bhen13

My fiancée and I are getting married mid May and want to honeymoon right away. I've been doing some research on the best place to go within in our budget and need some help. Here is what we are looking for:
- budget: $5k approximately
- somewhere we haven't been. Places that are out are: Mexico, DR, Maui, St. Thomas
- accommodations/resort that feel luxurious
- mix of beach time and excursions (snorkel, water sports, zip lining. Shopping )
- great food and some nightlife

We were thinking Grand Cayman, Turks and Caicos, or possibly St. Lucia but are open to any fun island!
Thanks!

keke29

East Winds in St. Lucia has what you are looking for, pretty much exactly.All inclusive, boutique, pretty secluded, cottages, beachfront, excellent dining and service.

St. Lucia has everything you're looking for: beaches, lush rainforest, mountainous terrain, waterfalls, hiking (from easy to strenuous), ruins, etc.

Arrange for an island tour. Use a reputable tour operator or an authorized taxi driver to select and arrange a guided tour (an option which gives you the benefit of exploring with someone knowledgeable) St.Lucia Best Experience Tours & Airport Transfers. Very affordable and quality service

Grenada is also excellent. Again - good beaches, lush terrain, mountains, hiking, and so on.

Both are further south and stand less chance of a direct hit. Wherever you decide (especially in the Caribbean), be sure to purchase travel insurance to cover you in case something does happen. And check the resort's policy in case of hurricane -many have a policy to rebook with no penalties if a hurricane does hit....slim chances though.

Have a great trip, wherever you end up. And congrats in advance!

RoamsAround

May is not Hurricane Season in the Caribbean so the threat of a storm (which seemed to be of concern for keke29) is not an issue.

You may have to make some concessions .

Grand Cayman and the Turks & Caicos are flat islands and won't have zip lining so if that's a high priority for you you should look at mountainous islands.

St. Lucia will only have limited snorkeling.

1Gcayman

7MB on Grand Cayman can be rainy in late May....but most rain on the west coast (7MB)...the north coast is the "island" side and gets less than half the annual rainfall as 7MB...also some nice private 1-2BR honeymoon type villas located on the north coast. Search Conch'ed Out; Thatch Hill, Moon Glow for good examples of honeymoon oceanfront villas that are also affordable.

WWK

Turks can be rainy in May, too. And very hot!

blamona

Okay, here's my thing about having weather decide which island, weather happens! If you base on weather your choice, don't choose anywhere!

I've gone rainy season to islands and been dry. And reverse.

I've seen doozy hurricanes hit St. Lucia, Grenada, not even that long ago.

Even national hurricane center doesn't get it right.

I've been to Turks in May and had great weather (but yes to hot). I've been to Caymans when it rained the entire week. When in Grenada, some storms were airplanes were canceled.

So I gotta ask, why use weather as a factor?

Of your 3 choices

Caymans: mixure of everything except zip-line. Might be your best fit
T$c: best beaches. No reall shopping, not much nightlife.
St. Lucia: best scenery, but just okay beaches. Not the turquoise waters one thinks

Everyone has a favorite. Of the 3 T&C is mine.

rogandgee

First off. Hurricanes do not appear in May. The season starts in June and they often tend to develop in the Caribbean Sea and move away from the islands until later months when they develop in The Atlantic off the African coast. August/September is probably the most likely time frame but hurricanes striking a particular island is hit or miss. Just go and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean.

rogandgee

My earlier comments relate specifically to the southern Caribbean and St. Lucia in particular.

Bassguy66

"So I gotta ask, why use weather as a factor?"

I think a lot of folks tend to (try) and find a time where the weather will cooperate. Obviously, there are no guarantees.

But I see nothing wrong with trying to "up your odds" by picking a month that is (usually) drier than others. I know I do it all the time. It doesn't always work, but why not try and have the best odds due to all the available weather data and averages?

RoamsAround

blamona's right on point - there isn't much one can do about the weather and picking a destination based mainly on "weather" makes little sense in the Caribbean (I live there so I speak with some knowledge).

By and large the Caribbean is blessed with good weather year round but like everywhere we get some rain, cloudy days and even weather extremes like hurricanes. But that's just like every else - the mid-west USA gets tornados, places along the Mississippi and other major rivers get flooding, we often read about wildfires and mudslides in California, paralyzing ice storms in Atlanta, blizzards in the northeast cities - the list goes on.

The thing is, if you look at weather statistics for the Caribbean we have a lot of days that have rain on any given island but what those statistics don't tell you is that rain may only last a few minutes or it's high up in the rain forests (hence the name rain forest). And so, statistics may show an specific island may have 200 "rain days" a year it's rare there's enough rain on any given day to spoil anyone's vacation and even rarer the island gets an all day rainfall.

Yes, we have hurricanes but the odds on one striking a given island during the week or two someone is visiting the island is small, even during peak of hurricane season. September/October is usually peak storm time but if there are no storms the weather is usually quite good.

And lastly just because it might have rained on NAME YOUR ISLAND last year during the period you are considering don't mean it will rain this year or vice versa. Example, I live on a lush island where it usually rains somewhere on the island for sometime everyday (rarely enough to bother anyone) but we haven't seen any appreciable rain for weeks - everything is dry and the normal dense vegetation is looking sparse and brown.

Tourists obsess about the weather, we islanders never bother listing to the weather reports - it's basically the same every day.

Getting back to OP - she's planning a Caribbean honeymoon in May - and weather-wise that's a great time to visit anywhere in the Caribbean, plus it's easier on the budget because it's a time when many resorts lower their room rates.

rogandgee

Let me get back to weather in St. Lucia for example. It tends to rain a little in the early morning and the late evening. Usually a brief shower.
Honeymooning in May in St. Lucia has the added benefit of their great jazz festival in early May. The place is wonderfully exciting then. Check the dates by Googling St. Lucia jazz.