the gulf or South Atlantic coast of the US.

you should think about whether you generally have a flexible attitude or do you get frazzled when things don't go as planned? how would you deal with no ac for a couple days? if you can handle a little excitement, then i say go for it. if nevis is where you want to be then book the nicest room you can and get trip insurance. you will not be able to tell where any storm is going until it gets there, so not too much point in checking ahead.

Well...forget the potential of a hurricane..consider HEAT!!! We spent a week at the 4Seasons last August. I have NEVER been so hot in my entire life. I don't think any of the restaurants have any AC...yikes...perhaps we were there during a heat wave...Lordy, I'd take a hurricane any day compared to that heat/humidity. I don't recall ever being that miserable in any of the other Islands...???? HAHAHAHA..and to think, I was not even there on my honeymoon!!!

visormom, I chuckled when reading your post about the humidity. Now that I live in New England, weather in the Caribbean is usually a bit more humid in August than at home. But when I first started traveling to the region I was living in Mississippi--and the Caribbean was VERY welcome respite from my summers at home in the Deep South.

When I lived in MS I used to complain about the heat & humidity (who wouldn't?). But now that I live up north, I find that I miss those long, langorous days where it was too hot to move and where a sweet tea with extra lemon tasted like heaven. I get my fix by traveling to the Caribbean in the hotter months now, but I get my little taste of heaven with a Ting or a rum punch instead.

I was married on Aug 20th about 20 years ago. We went to the Bahamas with no thoughts to Hurricanes and such. We had a great week, but flew home over a hurricane.
That being said, we have more hurricanes today than ever before. If you want to go to Nevis, I would plan to go with trip insurance. Remember if a hurricane comes, you may have to postpone the honeymoon. Can you live with that? If not, then change the place to a safer choice. Like some above posters say, there are risks for many different things wherever you decide to go. If you want to avoid all hurricane prone areas, then bypass the caribbean and mexico totally. Go west to California or Hawaii instead.
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Planning your wedding will give you enough to worry about over the next 8 months. Just pick a place and go. You may want to have a back up idea for a romantic weekend close to home in case of a hurricane changing your plans.

But Ejcrowe...I am from TEXAS..albeit North Texas...so I understand heat..118 at times..but that dang humidity!! Had to get up and fix me an ice tea while reading your post, and I didn't know one could make it without sugar...You know, though, we do believe in AC, so perhaps it was just the lack thereof. Keep in mind, for service, the 4Seasons was incredible and cool..inside...

Aruba (or Curacao or Bonaire) is definitely your best bet in August, weather-wise. Unfortunately (?), no 4 Seasons there (in every sense of the word...)!

Thankyou Everyone so much for all your input. My fiance and I decided to go with Cabo, in Mexico. We are going to stay at the One and Only Palmilla. We figure that by the time everything for the wedding and honeymoon is payed off, thanks AMEX, we should be able to use our points to go away next spring to Nevis. Thank you SO MUCH, again for all your help. It was and is greatly appreciated.