- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee boards
@bestforlast: I've been to St. Martin too, it's not as crazy touristy as a lot of the islands can be, but it's laid back and has beautiful, clean and well kept beaches. Since you've already been there, how about Atlantis, a resort on its own private island. Lots to do and their are tours of beach mansions owned by celebrities and rich people that I went on and it was really cool to see all these tiny islands with houses on them. Some day I will get one of those houses... ha ha.
I'm totally with you. I like luxurious but not really big all-inclusive resorts. DH and I picked up Islands Magazine coming home from Florida and their website has some great recommendations.
We're also daydreaming about renting this private villa in Hawaii for our next vacation :)
St. Lucia!!!!! Wedding is next weekend!!! (I seriously can't concentrate at work right now!)
The all inclusive thing wasn't what we wanted for our honeymoon either. We wanted something very private and just keep to our selves.
So we went to Acapulco and stayed at a place called Las Brisas. The reason we went to Acapulco was becasue of this hotel! Every room has your own private pool and lounge area. All the rooms are built up a mountain so there is alot of privacy. It really caters to couples, very romantic! They come every morning and put fresh flowes in the pool and all over the room. Every evening we got a complimentary bottle of wine and cheese, and every morning a complimentary breakfast with mexican pastries. They actually slide your breakfast in a private box that goes into your room, so that they don't wake you in the morning :)
We literally only left to go to dinner, other then that we stayed in our robes and lounged in the nude by the pool! :)
So although its not the Carribean, I would def recommend this place! It was amazing!! And affordable!!!
las_brisas.jpg (165.9 KB, 47 downloads) 1 year old 
We went to St. Lucia and stayed at Sandals. We aren't drinkers either, but I think having the option of not paying for any food and/or not having to pay most of the activities on the resort makes up for not drinking with an all-inclusive. Esp if you are foodies and will be doing lost of eating. While St. Lucia was beautiful I personally like Bermuda better (more organisms in the water).
If you really want an adventure and it seems like you love to travel I would suggest the Galapagos Islands. There is NOTHING like it anywhere in the world. You'll literally see something different from island to island. I loved my trip to the Galapagos. I always wanted to go and would go back any day.
If you've been to all those places why not try something new. I love St. Lucia, but an alternative might be Barbados? You could also do the Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, or Trinadad & Tobago.. all very nice :)
@pansyshell: Pretty sure I just seen a special on a tour of the Galapagos Islands through Gap Tours... check the website out!
http://www.gapadventures.com/?gclid=CNDUm_L-5qQCFeI55woddlWZ3A
@niki8911: Thanks! It was, we just loved it! and no joke, we spent just as much as we would have going to an all inclusive place in Mexico. Aggghhh its almost been a year since I've been there, I miss my honeymoon :(
@AnnieAAA: That sounds awesome! Bookmarking that for the vacation folder!
OH what about Costa Rica? I hear you can get a place to stay in the rainforest and you have your own personal butler who makes you dinner every night. All your meals are taken care of. GOSH I can't remember the name of it.... It looked amazing, you can go on excursions, and it just looked amazing, private, & romantic!
@niki8911: I've been to Costa Rica too and we stayed all over but one of the places was in the rainforest at Selva Verde. Much of Costa Rica puts an emphasis on eco-tourism so not only will you be traveling but you'll be traveling light on the environment. Along with staying in the rainforest my other favorite place was at Arenal. It's a volcano that you can actually see lava coming form at night. Pretty amazing. There are also some 5-star spas with natural hot springs on Arenal (here are two: Tabacon Grand and The Springs).
Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful replies. I should have mentioned that I'm hoping to find a place on (or very close to) a beach.
@cj_one: Good idea, but I've been to Atlantis (it is the Bahamas).
@Bakerella: I will check out the website. Thanks!
@Caric813: You'll love St. Lucia. We stayed at Jalousie and now we're so spoiled.
@Annie: That place looks awesome. It doesn't sound like there's a beach there. Did you miss it?
@Pansyshell: I'm going to look into Galapagos. That's a great idea.
On the Costa Rica suggestion, I started researching Costa Rica yesterday and got overwhelmed. Does anyone know which areas to look for if we want oceanfront?
@bestforlast: On Costa Rica: Are you interested more in the Caribbean side or the Pacific side? The Pacific side has black sand beaches and the Caribbean is white sand. We stayed on the Pacific near Jaco at an all-inclusive (I forget the name of it). Jaco is a small surfing town along the coast and just minutes from the rainforest along the Pacific where we went zip-lining. When we were closer the Caribbean we did not stay along the coast so I cannot comment on that.
@ bestforlast: There wasn't a beach right on the resort b/c the whole resort faces the lagoon. But, you can take a cab ride about (15mins) to the beach. So although it wasn't right in our front lawn we still got to experience the beach :) Not ideal, but we were at our pool more anyway, lol.
I agree with St. Lucia or this place, Ixtapa, Mexico - it's breathtaking! My coworker's friend recently honeymooned here and she said it was absolutely, without a doubt, everything she wanted!! :)
@Pansyshell - other than the color of the sand, what are the differences between the Pacific side and the Caribbean side?
@Annie - Thanks!
How about Belize? Check out Coppola Resorts: www.coppolaresorts.com. They have all-inclusive packages, but you have the option to dine in town vs. on the resort...
I read recently that Grenada is an often overlooked but really beautiful island. I haven't been there myself, but the descriptions I've read make me want to visit. I'm jealous you just got to go to St. Lucia--it's on my dream list!
@bestforlast: I haven't been to the Caribbean side in Costa Rica but it's going to be smoothy and less rough compared to the Pacific. i.e. bigger swells, better surfing on the Paciific side. It has to do with the formation of the contidents and would be a similar difference as in the East and West Coasts of the US. I would imagine both would be just as lovely with natural beauty and the will both have rainforests so it's really more color of sand and the type of beach...calm vs rougher waters.
@NotYourTypicalBride: @bestforlast:
We were in Belize for our honeymoon at the Royal Belize which is a private island. It was HEAVEN. I couldn't recommend it highly enough. BUT as a heads up to what you suggested, our host there told us that if we came back to Belize to do mainland stuff to be very careful of where you choose. He specifically said that the Coppola resort was really beautiful, but outside of the property lines was next to some.... unsavory property.... There are a lot of issues within Belize and although the government is working really hard to push tourism, I'm not 100% sure the rest of the country has caught up to the standards the government is setting. The people were lovely, and where we stayed was beyond our dreams, but I'm glad our host gave us a few tips in case we had a return trip. I would definitely research any hotels in Belize thoroughly.
@bakerella: Good to know! I've been to Jamaica several times, and I've always heard the same thing, but I've never had a problem. Same in Bali, too. In both places, the resort staff were very protective of their guests and provided lots of guidance on what was safe or not, which I found very helpful.
Trinidad and Tobago :D
its in the caribbean, warm and sunshiny but not the typical touristy spot
Great ideas, everyone. Thanks. I've got a lot of research to do now. Keep the ideas coming.
You must log in to post.
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Create the honeymoon of your dreams.
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| Brielle | 31 |
 vorpalette |
29 |
| caseyleigh10 | 26 |
| ellisrobertson | 24 |
| les105 | 23 |
| fishbone | 23 |
| lionskitty | 22 |
| SouthernGirl | 21 |
| mypinkshoes | 21 |
| kat2014 | 19 |
| User | Posts Today |
|---|---|
| vreelans | 2 |
| UpstateCait | 1 |
| Ree723 | 1 |
| Lisamr | 1 |
| sienna76 | 1 |
| calypso522 | 1 |
| csperry2 | 1 |
| abbie017 | 1 |
| Saria213 | 1 |
| savealife | 1 |
We're older (I'm 35 and he's 56) and we're not really into nightlife. We also don't really drink, so while all-inclusives are appealing, I wonder if we'd get our money's worth. We are foodies, and we love good restaurants whether it is 5-star or great hole-in-the-wall ethnic food.
We've traveled a lot, and I think we want to go somewhere we haven't been. My favorite island is St. Martin. We just got back from St. Lucia and really loved it. I've been to Bermuda, Aruba, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, St. Thomas, St. John, Bahamas, Jamaica, Cancun.