Hi guys

Please help a guy from the UK....
Trying to plan honeymoon for next Summer.
Thinking of Florida. Would want somewhere nice and relaxing. Nice restaurants and maybe some live music places but not too crowded (if there is such a thing in July in Florida!). Was thinking of Naples?
Good or bad?

Can anyone suggest locations and accomodations which might suit?

Will be going for 3 weeks so will probably drive between a couple of different places.

Thanks

Martin

Florida will be hot hot hot in July, have you considered Bar Harbor, Maine? Absolutely beautiful. You could also go to Boston, MA; Mystic, CT; Newport, RI; - I would do New England in July, especially if you have 3 weeks. It is beautiful!!!

The Pacific coast might be more comfortable in the summer - Malibu, San Diego, Monterey, Santa Monica, Sausalito.

planning ahead for 2.004 ? My God ! I'm honeymooning in september 2.003 and planning since june, and am exhausted with it ! a year in advance sounds crazy ! anyway, as often said, planning a trip is actually like doing it, the illusion involved is enormous ! Go for it. BTW, Florida in july is very very hot and humid ! Try Mallorca, je je ! Best wishes

OK Then - say we go for either New England or California.

Can anyone recommend exact locations of resorts/hotels there?

Thanks

Martin

I don't know your budget, but I'd recommend this: Fly into New York City or Hartford, CT, and rent a car. Drive to New London, Groton, or Mystic, CT, about 2-3 hours east of New York, only about 1 hr from Hartford. If you have the cash, stay in downtown Mystic, such as the famous Mystic Seaport Inn, or one of the B&Bs downtown. It is only a few blocks long. You can walk all over Mystic, visit the historic Seaport, and drive a short distance to Mystic Village (neat shopping), Mystic Aquarium, and walk to the little town, you will be only blocks away. If you are more limited, stay in Groton, New London, or right outside Mystic at one of the chain hotels. Visit Noank for lobsters, Groton for the navy base and tour a real submarine, Coast Guard Academy in New London (maybe you will be there for a free outdoors concert), and visit any of the local parks on the ocean, simply breathtaking. If you like to gamble, you could also stay at Foxwoods Casino in North Stonington. Make sure you visit Stonington (not north, this one is east of Mystic), an old beautiful Portuguese fishing village. You can EASILY spend a week there. Then, drive to Newport RI, sailing capital of the US. I don't have any recommendations there for hotels, it is a beautiful town, I'd check the internet. Visit the beautiful mansions there such as the Breakers,- there are about 15+ homes. Then after a couple of days there, drive to Boston, spend some time there, again, place is full of hotels. Make sure you take the trolley tours, they are great for explaining the city and the history. Then head up to Bar Harbor, Maine. I'd spend lots of time in Maine. Bar Harbor has LOTS of places to stay, depends on your budget, from rustic to luxury. If you are dying for some beach time, you could go to Cape Cod, or some of the beaches in Rhode Island, or CT. New London, near Mystic has Ocean Beach. Of course, you are not going to get the warm water you would get in Florida.

You should honeymoon in the Caribbean in the summer - warm water, cool breezes, no crowds. We just visited the Buccaneer in St. Croix and it was great. Anse Chastenet in St Lucia is very romantic and has fantastic snorkeling. Barbados has gorgeous white sand beaches and a british population. Also recommend cruising the Caribbean - best value for your money - Princess and Celebrity have excellent food, glamorous nightlife with dancing and shows, rooms with balconies, differnt ports daily, and lots of places on board to be alone.

I think most people would say Florida is just too hot in July, but if you do still want to go, I'd fly direct to Miami, stay in South Beach for a few days then drive through the Keys. If you read Fodor's hotel section for the Keys there are plenty of recommendations.

Naples on the west coast is lovely with pretty beaches but will be relatively quiet in July. The most luxurious hotel in Naples is the Ritz Carlton right on the beach but north of downtown Naples.

The New England trip sounds like a better idea. If you do that, be sure to include a stop on the beautiful island of Nantucket. You can fly from Boston or drive & take a ferry.

California is another nice idea, especially for a 3 week trip but it will be a lot of travelling for you from the UK (double the air time to the east coast).

For really good basic information about New England, check out newengland.com. There is tons of information on that site and this. Personally, for my honeymoon I would check out Topnotch Spa and Resort in Stowe VT. I would also want to see Acadia National Park in Maine and stay in a luxurious B&B in Bar Harbor. I would stay in Boston at the Four Seasons for two nights and then head to Newport RI and stay at the Francis Malbone Inn or the Castle Hill Inn and Resort. This would give anyone a pretty nice selection of what New England has to offer.

Congratulations and have a great trip.

My husband is English, I'm American and we live in Florida. His family hates to come over in July & August because they say it is too hot. They had to come over this month and said it was cooler here than it was there.
If I were you, I would fly to Miami and take a cruise around the carribean. My husband and I did that for our honeymoon and it was great! Royal Carribean has great deals in July and it is the best way to get more for your money.
If you are planning to stay for 3 weeks, you'll have pleanty of time to see South Beach, Everglades and the Keys. Some of the cruises stop in Key West also.
If you want to talk to me more about it, e-mail me directly. I'm one of the few Florida natives and can probably give you some good pointers.

Don't give up on Florida just yet. If you want sunshine and surf Florida is still the place to go. There are many good choices: Naples-Ritz Carlton or Registry; Key West Casa Marina or Hyatt Regency; Miami Beach area -the Diplomat, Fountainbleu. Naples is a very quiet town. Graet for a three day getaway. Key West is great for about 4 days.

Other great trips would be San Fransisco, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoo. You could easily spend 2-3 weeks between these places.

Whistler Cananda, Victoria Island Vancouver Canada and Seattle. Another great trip.

Aspen Colorado a superb destination

Definitely California. Start in San Diego and drive up the coast to San Francisco with stops in Laguna Beach, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, and Big Sur. In Big Sur, check out the Post Ranch Inn. Very pricey, but worth every penny. Besides, you only have one honeymoon!

California = great destination. But remember for our honeymooning UK mates, that adds a minimum 4 to 5 extra hours to their flying time. I vote for the New England or Florida options. New England is wonderful, scenic, historic and has milder summer weather. Florida will definitely be hot in July but remember in the South US, we have use of air conditioning down to an art form! I just got back from London and couldn't believe how hot it was, primarily because there seemed to be very little AC anywhere to get a break from the heat.
If our fellow Fodorites are swimming and sightseeing during the day, returning to their cool (as in posh) and cooled (as in air conditioned) hotel room, then going out dining and clubbing after dark, they should be fine.
Whatever, congratulations and have fun.

Thanks for the info. I've pretty much finished researching California but as some people have said - it is a lot longer travelling time (and more expensive) to go West Coast than East Coast.

So am now about to start researching New England area. Any ideas on places to go/stay there?

Thanks

Martin

The coast of Maine, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, Mass., and Newport, Rhode Island are the most scenic areas and beautiful beaches of the North Atlantic coast. I would look into a cruise that covers these ports, they do have them, but I'm not sure which cruise lines. This may help if you think a cruise may be the way to go in July or August. http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/area.cfm?area=7