Tips for Tropics: Nov. Honeymoon in Need of Help
 

We have just started looking into honeymoon options for early/mid-November of next year. Looking for tropical, tropical, tropical - places we’ve talked about include Bora Bora, the Maldives, St. Barths, St. John, Nevis, Virgin Gorda and maybe Hawaii. In an ideal world, would like the location to be lush (not just beach and arid landscape), want top-notch accommodations, access to excellent food and good options for nightlife. Would also be great if it didn't take us 20+ hours to get there from NY. Does such a place exist that is not in the midst of a rainy and/or hurricane season at this time of year? Would appreciate any and all thoughts b/c preliminary searching has us a bit nervous. Thanks so much!

Well this is just my opinion and you will get many, but I would choose a place that you would not normally go on a vacation. The Caribbean is easily accessible for a vacation anytime from NY.
I know Hawaii has a beautiful lush landscape and is a trip you won't take everyday. You can fly direct from Newark and it will take around 12 hours. Bora Bora will be pretty far, but how often are you going to go there? Eventually, you will have kids and then you will go to Disney world (no pun intended!) for a while and the Caribbean because it is close.
We have traveled pretty well and far with our kids who are now 11 and 13, but a honeymoon should be something unique and a little exotic. You will find both relaxation and adventure in Hawaii. Good luck choosing.

I agree with the previous poster, that your honeymoon should be special and maybe go for the places that are far away but exotic cause it may be difficult to see them later. We honeymooned in Hawaii and now have a child and I know exactly what the previous poster is saying. That being said I think Hawaii would suit you perfectly. Its exotic, the landscape is lush (especially Kaui and Maui). I haven't been to Maldives but have researched the option since its one of my 'to experience' places. It suits me perfectly but I don't think you will have the nightlife option and will for the most part be limited to restaurants in the hotel on your atoll (sp?). I do not know much about Bora Bora except very lush, very far. If you want to stay in the Caribbean I would take VG off the list (not much in terms of nightlife). St Barths or St John (caneel bay is the best resort of the two on the island but not sure I would call it top notch) would probably be more suitable. Based on what you have stated I think Hawaii would be the way to go for top notch accomodations, good food options, lush landscape, and some nightlife.

hey to brooklyn, i would definetly head to bora bora or maldives. as mentioned above your honeymoon is a once only type of trip. even when you travel alone in the future it won't be the same!
maldives would be my first choice because they really need the tourist dollars to return. everything will be new. the area is stunning. [have you ever noticed those tropical beach calendars are mostly indian ocean] locales?
i just checked wunderground and the temp in bora bora and maldives is about 80 right now.
i did some research for another couple recently and can tell you that as soon as you get off bora bora prices drop. many advise you spend 1 week there and another on different island.

I have lived and worked in both the south pacific and in the caribbean.

You can duplicate places like Tahiti if you know where to look.

The following is less than 3.5 hours by air from NY or Newark...and then an incredibly scenic drive, the last leg in:

open full screen:

http://image06.webshots.com/6/0/35/3...5EOuAAo_fs.jpg


http://www.villaserena.com/

Ohhh...I forgot to mention... at only 30 cents on the dollar, compared to Tahiti!

FYI. I do really like Virgin Gorda as well.

Check out little dix bay...but its at 3 times the cost as the above tip.

Been to French Polynesia and its great except I wouldn't exactly call Bora Bora "lush", nor good nightlife, you've heard the old saying "its so boring in Bora Bora they named it twice". Not sure thats so much true but it is a great place, laid back but upscale a get away from it all place. There's also lesser islands in the chain and Moorea is very nice too. Flying Tahiti is not much further than Hawaii, from LA is a 7 hour flight. From Tahiti you puddle jump. Not as painful as most think. In Indian Ocean, Maldives are nice but also consider the Seychelles, very nice. For Carib, definitely recommend St. Barts, Anguilla or Providenciales, Turks and Caicos all upscale and not forget Bermuda, very upscale and quick flight from NY. You should not worry too much about hurricanes in Nov, yes through end of Nov is technically hurricane season for Atlantic but they are unlikely, I travel every Nov and never encountered any problems not even a threat. Congrats and good luck.

Hi, all. Thanks so much for the recommendations and thoughts! After some further thinking, we agree that if we’re going to be away for two weeks (and it is our honeymoon, after all!)...we would be ok with longer travel times as a trade-off for an incredibly special trip.

That said…still confused! But will be taking all feedback under advisement. We’ve got some time, so will keep researching and talking to people – so if you have any additional thoughts or specific places/resorts you would suggest we check out…please don’t hesitate to post them!

Thanks again!

I've been to most of your choices. (not to Nevis-yet)
My honeymoon was Bora Bora and Moorea. All honeymooners, absolutely nothing to do, gorgeous.
Maldives are my favorite in the world.
Virgin Gorda and St.John are very nice, but closer, so easier to get to on a future trip. St. Barth is very chic, but I would prefer Anguilla over it. Hawaii has a lot of fans, but my tastes run to the islands with blinding white sands and swimming pool looking waters.
My choice would be Maldives. (But not during rainy season!)

Sorry, I didn't read your post carefully before answering. Throw my tastes out the window, they are not lush, and there is no nightlife.
Bora Bora: tropical, NO nightlife at all.
Maldives: like little Gilligan's islands, each resort owns it's own island and takes up the whole island (or atoll as it's called)
St. Barth:tiny, hilly, very chic, a little bit of nightlife
St. John: A good intro to Caribbean, excellent all around, hilly, a little lush, beautiful beaches, a little nightlife
Virgin Gorda: gorgeous, no nightlife, hilly, dryer than St. John
Hawaii: lush and tropical, nightlife, families crowds.
Hope that helps!

thanks for your feedback, blamona. as for your thoughts about the Maldives...i am so enchanted with photos of the area. Really, really want to make it there sometime very soon. but there are a couple of concerns - we're not so much in need of nightlife...as concerned that if we're there for two weeks...will we go out of our minds? i suppose that is possible for many of the places we listed...however, i would think that having the option to even just go for a walk if we wanted a change of scenery might make some sense. When you visited the Maldives, how long did you spend there? Do you think two weeks might be a bit too long? Also...have you ever been in Nov? Worried about rain...

as for anyone else…do you have any specific resort recommendations for St. Barth’s,
St. John’s, Hawaii (preferably not the big island) and/or the Maldives? Also, Traveler863, saw you mentioned Seychelles. I had looked into these islands…but only in brief so far. If you have any specific recommendations for here, I would love to hear about them.

Thanks again!

I went to Maldives in Jan (years ago) for 9 days. It takes about 3 days to get to, for example, in 2 weeks you're really going to be there for about 9-10 days. You can also break it up on the way, spend a night in Dubai, or London, or if you gop the other direction, spend the night in Singapore. Once you are one resort, it was fairly easy to island hop, see 3 other islands in a day. Another example, one day I visited 2 resort islands, and a town island, and even stopped at a huge sand bar. (That was really cool)
I went to the Seychelles for 9 days and also island hopped. Spent 3 nights each in capital, Praslin, and La Digue. La Digue was really cool with big giant boulder's on the beach scattered with palm trees. But it's hard to swim in those waters, either really shallow, or lots of undertows. Nevertheless, absolutely gorgeous! I combined the trip with a 5 day Kenya safari, so the whole trip was really exotic.
Bora Bora is gorgeous. We island hopped for 14 days. Absolutely no shopping or night life, no TV's, and were we stayed no AC. I thought I would go crazy, but we actually de-stressed after all the crazy wedding stuff, and it was great!
St. Barth you can easily combine other islands into the mix if you are going for 2 weeks. Stay some in St. Martin, (lots of action, casinos, best shopping in the Caribbean) and Anguilla, very quiet, flat, and dry, with some of the most incredible beaches in the world. There are ferries from St. Martin to St. Barth (1 hour) and St. Martin to Anguilla (20 minutes)
St. John allows alot of island hopping. There is even a stay between Little Dix Bay in Virgin Gorda and Caneel Bay in St. John that includes transfers between the 2. (Same company) You can also do day trips to Jost Van Dyke, Tortola, and St. John.
Can't help much with Hawaii, spent only 1 day in Honolulu, and wasn't very impressed; I can't compare the other islands there.
Sorry so long winded.

My thoughts - Virgin Gorda (Little Dix Bay) is great for just the resort and beach. There is no nightlife on this island. St. John has more of a town and Caneel was a great resort. 4 Seasons Nevis is an excellent place that I will recommmend over and over again however nightlife is minimal. This is a top notch location.

If your going to go to Hawaii choose a smaller island or a resort that is a bit more remote. My worst trips have been to Hawaii where there is one resort packed next to another one. It just gets congested. Stayed at the Manderin Oriental in Hawaii and it was really great. Also the 4 seasons in Hawaii is very nice. Small though.

A place you should really consider is Las Ventanas Al Paraiso. It's close to nightlife by taxi and is a Rosewood property like Little Dix Bay and Caneel. It's easier to get to and has top notch accomodations.

Cap Jaluca is supposed to be great as well.

thanks, stanton. I've heard really wonderful things about the four seasons nevis. definitely something we're considering. as for your reco in mexico and also anguilla, i've been to that region in mexico and have also been to Cap Juluca - both are wonderful. but we want to go someplace new for both of us.

blamona, thanks for the info. re: Seychelles, i read about the undertow on a couple of sites. something to think about. but it looks absolutely beautiful. and according to a couple of travel websites, Seychelles is supposed to be "in season" in November...which is a good thing. considering the many places that are supposedly rainy.

On Oahu, the Halekulani is a fabulous hotel. It is crowded and crazy in Waikiki though. We stayed here about 12 years ago and it is still considered the best. We had a baby with us at the time, but I was the only one in the hotel with a child. It was mostly japanese honeymooners!The beach area is small in front of this hotel if that is important to you.
Kauai is supposed to be the most beautiful. We are going there in April for the first time. The Princeville Resort(rainier side of the island) and Hyatt in Poipu(sunnier side).I have been to Maui and Oahu. On Maui, the nicest hotel was the Grand Wailea (my opinion). It was very nice. There will be lots to do and see in Hawaii if you choose to go there.

We are actually headed back to St Barths in a couple of weeks.

We are renting a villa, most of the accommodations on St Barths are villas. However, there are some really wonderful small hotels. Hotel Guanahani and Eden Rock are two of the best. St Barths is a fantastic place. Look at the site www.st-barths.com for more info.

On Nevis I would stay either at Montpelier Plantation or Four Seasons. They are both wonderful. They have very different feels to them, but they are both wonderful and beautiful properties.

Virgin Gorda is another favorite of mine, but it is more arid than some of the other places you mentioned. However it has some wonderful beaches. I would look into Little Dix Bay or Biras Creek here for great accommodations.

St John - Caneel Bay.

Hurricane season ends Nov. 30, howevef, we always travel in Nov. be it Nevis, St Barths, Virgin Gorda, St Martin, Anguilla, etc. and we always have good weather...

GL

bklyngrl,
Not sure how the weather is in November in Hawaii..but check out Kauai.It is so lush and beautiful.The Hyatt at Poipu Beach is a nice hotel or The Princeville Resort is a little more upscale than the Hyatt and has a nice golf course..if you are into golf.

I agree with girlonthego..I would travel somewhere that is farther now..before having kids (if you are planning on having them)...because once you have children..the quick Caribbean trips are alot more easy to go on.

It took my husband and I ..a total of 10 hours to get to Kauai but it was WELL WORTH IT!!I have not found a place as beautiful as the Napali Coast of Kauai.;) If you go to Kauai..be sure to do a helicopter tour of the Napali Coast.

St John is also beautiful.;)I have never been to Bora Bora..but its on my long list of places to travel.;)

Good luck!!
Christie

And again...thanks to all for the great input! Have another two locations to throw out - Fiji and Mauritius. My fiancé came home all excited with an article about the Namale Resort in Fiji. And another friend said she heard great things about Mauritius. Does anyone have any first-hand experience with either place? Any resorts they might recommend for or against?

In doing some historical compare/contrast of November weather in the past few years in several of the places we've talked about...Fiji actually seems to have had the most sunny days. followed by Mauritius.

thanks!

No one seems to mention St. Lucia. Any comments?

Hawaii was awesome. Especially if you are looking for top-notch food. The Hyatt in Kauai is amazing. They have a really nice golf course - they play the grand slam of golf there. The Halekulani in Oahu is an awesome hotel- it was featured on the travel channel- but that was our least favorite part of the trip. Waikiki felt a lot like Miami but we wanted to see Pearl Harbor. I live in NY and the trip was flight was not that bad. I wanted to go to Tahiti but my husband is not that adventerous. I think Costa Rica is not in hurricane/rainy season that time of year. They opened a four seasons there.

intraveler,
While we adore St Lucia and it does meet the "tropical, tropical, tropical" aspect, it does not meet the excellent food and nightlife criteria that the OP asked for. While there is good food available, St Lucia is not known for that aspect.

Thanks, snackman. we have good friends who just spent three weeks honeymooning in costa rica. they had a wonderful time, but they are rather adventurous, rugged souls - spending a good number of nights actually backpacking. we are not rugged. so the four seasons might be a lovely fit!

hey, blamona. we have talked with several friends and a couple of travel agents. am back in the mode of seriously reconsidering the maldives - apparently November is the start of their better weather. so question is, what resorts would you most recommend?

thanks!

I've been to Fiji, but I prefer Cook Islands, Bora bora and Maldives to them. I have not been to Marituis, but know people that have and also been to Seychelles, and all agree they like Seychelles more.
As to Maldives, all resorts are pretty decent. I split my time between one called Paradise Island (can't remember the Maldive name for it) and Soneva Fushi. S oneva Fushi was spectacular, but kinda hard to get to. Helicopter ride cost as much as a night's stay, but oh so worth it. I was there before One and Only and 4 seasons opened theirs, but you can't go wrong with either. Also heard good things about Huvan fushi, the Hilton, and the Banyan Tree.
I went through the old ClubMed (they've changed islands since then) and Ihuru (now called Angsana) Full Moon, and Rihiveli. 3 others, but can't remember the names! Ihuru is where most postcard pictures are taken, and one of the other 3 (sorry) also has lots of pictures taken of it. If you stay at a North Mali Atoll, you can take lots of day trips to the others. From Soneva Fushi, you can take day trips to village atolls and deserted atolls and sand bars. Pick the one with amenities you want, or split it between 2. Of the above mentioned, Ihuru was good for a day trip, but seemed a little dated, Rihveli had a spectacular setting, but isolated from most, plus not many amenities.

I'd suggest going to Barbados. It has some of everything any island can offer except for gambling and a volcano. Lovely people, lush green tropical setting, clean air, pure water, wide range of hotels, beaches, water sports, sightseeing such as caves, tropical gardens, animal preserves, plantation houses, submarine ride. Outstanding restaurants, both in hotels and independent. Nitelife at hotels and elsewhere. All revolves around a British/Caribbean culture so you don't feel like you're just in tropical America. Barbados is a really special place with a strong economy, not dependent only on tourism, so a visitor experiences a sense of a place which is beyond just a resort on a beach. Generally avoid August-October (hurricane season)even though Barbados is far enough south to hardly ever get hit by a hurricane. Otherwise weather is great all year-perpetual summer with water temps over 80 deg. even in winter. Lowest hotel rates are mid-April to mid-December, with a big jump in high season. Calmest water for swimming/snorkeling is on the calm
west coast north of Bridgetown. IMO the class act on that stretch is Coral Reef Club. Family-owned for 50 years, low-rise and plantation cottage style hotel in beautiful tropical gardens and fine beach. Barbados is a really special place. See www.barbados.org and www.coralreefbarbados.com

thanks, all! after much researching for the past several days, we're heavily leaning toward the maldives...despite the lack of nightlife options. thinking that such a special trip deserves and equally exceptional destination. Not so much wanting/needing clubs, but in the early stages of research, had this image of the maldives that we would be completely and totally alone for the entire two weeks on some patch of beach with a palm tree! but...after looking into some of the specific resorts, we might split our time (five nights and five nights) between a totally secluded resort and one with a host of restaurants and a little bit more chic atmosphere. weather - november is actually the start of their summer season...so fingers crossed for no rain (or at least not too much). decided not to take a chance with the carribean and hurricanes.

so, that said...has anyone been to the soneva gili and/or huvafen fushi in the maldives? if so, i would love to hear thoughts on rooms, service, food, etc. did you do the inclusive package or figure out lunch and dinner on your own? and...are there any particular villas you would most recommend on the property? thanks!

FYI - Air Tahiti Nui runs nonstop service to Tahiti from JFK 3 times a week. The flight is 12 hours. Tahiti is only 2 hours flying time south of Hawaii. But I agree with many of the others. Bora Bora, while beautiful is very quiet...literally no nightlife.
((S))((*))

bklyngrl,
Maldives is a great choice, again Seychelles great too, expensive to get to, as are Maldives. I highly second the recommendation for layover in London, perhaps Frankfurt, Paris and/or Dubai, I guess depends on the airline you choose. Also look at Reunion, nice too.
Kam, I think you mean Tahiti is 2 hours flying time difference from US mainland, e.g. Hawaii is 5 hours from LA, Tahiti is about 7 hours from LA, however to fly from Hawaii to Tahiti that flight time is about 4 or 5 hours.

Hello bklyngrl! It sound to me like you should go to Purto Rico and stay at the EL SAN JUAN resort in Isla Verde. It is a beautifu resort close to all the shopping, nightlife casinos and whatever you want. It is also close to the beautiful EL YUNQUE rainforest.I dont have the website address for the El San Juan right now but I will get it for you and post it here for you to check it out.

Here is the web address for the WYNDHAM EL SAN JUAN resort bklyngrl. Go to wwww.wyndham.com and you can check it out there.For what you are looking for you will love that resort they have beautiful rooms, a great casino and restaurant and they are close to so many wonderful things you will enjoy.

If you are looking for a remote place just for honeymooners, go to Tahiti. We went there for a two and a half week honeymoon, and it was absolutely gorgeous. It took us 14 hours from NJ to get there (6 hours out to LA, then 8 hours to Tahiti). However, if you are looking for a night life, this is not the place to go. Also, it is extremely pricy.

We just recently took a two week vacation out to Hawaii. That was fabulous, and you can find a pretty good nightlife there. The only thing it doesn't have are casinos. Direct flights from Newark are 9.5 hours to 10 hours long. If you decide to go there, spend most of your time in Maui. We stayed at the Grand Wailea Resort (www.grandwailea.com). It was like staying at Daddy Warbuck's estate in Annie. Expensive, but highly recommended. Suggestion is to skip the island of Oahu. It is mainly city area with spring breakers, but do go see the USS Arizonia Memorial at Pearl Harbor during the day.

If you want to go somewhere closer, go to Aruba. It is outside the hurricane belt, so the weather there is pretty much guaranteed to be nice all year round. Stay at the Renaissance Hotel in Oranjestad. It is the only hotel on the island that has it's own private island. The night life there is great...restaurants, casinos, clubs, bars, shows, shopping, you name it. They have it. This is a fun place with lots to do, and it is less expensive than the other places. Plus, direct flight from Newark is less than 5 hours long.

Hope this helps!