Wedding Blog
Dude, planning the honeymoon is freaking like pulling my fingernails off with pliers, then soaking my pulpy bloody fleshy nail beds in lemon juice, and then super gluing the nails back on just to do it all over again. Seriously.
In determining where we want to go I used three factors: Theme = BEACH; Cost = MODERATE; and Weather= NO EFFING HURRICANES. Seems simple right? Let’s take a look at where theknot.com says will be perfect:
OCTOBER
Australia, Bali, Belize, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, Central & South Africa, Egypt, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Italy, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Seychelles, Spain, USA
I think I will be soooooooooo ready for the beach after my wedding, I am not gonna be a happy camper if I need to sit on a plane for 10+ hours. So that whittles down the list a bit. I also want to avoid destinations that require a ton of pre-planning ie. sightseeing and waiting on long ass lines to see ruins or climb stairs or kiss a magical rock. Too bad the Caribbean is shadowed by the threat of rain and hurricanes man. Otherwise, it would be perfect. Most islands are but a few hours away from NYC, each promises Travel Channel beaches, turquoise waters la la la, and with so many competing resorts to choose from, prices are reasonable.
After much debate and months of surfing luxurylink.com (a fabulous vacation package website my BM Ange used for her own honeymoon) and cross referencing each deal by reading tripadvisor.com reviews, I said screw it, let the hurricanes come, I’m going to pick the places I want to go. If a hurricane does strike down upon us, shit, well I guess we’ll just have to honeymoon again at a later date. So I narrowed it down to a few places:
Marquis Los Cabos, MEXICO
With its gorgeous infinity pool and chic open air lobby. This hotel is a luscious delight. Their 7-night honeymoon package includes:
The price: $2720 PER PERSON (the website does not indicate that their pricing is per person, it wasn’t until I called and spoke to the hotel that I found out.)
Luckily, luxurylink has an awesome package for them:
The price: an amazing minimum bid price of $2065
A little about Los Cabos’ weather:
Some say that San Jose del Cabo has the perfect weather - and that’s true. Most of the year, you will have sunny skies and cool breezy nights. Much like the summer weather that we are all used to. It does get warmer, and more humid in the summer months, leading up to September which is hurricane season. The heat and humidity are high, and the risk of tropical storms means that you will get many cloudy, and even rainy days in September. The weather breaks mid October and then it’s back to beautiful weather once again.
An indepth perusal of tripadvisor.com reviews sniffed out a few red flags namely snotty service; expensive meals and NO SWIMMING IN THE OCEAN. WHAT?!? So I called the hotel myself and confirmed that the beaches on the Pacific side of Mexico are indeed “unswimmable”. Apparently signs are posted all over warning visitors not to try. Bummer, no water sports? BUMMER.
The Palms, Turks and Caicos
Absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous white sand beaches and crystal clear water and a very chic and luxurious hotel. Their 7-night honeymoon package includes:
The price: $3325
A little about Turks and Caicos’s weather:
Even in the winter, the temperatures on the island remain quite warm at about 80 or 85°F (27-29°C), with the water being only slightly cooler at 75°F (24°C). However, thanks to the moderating influence of the Caribbean Sea and constantly circulating trade winds, the temperature rarely goes above the mid-90s Fahrenehit (35°C) even in the late summer, when the water is just over 80°F (27°C). The islands get a moderate rainfall of about 40 inches (100cm) per year, which means plenty of sunshine. However, the months of June through October constitute hurricane season, which can get quite severe in this area due to a lack of surrounding land to slow down the winds. Therefore, it is probably best to visit outside of these months; some tropical storms may still develop between November and May, but these are much milder and more infrequent.
An indepth persual of tripadvisor.com reviews reveals even more gorgeous candid photos from visitors and the boast of locals that TC has not been hit by a hurricane in over 20 YEARS. The reviews also talks of bidding wars over the cushy “sun pods” that line the inifinity pool and raves about the continental breakfast which includes pancakes and omelets. AWESOME.
Laluna, Grenada
Beautiful four poster Balinese beds set in Indonesian and Italian inspired open air rooms and thatched roof private pool side living rooms makes this place an absolute luxury retreat. Their 7-night honeymoon package includes:
The price: $4,343
A little about Grenada’s weather:
Average temperatures range from 75ºF to 85ºF (24ºC to 30ºC), tempered by the steady and cooling trade winds. The lowest temperatures occur between November and February. Due to Grenada’s remarkable topography, the island also experiences climate changes according to altitude. The driest season is between January and May. Even during the rainy season, from June to December, it rarely rains for more than an hour at a time and generally not every day.
Another great deal from luxurylink.com:
The price: $2,773
An indepth review of tripadvisor.com reviews paints the picture of romantic seclusion in an old world style. Red flags include MOSQUITOS, lackluster pool, unimpressive beach and boredom.
So which did we choose? Ahh… stay tuned my pets… haha
|
Share this post: Honeymoon - Part I
Wow, the way you described honeymoon planning is REALLY disgusting…
Wow, the way you described honeymoon planning is REALLY disgusting
I found a package on orbitz or travelocity… i think orbitz… and it was amazingly cheap!!!
Check them out before you book… maybe you can use the prices on orbitz to talk luxury link down.
oh orbitz was for marquis los cabos. I almost went there… and from my memory, including airfare… it was only around 800 dollars for 5 nights………
I totally agree with you on honeymoon planning feeling as you described.
My fiance and I spent ALL night (literally from the time I got home from work until we went to bed) trying to figure out where we wanted to stay, amount that was feasible to spend etc. And we already knew we wanted to go to Hawaii.
So far in wedding planning this has been only second in difficulty to finding the venue for the wedding and reception. Ugh!
miss spider, that first paragraph just made me wince in pain and cry OW outloud… my fingers feel weird just typing this…
ahhh your finger nail paragraph made me go ouch OUCH! soooooo gory! “fleshy nail beds” LOL!!!
can buy hurricane insurance on for your honeymoon if you want to play it safe. my cousin did that for her honeymoon in cancun last october. 
Ariel: INCLUDING AIRFARE it was $800 for 5 nights??!! you must have it confused with another hotel. I just did a search on orbitz and just the hotel room alone was over $3K and it was for the cheapest room. omg girl, show me where you found $800 pronto.
I’m EXTREMELY biased!!!
I got ENGAGED at The Palms in Turks & Caicos!!!! I without a doubt recommend it I can’t say enough great things about the hotel, the amazing beach, the food, the staff and the little mid afternoon treats they bring to their guests by the pool and on the beach
Their pool has amazing beds too which is really cute.
Also it’s not kid friendly and all of the nicer hotels on the island aren’t as well so it’s good for dinner options.
Oh boy, i could go on and on about Turks and The Palms specifically, but i dont want to bore all of the other readers
my gory description is really what i want to do to Mr. Spider for not helping me AT ALL haha. ouch indeed haha.
Dude that sounds painful. Can’t wait to that part of the planning — how much in advance should we plan the HM?
How long is the flight to Cabo? Mr. Firefly and I thought about going there in December! The hotel sounds fab and really, the luxurylink price is semi-reasonable.
Have you thought about aruba? not the prettiest of islands, but much better hurricane protection.
cabo is gorgeous~!! and so much culture there to explore the streets and purchase the wares.
Mrs. Firefly: the flight is about 10-12 hours. Connecting in LA usually.
I considered Aruba but didn’t want to be distracted by the casinos. I love the sound of slot machines but Mr. Spider, well, not so much haha.
Miss Spider, I swear to God it was cheap AND it was Marquis Los Cabos and I was drooling cuz it was a 5 star hotel. (But I’m flying from LA and I’d looked months ago…. cuz I’m getting married in less than one month!)
I just did a search on Orbitz. You have to click the hotel AND airfare button when you search because that’s how they get their deals. I did a one week search from JFK(for you) from 10/2 to 10/9… and flying Delta it’s $1552 per person.
I think because early September wasn’t a busy season for them… and also cuz Orbitz had some sort of deal… it was really cheap for me when I was looking. Wish it was still there… but either way… isn’t $1552 still significantly cheaper than luxury link???
oh ariel, the luxury link price ($2065) is TOTAL not per person. Marquis Los Cabos’ OWN price is per person so its total would be $5440).
I did do a hotel AND flight search.
7 nights in an ocean front room with flights from JFK to Los Cabos Oct. 9 - 16 = $3692.
i bet because you looked earlier and because you’re flying from LA (flights from NYC connect in LA) it was a lot cheaper. Also Sept. is rainy season there so maybe Orbitz secured better deals for that time period?
hmmm you know what? maybe my post is confusing. ALL prices are per couple, EXCEPT for Marquis’ package - when I called them to ask questions, I found out their prices are per person. The guy I spoke to said management tells them to tell everyone who calls and I was like - WHY DON’T YOU JUST PUT THAT ON THE WEBSITE OR DOUBLE THE PACKAGE PRICE FOR A MORE ACCURATE TOTAL!!? kinda tricky of them right??
Yea that was confusing sort of, but that’s a darn good deal!
Woo hoo!!
Hello Miss Spider
My husband and I just returned from Hotel Marquis 2 weeks ago. We did the Romance package for 4 days and 3 nights and got our own private pool casitas. We only stayed at our own pool the first day we got there, and then laid out at the hotel’s pool. Our pool only had a partial view of the ocean and there were lots of bugs like wasp and bees flying around… alittle scary. I recommend saving money, getting a cheaper suite, and laying out at the infinity pool.
The service was excellent and the hotel was very quiet, There was no partying while we there and many of the couples we saw were in their 40’s. We ate most of our meals at their restaurant, Vista Ballenas. The food was okay, nothing too great. It reminded me of like Denny’s type food.
The great part is you can take your rental car to Cabo San Lucas which is about 20 minute drive from the hotel.. There is abudget rental car attached to the hotel. However, we went during the day and it was SO hot. There were not that many people around and we went into a restaurant to wait out the heat. There is also a “high end” (not that great) mall there with a sunglass store called OPTIKAL that will sell sunglasses for 50 percent off if you pay with american dollars.
We did not go to San Jose del Cabo, which I heard is more calm and local. I hear the shopping and food is better there.
We also both got extremely sunburned even though we were wearing SPF50, water prrof, sweatproof sunblock. We applied at least a couple of times a day, but we were very burned.
I hope this information helps! I love this website and still read it even though my wedding has passed.
I vacationed in Cabo last yr with my bf. I absolutely loved it there. The view was amazing. I do have to agree with the unswimmable ocean though. The water was rough everyday (we went in june), so we didn’t get to do any water activities. The weather was also perfect when we went. No rain at all. We even thought about having a destination wedding there in the future. It is really that gorgeous. We also had a time share so the hotel itself was super cheap (less than $200 a week!) and it was top notch quality too, not some cheap motel. The only thing we couldn’t save on was airfare, which for us was roughly $600-800/ppl from nyc. But good luck planning. I am a beach person too.
The fiance and i always talk about wanting to vacation to Los Cabos. Since he’s in the airline business he gets massive discounts on airline tickets so we can’t wait to take advantage of that. As for the honeymoon we’re hoping to go to Bora Bora. I thought Bora Bora was expensive but these places cost AS MUCH! I would’ve never known…
such an informative review of honeymoon spots!
arg! these pics are making me want to go to the beach! =P all look beautiful and amazing!!!
No swimming in the ocean?! But why?! I have never heard of that… lol
| Visit our sister sites | Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Fertile Thoughts Infertility Support |
Mrs. Spider, New York
Age and Occupation: 27, Paralegal
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Advisor Research
Engagement Date: December 30, 2005
Wedding Date: October 2006
Venue: Jericho Terrace - Long Island, NY
About Me: My favorite parts of wedding planning are DIY projects and figuring out ways to incorporate old traditions into a modern affair.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 |
Latest Gallery Pics