Post # 1
Member
1565 posts
Bumble bee
I am so frustrated about honeymoon costs right now. We had these grand plans of going to the Maldives, Tahiti, or Australia, but scrapped all those to save money and decided to go to Hawaii instead. I thought this would be a pretty reasonable option. However, the costs are ballooning out of control:
Flights from NYC and between islands: $2000
7-day cruise: $2000
5 nights in hotel: $1000
Renting a car, food, activities (was hoping to do snorkeling, horseback riding, etc and these things don’t come cheap!): $1000-$2000.
I feel like at this rate we might as well go to Australia or Tahiti because it couldn’t be much more expensive. Seriously, we went to Europe for 2 weeks last summer as a graduation trip and it was significantly cheaper than this Hawaii trip.
So I’m interested to see how much everyone’s budgeting for honeymoons and how you’re keeping costs reasonable while still having a real honeymoon. I know some people are lucky to have relatives or friends with time shares or beach houses, but we don’t have that option.
Post # 3
Member
18628 posts
Honey Beekeeper
Hmm it does seem pretty expensive. I don’t really have ideas though.
Post # 4
Member
1565 posts
Bumble bee
@MissAsB – we were planning a cruise for 7 days and 5 nights in a hotel…but the cruise is like $1200 and the excursions are at least $100 a day, so it’s not cheap at all. I had also heard cruises were a cheaper option, so I was shocked to see how much it costs.
Post # 5
Member
4464 posts
Honey bee
We’re spending about $5K on 8 days in Anguilla.
I don’t have the actual budget right in front of me, but I believe it’s about $1K transportation (flights, transfers, rental cars), $3K on accomodations, and $1K spending money.
@GirlwithaRing: I’ve always thought that Hawaii is super-expensive. And food is more expensive there as well. Also you might save money on flights by staying in the Caribbean area.
Post # 6
Member
3525 posts
Sugar bee
I have always thought of Hawaii as very expensive.
Fiance and I haven’t really sat down yet and budget the Honeymoon. But come hell or high water we’re doing this Honeymoon because it’s been a dream of ours forever. And we know how we are. If we don’t do it now we probably won’t do it till the kids are grown up. That being said I’ve been researching like crazy on what to do on the cheap.
We’re backpacking through Europe and not staying at fancy hotels but rather at hostels and it may come as a surprise renting small studios and such are sometimes just as cheap as hostels. No hotels. Eat on the super cheap. Maybe 1 or 2 fancy meals bc it IS our Honeymoon after all!! Looking into the cheapest way to travel from A to B whether it be Raynair, Night Train, etc etc.
Been subscribed to Eurocheapo blogs, how to travel on the cheap, etc.
Maybe start thinking in those realms if you haven’t already? Think renting a house/apartment via VRBO if you’ll be centered around one main area instead of a hotel.
Good Luck!
Post # 7
Member
1288 posts
Bumble bee
- Wedding: June 2010 - Indiana Memorial Union
What about going to Thailand or something similar? The flight will be expensive, but the activities and accomodations should be significantly cheaper.
Our honeymoon is going to be under 2000, but we’re just going to California.
Post # 8
Member
18628 posts
Honey Beekeeper
I’m confused why you have hotel and flights between islands if you are going on a cruise. Are you staying past the cruise time or something?
Post # 9
Member
3525 posts
Sugar bee
Cruises can be cheap. It all depends on timing. If you have the flexibility of timing check out different rates during different weeks. Change room sizes, that’ll be cheaper. Or either of you in the military or any other organizations? Ask about discounts.
Check different cruise lines. Don’t do as many excursions. There are cheaper excursions (at least for the cruises we have been on). One of our favorite excursions of all time was a simple $30 excursion taht was a trip to the Corona beach (private!), lunch included provided by the locals and all you can drink Corona’s all day long.
Are you subscribed to newsletters like TravelZoo? They consistently have cheap cheap deals on cruises. You know those sales that only have certain days available for 2 days only? The more flexible you are the more you can save. If I see any for Hawaii or Australia I’ll be sure to PM you.
Post # 10
Member
1317 posts
Bumble bee
Try to find pre-packaged deals with a cruise already included or pre-packaged hotel + flight combos so you can just add-on the cruise. Sometimes flying into another city first with (Southwest Air) can save you money.
Good luck!
Post # 11
Member
2206 posts
Buzzing bee
Hawaii is pretty expensive. I would therefore suggest somewere in the Carribean, because flights will likely be cheaper, or going more exotic, such as Turkey or the Sinai in Egypt or Goa in India or Thailand or Vietnam. If you work at it you should find a flight around $1200 or less, but the actual costs once you get there will be MUCH less. Fiance and I lived like royalty in Vietnam last summer on $1000 for two weeks and $800 in India for two weeks in 2004.
Post # 12
Member
14181 posts
Honey Beekeeper
Yeah hawaii is expensive. I’ve been there before–IMO it’s a little overrated for the cost (depending on where you are flying in from). There are many beautiful places you can go that are closer/cheaper flights/more feasible and you’ll have JUST as amazing of a time.
Hawaii for us, from the midwest, was like 3K more than the caribbean. I didn’t even THINK about hawaii while I was there. Tropical vacation is a tropical vacation!
Post # 13
Member
2206 posts
Buzzing bee
I just did a quick search, I was curious:
Goa from NYC – $996
Sharm al-Sheik, Egypt – $1006
Bangkok – $904
Go have fun!
Post # 14
Member
563 posts
Busy bee
We visited Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand for a little bit less than your trip. The international airfare was quite expensive, but the internal domestic flights were cheap, and most major hotel chains had a stay 2 nights, get one night free plan that helped keep down costs. We had an amazing time – we played with tigers, lions and elephants in Thailand and visited Angkor Watt and visited the tunnels that the Vietcong built during the war. Thailand has amazing beaches if that is more your scene.
Post # 15
Member
1565 posts
Bumble bee
@MissAsB: Yes, 7 nights cruise and 5 nights in a hotel – we didn’t think it was worth flying 14 hours just for 1 week
@ Gerbera: Thanks for the help! You are going to have an AMAZING time in Europe. We started dating there during a semester abroad and did a ton of traveling on the cheap. It is so doable on a budget. And we just went to Austria and Czech Republic this summer for two weeks also very reasonable.
Thanks for the advice everyone! I haven’t done any travel outside of Europe so it’s very helpful to get your perspectives 🙂
Post # 16
Member
2777 posts
Sugar bee
Wow, that does seem expensive. Have you thought about doing a Honeymoon registry? We’re going to Australia for 2 weeks, and you probably could on the same budget. It all depends on where you fly into and where you stay.