elaine

Chris,

As your east coast 'neighbor'from Philadelphia [no comments, please!] I would flip out if my husband had planned our honeymoon in either Tuscany or Northern Calif., including a stay at Timberhill Ranch Inn located in Cazadero near Mendocino. Late May/early June perfect for both locales.
Very romantic, but rather interesting.
Let us know what you ultimately decide!
elaine

Esther

Hi Chris!
Hope you and your bride will have much happiness!
I've read all the exotic places you and your intended have been and all the exotic places others are sending you.
My pick for a romantic time would be The Great Smoky Mountains. Tons of shopping, great restaurants and mostly the beautiful mountains. Accomadations are endless, resorts to secluded cabins.
Hiking the trails are fun, horse back riding, ski lift to the smaller peaks; in May, just to look at the scenery.
Guess I think of a honeymoon as a quiet time to be together.
Best of luck with your search,'
Esther

Troy

Chris,

Congrats! Okay, take some advice from a travel agent. Hawaii is is overrated and expensive. Ideas on romantic but typical vacation spots with cheap air and shorter flying times....

1) Key West - romantic and fun. Small carribean twon atmosphere with night life and water sports.

2)Cancun - same as Key west but the Latin influence is Mexican, not Cuban

3)New Orleans - quaint and historic

4)St. Augustine - quaint and historic and beachy.

5)Vail or Breckinridge Co. - okay, so it's not coast or tropical but the mountain scenery is incredible.

6) San Fransisco - need I explain why?

Enjoy your honeymoon.

Mary

How about Colorado?? I booked a honeymoon couple into a cabin outside Estes Park. The cabin had a small kitchen and they are situated next to a creek. www.streamsidecabins.com
Sounds like you've been lots of places outside the country but not east of the Mississippi. Spend some time with in the boarders. Outside the boarders??? What about Montreal??

Mary

OK....I second Troy's nomination of New Orleans. Love it, Love it, LOVE IT!! Stay at the Embassy Suites or the Marriott. Where I stayed was a litte far out but very quaint Masion St. Charles. Streetcar goes right in front of the hotel.

spellchecker

O.K. So this may not be responsive. But, in reference to the travel agent who feels Hawaii is overrated, I suggest that a professional travel agent that knows her travel spots might at least provide the correct spellings for:
Caribbean, Breckenridge, and San Francisco.

Gene

Hawaii-island of Kauai. Out of this world beautiful. Princeville resort!
Rent the video Six Days Seven Nights and see the view for yourself.

Bermuda would be second.

human travel agent

Sorry about the speeling errors (oops, there's another). I hope my suggestions that I gave earlier are helpful despite the typos. I would like to suggest that "spell checker" take a vacation too! He or she needs one.

Dana

I'm in the same, boat Chris! I live in Atlanta, but am from NYC and will have the wedding there (and take off for the honeymoon from there.) Our wedding is 08/12/00, so we figured it's too close to hurricane season for the Carribean. So we are probably going to Hawaii. (Other suggestions welcome). Probably stay in Oahu a day or so in Waikiki for the dining, shopping, etc then on to more remote island like Kauai. Finally, stop off in San Francisco to break it up on the way home. Another idea for you is an Alaskan Cruise. Or Figi. Or Bora Bora. We're looking into those too.

One question out there -- has anyone heard of Halekulani (on Waikiki), and what do you think of it? Good place for a special occasion? What kind of atmosphere/people there? Older? Honeymooners? Thinking of going there.

Bernie Kaufman

Wherever you go, save your receipts. For our 40th anniversary I wrote to the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco about another hotel back east offering couples who stayed at their hotel on their honeymoon another stay on their anniversaries at the same price. They called and said they couldn't let us stay for the $14 we paid in 1955 but turned around, how about $41. Take your reciepts and put them in your wedding album. You want to call it cheap, we called it romantic. We were treated like royalty at third world prices. Good Luck

Chris

Everyone, thanks for the wonderful ideas! I'm definitely intrigued by some of the suggestions and they have been added to my list. If you have any more suggestions please keep them coming!

Also, thanks for your congratulations!

Cathy

How about driving the Coastal Highway along the California coast for some of the most spectacular views in the world? My husband and I took the trip in the early 90's and it was the best vacation we ever had. Carmel and the Monetery Bay area is very romantic. You can even drive to Yosemite National Park for a couple of days. Congratulations!

mary

go to Bermuda - -stay at Stonington or The Reefs or Pompano Beach - -incredible beaches, so close for the flight and you'll be pampered. We did that and are saving Hawaii when we have more energy than we did after the wedding!!!

Phil

If you are from NYC I suggest getting away from a big city.

My wife (who is from LI) and I enjoyed a spactacular honeymoon in the Bitterroot mountains of Montana. Check out the Triple Creek Ranch ( www.triplecreekranch.com )

It was pricey, but well worth the money. You can be as pampered as you want or as independant as you want. The staff is super friendly. I felt like I was visiting friends instead of a posh mountainside resort. The food was beyond compare.

The weather in May when we were there was gorgeous. We spent our days hiking, whitewater rafting, ATVing, horseback riding and exploring. We spent our evenings enjoying drinks with the other guests (you're free to make your own drinks in the bar if you wish) comparing stories from the day's activities. We spent nights watching the stars from the hot tub of our private cabin. We would fall asleep everynight to sound of one of the ranches three creeks rushing by our cabin.

Everything (food, all activities on the ranch, drinks, etc.) was included.

It was simply the best vacation I have ever taken.

gwamka

Chris,

Just to my two cents in. We spent our honeymoon in Lake Tahoe and I would highly recommend it to anyone. We stayed at Harrah's in south lake tahoe in a suite that was wonderful. Lots to do (gambling, watersports, lake cruises, etc.) scenery was spectacular. We were there in April and the skiing and snowmobiling were still great. Had Sun first part of week and snow the second.

Evelyn

Hey SmackDaddy, hope you and the SmackMissus have a terrific trip and a wonderful life together. I think everyone has given some excellent suggestions and although I've never been on a honeymoon I have two of my own: first, my friend went to Morocco for her honeymoon and really loved it, but it does sound like it would be a lot of work and speaking some French is practically a requirement; second, I stayed (with a rich relative who payed the bills) at an incredibly romantic hotel in Brugge/Bruges, Belgium, called the Duc de Borgogne. It's a small inn on one of the canals, just gorgeous. The dining room is intensely romantic, especially a table for two in a secluded corner right over the canal with a view of the swans swimming by, and the food was some of the best I've eaten in my life. (Sounds like you would be going at exactly the same time of year, when there's tons of amazing fresh foods, with the standouts for me being the salmon and the white asparagus.) As for things to do around there, all we did was go to museums and restaurants (all around Belgium), but if that's what you like I don't think you could pick a better place on such an intimate scale. And while we're on the subject of places with canals, Stockholm (in the summer) is fantastic, if a little pricey.

sandi

Chris...you've got it---the Halekulani is the BESTBESTBEST place and my idea of luxury in Waikiki. All we were able to manage was an evening walkthrough, and a rest by the pool, but I'd pick it in a heartbeat for a Waikiki honeymoon! Be Pampered, you might be CHANGING Pampers in a few years ~)

Hilary

Hi Chris, I posted earlier but I've now remembered some other stuff which might be interesting to you and/or others. I once came across a website for a company that rents out themed cottages, most of them just for couples, at Big Bear Lake in California. Gone with the Wind, Robin & Marion, and Antony & Cleopatra are some of the more potentially romantic themes (they even include costumes for you to wear!) Kitch, yes, but they look quite fun. Their site is http://www.bigbear.com/castlewood/index.html

Also a destination I have promised myself we’ll treat ourselves to one day (it’s pricey) is the Pangkor Laut Hotel on an island in Malaysia. I saw it featured on a travel programme once and it looks absolutely wonderful .... some of the villas are set on stilts over the sea & are linked by wooden walkways. It looks like heaven on earth and to my mind the perfect honeymoon spot. Their website is http://www.pangkorlaut.com

I’d also recommend the beautiful island of Jost van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands - the Caribbean at its absolute best. Or amazing Virgin Gorda but go when the crowds aren’t there. In a completely different vein, I would also second Bruges in Belgium as a romantic place to visit ... I remember thinking the Hotel Rembrandt looked like a lovely little spot for a weekend. I’ve also been trying to find some info I thought I’d kept re a hotel somewhere in the world that’s under the sea, and another one that’s made totally from ice, but I’m afraid I can’t remember where they were or find the stuff at the moment. Perhaps someone else knows what I’m talking about.

It’d be interesting to hear where you eventually decide to choose, so do please let us all know. (And we can all turn up .....!)

nj

I agree with the comments about breaking away from the city and emphasizing relaxation after the stress of the wedding. We honeymooned in Maui and Kauai and found it the perfect antidote to both. Yes, it's expensive...but hopefully you're not anticipating many more honeymoons. It's worth the splurge if you can swing it. Is Hawaii overrated? Not if you value safety, a high standard of living, a wide choice of reliable high quality hotels and restaurants, and well behaved fellow vacationers (i.e. reasons it might be considered superior to the caribbean, Keys and Cancun). Honolulu may not be the perfect change of pace, not that it's NYC. The Halekulani is a truly outstanding hotel, though. The 4 Seasons in Maui is still my favorite in the islands. The flight is a big downside. Excellent suggestion about stopping a couple days in Carmel or the Tahoe area. Tahoe in May is absolutely beautiful. My wife and I have considered it almost as beautiful as the Swiss Alps at times (her parents live there, so we visit twice a year, winter and summer). France is an excellent suggestion, as well, but apparently not novel for your fiancee.

Mike

And "nj," don't forget to add to your list the MAGNIFICENT SCENERY!!!