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Planning a Thanksgiving 2013 Honeymoon- Caribbean or Mexico?

Planning a Thanksgiving 2013 Honeymoon- Caribbean or Mexico?

Old May 11th, 2013, 01:21 PM
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Planning a Thanksgiving 2013 Honeymoon- Caribbean or Mexico?

Hi all,

I am currently working on planning a honeymoon over the Thanksgiving holiday (from 11/24 to 12/1). I am a teacher, so we originally planned to honeymoon over my Winter Break. However, when I saw how much lower the rates were over Thanksgiving, it seemed like a no-brainer! It will allow us to stay at a much nicer resort than we could have over Christmas/New Years.

I have never traveled over Thanksgiving and I am a bit concerned about the weather in the Caribbean. Will the weather be dismal and rainy? Any insight from people who have traveled in the Caribbean over Thanksgiving would be fabulous. . A few of the resorts that are on my "maybe" list are: Curtain Bluff in Antigua, Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort in Aruba, Seven Stars and Windsong in Turks and Caicos. This is not an exhaustive list, but gives you an idea of what we like/price point. I'm looking for a beautiful and luxurious property, but don't want anything too trendy or buttoned up.

As a backup, I looked at a few resorts in Mexico. Capella Ixtapa and Viceroy Zijuataneho have great rates that week and both look beautiful. I've been to Mexico a number of times, and preferred to do something a bit different for our honeymoon. However, if the weather will be appreciably better in Mexico, it seems worthwhile. Additionally, in my experience, food costs at resorts in Mexico are much lower than those at similar resorts in the Caribbean. My fiance hasn't done much travel in the Caribbean/Mexico and I don't want him to get sticker shock the first night he looks at a restaurant menu.

Any insight would be fabulous! Thank you so much.
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Old May 11th, 2013, 01:59 PM
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Resort prices, food and drink prices in the Caribbean can be about 2-3 times more than resorts in Mexico. You budget will go much farther in Mexico. I also feel Mexico has the nicer more lux accomendations than the Caribbean at a much better price.

I have been to Jamaica the week after Thanksgiving and the weather was perfect. We usually travel the first week of either November or December every year due to lower prices and crowds. The only weather issues we have had was getting in/out of the US due to snowed in airports.

With that said, we found the pools in Mexico during that time of year way too cold for us. The ocean temps are fine though. We went to Cabo San Lucas this past December and most of the resorts there the pools are heated. I don't think I could ever go to the Caribbean side of Mexico again in a November or December just due to that as we are major pool people. However, the beaches on the Western side are very sub-par compared to the Caribbean side, so you have to decide what is more important to you.

" I don't want him to get sticker shock the first night he looks at a restaurant menu." And, this is way we typically do AI resorts in Mexico. You will get way more for you money there and not have to worry about additional costs for food and drinks.

We have been looking at going to Puerto Rico for this year's trip and after I saw the prices for food and drinks we are rethinking it. However, we just returned from New Orleans and we were amazed at the prices there. Very comparable to the Caribbean, but about 2 to 3 times higher than what I pay here at home. My home prices and Mexico prices are about along the same lines. I guess I have an issue with paying $8 for a beer, $12 for a drink and $30 to $50 for an entree.
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Old May 11th, 2013, 02:02 PM
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Weather in the Caribbean at the end of November will be essentially the same as at Christmas except it will probably be less breezy. In general it will not be "dismal and rainy" either time. Expect lots of sunny days with daytime temps in the low to mid 80's F. with it being a few degrees cooler in the evening. You won't see much difference between weather in Mexico or the Caribbean during any given period - it will essentially be the same.

The properties on your list are all quite nice - can't say which will be better for you since you didn't list your particular likes or dislikes.

Yes, your instincts are correct, on average food cost in Mexico will be somewhat lower than in the Caribbean islands. As for the three islands in the Caribbean on your list the Turks & Caicos have the reputation of being more pricy than Aruba and Antigua.
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Old May 11th, 2013, 02:55 PM
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We've been going to Turks and Caicos during November for the last three years. The weather has been gorgeous. We always stay at The West Bay Club because it has the widest section of beach in the resort area. The beach in front of Windsong is extremely narrow and can almost disappear during high tide.
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Old May 12th, 2013, 07:48 AM
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The weather on the Pacific coast of Mexico is usually perfection over Thanksgiving (i know puerto vallarta best). And generally speaking you do get more bang for your buck in Mexico over the Caribbean islands. I'm no expert of this question but those two statements are for sure true! suze
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