Honeymoon Jan 2012, need some help please
Jun 27th, 2011, 04:42 PM
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Honeymoon Jan 2012, need some help please
Hi All,
I have been reading all the feedback others have received and figure with such a knowledgeable group better ask my own questions, all advice is appreciated.
Planning mid Jan 2012 honeymoon for approx. 10-14 days, I am a sucker for the white sand, beautiful scenery, great swimming and lots of activities, not to mention good wine. The future wife is looking for more of a polished trip, shopping, great restaurants (hates buffets) and being pampered. Obviously it all comes at a cost, and the great thing about traveling is that you never quite know what to expect, but most experiences tend to exceed expectations. We would love to spend the entire trip at a Boutique hotel such as Viceroy in Anguilla, but the finances don’t support such dreaming. As a compromise I thought we could spend 3 or 4 nights at an upscale hotel and the remainder of the trip at a higher end all-inclusive such as sandals.. The challenge is that no island seems to have the higher end all-inclusive and a upscale hotel, with an Island we would like to explore. For example I hear great things about the Antiqua Sandals, but not so much about the Island itself.
1) How difficult is it to travel between the Islands?
2) Could one spend a week at Antiqua Sandals, then fly/ferry to Anguilla or St. Marteen?
3) Could you do the same but stay at the Sandals St. Lucia, then fly/ferry to Martinique?
4) Or am I asking for too much and we are better off staying at St. Lucia and simply changing hotels?
We both love the European influences on these Islands, good food and explore is a must, but at the same time, the worry free and cost savings of an all-inclusive gives you peace of mind.
Thanks for the help!
Mike
I have been reading all the feedback others have received and figure with such a knowledgeable group better ask my own questions, all advice is appreciated.
Planning mid Jan 2012 honeymoon for approx. 10-14 days, I am a sucker for the white sand, beautiful scenery, great swimming and lots of activities, not to mention good wine. The future wife is looking for more of a polished trip, shopping, great restaurants (hates buffets) and being pampered. Obviously it all comes at a cost, and the great thing about traveling is that you never quite know what to expect, but most experiences tend to exceed expectations. We would love to spend the entire trip at a Boutique hotel such as Viceroy in Anguilla, but the finances don’t support such dreaming. As a compromise I thought we could spend 3 or 4 nights at an upscale hotel and the remainder of the trip at a higher end all-inclusive such as sandals.. The challenge is that no island seems to have the higher end all-inclusive and a upscale hotel, with an Island we would like to explore. For example I hear great things about the Antiqua Sandals, but not so much about the Island itself.
1) How difficult is it to travel between the Islands?
2) Could one spend a week at Antiqua Sandals, then fly/ferry to Anguilla or St. Marteen?
3) Could you do the same but stay at the Sandals St. Lucia, then fly/ferry to Martinique?
4) Or am I asking for too much and we are better off staying at St. Lucia and simply changing hotels?
We both love the European influences on these Islands, good food and explore is a must, but at the same time, the worry free and cost savings of an all-inclusive gives you peace of mind.
Thanks for the help!
Mike
Jun 28th, 2011, 03:26 AM
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Hi Mike Congrats...
1.usuall very costly difficult to travel betweenislands
2.yes but expensive and a hassle
3.same answer
4.better to just get a nice package with one hotel.
Fort Deaux St Lucia good specials but many others
based on budget booking.com honest reviews shop around.
Most of the islands you are talking about are flat hot with
good beaches St. Lucia is best for more adventures Sandals
best AI there but also almondresorts.com nice.Flights usually
more expensive down.
Not a big fan of AIs to much sameness not enough variety
not usually much cheaper whenu analyze carefully.
luxurylink.com has HM worthy hotels like roundhill.com at great deals I like Negril area cheaper more adventurous
cheap flights down on Spirit.com
www.rockhousehotel.com/escape.php
Super nice for me good enough for Jagger Marley and Dylan
good enough for me.
Happy Hunting!
1.usuall very costly difficult to travel betweenislands
2.yes but expensive and a hassle
3.same answer
4.better to just get a nice package with one hotel.
Fort Deaux St Lucia good specials but many others
based on budget booking.com honest reviews shop around.
Most of the islands you are talking about are flat hot with
good beaches St. Lucia is best for more adventures Sandals
best AI there but also almondresorts.com nice.Flights usually
more expensive down.
Not a big fan of AIs to much sameness not enough variety
not usually much cheaper whenu analyze carefully.
luxurylink.com has HM worthy hotels like roundhill.com at great deals I like Negril area cheaper more adventurous
cheap flights down on Spirit.com
www.rockhousehotel.com/escape.php
Super nice for me good enough for Jagger Marley and Dylan
good enough for me.
Happy Hunting!
Jun 28th, 2011, 03:26 AM
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Hi Mike Congrats...
1.usuall very costly difficult to travel betweenislands
2.yes but expensive and a hassle
3.same answer
4.better to just get a nice package with one hotel.
Fort Deaux St Lucia good specials but many others
based on budget booking.com honest reviews shop around.
Most of the islands you are talking about are flat hot with
good beaches St. Lucia is best for more adventures Sandals
best AI there but also almondresorts.com nice.Flights usually
more expensive down.
Not a big fan of AIs to much sameness not enough variety
not usually much cheaper whenu analyze carefully.
luxurylink.com has HM worthy hotels like roundhill.com at great deals I like Negril area cheaper more adventurous
cheap flights down on Spirit.com
www.rockhousehotel.com/escape.php
Super nice for me good enough for Jagger Marley and Dylan
good enough for me.
Happy Hunting!
1.usuall very costly difficult to travel betweenislands
2.yes but expensive and a hassle
3.same answer
4.better to just get a nice package with one hotel.
Fort Deaux St Lucia good specials but many others
based on budget booking.com honest reviews shop around.
Most of the islands you are talking about are flat hot with
good beaches St. Lucia is best for more adventures Sandals
best AI there but also almondresorts.com nice.Flights usually
more expensive down.
Not a big fan of AIs to much sameness not enough variety
not usually much cheaper whenu analyze carefully.
luxurylink.com has HM worthy hotels like roundhill.com at great deals I like Negril area cheaper more adventurous
cheap flights down on Spirit.com
www.rockhousehotel.com/escape.php
Super nice for me good enough for Jagger Marley and Dylan
good enough for me.
Happy Hunting!
Jun 29th, 2011, 04:55 AM
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HI Mike,
I think qwovadis pretty much covered it -
Not sure if it helps but I did come across a special deal last week being offered by www.allourtravelneeds.com for the Caribbean - heres the page http://www.allourtravelneeds.com/ind...d=83&Itemid=41
Best wishes
Mark
I think qwovadis pretty much covered it -
Not sure if it helps but I did come across a special deal last week being offered by www.allourtravelneeds.com for the Caribbean - heres the page http://www.allourtravelneeds.com/ind...d=83&Itemid=41
Best wishes
Mark
Jun 29th, 2011, 08:59 AM
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Hi
Travelling from St Lucia to other islands can be costly as flights are infrequent. Ferry to Martinique is available and a little more reasonable.
Agree St Lucia is a bit different to the other islands which is why we built our family villa Akasha there. So if you fancy something different to your normal all inclusive hotel, space but still have luxury then take a look at www.stlucia.cc You can get a personal quote - to include anything that's on offer.
Enjoy which ever you chose
Travelling from St Lucia to other islands can be costly as flights are infrequent. Ferry to Martinique is available and a little more reasonable.
Agree St Lucia is a bit different to the other islands which is why we built our family villa Akasha there. So if you fancy something different to your normal all inclusive hotel, space but still have luxury then take a look at www.stlucia.cc You can get a personal quote - to include anything that's on offer.
Enjoy which ever you chose
Jun 30th, 2011, 05:38 AM
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If great shopping is high on your future wife's wish list for a honeymoon, St. Lucia will not be her dream destination. There are some overpriced duty free shops in Castries and an overpriced upscale mall in Rodney Bay, but that's about it. There's a lot to really like about St. Lucia, but she's not going to find great shopping there.
Jun 30th, 2011, 08:15 AM
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1. its not difficult or necessarily costly to travel between the islands, depends which ones of course and when.
2. Yes you could spend 1 week in Antigua and another in Anguilla (daily flight on Liat) or St Martin(couple flights daily on Liat, some direct and some with a stop)
3. Yes you could stay in St Lucia and then take the catamaran to Martinique on Express des Iles, there might be other options eg ferry
4. Can't see much point in 2 hotels on the same island,I have done the St Lucia/Grenada/Barbados combination plus plenty of others. I would not recommend Almond Morgan resort on St Lucia either, mainly because the beach is not that nice for swimming. Sandals La Toc has a nice beach but can be rough at times. If you want the white sand head for Reduit Beach but if it is the scenery head for somewhere like Anse Chastenet/Jalousie/Ladera or maybe TiKaye.
AI doesn't always save money but can be convenient and on some islands it's hard to find restaurants all the time (eg Antigua, didnt find much away from Jolly Beach or Dickensons Bay). Martinique probably ticks all the boxes except for the upscale hotels but that seems to be changing.
2. Yes you could spend 1 week in Antigua and another in Anguilla (daily flight on Liat) or St Martin(couple flights daily on Liat, some direct and some with a stop)
3. Yes you could stay in St Lucia and then take the catamaran to Martinique on Express des Iles, there might be other options eg ferry
4. Can't see much point in 2 hotels on the same island,I have done the St Lucia/Grenada/Barbados combination plus plenty of others. I would not recommend Almond Morgan resort on St Lucia either, mainly because the beach is not that nice for swimming. Sandals La Toc has a nice beach but can be rough at times. If you want the white sand head for Reduit Beach but if it is the scenery head for somewhere like Anse Chastenet/Jalousie/Ladera or maybe TiKaye.
AI doesn't always save money but can be convenient and on some islands it's hard to find restaurants all the time (eg Antigua, didnt find much away from Jolly Beach or Dickensons Bay). Martinique probably ticks all the boxes except for the upscale hotels but that seems to be changing.
Jul 1st, 2011, 07:27 AM
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Congratualtions Mike! I was exactly in your position this time last year. We wanted to go to the Caribbean but had no idea where, when and how. My husband came across this site www.holidaysplease.co.uk/honeymoons/advice Their travel advisers were brilliant- they helped us from A-Z and listened to everything we wanted. We filled out the enquiry form and a few hours later a friendly agent got back to us. We ended up spending 10 amazing days in St Lucia at 2 different hotels and didn't need to go anywhere else. We were entertained 24/7...it was just perfect!! Hope this helps, good luck!
Jul 1st, 2011, 11:13 AM
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With regards to traveling to other Islands when we stayed at the Sandals Grande St. Lucia they offered a "fast boat" to Martinque and a flight to St. Vincent/Grenadines.
Here's the link for more info:
http://www.sunlinktours.com/trips_to...uring_isla.htm
We have been considering a vacation to Barbados and wanted to do a day trip to Grenada or the Grenadines and was referred to these companies.
www.chantours.com and Caribbean Safari Tours
We have stayed at many AI hotels and the Sandals Grande was a HUGE disappointment especially for the money. Food and service not withstanding a hotel that bills themselves at such a high calibur.
Here's the link for more info:
http://www.sunlinktours.com/trips_to...uring_isla.htm
We have been considering a vacation to Barbados and wanted to do a day trip to Grenada or the Grenadines and was referred to these companies.
www.chantours.com and Caribbean Safari Tours
We have stayed at many AI hotels and the Sandals Grande was a HUGE disappointment especially for the money. Food and service not withstanding a hotel that bills themselves at such a high calibur.
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