Honeymoon--need your help in deciding
 

Ok, all you lovely Fodor people, I need your help. I thought my fiance and I had finally made our decision on our honeymoon destination. It was Vegas. While that's still at the top of the list I've now added NYC to the mix. So, it's between those two places. If you had to choose which would you choose?

Let me tell you that we live about 5hrs from NY, so even though we live close enough to go quite often, we never do because it's so damn expensive. Being it's our honeymoon, I thought we could splurge a little and spend a week in the city doing whatever we felt like doing....However, we've been to Vegas twice and really love it there!

All we're really looking for in our honeymoon is a place to relax, drink, eat good food and people watch. Of course, we'll take in the sights but I don't want to feel rushed every day. If we decided to go to Vegas, we would rent a car for a day this time and take a drive to the Valley of Fire, maybe Hoover Dam, etc. But, since we've been we wouldn't feel compelled to see all the casinos, etc. We would be able to spend time at the places we really enjoy.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Compromise--go to Vegas and stay at the New York, NY hotel!! :-))

I'm kidding. Personally I like both and you can't go wrong either way. But since you live in the NE, I'm going to suggest Vegas simply because it's further away and it's something you can't do on just any given weekend, like NY. As you already know, it's a complete change of scenery from the NE and you will not be hard-pressed for entertainment or people-watching in Vegas.

Please let us know what you decide.

Ethel, sweetie, remind me what time of year again?

What season? Maybe the weather will be a factor.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that our wedding is 9/30 and the dates I have been looking into for Vegas are 10/2-8.

That is the beginning of convention season in Vegas. I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but it might be just a little more crowded and a bit harder to get a hotel room then. If you choose Vegas, book your room ASAP.

Great advice PM--thanks!

I've found flights with American Airlines for under $500 for 2. I need to decide now otherwise, I'm afraid I'll miss those good rates. However, the rooms in Vegas right now aren't what I was hoping. We're still on a budget so that's hindering us a little.

ethel, have you looked into any package deals where they include the air, hotel, and car? I don't know if South West Airlines is an option for you, but they tend to have some good package deals to Vegas. If not SW, then another airline might offer a package that works for you.

congratulations on your upcoming marriage!
So-what is your budget? Because....IMHO...
If you have already been to Vegas why not go somewhere new out west? How about San Fransisco or Sedona? Maybe you could get a flight + hotel deal from Travelocity/Expedia. There are also great day trips from both of these locales...and you'd be seeing something new.

This is such a personal choice, but when I (Tiff) think of the stress of a wedding, the activity albeit happy, but is indeed activity, the only thing that comes to mind is relaxing in the sun, soaking in the warmth and sitting with my honey!

But if you are both more active, I think fall in NYC would be quite lovely!!!!!!

Decisions, decision, huh, Ethel :S-

September is usually the warmest and sunniest month in San Francisco, because the summer fog has finally burned off. It is a beautiful time to visit the wine country there as well. Lots of wonderful restaurants that are often cheaper than Las Vegas/New York for comparable quality, and of course all of the strange Californians make for great people-watching.

I vote San Fransisco!!!
You can rent a car for 3 days for a little over $100
That would give you time to see wine country and the redwoods at Muir Woods.

I had also brought up San Francisco to my sweetie, but I think we both feel like we don't have the energy to research a new destination on top of planning the wedding. However, I will add that back to the list. Thanks a lot--you were supposed to make this easier #o

If you live 5 hrs from NYC, I vote for somewhere else, you can likely do NYC another time, whereas a flight to somewhere may not fit in schedule as easily. Since you've been to Vegas and love it, that is up to you, for some reason I wanted somewhere we'd never been together for our honeymoon so it had that special place added to it in my mind.

I love the California choice, we stopped for four days there on our way back from our honeymoon in hawaii and loved it. And wherever you book, make sure you tell them it is your honeymoon - our neighbors daughter just did that booking her hotel in LA (on their way to Fiji :)) - and immediately got an upgrade, - won't always happen, but you don't know ifyou don't ask and at least maybe they'll surprise you with someethning nice in your room.

check out this thread for a SF trip report (to cut down on planning time)
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=1

Stevie--not sure if it's just me, but nothing comes up when I click on that link.

OK--so I just went to Expedia to see what San Fran has to offer, and whoa, is it overwhelming. They have so many hotels I wouldn't even know where to begin. Also, airfare would be about $300 more...Still considering it, though. Just have some work cut out for me and wasn't sure I'm ready for that but I'll give it a shot.

At first, I was apprehensive about Vegas because I wanted someplace we've never been before but we've been together over 6 yrs. and taken a lot of trips. We're trying to buy a house, so right now we can't blow a lot of money on an extravagant honeymoon, that's why Vegas came in to play...We're trying to keep our budget around $2000 for airfare and hotel, and hopefully still have some left over for spending. That may sound crazy but I think it's doable.

NYC will be packed with convention travelers also (Sept-Oct and March-April are peak convention/conference months) actually all three will have that issue.

So can I throw something else into the mix? What about Key West? It is a GREAT town to relax, drink, and eat good food. Also, your $$ may get you a little more there.

You can fly Delta and it is direct from their hub in Atlanta.

Just a thought.

Would you even consider Chicago? Lots to do, very easy to get around, lots of nightlife, great restaurants and a lot easier to navigate than NYC, in my opinion.

I forgot to mention that my future husband does not care for beach vacations. He's especially not crazy about going to a beach for our honeymoon.

Chicago briefly crossed my mind but that's about all. That's an option too.

ethel - sorry about my link. I did a search for sf itinerary - and it came up with a bunch of stuff.

My opinion-Chicago wouldnt be very warm in october. Not cold - but definetly not warm.

Sorry Im so pushy - but I think SF would be perfect. Warm and romantic with nice places to eat and drink.. (And you can do great day trips without having to go to a beach). I also think somewhere like SF is great because it is a more "real" destination than Vegas. But that is just an opinion

Chicago would be a great idea! It's a big city, but not so big you couldn't cover most of it in a week. There are tons of great restaurants, bars, museums, parks & shopping. Plus there's a beautiful park on Lake Michigan.

The hotels are also much more reasonable than either NY or Vegas. (try the Swissotel on Wacker - great location and very nice)

As for the weather...I live across Lake Michigan and we still go sailing the first part of October - it's not usually all that cold. Maybe 50-60s during the day, and 40-50s at night?

Sorry to add to the decision process. I just got married 2 years and know there is a LOT else to do! Enjoy the process and congratulations!

Heidi

ethel, Key West isn't really a beach town. There are no natural beaches and a couple of small man made ones. The appeal of Key West to many is the town of Key West. Very charming and a great foodie town.

I'm not sure if jet-lag is a factor, but I just got married a few weeks ago and we were absolute zombies the week after. We're note going on our honeymoon until May, but maybe going to NY will make it more pleasant. More relaxing because you don't have that long flight.

Just my 2 cents :)

I got married two years ago, and I had the opposite experience of bokchoy.
We were so so glad to be getting away after our wedding - and energized. We had an outdoor wedding - and therefore had to plan every little bitty detail from the tent to the dishes to the music to the plantings around the house. It was crazy.

The day after the wedding we were tired. But we flew out the following afternoon and spent 10 days in Italy. We didn’t feel exhausted - some relaxing was in order after so much planning - but we spent hours walking through rome and capri. It was great.

I guess it all depends on what you like or what kind of person you are. If you like relaxing vacations or jam-packed "sight-seeing" or whatever.

If you don't want beaches, and San Fran isn't doing it for you, (although I personally think it's a great city if you haven't been) what about Charleston ,SC - history, great dining, music....of course, not the 'night life' of Vegas, shows, etc - but might be more mellow and restful after your wedding planning b/c it is a small city to navigate.

However it seems like you love Vegas and if you haven't done Hoover Dam, etc that you mention, this might be the time for you to explore those things and go somewhere that is easy for you to plan.

If you want city/nightlife/sights how about considering Montreal? Quebec? Toronto?

Thanks everyone for your help.

Escargot--I have put Charleston on the list. It had been brought up before because we spent a couple of hours there and truly loved it. I think it would be a perfect place for a honeymoon....As for Montreal, we live a little less than 2 hrs from there so we can do that anytime. Not far from the other canadian cities either.

We certainly have our work cut out for us NOW!