Honeymoon/road trip/adventure/help!
 

Hi everyone!
We are planning our honeymoon for February and are looking for any suggestions for things we must see/do/stay/eat etc!

We are in Australia so I'd like to be able to book as much as I can myself to save agents fees. We love good food, wine, anything outdoors, history, art, music...the list goes on so I'm open to all ideas!

So far we know we'll have around 5 weeks maybe more depending on how much we want to jam in

Here's what I have so far:

New York 2 nights? Broadway, art gallery, fancy dinner?

Self drive Blues tour 11 days across the south, Route 66, Memphis, Nashville all the standards, maybe a couple of extra nights in New Orleans for Mardi gras? Ending in Vegas for 2-3 nights, see a show, VIP pool, waste precious money on the tables

Then I really want to stay in a romantic, secluded log cabin for maybe 5 days and just chill and spend time together, bush walks, nice dinners, hot tubs I'm thinking colorado? Would we drive from Vegas or fly? Where is best in colorado (or any other state) for this kind of thing and is there still snow in feb (my fiancé has never seen snow so I'm hoping there is!)

Then I'm kinda stuck for where else to go.. But I want to end the trip relaxing again on a beach, maybe Mexico?

Sorry for the long post! Any help is appreciated ��

Mardi Gras parades run Feb 6 - Feb 17 so you need to lock in your reservation well in advance for your hotel... everything else is more open on your schedule...

With 5 weeks, the trip is doable, but you are spending days and days of driving... New York in February is very cold so you will need heavy coats and clothing... there is also a strong possibility you will also get the snow you are looking for...

I suggest flying to NYC, spending a few days there and then flying to Atlanta... you could do the Mardi Gras, Memphis, Nashville Blues drive and return to Atlanta and fly to Vegas...

From there, you could head to Arizona and do an amazing cabin stay near Sedona... then catch RT66 and drive it all the way to the end at Santa Monica Pier... That puts you on the Ocean near LA... if you need more beach, head south and finish the trip in San Diego... that's plenty for 5 weeks... have fun

A couple of notes:

You are coming in the dead of winter and flights can often be delayed by bad weather - so don't schedule things too tightly together

Two days in NYC is not nearly enough unless you have been here before and seen the major sights (of which there are a million even in the dead of winter)

In LV - even though a desert - it will be cold in Feb. Sorry - no pools.

For CO - are you thinking winter sports? Not sure of the best places for skiing - but it will be winter.

Have you organized an appropriate winter wardrobe - for snow and temps possibly as low as zero (farenheit - not centigrade)?

After looking more you are right, Will definately fly between the major stops or NY to Atlanta, only really looking at driving for the 2-3 weeks down south so we can see all the places in between stops. This will mean we should get more time in NY, I've heard there is plenty to do!

Will definately check out Sedona, I haven't heard of this before so thanks for the recommendation! And driving to Santa Monica sounds perfect!

Didn't even think about the no pools in Vegas, silly me did just assume desert would be hot enough all year round! Scratch that off the list,

Not sure about skiing depends on time, but it is definately an option, and yep I have winter gear all sorted (I'm Tasmanian and have spent a winter in Mongolia) so just need to organise the fiancé to get his cold weather clothes.

Thanks for the tips!

I was also going to suggest Sedona for the honeymoon portion. And 2 days in NYC is not at all realistic unless you were making a RT and coming back to it.
I say that our nation's capital, Washington DC is an overlooked destination by many visitors.
to each his own, but Mardi Gras in NOLA would be a zoo--and an expensive one. If you want to touch on it, fine, but not extra days.
Snow in February==yes, all over the western mountains. And driving in Colorado could include a bad storm making driving difficult at least for a few days.
"Self drive Blues tour 11 days across the south, Route 66, Memphis, Nashville all the standards, maybe a couple of extra nights in New Orleans for Mardi gras"
Route 66 is of course out west. How are you dividing these days?

The self drive blues tour portion is an actual pre organised blues tour through a tour company (we are looking at different ones but they all pretty much go to the same places). We drive ourselves but accommodation and things to do in each town is part of the tour, each city you meet up with a local and they take you around places of interest as your tour guide. Still unsure on whether to go through a company like this or just do our own thing.

Driving on the other side of the road will be hard enough to get our heads around. Let alone adding a snow storm in so definately something to think about.

And quickly googled Sedona, it looks amazing!

You need to understand that the weather in winter is iffy. While the north is very likely to be cold and quite possibly snowy - you can get chilly as far south as northern FL - and snow (or ice - even worse) storms into Atlanta and parts of Texas.

Do realize that all rentals here are automatics - making converting to the other side of the road easier.

If you can afford the Blues Tour, take advantage of it... otherwise you would be driving around looking at cities without guidance and the history that goes with it...

In Colorado, consider Devil's Thumb Ranch and Spa. It is in a beautiful setting, with everything you could ask for. It's expensive, but well worth it. Very good food in its two main restaurants.

Here it is, Devil's Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa
http://www.devilsthumbranch.com/

We have had many special occasion dinners at their Ranch House restaurant, and have attended many events there. They are a favorite venue for weddings.

Where do you want to go in Mexico at the end of your trip?

Thank you for the recommendation tabernash2 this looks stunning! We were originally looking at Dunton Hot Springs, don't mind spending extra for quality but $3500 for 3 nights was a bit extreme! Devils thumb looks like a great alternative!

I'm thinking we will definately do the blues tour, I have found one that we can custom and I do love the idea of having our own personal guide!

Completely understanding the winter part, should have mentioned it is February 2016 so we do have plenty of time to make a decision, if more things we want to do are more suitable in the warmer months we may push it back a little, h2b has his heart set on crazy busy New Orleans for the Mardi gras however which I'm happy for too!

Suze- to be honest I haven't even looked into this part yet, we've always joked when we have a bad day that one day we'll be sipping cocktails in Mexico but I'm hearing there are much nicer places to go instead so I'll have to get researching!

<but I'm hearing there are much nicer places to go instead>

I don't know what you're hearing or who you're hearing that from, but Mexico is *fantastic*. I go to Puerto Vallarta for a couple weeks every year. One of my favorite places ever.

Nonib, Devil's Thumb Ranch is elegance, Western style, with impeccable service. In February, you could Nordic ski on their trails, too. You would not be disappointed. It's a little slice of heaven!

Thanks Suze! I think I just hear about the partying contiki type places in Mexico which is fine but not really what we are looking for our honeymoon, will check out Puerto Vallarta!

Tabernash2 that sounds absolutely perfect! I knew I'd find good help on this forum!

If you are starting in NYC remember to add extra time to compensate for jetlag.

You will need to go further south than San Diego for warm beach time in Feb/Mar. I would pick the Caribbean side of Mexico for warmer water.

Sounds like a great honeymoon, congrats!