Post # 1
Member
4673 posts
Honey bee
So… I want to start making some sort of rough plans for our honeymoon… We are thinking the Florida Keys. We have a very short period of time to take the Honeymoon, our wedding is on Aug 25, and I plan on starting school just after labor day. I realize this isn’t the greatest time of year to do the Keys, it will be hot and their is a small chance of huricanes.
I like this Honeymoon idea because I do NOT like the idea of being stuck on a cruise ship or in a all inclusive resort. I love the idea of having the option of laying around on the beach or exploring. (MY Fiance will want to lay around, I will want to get out and explore) MY FI’s family does cruises but I do not want this to be my HM! Being stuck on a ship doesn’t really sound like something I would get into, at least not for my Honeymoon. My sis went to the Keys and got some awesome photos and as a photog I want to go somewhere where I will have ample opertunity to go out and shoot.
We don’t have a planned budget yet. I want to plan on keeping the costs for the Honeymoon down… MY Fiance has a good job, and except for student loans we don’t have a lot of debt, but as I am planning on leaving my job to go back to school I am not sure how we will do financially after that.
Has anyone been to the Keys this time of year?
Any suggestions of where to go?
Any bad experiences or alternate ideas (the is not a cruise or resort) that may fit us well?
Post # 3
Member
1842 posts
Buzzing bee
I’m just throwing this out there because we’re planning a family vacation for next June and were set on the Keys until we started looking into Sanibel Island (just a little west of Ft. Myers). It’s less expensive than the Keys and seemingly has plenty to do. I’ve never been to either … yet.
Post # 4
Member
5496 posts
Bee Keeper
@auggiefrog: We went for the first time this year over July 4th weekend (4 days). We love to snorkel and spent most of our time each day at Bahia Honda State Park snorkeling. It was fantastic. Bahia Honda is about 45 minutes from Key West. Key West has a nice hotel with a pretty beach called Southernmost Point Hotel. (That’s kinda pricey, so you may want to stay somewhere else, though) We had dinner there one night and the view of the beach and water is gorgeous. Let me know what other questions you have. 🙂
Post # 5
Member
248 posts
Helper bee
Fiance and i felt the same way about not going on a cruise or all-inclusive so we have more freedom to do what we want.
I’ve never been to the keys so I have no advice for you on that, but our budget was only $3000 so other than mexico and cruises, the US was our only option. We found super great deals on funjet! we ended up booking our Honeymoon throgh there and got two round trip tickets, passes to universal studios and sea world, and a super nice hotel in san diego for less than $2500!
I would definitely recomend looking on their site and seeing their deals. I did a ton of research, talked to travel agents and this was our best option. Hope that helps!
here’s a link to the hotel we’re staying at: http://www.paradisepoint.com
Post # 6
Member
145 posts
Blushing bee
The Keys is fun, but it is pretty touristy and expensive. It will be reaaallly hot anywhere you go in Florida and while there probably won’t be a hurricane, it does tend to rain every afternoon that time of year. A PP mentioned Sanibel, which has great beaches but is pretty boring in my opinion (I grew up about 30 mins away from Sanibel in Naples). You might want to check out St. Augustine. There is a ton of stuff to do, tons of cute B&B’s that aren’t too expensive, beaches, and it’s not too far from Orlando if you had any interest in doing the theme parks or the zoo in Jacksonville is close by too. Hope this helps!
Post # 7
Member
8027 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
We took our honeymoon to the Keys (in October). We had an excellent time. We rented a condo for the week in Key Largo and rented a convertable then took day trips. Then we drove down to Key West and stayed there overnight. It was great. PM me if you want further info- like the condo place we rented.
Post # 8
Member
4673 posts
Honey bee
Thank You ladies… I will look into your suggestions!