Honeymoon Vacation in October
 

Hi All,

We want to go to the Caribbean Islands in October as part of our honeymoon.
We would love for a recommendation for a not very expensive Island or two that combine beautiful beaches and nature so that we will be able to travel in them and not only be on the beaches all day.
We have in total 10 nights, and we thought about maybe combining Saint Lucia with another Island.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance :)

First, you have to define what "not very expensive" means to you - give us a dollar range for your budget for accommodations and whether that budget also included food, excursions and airfare. If it includes airfare where are you flying from?

Generally speaking the most budget friendly Caribbean destinations are the Dominican Republic, Cancun, Playa del Carmen, Jamaica and Cozumel. Mid-price range islands include Puerto Rico, the USVI's, parts of the BVi's, St. Martin, St. Kitts, Antigua, Grenada, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. The more expensive islands are Barbados, Anguilla, the Turks & Caicos, Grand Cayman, St. Barths, parts of St. Lucia and Nevis.

Lastly, island hopping is not always easy or inexpensive. If you want to easily island hop look at "island grouping" that are linked by ferries such as:

The USVI's - you can easily visit St. Thomas, St. John and most of the BVI's by ferry.

St. Martin - you can easily reach Anguilla and St. Barth's by ferry.

Puerto rico - you can easily reach Vieques and Culebra

St. Kitts - easily get to Nevis

Anguilla - easily reach Barbuda

FYI - Flying between islands can be expensive and schedules may be such that make it impractical to go for a "day trip".

October is in the hurricane season. I usually travel to the Caribbean at that time of the year and have never had an issue, but even I would hesitate to book my honeymoon then.
Otherwise, yes, if you are willing to take the risk, St Lucia combined with Dominica or Martinique would work, however, Dominica is not known for beaches, it is known for it's natural beauty and they speak French in Martinique, which takes it out of the comfort zone for alot of Americans. It might also be considered expensive as the currency is the Euro.

If you choose St. Lucia you can do days tours to Martinique by boat or St. Vincent and the Grenadines by air. Check out Sun Link Tours in St. Lucia;

http://stluciareps.com/tours/type/tr...ouring-islands

In Barbados, you can do days tours by air to Grenada and St. Lucia. Check out ChanTours;

http://www.chantours.com/

From Aruba you can do days tours to Curacao or Bonaire. Just catch a flight on Insel Air or Tiara-Air. It will take some planning to do. I would make sure you have a tour or rental car ready when you land and an idea of things you want to see and do before arriving so you don't waste any time.

October is prime hurricane season. Make sure and buy the hurricane/trip insurance that you can cancel for any reason and not just if your flight is canceled or hotel closes. If you can push the date to the first or second week of November, you'll have a better chance for better weather.

RoamsAround, between the most budget friendly Caribbean destinations that you mentioned:

1. Is it safe to travel in Jamaica? If so, where do you recommend going so it will combine natural and beautiful beaches?

2. The same question for the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.

Thanks :)

I don't know why Barbados was lumped into the more expensive island category. Sure, if you stay in Sandy Lane it will be, but there are many other less expensive options. Plus Barbados has alot to see around the island although it doesn't have the beauty of St Lucia. Again depending in which hotel you stay in St Lucia will depend on how expensive. Even Grand Cayman can be done in a less expensive way (although I admit that's quite challenging).

Your original idea of St Lucia combined with another island seems the best based on your wishes of an island with natural beauty & some nice beaches. It is not unsafe to get around. Jamaica is also beautiful, have only been to Negril and felt quite comfortable there but other posters will tell you other parts of Jamaica does not feel safe and same applies to DR.

Here is a link to the scheduled catamaran service that will take you from St Lucia to Dominica and Martinique plus other islands.

http://www.express-des-iles.com/index.cfm?lng=en

You can group any island where there is a transport link between them. Flights can be expensive if not booked well in advance. For instance, you could combine contrasting islands such as St Lucia with Antigua (beautiful beaches and things to see eg Nelsons Dockyard, Shirley Heights, day trip to Montserrat). Check out the route map for possibilities:

http://www.liat.com/navSource.html?page_id=27

We thought Barbados was more expensive than St Martin, Aruba, Grenada and Jamaica. Turks and Caicos was a pricy island but was worth it.

I agree, which is why we haven't made it to Barbados yet. From my part of the US the flights are limited and pricey. The hotels in budget are sub par compared to other destinations. Just can't make the justification to get there.