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Vacation Ideas

eternlgladiator

eternlgladiator

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 20, 2010
1,766
106
Twin Cities
I'm trying to get some ideas for a honeymoon/vacation and I'm coming up short on inspiration right now (also poorly laid out websites are not helping). I'm hoping any members here that have been somewhere interesting could share and help spark some great ideas. I've looked into the Caribbean, South Pacific, Indonsia, and a little bit of Europe. We're looking at traveling in August so that appears to be peak season for south of the equator. Not sure on budget as of yet. I would like an all inclusive place if you know them or have ideas. I'm not asking anybody to research for me. I'd love to hear first hand experiences but will take any ideas you have :) It's finally time to get married!
 
What about Hawaii?

That was where we went for our honeymoon. It may be a budget buster but it is gorgeous.

I'd also consider Ireland and/or England was well :)
 
Caribbean (Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica), Hawaii, Tahiti, check'm out. What about mountains? Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Washington State.
 
maflynn said:
What about Hawaii?

That was where we went for our honeymoon. It may be a budget buster but it is gorgeous.

I'd also consider Ireland and/or England was well :)
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Hawaii looks pretty expensive and I think we're leaning toward tropical beach type destinations. Good ideas though!

Huntn said:
Caribbean (Bahamas, Bermuda, Jamaica), Hawaii, Tahiti, check'm out. What about mountains? Alaska, Colorado, Montana, Washington State.
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I'm pricing out some trips in riviera maya right now which looks pretty good. Any specific resorts? I'm looking for all inclusive to make the trip as simple as possible. No carrying cash around the resort, just relax, eat, drink, etc
 
eternlgladiator said:
I'm pricing out some trips in riviera maya right now which looks pretty good. Any specific resorts? I'm looking for all inclusive to make the trip as simple as possible. No carrying cash around the resort, just relax, eat, drink, etc
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In Jamaica it's highly recommended you don't leave the reservation, er resort.
 
Huntn said:
In Jamaica it's highly recommended you don't leave the reservation, er resort.
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how come?

I thought jamaica was a chill place and like most as long as you keep to the main road would you be pretty safe?
 
I went to Aruba this winter and it was amazing. Unlike a bunch of other Caribbean countries, this one is more of a "developed" country and is a Dutch colony and everyone speaks English.

Food there is also amazing. The seafood is caught daily and there's a lot of great restaurants downtown that made some awesome meals. If you're not into seafood or trying to new stuff, they have Pizza Huts, Subway etc etc a lot of known places too. In the evenings in the capital there's live entertainment too which was cool. There are also high end malls to explore (although I couldn't really afford Gucci or Louis Vuitton stuff lol).

We rented a condo and a car cuz my mom didn't want to stay in a resort and explored almost all the beaches on the island and had a great time everyday. If you do choose to stay at a resort, the Riu Palace looked amazing but is likely expensive.

I definitely want to go back when I can and would recommend it to others. And another perk, their beer on tap is Heineken :D


On another note, I went to Cuba last summer and it was a different experience. The beaches were beautiful but there's nothing to do unless you want to sit in the resort the whole time as they don't recommend leaving as it can be dangerous etc. The food also wasn't that great at all and my friends and I got a little sick on one of the days (and we were at a 4.5 star resort too..).

I'd go to Cuba again because it's cheap but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Anyways, hope these mini reviews help a bit
 
-eternlgladiator

This idea is pretty out-of-the-box, so you may want to collect this for the future, not necessarily for your honeymoon (congrats BTW).

I see you are in Wisconsin, so this is doable for you: from Chicago, get a stateroom on the California Zephyr, one of the historic great train rides, and supposed to be one of the prettiest. I think it takes about five days, and you end up in San Francisco, round out your week there, and fly back.
 
sviato said:
I went to Aruba this winter and it was amazing. Unlike a bunch of other Caribbean countries, this one is more of a "developed" country and is a Dutch colony and everyone speaks English.

Food there is also amazing. The seafood is caught daily and there's a lot of great restaurants downtown that made some awesome meals. If you're not into seafood or trying to new stuff, they have Pizza Huts, Subway etc etc a lot of known places too. In the evenings in the capital there's live entertainment too which was cool. There are also high end malls to explore (although I couldn't really afford Gucci or Louis Vuitton stuff lol).

We rented a condo and a car cuz my mom didn't want to stay in a resort and explored almost all the beaches on the island and had a great time everyday. If you do choose to stay at a resort, the Riu Palace looked amazing but is likely expensive.

I definitely want to go back when I can and would recommend it to others. And another perk, their beer on tap is Heineken :D


On another note, I went to Cuba last summer and it was a different experience. The beaches were beautiful but there's nothing to do unless you want to sit in the resort the whole time as they don't recommend leaving as it can be dangerous etc. The food also wasn't that great at all and my friends and I got a little sick on one of the days (and we were at a 4.5 star resort too..).

I'd go to Cuba again because it's cheap but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Anyways, hope these mini reviews help a bit
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I'll check out aruba. I don't think cuba is an option from the US though if we did go, traveling on a tire would probably be pretty cost effective. :) Thanks!

teddyvanhalen said:
Mexico
-Acapulco
-Cabo San Lucas

Belize

Hawaii

You can always go to Vegas ;)
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I checked out riviera maya in mexico and might have a good option. Something about mexico feels all the same to me though. Vegas is a big no.

patrick0brien said:
-eternlgladiator

This idea is pretty out-of-the-box, so you may want to collect this for the future, not necessarily for your honeymoon (congrats BTW).

I see you are in Wisconsin, so this is doable for you: from Chicago, get a stateroom on the California Zephyr, one of the historic great train rides, and supposed to be one of the prettiest. I think it takes about five days, and you end up in San Francisco, round out your week there, and fly back.
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That train idea is a great one but you're right, not for this occasion. Good tip though!

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Huntn said:
In Jamaica it's highly recommended you don't leave the reservation, er resort.
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If we visit an all inclusive I don't see any need to leave the resort area. My past experience at them had us staying for the majority of the trip with a couple short shopping excursions and one for dinner. Neither were that spectacular.
 
Hawaii looks expensive you're considering Europe??? Wow!! Stay away from the Euro. I was all over Europe before some idiot decided to switch to the Euro and I ate and drank like a prince. Now, with the Euro, you'd be broke in a day.

Go to Hawaii. It's beautiful. I was stationed there and I'd go back so fast...

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maril1111 said:
how come?

I thought jamaica was a chill place and like most as long as you keep to the main road would you be pretty safe?
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Yeah, I probably wouldn't make an excursion to Kingston, unless you want to be on those A&E or ID shows about killings of American tourists.
 
sk1wbw said:
Hawaii looks expensive you're considering Europe??? Wow!! Stay away from the Euro. I was all over Europe before some idiot decided to switch to the Euro and I ate and drank like a prince. Now, with the Euro, you'd be broke in a day.

Go to Hawaii. It's beautiful. I was stationed there and I'd go back so fast...

I'd love to visit hawaii but it looks expensive and Europe just doesn't seem appealing for a relaxing type vacation. Better for sight seeing and shopping IMO

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Yeah, I probably wouldn't make an excursion to Kingston, unless you want to be on those A&E or ID shows about killings of American tourists.
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I really don't think that's going to be a problem.
 
maril1111 said:
how come?

I thought jamaica was a chill place and like most as long as you keep to the main road would you be pretty safe?
Click to expand...

I've stayed there many times on layovers. That was the warning we got. If you are at a resort, it can be considered a safe haven. Different resorts have different reps. Depending on where you go, it can be dangerous for "rich" tourists to venture out on their own. A tour is different, like heading over to the tourist friendly water fall for a splash. :)

I'm not trying to single out Jamaica as a dangerous place. Any local with an indigenous populations of struggling people can have its risks. You can get robbed in Hawaii too, but I don't consider it as much an issue there, but yeah it could happen.
 
I'll give everyone a suggestion about timing of a honeymoon. It might sound crazy, but wait a few days or week after the wedding to go.

We were so exhausted after the wedding that all either one of us wanted to do was sleep, let alone get on a plane or drive somewhere. Take a day or two to recharge, let the emotions settle, get the wedding stuff settled, and recharge a bit before taking off.
 
Bora Bora.

My ex took me there and it was absolutely beautiful. Hut over the water, food brought to us by boat and we looked down into the water at the fish.

As for Jamaica, if you stick to the tourist-y areas you'll be fine. The people are very friendly and it's pretty safe. Of course, as with any country, there are bad areas that outsiders should avoid.
 
ejb190 said:
I'll give everyone a suggestion about timing of a honeymoon. It might sound crazy, but wait a few days or week after the wedding to go.

We were so exhausted after the wedding that all either one of us wanted to do was sleep, let alone get on a plane or drive somewhere. Take a day or two to recharge, let the emotions settle, get the wedding stuff settled, and recharge a bit before taking off.
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We're not doing any sort of "big" things so that shouldn't be an issue but good tip.

InvalidUserID said:
Bora Bora.

My ex took me there and it was absolutely beautiful. Hut over the water, food brought to us by boat and we looked down into the water at the fish.

As for Jamaica, if you stick to the tourist-y areas you'll be fine. The people are very friendly and it's pretty safe. Of course, as with any country, there are bad areas that outsiders should avoid.
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I've checked a little on Bora Bora, but I'll look more. It's peak season south of the equator as opposed to off season north of it so we can do a longer vacation up north but I'm trying to look at all options. Thank you!
 
ejb190 said:
We were so exhausted after the wedding that all either one of us wanted to do was sleep, let alone get on a plane or drive somewhere. Take a day or two to recharge, let the emotions settle, get the wedding stuff settled, and recharge a bit before taking off.
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I guess it all depends on the type of wedding you have.

For me, the wedding was awesome everything we planned, It was not overly stressful or exhausting. We got married on a boat in Boston Harbor and then had the reception at a yacht club. Just a laid back party it was awesome.

We were anxious to head to hawaii and couldn't wait. So my point is that waiting or not waiting on the honeymoon is really dependent on the each couple :)
 
Our last trip to the Caribbean was to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort called the Grand Palladium. It was a resort made up of four or five hotel grounds, so it was huge and there was a lot of variety in terms of places to hang out, pools, bars, and restaurants. Our room was in a little villa right on the beach. The water was nice and warm, and it was pretty calm. The beach was beautiful, and we would go for long walks up and down the coast. The food was really good, and the nightlife was fun too. It was a really chill vacation.

Oh, and I enjoyed seeing my wife on the top-optional beach. :D
 
I second Ireland in August. Very nice people, just be careful in the North. ;)

And the draft ale is excellent everywhere.
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Vote for Aruba. Lovely place.

For our honeymoon we did a tall-ship in the Caribbean. But that may be out, if she is prone to seasickness. I'd do the train thing for our 2nd honeymoon. Get one of the suites.... it's as close to an all-in-one resort. You just sit and watch the scenery, and talk. No distractions.... and eat good food. When you get to SF take the train to Vancouver, and then take Via rail back across the country. In 20 years you will be still talking about that trip, I'm sure.

Congratulations!
 
maflynn said:
I guess it all depends on the type of wedding you have.
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I can understand that. We had family come in for all over the place. You kind of feel obligated to talk to everyone and pose for every photo. I got pulled away from my dinner and by the time I got back, someone had cleared my plate! My wife and I were very active in making sure everything happened. We ended up being more hosts then honored guests. But that's the way we wanted it. And we didn't go on a real honeymoon until a year later. (I had just started a new job and didn't have any vacation time.)
 
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