Looking for advice on where to go. We are 25 looking for a honeymoon destination in the middle of July 2007. We will be traveling out Florida from either Miami, Tampa, or Ft Myers. We are looking to relax and be adventerous to some degree. Musts are a beach to lay on, fun, and some good pampering. We would like a hotel with a room that is private to us. We would like to avoid tourists traps but still want to horseback ride, atv, fish, you know fun things that will give memories. We have about $4,000 to spend. Any ideas ?

Hi,

Check out the Riviera Maya, especially the Royal Hideaway Playacar, El Dorado Royale, Ikal del Mar, Secrets, Excellence Resorts. All romantic, secluded, but lots of adventure activities and beautiful beaches. You can do 5-6 nights at the Royal Hideaway Playacar with airfare for around $4000 total.

Best Regards,
Julia

I happened upon this message by accident so thought it was karmic my duty to respond... Here is my report from the Latin America board. Sounds like just what you're looking for.

Casa Chameleon in Mal Pais, Costa Rica is incredible! We just returned from our 2nd stay there. The first was last year for our honeymoon and then just recently for our 1 year anniversary. I've never been anwhere like it and we hope to return every year!

With that said, it is not for "resort types" that want to get drunk around a swim up bar or something. There is nothing wrong with that if it's what you're in to but if that's your deal, Cancun would be a better choice. They have created a place that is amazingly private and romantic.

They serve breakfast but other than that you need to book one of their chefs for other meals. We actually only booked the chef for one night because the restaurants around there are great. Everything is so fresh. We had lobster at a local place with drinks and appetizer and I think the bill came to only $30 total! The chef was really worth it though too. For 4 amazing courses it was $100 total. This is less than we spent on a so-so dinner at Florblanco down the street. That was without any alcohol though. We had our own bottle of wine. Pretty good wine from Chile that we bought for $10 at the grocery store down the street.

Oh, you DEFINITELY want a car or ATV. We loved the ATV. But you have to have something to get around down there. We didn't at first on our first visit even though they told us this. We were lucky that they were able to get us an ATV. I think it cost about $50 a day. It was so worth it. We had so much fun traveling around on it.

There is an adorable restaurant bar on the beach down the street from Casa Chamelon, Azul something that we ate and had sunset drinks.

Its not easy to give a good description of Casa Chameleon because its different than most places.Thank God! It's like you have your own little private house hanging in the jungle. With views of jungle and the beach that are breathtaking. But they have hotel service. Like telling you the best places to go and what to do,maid service,beach towels, snorkle stuff. Alot of extras. They don't have a restaurant but we were really glad because that kept the place very private. We felt like we were the only ones there even though there were other guests. We had service when we wanted but privacy the rest of the time. It was perfect for us who don't like a bunch of annoying people that we don't know around.

It is a really small place. They were building this crazy luury villa with its own big pool in August. But even with that they will only have 3 villas. So for sure they book up fast.

I hope this helps with your questions. In my opinion it's one of the most perfect places I've ever seen or been to.

Hey there - My boyfriend and I are looking for a great vacation spot (non touristy, private, with plenty of rest and relaxation, but options for getting out and doing a couple of exciting day trip activities, etc.) Saw your post and it sounded like a great spot - Costa Rica is at the top of our list, but became concerned as I saw that every villa/accommodation I looked into had mosquito nets in the bedrooms - are the mosquitos & bugs crazy, or is this nothing to wory about?

Thanks!
Dawn

Hey-

If you need help with planning your vacation i know of this site that can help you customize a trip.

If you go to www.geopassage.com you can either pick a package tour or completely customize your trip. I found it really convenient and easy to use. And, it can also give you great ideas you never thought of before.

Hope this helps. Have a great honeymoon!

costa rica...beautiful amazing, adventure and relaxation. We stayed there for our HM for 9 days with a private driver (roads are crappy) for 3200.00

Costa Rica is absolutely amazing, no doubt. It will be very hot and buggy in July, but so will most any other place with a beach that time of year. Another fabulous place to check out in the Riviera Maya is Zamas: www.zamas.com. So romantic and far enough away from Cancun that you're not having to mix with all the crazy partiers. Enjoy!

Costa Rica . Another idea is Little Cayman if you dive. Otherwise, don't go there. I hear Belize is great too.

Hello,

We are getting married in July 2008 and I have already been doing research. I am a neurotic planner.

1. I would check out the Bucuti in Aruba. It gets really high scores and is very reasonable. It is not an all inclusive but they do have a meal plan. It is also known to be for honeymooners but not cheesy. Aruba is under the hurricane belt. The Bucuti has nice grounds and rooms and is on one of the best beaches in Aruba. It is also adult only so you wont deal with the little kids that will be off from school. If you feel like some nightlife there is a lot to be had in Aruba. There is a bus that goes around and takes you to different bars (so I have heard) There isnt a bug problem because of the constant breeze. Also, there are tons of things to do - Submarine ride, Windsurf, boat trips for snuba (yes sNuba that is not a typo - they do something called snuba in Aruba - check it out). There are direct flights from most major cities to Aruba.

2. I just spent a weekend with my soon to be brother in law and his cousin (both from Costa Rica) they told me that it is buggy and hot as heck. But that might be different on a beach with a tropical breeze.

3. I actually have a question for the people that are suggesting Mexico - A few people on another site said that they just got back from the Royal Playa del Carmen and that there are big sand bags all over the beach to reduce erosion and that a lot of the places have much much smaller beach areas if any. Is that true? The most important thing for me on my honeymoon is a perfect powder white sand beach and calm clear blue water. Are there parts of mexico that provide that?Are there any all inclusive resorts that are right on a powdery white beach with calm blue water that is not a family place? Preferably one that has snorkeling areas?

Oops! One more thing - the following places are supposed to be the best for the time you are going -
JULY & AUGUST
Bermuda, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Central & South Africa, Czech Republic, Fiji, France, French Polynesia, Ireland, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Seychelles, Thailand, USA (Alaska, Northeast)

Costa Rica is a great idea--but all of Central America is in the midst of the rainy season during the summer! How about Atlantic Canada and in particular Nova Scotia? We went their last summer for our honeymoon and enjoyed every minute! There are wonderful small hotels, the people are great, and both the coastline and wilderness areas the best I've experienced.