brenandg

grahms
If you think a little "hair raising" driving is fun, you will probably be fine in St Lucia, especially the north part of the island. There are really two "main" routes, the east and west coast roads.

ScubaMom

St. Lucia is one of the most lush islands in the Caribbean and not that hard to reach, so I agree with some of the other posts as that destination might be a good option.

For a very affordable honeymoon with secluded cottages (some with small plunge pool), you might look at Ti Kaye Village in St. Lucia. The rates are really great (comparible resorts are twice as much). Good review at www.scubatreks.com - take the St. Lucia link.

wtggirl

I agree with the St. Lucia remarks as it is one of my favorites too. But, I can verify your concern about the beaches. There are some beautiful beaches, but they are usually cove type beaches and not long stretches. Have you considered Negril Jamaica? I highly recommend it whether you want something couples only/large scale or small and intimate. I know you are on the caribbean board, but it sounds like Hawaii may be a really good option for you. Maui would be a good island for all you are looking for!

cartera

I think you should be able to do a villa on St. John in your budget since it is off season. There are some very romantic one and two bedrooms that are very reasonable. For example, take a look at this one http://www.cateredto.com/villas/Beithawa/beithawa.php

Even more reasonable http://www.calabashcottages.com/sago.htm

mah1980

Thanks for all of your recent responses. I haven't been able to reply as I was in Florida this weekend looking at wedding sites. Having done that, the trip planning seems a lot more fun!

I never realized that St. Lucia would have beautiful beaches. I think we could handle 5 days at the Hilton and then the final 2 days at Ladera (in that order per your suggestions; I guess it's like having a Mercedes and then trading it in for a Honda, both nice but a definite difference between the two). Can anyone recommend a good source to find deals for St. Lucia?

I met with a travel agent just to see what she had to offer. Unfortunately, I was not impressed. I felt like I knew more about most of the places as a result of independent research, than she did. She hadn't even heard of the Out Islands of the Bahamas; it just seemed like she tried to pigeon hole newlyweds into typical honeymoon locales, i.e., Sandals, Mexico all inclusives, and the Bahamas.

I was troubled because the TA kept hyping up Mexico for a honeymoon. I know friends that have been to the Riviera Maya area of Mexico, however, I never thought of Mexico as a honeymoon destination. My only experience w/Mexico was a spring break cruise I took in college that had stops in Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Cozumel, in my opinion, was terrible. Can anyone shed light on this subject?

wtggirl

Sounds like you had a new travel agent. A couple questions you can ask an agent is what they specialize in and how long they have been an agent. sometimes a well traveled person can become a good agent in just a couple years, but usually it takes many years. I will agree however that the Mayan Riviera is one of the biggest travel misconceptions in the industry. So many identify it with Cancun and it could not be further from Cancun in almost every aspect. However, it is more of a "jungle" atmosphere and there are no mountains to be found. But, for excellent value, new beautiful caribbean style (low rise, not high rise) resorts, and perfect beaches the Mayan riviera is an excellent honeymoon destination.

mah1980

wtggirl:

The TA that I met with supposedly has a lot of experience. I went to her based upon a recommendation from my good friend from law school; the TA planned her honeymoon to the FS in Costa Rica.

I guess that I'm wrong about the Riviera Maya area. Based on my research I've found some impressive luxury resorts that are much better values than their counterparts in the Caribbean. We fly out of New Orleans, so perhaps this is the reason for the reduced package price for Mexico.

You seem to be pretty familiar with that area of Mexico. I found a resort in Puerto Morales (sp?) called Ceiba del Mar. It looks great; very intimate (only 50 rooms which are all oceanview) and it is often described as an ideal honeymoon location. Have you heard of this resort? I've been quoted a rate of $3189 total, including airfare for 2 adults out of NOLA, and this includes their all inclusive plan which receives rave on the Mexico board.

Thanks!

ckruse

I love the Mayan Riviera and have been there about 1/2 dozen times. In chosing a place to stay in that area I highly recommend that you try and view photos of the beach. In reading this thread, I sensed a good beach was important to you. Several of the hotels in this area have very rocky beaches. Ikal del Mar was the worst for this. My husband exercised daily at Ceiba del Mar and thought the beach was rocky, had a lot of sea grasses and the color wasn't very pretty. A great beach is our number one priority in choosing a vacation. Our favorites in the Mayan Riviera are Maroma Resort and Azulik in Tulum. We are also anticpating the opening of a new hotel called Esencia which an employee from Maroma said had an even better beach.

Inkspot

We just honeymooned at Long Bay in December. Make sure you get the beach front villas, it's amazing to hear the waves as you fall asleep. We got married on St. John and honeymooned on Tortola. Things were a bit quieter on Tortola, very relaxing which is what a honeymoon is for. Long Bay Beach is close to Smuggler's Cove beach, which is nice and vacant.

wtggirl

I have not heard of the ceiba del mar. Are you wanting a small resort? If you don't mind a large luxury resort I would also look at The Royal Hideaway (200 rms)(no children under 14) which is one of the leading hotels of the world. And, for something different check out the Xpu-ha palace. The food is not as good at the latter, but the bungalow style rooms with jacuzzi makes up for it. I have been to both and loved them. I am glad to see you have an open mind about the Mayan Riviera. If you don't try it for your honeymoon, maybe you will put it on your travel list!

mah1980

I would prefer a small resort, however, we would be open to splitting up the vacation w/5 nights at one place and 2 at the other.

I'm looking at Ana y Jose's beachfront suites in Tulum. I was thinking we could do a couple of days there, which would be good b/c we would be close to the ruins at Tulum.

After that, maybe we could stay somewhere bigger in Playa del Carmen or Puerto Morales. Any suggestions?

wtggirl

There are many resorts in the Tulum area. The two I mentioned above are between Playa Del Carman and Tulum. Xpu-ha is very close. The Mayan Riviera is made up of Akumel, Playa Del Carmen and Tulum. Even if you stay in Playa Del Carmen, each resort will offer a trip to the Tulum and your drive will be between 15 and 30 minutes each way depending on which resort you are staying at. For just seven nights, I might suggest staying at the same hotel.