Abby43

Hi Courtney-
DO NOT GO TO RIO!!! I was just there and it's not all that great. Sure, the beaches were fabulous and it's beautiful, but I witnessed men kicking the crap out of each other (gang violence) while driving through town and it's just very dangerous in general. Plus no one speaks English very well and do you know Portuguese? It's not Spanish speaking there!

That being said, I went to Tahiti and Fiji before and I did not get bored-I was even by myself! In Tahiti I went to Moorea for 6 days. I enjoyed the quiet time of just laying by the pool/beach and reading. There is not much going on at night-basically you will eat at about 8 and then it's all over by 10 but I thought it was absolutely gorgeous. I had a bad travel snafu in Fiji so it kind of wrecked my trip but I did end up for 4 days at the Sheraton Fiji which was very nice and relaxing. I didn't get to the outer islands as I was supposed to (boat trip got canceled) so that's all I know.

HOWEVER...I did a fabulous Windjammer cruise through Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadine Islands a few years ago. LOVED the Grenadine Islands. Mustique is where ppl like Tommy Hilfiger, Mick Jagger, and Shania Twain have mansions. It's very beautiful and quiet. I liked Bequia a lot and Tobago Cays is really just an uninhabited island to sunbathe on. Mayreau was this tiny island that our bartender was from and everyone on the island was related to him somehow! There were only 240 ppl so we did a pub crawl one day and it was hilarious. These are all very small islands but spectacular scenery. I have not seen Anguilla, St. Marten, St. Barts, etc.

If you can get to Tahiti it's highly recommended. What about Australia? How about going to Sydney and then up to the Whitsunday Islands or Lizard or Hayman Island? Lizard and Hayman are supposed to be absolutely to die for resorts. If you are on the west coast then the flights to the Pacific are not as long as it would be for me (from NYC, have done it 4 times!) and it's worth the money. In Tahiti you could do BB, Moorea, and then another island like Huinane (spelling is wrong) or Ta'haa.

Good luck. so many fabulous places to choose from!!!

jmcjeanne

Check out Barbados can island hop easy
Colony Club hotel amazing!!!

ilovetulips

Hi courtney,

what about the US virgin Islands. I know that St. Thomas is commercialized, but you could pair it up with St. John which is known to have fabulous snorkeling and is very eco-friendly. Another place might be St. Croix and St. John. I once looked into St. John and I think you take a ferry from St. Thomas to the island itself.

courtneyclv

Thanks for the advice everyone! My other coworker also went to Tahiti, and he says we may get bored as well. My fiance and I don't want to go club hoping or anything, but some local bars with island music or something would be nice. He also said that Moorea only has 2 roads..so the more I think about it, with our low attention spans...we may get bored there. (Neither of us read novels..we always want to be entertained somehow)

We went to Cabo, way too touristy! I am doing research today for Grenadine islands and British Virgin, and Barbados.

Anguilla, St. Martin, St. Barths sounded perfect, but we love to bring our own snokel gear and find our own cay. And they don't have that, but i heard you can rent a sea doo and find your own secluded spot?

Thanks for the advice and cannot wait to get some more..

brookeala

Aloha Courtney,
I currently live in Maui and went to Bora Bora/Moorea on my honeymoon and LOVED it. I just really love tropical islands (hence the reason I live on one). My husband works for Starwood (so I know all about those discounts!) and we knew some people who just opened the St. Regis Bora Bora in July and spent 10 days there. God, we loved it.They offered a Starhot deal for a really cheap price since it had just opened (within a month) and perhaps they still have a rate? It may be worth looking that one up. You get a butler and the room was an overwater SUITE. It was FANTASTIC. We had about every other day booked with an activity, and spent the rest of the days just relaxing. I won't lie, French Polynesia wasn't cheap, but it doesn't have to be too expensive either if you do it right. Bora Bora has to be the most beautiful island in the world...Moorea was beautiful in a different way, and we spent 3 days there but we were bored after day 1. What about going to Hawaii? Great hotels, cute B&B's, *somewhat* reasonable prices (more so than French Polynesia), and island hopping isn't as expensive as French Polynesia either. Plus, as of right now, (and they say its extended "indefinitely&quot, go! Airlines is still offering their $39 one way interisland flights. Check them out at www.iflygo.com. I flew them once, and its almost like a private jet plane, just with lots of people. Its not the propeller kine like Island Air, and its smaller than Aloha and Hawaiian, and as long as you don't mind that you don't get a free thing of Guava juice, its a great deal. We were on Oahu when there was the earthquake and go! saved us so much time because they fly out of the commuter terminals and we didn't have to wait on the lines at the Aloha/Hawaiian or Main terminal. I haven't stayed at the Sheraton on the Big Island, but I hear its decent. There are 3 Starwoods on Maui, and September is usually a GREAT month to come to Hawaii. Its the slow time, so you might be able to find more discounts at the Starwoods than you usually would, but its really hot out here. Plus, Maui has so many activities that you would almost never get bored. Hiking, kayaking, jet skiing, looking for waterfalls, walking tours of a volcano, ATVing, zipling, horseback riding, surfing, windsurfing, snorkling, scuba diving, visiting a winery, YOU NAME IT and we probably have it on Maui. We also have some semblence of a night life. There are *some* night clubs. They're not like the kind you'd find in a big city, but for a small island, they're pretty succificient. Also, if you think that Maui or the Big Island are just too touristy, the island of Lana'i is a great alternative. It has two luxury hotels (Four Seasons Lanai at Manele Bay and The Lodge at Koele) which are fabulous. My husband and I got married at the Four Seasons Manele Bay. You can rent a Jeep and explore Lana'i's off the beaten track dirt roads, there's snorkling, there are boat trips, there's sitting by the pool and having someone spritz you with Evian, and there's horseback riding, among other options. Lana'i, however, isn't exactly cheap, but its as close as you can get (other than Molokai) to almost having your own island. If the Four Seasons are too expensive, there is the Hotel Lana'i which is very quaint and rustic but really cute. There are also some B&B's over there. If you wanted to split time between Maui and Lanai, you can take a 45 minute boat ride from Lahaina, Maui to Lana'i. Its about $50 round trip for the boat trip (per person) on Expeditions. Good luck deciding and don't forget to HAVE FUN!
Brooke

ilndlvr

I agree with Brooke. For the prices and the fact that it sounds like you want some "activity," I would head to the Hawaiian islands. We honeymooned in Maui 14 years ago -- have been back to Kauai 4 times since (we like the more laid back life there -- but still much more to do than most Caribbean islands). Living in Illinois, we alternate vacationing between Hawaii and the Caribbean. I would love to go to Bora Bora, though, and sounds like this would be a great choice as well, especially given the price you're able to get. Best of luck!
Penny