Post # 1

Member
26 posts
Newbee
My wedding is April 9th, 2011 and I want us to take our honeymoon right away. My mom is giving us $2000 towards a honeymoon..and we may be able to contribute a little..but we’re pretty wrapped up with wedding costs. Any ideas on where we could go for a week? I live in Florida..lived in Puerto Rico, so the Carribean and Bahamas just doesn’t seem “exciting” enough for me since I’ve been to so many islands already. Europe or Tahiti would be my dream, but a flight alone is $1000 a person. Got any recommendations? Travel agent referrals? Deal websites? HALP! 🙂
Post # 3

Member
1872 posts
Buzzing bee
I don’t know what the cost is from FL, but Montreal is very European in flavor and probably less expensive to get to than Europe itself.
Post # 4

Member
228 posts
Helper bee
If you go to kayak.com, it pulls all the data from all the travel websites so you can find the best deal.
Post # 5

Member
295 posts
Helper bee
All inclusive resorts are always great start, I read that your best bet, when you have open slate with set budget is go to a travel agent. they can tell you where all the deals are, since you don’t have your heart set on anything, you can try it, wont hurt.
Cruises are great too…been on 3, love them, never spent that much on 2 of us.
Post # 6

Member
2239 posts
Buzzing bee
We are thinking about flying to california and doing a road trip up route one eventually ending up in the redwood forests! That seems like a lot of fun to me. Catalina Island in California is pretty european. To me at least…And I have been to europe lol.
Post # 7

Member
299 posts
Helper bee
Hi date twin!!
I recommended this website on the bee yesterday too, but its so awesome I have to share it again. Travelzoo sign up for the weekly top 20 emails! We are looking to go to Italy, Greece, or somewhere else we haven’t been for about $3000-3500. Living in FL I know what you mean about not wanting to go to the Caribbean. My family used to go on a cruise every Thanksgiving I have been to pretty much every island.
Every Wednesday they send out the top 20 deals and it just brightens my day. I found an Italy trip that would be about $2000 + food but it only ran through March! Oh well just going to keep checking.
Post # 8

Member
26 posts
Newbee
Thanks! And PLEASE let me know if you can manage Italy or Greece for 3k! That would be my dream trip and the budget would be doable. Cheapest I’m finding Europe trips is around 4K and we would still need money to eat!
Post # 9

Member
332 posts
Helper bee
PenguinGuy and I did New England for less than $2k. We spent time in Boston, New Hampshire, the Adirondack region of NY, and NYC. We flew to Boston, rented a car, and returned the car in NYC when we flew back to FL. Planning ahead we were able to get good deals on hotels and bed and breakfasts. OUr biggest expense was the car, but again, we found coupons and deals and had a pretty reasonable rental rate.
Post # 10

Member
866 posts
Busy bee
I’m biased when I second the New England area because it’s my home, but honestly it’s not at its best in April (hello, mud season!).
Have you been to Charleston, SC? It’s a charming and romantic city, has lots to offer in terms of great food, entertainment, and activities, and it’s not exceedingly expensive.
What “kind” of couple are you — lay-on-the-beach, explore-new-cities, funky-avante-garde? What’s your preferred activity level? It will be easier to narrow down options once you decide how much or how little you want to do.
Post # 11

Member
130 posts
Blushing bee
Miss Coffee will be falling into the same honeymoon budget – $2,000. So I’m looking forward to hearing from the other bees on ideas and suggestions – GREAT POST!!!
Mr Coffee
Post # 12

Member
46334 posts
Honey Beekeeper
Fly to Seattle. Rent a car and drive the Washington Coast. Take the Ferry to Victoria BC, then over to Vancouver and back to Seattle.
Great circle tour and spring in the Pacific Northwest is beautiful!
Post # 13

Member
10288 posts
Sugar Beekeeper
I’ve never been but always wanted to visit New Orleans. Living in FL, that wouldn’t be too difficult to get to, right?
I am from NY and would normally suggest NYC but it could be risky in April weather-wise. You could luck out and the weather could be gorgeous but I have experienced blizzards in April here so its very iffy.
Post # 14

Member
2103 posts
Buzzing bee
Try AirFrance vacations. Fiance and I went to Paris and London for $850 + a whole lotta tax (we upgraded…trips started at $699). They have all sorts of vacation deals and we didn’t spend but a few hundred additional in travel costs (but we also tried not to eat out for every meal, ate the free hotel breakfast, and walked or caught public transportation to cut costs). It also depends how long you’re in the city for…a whole week in Europe will definitely cost you, but it can be done cheaply.
http://www.airfrance-holidays.com/
Post # 15

Member
893 posts
Busy bee
My fiance and I went to Italy for 6 days last year and it costs us less than 2k. Travel Zoo is where we found the deal! I highly suggest signing up for their daily e-mails.
Post # 16

Member
641 posts
Busy bee
I would say anywhere on the Carolina coast would be a nice place to go. Since it’s off season you could rent a house on Cape Hatteras or Ocean Isle, NC for cheap, and then eat breakfast and lunch at home and go out for dinners.
I’ve always wanted to go to Charleston, I hear that’s a great place to go.