Post # 1
Member
299 posts
Helper bee
Hey bees. Seeking some fun, warm-weather honeymoon ideas!
Getting married in SoCal in May. We’ve considered Cancun a lot, and I’m doing research for it now. But curious of some other ideas we may not have thought of because we got so fixed on it.
Priorities are warm weather, a beach, easy to fly to from Southern California (looking for less lengthy flights).
Wedding is Sunday, so we’d fly out on a Monday and need to get back home that same week on Sunday.
Any fun resorts or spots to vacation welcome!
I’m also facing a mix of wanting to be budget-friendly but treat ourselves too – it is our honeymoon and we realized we’ve never really done a big vacation ever together. Only little weekend things.
Thanks for any advice!
Post # 2
Member
1168 posts
Bumble bee
I’m doing Costa Rica which has a direct flight from LA. Beach, wildlife, jungle, and budget-friendly 🙂
Post # 3
Member
299 posts
Helper bee
Ziggy2112 : Oh fun! Did you handle booking yourself for flight/hotel or go through any service to do it? Someone at my work mentioned Costa Rica today too, funny enough!
Post # 4
Member
1168 posts
Bumble bee
sunshadebride : I booked everything myself. It’s a bit of work as there isn’t really an all-inclusive culture there, but it was fun to research. Trip Advisor and their forums were an awesome resource!
Post # 5
Member
927 posts
Busy bee
Im leaning towards Maui for 3 days and then island hop to Kauai for 3 days. Expedia has some really good deals right now.
Post # 6
Member
7626 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
sunshadebride : I was just in Cancun at Secrets Playa Mujeres and had an absolute blast. I’ve never visited an all inclusive before and it was great knowing we wouldn’t be spending much more money after the initial booking. This hotel had a bit of an older crowd (we felt young at late 20s) so it wasn’t as much of a party feel, rather, it was very relaxing. However, there were still tons of activities and we had a blast meeting other people staying at the hotel.
The beaches in Turks and Caicos are absolutely gorgeous. I think they spoiled most other beaches for me because I haven’t seen any that compare. It is a bit more pricey there than Cancun but if you can find something within your budget I highly recommend it.
ETA: Since we got back I have been eying going to Punta Cana, especially when I realized they have a Secrets resort there. I haven’t been there but it looks beautiful and doesn’t seem like a budget buster.
Post # 7
Member
299 posts
Helper bee
MrsBeck : Secrets is definitely a hotel I’ve been recommended before for Cancun. Did you spend most time around the hotel or venture out? I definitely want to have some fun with activities so would love to get any recs in that area, of what was easy to get to or have a shuttle/etc. to take people to?
All-inclusive resorts seem helpful in that like you said, not much worrying after you’ve paid! I’m 28, fiance is 30. I’m more of a partier than Fiance is, but TBH we’re focused on relaxing, drinking and eating haha! Plus some fun sight-seeing that is available.
Post # 9
Member
7626 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
sunshadebride : There are two Secrets hotels in the area. We stayed at Playa Mujeres which is about a 40 minute ride from the airport vs. the 20 minutes to the one right in Cancun. I think it was worth the extra drive time because you’re not surrounded by other hotels and it was kind of a secluded area but I guess it depends what you’re looking for.
We spent most days at the hotel except for one day when we took a bus tour to Chichen Itza to see Mayan ruins and then make a pit stop at the cenot Ik Kil. To me it was the perfect amount of relaxing and laying around with one “cultural/local” day thrown in. We arranged the tour through the hotel so we had a shuttle pick us up. They had tons of other tours/activities that could be arranged as well where you would be picked up. If you’re interested in leaving the resort, it might be better to stay right in Cancun vs. Playa Mujeres. Uber is also very cheap. I checked out the price to go to the airport (40 mins) and it was only about $16 which is unheard of by me so that’s another option if you want to leave the resort/explore.
The hotel itself had tons of activities. My husband played beach volleyball a few times a day everyday and I did the bike rides and zumba classes. They also had Spanish classes, mixology classes, wine tastings and cigar rolling classes so there was always something to do. They also have water sports available (snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding) but it was too windy the entire time we were there to take part of any of it. They also have enough restaurants that we visited a new one for dinner every night so we didn’t get bored of the food.
I saw someone recommend staying away from all inclusives but I think it really depends what you want out of the vacation. If you are planning on traveling to local attractions on multiple days it might be best not to go to an all inclusive. If you are looking at one or maybe two days of tours/sightseeing and spending the rest of the time relaxing and at the resort I think an all inclusive is worth it.
Post # 10
Member
299 posts
Helper bee
MrsBeck : Ok nice! I just looked up the hotel you mentioned and it’s gorgeous.
We Will only be around for 4-5 days. Monday is a travel day and we would likely head back late Saturday or Sunday morning. And since we honestly are more into relaxing and chilling, with maybe a day – max 2 days – to sight see, I can imagine the all inclusive option is nice. I really want to go see the Mayan ruins with my fiancé and after that we just want to relax together.
Did you go for their Preferred Club option?
Post # 11
Member
7626 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
sunshadebride : not sure how much you looked around but they are right next to their sister resort which you are allowed to utilize as well which adds a lot more restaurant options.
We didn’t do Preferred Club but that’s only because our travel agent didn’t mention it at all so I didn’t know about it until it was too late. Our friends did it though and highly recommended it.
Also, we did not have a swim out but we did have a jacuzzi on our balcony. Our friends didn’t use their swim out at all so if you don’t think you’ll use it, I recommend one of the ocean view suites (garden view is pretty too) because we got more use out of the jacuzzi than we would have gotten out of the swim out.
They had a ton of options to go see the Mayan ruins ranging from an afternoon to all day. There are some very close to the hotel but we chose to head to ruins about 2.5 hours away because Chichen Itza is considered one of the seven modern wonders of the world.
Post # 12
Member
299 posts
Helper bee
MrsBeck :Â Great advice! I did see that Playa Mujeres is next to another resort, a family friendly one I think, but yea reviews show it’s a double package almost bc you can benefit from both. Thanks for your help on this seriously. I am going to continue doing some research for other places just to see but this place is sounding like the winner haha!Â
Post # 13
Member
299 posts
Helper bee
ksn1219 : Would you have any places to recommend? I’ve considered this too bc it’s an easy flight from where we will be getting married 🙂
